Q: What legal remedies does a landlord have when a tenant terminates their lease early? A: A lease is a legally enforceable contract between the landlord and tenant and a breach of a lease contract will have ramifications on the breaching party. A landlord cannot force a tenant to remain in the leased property, but a tenant who terminates a lease early may remain responsible for rental payments until a replacement tenant is secured by the landlord. The lease agreement should also be reviewed by the landlord with legal counsel to determine what the landlord may legally collect from the
Q. What steps can a brokerage take to ensure compliance with all Fair Housing laws? A. With April being Fair Housing month, it’s a good time to review office policies and procedures to ensure compliance with all applicable Fair Housing laws. Compliance with fair housing is not only a legal requirement under both federal and state laws, but it is also an ethical obligation under the REALTOR® Code of Ethics to not engage in discriminatory practices. The first line of defense against violating fair housing is knowledge of what each of the protected classes are and what they mean. The
Q: Are there any limitations on the types of transactions a real estate licensee may engage in? A: Once an individual is properly licensed as either a broker or a salesperson in Massachusetts, they are legally permitted to engage in any type of real estate transaction throughout the Commonwealth. Licensees, however, may be subject to discipline under 254 CMR 3.14(e) if they assume any duties or responsibilities that they are not adequately prepared to undertake or for which they have not achieved competency. Additionally, Article 11 of the REALTOR® Code of Ethics contains a similar requirement: REALTORS® shall not undertake
Q: Is a brokerage required to have an escrow account? A: A brokerage is only required to maintain an escrow account if they hold transaction funds. 254 CMR 3.10 requires that all money paid over to a real estate broker during the pendency of a transaction be immediately deposited in a bank escrow account, unless otherwise agreed to in writing by the parties. An escrow account is one in which the broker maintains the funds on behalf of the parties to the transaction, but has no claim to the funds. A broker holding such funds is obligated to maintain a
Q: Who has the legal obligation to remove snow and ice from a property? A: The State Sanitary Code requires owners to keep all means of egress free from obstruction, including snow and ice. Property owners owe a duty of reasonable care to visitors of the property and may be liable for injuries caused to a visitor due to the failure to remove snow and ice. This duty extends to landlords, who are responsible for maintaining all entrances and exits to the property in a safe, operable condition at all times. No lease provision may negate this responsibility. Only in
Q: Does a buyer whose offer was not accepted have the right to a written objection? A: No. Most offers are valid for a finite period of time, as specified in the offer itself. Once that time period has lapsed without an acceptance, the offer is no longer valid, acting as a de facto rejection by the seller. A buyer has the ability to request a formal written rejection, but the seller is under no legal obligation to provide this, and under the principles of contract law, a written rejection is unnecessary. In situations where there may be a concern
Q: If a transaction falls apart and there is a dispute over the release of escrow funds, can the seller place the property back on the market and go under contract with a new buyer? A: Maybe. It is a best practice to fully resolve any outstanding issues with the failed transaction prior to placing the property back on market and proceeding with a subsequent purchaser. Unfortunately, not all situations are able to be resolved in a timely manner. If this is the case, the seller should always be advised to consult with their legal counsel to determine whether they
Q: Can a brokerage operate as a designated agency on a per-transaction basis? A: No, because of the way agency relationships in real estate transactions work, the type of agency a brokerage practices must be consistent for all transactions. A brokerage may elect to transition from traditional agency to designated agency, or vice versa, as an office policy, but the type of agency practiced at any given time must be consistent amongst all transactions. A brokerage may not switch the agency it practices from one transaction to the next. In a “traditional agency” brokerage, each licensee in the office has
Q: The financing contingency date in the contract has passed and the buyer has not informed us of whether they received a commitment – is the deal dead? A: Not necessarily. The passing of any contingency date without an extension or notification of withdrawal by the buyer simply means that the contingency is no longer available to the buyer, but the deal may proceed. If the buyer has not obtained an extension and then is unable to obtain financing to purchase the property, the buyer may terminate the transaction, however, any deposit funds may be subject to forfeiture as liquidated
Q: Should a buyer’s agent be checking permits for their clients? A: No. A buyer’s agent’s job is to ensure that their client’s interests are best served throughout the transaction. While this may include advising the client regarding potential issues with outstanding permits or unpermitted work on the property, the agent should not be the one researching this issue. Our recommendation is that REALTORS® always be the source of the source. A buyer’s agent should be advising their clients to inquire about any work that was done on the property that may have required permits and assisting the client with