Free Maryland-Real-Estate-Salesperson Real Estate Updates

Escheat is the government’s power to take title to property when someone dies intestate (without a will) and no heirs or creditors can be found. This differs from eminent domain (the government’s power to take private property for public use with just compensation) and from a taking (the act under eminent domain). A life estate is a private freehold interest measured by a person’s lifetime, not a government power. These core definitions are covered in the Real Property and the Law module.

Under Maryland agency law, a real estate licensee represents a client—the party with whom the licensee has an express, written brokerage agreement. A customer is an unrepresented party who may receive ministerial acts and required disclosures but is not owed fiduciary duties of representation. Who pays compensation does not determine representation; the written agreement does.

The Maryland pre-licensing course explains that the Maryland Real Estate Guaranty Fund is designed to compensate members of the public who suffer actual financial loss due to certain acts or omissions of Maryland licensees in the provision of real estate brokerage services. Claims must be based on verifiable monetary damages; non-economic harms such as embarrassment, inconvenience, or pain and suffering are not compensable under the Fund. The course also outlines claimant eligibility and procedural requirements established in Title 17 (Real Estate Brokers) of the Maryland Business Occupations and Professions Article.

Maryland law establishes that the Maryland Real Estate Commission has nine members: five must be licensed real estate professionals (one from each of Maryland’s five geographic regions) and four must be consumer members who are not engaged in the real estate business. This composition ensures both industry expertise and public representation. The pre-licensing course presents this under Maryland License Law and MREC structure, aligning with the Maryland Business Occupations and Professions Article, Title 17 (§17-202).