ME Real Estate flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Designated broker

In Maine, the licensed broker responsible for supervising the activities of a brokerage office and its affiliated licensees; every office, including a branch, must have one.

Unlicensed assistant limits

An unlicensed assistant may perform clerical and administrative tasks but may not negotiate, show property as a representative, or be paid compensation for brokerage activity.

Maine Real Estate Commission

The state body within the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation that licenses Maine brokers and sales agents, adopts practice rules, and disciplines licensees.

License renewal requirement

Maine real estate licenses must be renewed on the cycle set by statute and Commission rule, with required continuing education completed first; practicing on an expired license is a violation.

First substantive contact

The point in a Maine transaction when a licensee must provide the brokerage relationships disclosure explaining available agency options, before confidential information is solicited.

Disclosed dual agency

A Maine brokerage representing both the buyer and the seller in one transaction with the informed written consent of both, limiting the firm's role to neutrality and confidentiality.

Designated brokerage

A form of dual agency in Maine in which the firm assigns different affiliated licensees to represent the buyer and the seller, with written consent of both parties.

Fiduciary duties owed to clients

Loyalty, obedience to lawful instructions, disclosure, confidentiality, accounting, and reasonable care and diligence, owed by a Maine licensee to a client and surviving termination for confidentiality.

Tenancy by the entirety

A form of co-ownership available only to married couples in Maine that includes a right of survivorship and cannot be severed by one spouse acting alone.

Adverse possession period

In Maine, possession that is actual, open, notorious, exclusive, hostile, and continuous for 20 years can ripen into title by adverse possession.

Notice recording statute

Maine's recording law makes an unrecorded conveyance void against a later purchaser for value who takes the property without notice of the earlier conveyance.

Statute of Frauds

Requires that contracts for the sale of real property, leases longer than one year, and certain other agreements be in writing and signed by the party to be bound.

Earnest money deposit

Buyer funds delivered with an offer as evidence of good faith, held in a brokerage trust account or by a closing agent and credited to the purchase price at closing.

Time is of the essence

A contract clause making stated deadlines enforceable, so that failing to perform by the specified date can constitute a material breach of the agreement.

Contingency clause

A contract provision making a party's obligation conditional on a stated event such as financing or inspection, usually naming a deadline and the remedy if the condition fails.

Loan-to-value ratio

The loan amount divided by the lesser of the sale price or appraised value, used to measure leverage and to determine whether mortgage insurance is required.

PITI

The four components of a monthly housing payment: principal, interest, property taxes, and hazard insurance, commonly used in underwriting and qualification ratios.

Closing Disclosure timing

Under TRID rules, the borrower must receive the Closing Disclosure at least three business days before loan consummation, allowing time to review final loan costs.

Maine transfer tax rate

Maine's real estate transfer tax is $2.20 per $1,000 of consideration, customarily paid half by the buyer and half by the seller and reported on a state declaration.

Comparative market analysis

A pricing opinion prepared by a real estate licensee from comparable sales and listings; it is not an appraisal and may not be presented as one.

Adjustment direction rule

When the comparable is superior to the subject, subtract value; when the comparable is inferior, add value, so every comparable is adjusted toward the subject property.

Gross rent multiplier

Sale price divided by gross rental income, used to compare income properties quickly; a lower multiplier indicates more rental income per dollar of purchase price.

Fair housing protected classes

Federal law bars discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, or disability; Maine law adds sexual orientation, gender identity, and receipt of public assistance.

Steering

Directing prospective buyers or tenants toward or away from particular neighborhoods based on protected characteristics rather than on their stated needs and qualifications.

Blockbusting

Inducing owners to sell by suggesting that members of a protected class are moving into the neighborhood, a practice prohibited by federal and Maine fair housing law.

Brokerage name in advertising

Maine rules require every advertisement by a licensee to identify the licensed brokerage; a sales agent may not advertise in a way implying independent brokerage status.

Shoreland zoning setback

Maine's Mandatory Shoreland Zoning Act generally requires structures to be set back at least 100 feet from the normal high-water line of great ponds, rivers, and coastal waters.

Shoreland clearing limit

Within Maine's 250-foot shoreland zone, no more than 40 percent of a lot may be cleared of vegetation, and a vegetated buffer must be preserved near the water.

Tree Growth tax program

A Maine current-use program that taxes enrolled forestland at its forest value instead of market value, requiring minimum acreage and an approved forest management plan.

Commingling

Mixing client or transaction funds with a licensee's personal or business funds; prohibited, because trust money must be held in a separate designated trust account.

Antitrust in brokerage

Competing brokers may not discuss or agree on commission rates or splits; each brokerage's fee is independently negotiated with its own client and is always negotiable.

Licensee personal interest disclosure

A licensee buying, selling, or leasing property for their own account, or for a relative or firm, must disclose that interest in writing to all parties.