Real Estate Massachusetts-Real-Estate-Salesperson Online Access

Massachusetts real estate law (M.G.L. c.112 §87RR) and IRS guidelines distinguish between independent contractors and employees based on supervision, pay structure, and benefits.

Licensee A: Works on commission, covers own business expenses, sets flexible work hours, and is paid according to production. This is the hallmark of an independent contractor relationship.

Licensee B: Works fixed hours (8–4), is paid by salary with possible bonuses, and has employer-like supervision. This structure makes Licensee B an employee of ABC Realty.

Thus, the correct classification is: A is a contractor; B is an employee.

The correct answer is B, Remainder interest. A life estate gives one person—the life tenant—a present possessory interest measured by a human life. When that life estate terminates, the future ownership can pass either back to the person who originally created the life estate or to another designated party.

If the property returns to the original grantor, the future interest is called a reversion. When the instrument instead names a third party who will receive the estate after the life tenant ' s death, that third party holds a remainder interest.

This distinction is explicitly reflected in the current Massachusetts salesperson examination bulletin. Its sample questions identify a remainder estate as the interest held by a person who receives property following the death of the person granted lifetime use.

The remainderman has a future interest while the life tenant is alive and must generally wait until termination of the life estate to obtain possession.

Study Guide Reference: Property Ownership — Life Estates, Remainders and Reversions.

When real estate taxes are paid in advance, the seller has already paid for a period extending beyond the closing date. Since the buyer will benefit from part of that prepaid period, the buyer must reimburse the seller for the portion after closing.

In the closing statement, this appears as:

Credit to Buyer (because the buyer is receiving benefit from prepaid taxes).

Debit to Seller (because the seller has already advanced the payment).

This ensures fairness so that each party pays taxes only for the time they own the property.

The correct answer is C, Steering. Steering occurs when a real estate professional directs prospective purchasers or renters toward or away from particular properties or neighborhoods because of a protected characteristic.

Religion is a protected class under both federal fair-housing law and Massachusetts law. Richard therefore cannot decide which neighborhoods are appropriate for a Muslim family based on the religious composition or perceived attitudes of those neighborhoods.

A licensee should instead respond to objective housing criteria supplied by the client: price, property size, number of bedrooms, transportation access, commute, amenities, location requested by the client, and other lawful preferences.

Redlining traditionally involves discriminatory lending, insurance, or service decisions based on geography or protected-class composition. Blockbusting involves inducing owners to sell by creating fear concerning the entry of protected groups into a neighborhood.

Steering can occur even when an agent claims to be “protecting” the buyer. The professional ' s motive does not make religious segregation lawful.

Study Guide Reference: Practice of Real Estate — Federal and Massachusetts Fair Housing; Steering and Religious Discrimination.