Government Affairs
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Government Affairs
 
Welcome to the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® (MAR) Government Affairs webpage. On this page you can read about Legislative and Regulatory issues, make a contribution to RPAC, and visit the MAR and NAR Legislative Action centers.  Contact MAR staff to obtain more information on any issue or to find out how you can help with MAR's Government Affairs initiatives.  

 Click here for the electronic version of MAR's 2011-12 Legislative Priorities.


Please login here to view MAR position papers and testimony submitted on specific issues. 
 
REALTOR® Member Value has been demonstrated recently in government affairs.  MAR members and professional staff are proud to have lobbied succesfully for these important issues:
 
Defeat of energy scoring on homes                                        $300 to $700 in fees per transaction
Defeat of local sign fees   $25 per listing
Defeat of environmental disclosure      $250 per transaction
Defeat of transfer taxes on home sales       1 percent fee per transaction
Defeat of sales tax on services      prevented 6.25% tax on all commisions
Defeat of proposed entrance of banks into real estate   fair competition was preserved
Protection of federal morgage interest deduction  approx. $3,000 per homeowner
Defeat of lead inspection mandate  $250 per transaction
Protected affordable housing initiative 40B new listings from housing production
Defeat of Rent Control  REALTORS® saved millions
Defeat of home rental tax  protecting rental business for REALTORS®
Rewrite of Worcester Vacant Property Ordinance                  protected REALTORS® from $300 fines for code violations
Homebuyer Tax Credit    resulted in increased transactions to revitalize the housing market
 
The complete list of MAR's 2009 legislative victories is available right here.
  
Your REALTOR® dues also help to ensure your representation on legal issues affecting you and your clients.  Recent successes include Quinlan v. Clasby, a case for which MAR filed an amicus
brief in support of a broker who succeeded in confirming a very important legal standard that has helped brokers defend themselves against innumerable Chapter 93A claims over the years. 
 
MAR also filed amicus briefs in two related and very important real estate cases; Urman v. South Boston Savings Bank and Underwood v. Risman which reaffirmed that there is no liability under Chapter 93A for nondisclosure of defect unless the seller or broker has actual knowledge of the defect.
 
In the case of Kelly v. Marx, the SJC adopted the position advocated by the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® in the amicus “friend of the court” brief. In its ruling, the SJC held that the reasonableness of a liquidated damages provision should be evaluated based upon the circumstances at the time the contract was made and that the “second look” doctrine advocated by the Appeals Court in its decision should be rejected.


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Documents in PDF format will require Adobe Acrobat Reader to view.
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