***Real Estate Class 2

**Estates and Title

Estates is about the quantity and duration of rights one has.
When two people hold an estate together it is called a "concurrent estate."
Tenancy in Common, Joint Tenancy, Tenancy by the Entirety
Fee Simple Defeasible Estates
-Step down from Fee Simple Absolute Estate
-Defeased means diminished
-If you violate the terms and conditions of use of the estate, the grantor has t
he right to take back the estate.
Fee Simple Determinable Estates
-Similar to Fee Simple Defeasible Estates except if you violate the terms, it au
tomatically reverts back to the grantor.
Life Estate
-An estate that lasts for life, but terminates upon the death of the grantee. Th
e person to inherit it when the grantee passes on, the "remainderman," is named
upon conveyance.
Remainder Estate
Dower and Curtesy
-Dower is wife and Courtesy is husband
-Relates to dowries
Tenancy in Common
-Heirs recieve shares
Joint Tenants
-If you die, you just disappear and the other tenants still own 100% together. H
owever, while alive, you can transfer your ownership. The new tenant will come i
n as a Tenant in Common, while the older members are treated as Joint Tenants. O
nce a joint tenancy comes down to two members, it automatically reverts to a ten
ancy in common.
Tenancy by the Entirety
-Basically a joint tenancy but for husbands and wives.
-The other member needs to agree if you want to transfer your interest.
Lien - A claim against property that secures payment of a debt
Municipal Taxes are the highest priority lien, followed by condo fees, and then
first mortgage, second mortgage, IRS, DoR, and finally all others in chronologic
al order.
If your property borders a river or stream, you own to the edge if it is navigab
le, and to the center if it is not. In addition, you only own the surface water,
the rest belonging to the public.
There is no precedence in zoning. It is all subjective. The zoning authority can
do whatever they think is fair and reasonable.
The attorney who works with the zoning board is a good friend to have because he

has the most influence over the zoning board's decisions.

Chapters 12, 13, 14, and 15 aren't that important, but Chapter 16 is very import
ant.
STUDYING TIP: Read question. Don't answer right away. Instead, find where in the
book the question is answered. Then answer it.
Try to study on a daily basis. Work at the same time, but don't overdo it.
Stop reading whenever you start to drift off, and think about and paraphrase wha
t you just read.
A week to 10 days after the class is over is the best time to take the exam. The
best place to take it is Woburn.
Prime directive of a real estate agent is to protect your client.
It's always a good idea to have 2 agents in a deal, one for the buyer and one fo
r the seller.
Understand ethics, consumer law, and consumer protection very thouroughly.
Don't study 24 hours before the exam.
Don't answer any questions at the beginning of the test if you're not sure of yo
ur answer. Let your brain wake up first and they'll get easier.
Any questions that you have NO IDEA what to answer, answer them all C. The only
exception is if you can eliminate C. The reason for C is that it is historically
the most common answer on standardized tests.
Identifying the Distractor - The answer that is close the the right answer but i
sn't it. Google "Identifying the Distractor on a Standardized Test."
**Condos
What's the difference between a co-op and a condo?
How do you calculate a condo fee?
A consumer protective component is important.
Learn about Chapter 183A in MA law.
A co-op is set up as a corporation, and is taxed as one, plus has its own mortga
ge. In a condo, every unit is unique and owners pay their own taxes.
In a co-op, unit buyers do not become unit owners.
Maintenance fee is the co-op equivalent to a condo fee, and they are typically m
uch more expensive due to also having to include mortgage payments and taxes.
There isn't really an advantage to a co-op (cooperative) over a condo. NYC, espe
cially the upper east side and the upper west side have lots of co-ops. They are
popular because rich people have a say in who can rent in the building with the
m. A condo board doesn't have the same rights.
Co-ops must be listed as condos in MLS, and can usually be distinguished by thei
r high maintenance fees, but even that can be difficult.

Andrea Doria episode of Seinfeld good example of co-op board meeting.

Right of First Refusal Provision
If a real estate agent is involved in a transaction, all fair housing law applie
s and no exemptions apply.
Learn differences between Federal and MA Fair Housing Law. For example, in feder
al law, you can never discriminate based on race or ethnicity.
When working with condos, make sure you get ALL the documents, not just the ones
that are easy offered.
Most small condo associations are not very well run.
Don't buy into a condo association in which you are the poorest member. Renovati
ons can be extremely expensive for you compared to the other members.
**Apartments
Go into apartment sales, not rentals.
Lessor (Gives right of possession and use of apartment to tenant)
Tenant)

Lessee (

Grantor (Grants title to a new owner by use of a deed)

(New owner and buyer of property)

Grantee

Offeror (Buyer)
Offeree (Seller)
Mortgagor (Borrower)
Mortgagee (Bank)
3 Core Components of a Contract
-Offer
-Acceptance
-Consideration
-Consent
Consent is acknowledgement that neither party is acting under duress.
In MA, if a lease is for more than a year, it must be in writing and signed by t
he landlord and the tenant in order to be enforceable.
Fixed term leases make it easier to remove tenants in the condition of nonpaymen
t of rent. This can make it easier to convert apartments to condos.
A 100-year lease gives rights in fee simple (ownership). This is why 99-year lea
ses are used, often for large commercial properties.
A lease of 7 years or longer is treated similarly to a deed (a sale). They must
be asknowledged and recorded in the registry, and are often avoided. 5-year incr
ements are a common alternative.
Assignment vs. Sublease
Sale-Leaseback Specialist (Good niche to get into as a real estate agent), can p
ull money out of property without losing businesses (Dunkin' Donuts) on it plus

give you a huge tax writeoff.

Quitclaim Deed - Previous owner has liability for anything bad that happened to
the title during their period of ownership. It does NOT cover title problems tha
t happened during a previous period of ownership. An unbroken chain of liability
is created among the previous owners. (Goldilocks Deed - Just right - Almost al
ways used)
Warrantee Deed and Special Warrantee Deed are options to avoid liability for dam
ages to title from long-ago owners. Previous owner assumes liability for title s
ince the beginning.
At every conveyance title must be perfect beyond a reasonable doubt.
Arms-Length vs. Not Arms-Length real estate transactions
-Arms-Length is with strangers
-Not Arms-Length is with friends or relatives, and doesn't require much consider
ation.
PNS contains everything that isn't in the deed, which is a simple piece of paper
.