Massachusetts Real Estate Salesperson Exam — All Questions

Massachusetts is generally considered a 'buyer beware' (caveat emptor) state, but sellers and agents must still:

• a.Provide a state-mandated seller disclosure form for every sale
• b.Guarantee the home is free of all defects
• c.Disclose known material defects they are aware of✓
• d.Pay for the buyer's home inspection

Unlike many states, Massachusetts does not require a standardized statewide seller disclosure form; it follows caveat emptor. However, sellers and agents may not misrepresent the property and must disclose known material defects, and lead-paint disclosure is required for older homes.

Under the Massachusetts Lead Law, special obligations arise when a child under age 6 resides in a home built before 1978. The law primarily requires owners to:

• a.Ignore the paint if it looks intact
• b.Demolish the home
• c.Refuse to rent to families with children
• d.Address lead paint hazards, such as by removing or covering them✓

The Massachusetts Lead Law requires the removal or covering of lead paint hazards in homes built before 1978 where a child under six lives, to prevent lead poisoning. Refusing to rent to families with children would itself violate fair housing law.

Unless the parties agree otherwise in writing, money paid to a Massachusetts broker to hold during a pending transaction must be:

• a.Deposited within five business days
• b.Held in the broker's office safe until the closing
• c.Turned over at once to the seller's closing attorney
• d.Immediately deposited in a bank escrow account✓

254 CMR 3.00(10)(a) requires that, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the parties, all money of whatever kind paid over to a broker to hold during a pending transaction be immediately deposited in a bank escrow account, with the broker responsible for it until the deal is consummated or terminated. Cite: 254 CMR 3.00(10)(a).

A Massachusetts broker decides he would like to buy a property his own firm has listed. Under 254 CMR 3.00 he must first:

• a.Disclose his interest in writing to all parties✓
• b.Resign the listing before submitting any offer of his own
• c.Pay the seller the full commission at the closing
• d.Have the seller's own attorney approve the purchase price

254 CMR 3.00(11)(a) bars a broker or salesperson from buying, selling, renting or acquiring an interest in real property in which the licensee or his kin has a personal financial interest unless he fully discloses the nature of that interest in writing to all parties to the transaction and the parties give written acknowledgment of the disclosure. 254 CMR 3.00(11)(b) applies a parallel rule to taking an option. Cite: 254 CMR 3.00(11).

Under 254 CMR 3.00, a Massachusetts salesperson who wants to advertise one of the firm's listings:

• a.May advertise in her own name if she pays for the ad
• b.May advertise only in publications the Board approves
• c.May not advertise real property under her own name✓
• d.May advertise in her own name with the seller's consent

254 CMR 3.00(9)(b) provides that salespeople are prohibited from advertising the purchase, sale, rental or exchange of any real property under their own name. Advertising is the broker's function, and 254 CMR 3.00(9)(a) requires every advertisement to carry the name of the real estate broker. Cite: 254 CMR 3.00(9).

254 CMR 3.00 forbids a Massachusetts broker to run a property advertisement that:

• a.Omits the year in which the dwelling was first constructed
• b.States an asking price without the property's square footage
• c.Gives only a box number or phone number and no broker name✓
• d.Runs in a publication circulated outside the commonwealth

254 CMR 3.00(9)(a) bars a broker from advertising real property unless he affirmatively discloses that he is a real estate broker, bars insertions where only a post office box, telephone, facsimile, electronic mail number or street address appears, and requires all advertisements to include the name of the real estate broker. The other three facts are not required in an advertisement. Cite: 254 CMR 3.00(9)(a).

A Massachusetts buyer asks her salesperson whether she really needs a lawyer for a straightforward closing. Under 254 CMR 3.00 the salesperson:

• a.May not advise against the use of an attorney✓
• b.May say a lawyer is unnecessary in a routine sale
• c.Must recommend an attorney from the Board's own list
• d.Must decline to discuss the closing

254 CMR 3.00(12) states that no broker or salesperson shall advise against the use of an attorney in any real property transaction. The rule forbids steering the consumer away from counsel; it does not require the licensee to name a particular lawyer, and the Board publishes no list of attorneys. Cite: 254 CMR 3.00(12).

A Massachusetts listing broker receives an offer he considers insultingly low. Under 254 CMR 3.00 he must:

• a.Advise the buyer to withdraw it before presenting it
• b.Present it only if the buyer agrees to raise the price
• c.Hold it until a stronger offer arrives for comparison
• d.Convey the offer to the property owner forthwith✓

254 CMR 3.00(11)(d) requires that all offers submitted to brokers or salespeople to purchase or rent real property they have a right to sell or rent be conveyed forthwith to the owner. The owner, not the licensee, decides what an offer is worth. Cite: 254 CMR 3.00(11)(d).

At the signing of the first written contract to purchase a Massachusetts home, the licensee must give the buyer:

• a.A list of mortgage lenders approved by the Board
• b.A completed seller property condition report
• c.A written estimate of the buyer's closing costs
• d.A brochure explaining the home inspection process✓

M.G.L. c. 112, Section 87YY1/2 requires brokers and salespersons — or the seller where no licensee is involved — to distribute at the signing of the first written contract to purchase a home inspection brochure published by the Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation. Massachusetts requires no statewide seller condition report. Cite: M.G.L. c. 112, Section 87YY1/2.

A Massachusetts buyer asks his salesperson which home inspector to hire. Generally the salesperson may:

• a.Provide the Board's complete list of licensed inspectors✓
• b.Name the inspector the firm has used most often
• c.Name any inspector who carries liability insurance
• d.Name three inspectors and let the buyer compare their fees

M.G.L. c. 112, Section 87YY1/2 bars a licensee from directly recommending a specific home inspection company or inspector, but permits providing, on request, the complete list of licensed home inspectors prepared by the board. The prohibition does not apply where a written agreement or written agency disclosure establishes that the licensee acts exclusively as the buyer's broker. Cite: M.G.L. c. 112, Section 87YY1/2.

Massachusetts requires the lead hazard notification form and materials to reach a prospective purchaser:

• a.Before the purchase and sale agreement is signed✓
• b.Within ten days after the seller accepts the offer
• c.At the closing, with the deed and the payoff figures
• d.Only if the buyer asks about lead

M.G.L. c. 111, Section 197A(b) requires all persons selling premises to provide the standard notification form and materials to the prospective purchaser prior to the signing of a purchase and sale agreement, and requires the seller and any real estate agent involved to disclose known information about lead in the premises. Failure can cost damages plus a penalty up to $1,000. Cite: M.G.L. c. 111, Section 197A.

A Massachusetts home containing dangerous levels of lead paint changes hands, and a child under six will live there. The new owner has how long to abate or contain it?

• a.30 days
• b.90 days✓
• c.six months
• d.one year

M.G.L. c. 111, Section 197(a) gives the new owner 90 days from the change of ownership to contain or abate the lead paint, plaster or other accessible structural material so the premises comply with Sections 189A to 199B. The underlying duty attaches whenever a child under six resides in premises with dangerous levels of lead. Cite: M.G.L. c. 111, Section 197(a).

A Massachusetts landlord instructs his broker not to show the units to anyone paying with a housing voucher. That instruction is:

• a.Lawful where the building contains three dwelling units or fewer
• b.Unlawful discrimination against a rental subsidy recipient✓
• c.Lawful, since voucher holders are not a protected class
• d.Lawful until the landlord signs a listing agreement

M.G.L. c. 151B, Section 4(10) makes it unlawful for any person furnishing rental accommodations to discriminate against a recipient of federal, state or local public assistance or housing subsidies, including rental assistance, because of that status or because of any requirement of the subsidy program. This is a Massachusetts protected class with no counterpart in the federal Fair Housing Act. Cite: M.G.L. c. 151B, Section 4(10).

Outside Barnstable County, the Massachusetts deeds excise rate published by the Department of Revenue is:

• a.$1.14 per $500
• b.$2.28 per $500✓
• c.$3.42 per $500
• d.$4.56 per $500

The Department of Revenue's Massachusetts Tax Rates table lists the deeds excise at $2.28 per $500 of the sales price less any mortgage assumed, which works out to $4.56 per $1,000. M.G.L. c. 64D, Section 1 sets a lower rate of $1.50 per $500 for Barnstable County. Cite: mass.gov, Massachusetts Tax Rates; M.G.L. c. 64D, Section 1.