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Danca Realty is offering a free Home Warranty of America Platinum Home Warranty on all single family listings. They cover the seller during the period of listing and the buyer for 13 months after the sale. To see what this will mean to you just click on the Home Warranty logo below.
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Listing Agreements and Agent Roles
Exclusive Listings
Often, a Seller and a REALTOR® choose to arrange an exclusive right to sell listing. Under an exclusive right to sell agreement, the listing broker is given the right to earn a fee for professional services if the property is sold by anyone, including to a buyer located solely through the efforts of the owner.
Listing Agent
A Listing Agent is engaged to help you sell your home. The Agent works with you to determine the asking price, make your home presentable for sale, inform you about laws and regulations such as fair housing requirements, septic regulations and lead paint laws. Any forms or disclosure documents required by law can be obtained through the listing agent. The listing agent is the seller's advocate during sale negotiations, presenting offers to the seller and counseling the seller about the qualifications of potential buyers.
Other Agent Roles
There are buyer's agents (exclusively), and disclosed dual agents, who represent both buyers and sellers, cooperating agents who are authorized by the seller to cooperate with agents from other firms to help sell the property. Any of these agents may provide information on financing and legal representation, and may accompany buyers to the home inspection, however, only the buyer's agent can assist in formal price negotiations on behalf of prospective home buyers.
Offer to Purchase
By law, real estate agents are required to present all offers to a seller. Once a seller receives an offer to purchase, he or she may counter offer, by accepting the offer with additional stipulations, including but not limited to a renegotiation in price. Buyers and sellers should be careful when making offers and counteroffers to ensure that they understand all the terms and conditions in the offer and any contingencies included therein. Common contingencies in an offer to purchase can include home inspection, financing approval and lead paint inspection.
Purchase and Sale Agreement
The seller's agent will assist in finalizing the terms of the sale between buyer and seller in the form of a written purchase and sale agreement. This agreement once signed is a binding contract to which the seller and buyer will be obligated.
Title 5
Massachusetts law requires that a property that is serviced by a septic system, cesspool or other private waste disposal system be inspected within two years before the sale or within six months after the sale (if weather conditions prevent a pre-sale inspection). Only licensed inspectors and soil evaluators may conduct such inspections. Should the system fail an inspection, the buyer and seller may negotiate who will pay to repair or replace the system, or if the agreement for sale contains a contingency the buyer may choose to withdraw. For more details: http://www.marealtor.com/content/title_5.htm
Smoke Detectors and Carbon Monoxide Detectors
Massachusetts state law requires that all residential structures be equipped with smoke detectors and carbon monoxide detectors, and it is the owner's obligation to receive a compliance certificate from the local fire department.
Fair Housing
The federal Fair Housing Act makes it illegal to deny or restrict a choice of housing to any person on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status (children), or national origin. Furthermore, state law prohibits practices that deny access to housing based on age, ancestry, marital status, sexual orientation, status as a veteran or member of a military service or recipient of public or rental assistance.
Lead Paint
The Commonwealth's lead paint statute requires lead abatement in residential dwellings built before 1978 when a child under the age of six resides on the property. Specifically, the law stipulates that property owners must remove or cover (encapsulate) dangerous levels of lead on surfaces measuring five feet from the floor or below. Property owners are required to disclose to homebuyers and tenants known information about the presence of lead-based paint and the hazards of lead paint prior to a sale or lease being executed.
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Selling a Home in Massachusetts
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Selling your home is an involved process that affects your family and your future. Before you begin this process, you'll want to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information. When should you sell? How do you get the best price? What kinds of renovations should be made prior to the sale?
These home selling reports will assist you in answering the many questions that arise during the home selling process. When you're armed with the right information, and an experienced real estate professional, you'll be closer to reaching your goal - selling your home fast, and for the best price.
If you have sold before and are willing to do some work to save a lot of money, go to our next page, to see if our new "Entry Only" service is right for you.
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Please contact me if you have any questions about selling your Massachusetts property.
Below, select desired reports and complete the form provided.
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New Law Affecting All Mass. Homeowners in Effect September 30, 2010
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By Stephen Ryan, Esq., MAR General Counsel The law regarding compliance rules for all Massachusetts homes heated with oil is designed to eliminate the oil leaks that have plagued numerous older homes in the commonwealth where a fuel line leaves the oil tank and is then buried in concrete and reappears at the burner. In some of the homes, the buried portion of the fuel line leaks, and this causes expensive environmental damage. In addition, the new law requires homeowner insurance companies to make available coverage, at an additional cost, for oil spills to all homes that are in compliance with the new rules. The law goes into effect on July 1, 2010. The following is from a recently released fact sheet from the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection. The Law
By September 30, 2010, homeowners must upgrade their home heating system equipment to prevent leaks from tanks and pipes that connect to the furnace. Making a relatively small expenditure now will prevent a much greater expense in the future. The new law (see Chapter 453 of the Acts of 2008: http://www.mass.gov/legis/laws/seslaw08/sl080453.htm) has two major provisions that require: the installation of either an oil safety valve or an oil supply line with protective sleeve on systems that do not currently have these devices; and insurance companies that write homeowner policies to offer coverage for leaks from heating systems that use oil. Most homeowner policies do not currently include such coverage, leaving many to pay for costly cleanups out of their own pockets. Although it is mandatory that insurance companies offer this coverage, the insurance is an optional purchase for homeowners. Who must take action?
Owners of one- to four unit residences that are heated with oil must already have or install an oil safety valve or an oil supply line with a protective sleeve, as shown in the diagram below. Installation of these devices must be performed by a licensed oil burner technician. Technicians are employed by companies that deliver home heating oil or are self-employed. It is important to note that heating oil systems installed on or after January 1, 1990 are most likely already in compliance because state fi re codes implemented these requirements on new installations at that time. Who is exempt?
Homeowners are exempt from taking these leak prevention steps if:
the oil burner is located above the oil storage tank and the entire oil supply line is connected to and above the top of the tank; or
an oil safety valve or oil supply line with protective sleeve was installed on or after January 1, 1990; and
those changes are in compliance with the oil burning equipment regulations; a copy of the oil burner permit from the local fire department may be used to demonstrate compliance. Why comply?
Not only is complying with the new law required, it makes good financial and environmental sense. Homeowners who take these preventive measures can avoid the disruption and expense that can be caused by heating oil leaks. A leak may result in exposure to petroleum vapors in your home. If the leak reaches the soil or groundwater beneath your house, then a cleanup must be performed to restore your property to state environmental standards. Leaks that affect another property or impact drinking water supply wells can complicate the cleanup and increase the expense. Each year, several hundred Massachusetts families experience some kind of leak. What will an upgrade cost?
The typical cost of installing either an oil safety valve or oil supply line with a protective sleeve ranges from $150 to $350 (including labor, parts, and local permit fees). What could it cost to clean up a leak?
The cleanup cost for a “simple” leak can be as much as $15,000. In cases where the leak impacts the groundwater or is more extensive, the cleanup costs can reach $250,000 or more. What kind of insurance is available?
To be eligible for the new insurance coverage, homeowners must ensure that their oil heating systems are in compliance with the new law. Homeowners who have been certified to be in compliance with (or exempt from) the leak prevention measures qualify to purchase insurance that:
provides “first party coverage” of at least $50,000 for the cost of cleaning up a leak to soil, indoor air, or other environmental media from a home heating system at the residence itself and reimbursement for personal property damage; and
provides “third-party coverage” of at least $200,000 for the cost of dealing with conditions on and off the insured’s property because the leak from this system has impacted or is likely to impact groundwater or someone else’s property. The coverage also includes costs incurred for legal defense, subject to a deductible not to exceed $1,000 per claim. What steps should be taken?
Determine whether you have had an oil safety valve or new oil supply line with protective sleeve installed since January 1,1990. If you have, your permit from the fire department for the installation can be used to document your compliance. You can request a copy from the fire department if the permit is on file, or a licensed oil burner technician can certify that status on a form.
If you do not have an oil safety valve or oil supply line with protective sleeve in place, have one or the other installed and certified. Either contact your oil delivery company to ask if it employs a licensed oil burner technician, or find a service person in your area. (A list of licensed technicians can be viewed at http://db.state.ma.us/dps/licenseelist.asp. Click on the “individuals” tab, scroll down to and then select “Oil Burner - Technical Certificate” in the “select a license type” box, type in your city or zip code, and click “select”).
Consider buying insurance coverage for the cleanup of a leak.
Determine whether your existing policy provides oil leak coverage.
If it does not, consider calling your homeowner insurance agent to amend the policy to include this coverage.
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