January 1, 2025
– By The MAR Legal Team
Q: What is the listing agent’s responsibility regarding the removal of listing photos of a sold property?
A: The listing agent can ask the MLS to remove the interior photos of the home by removing the public display of the photos on the MLS.
While it is often difficult to capture every location the photos may appear, the MLS often feeds the property information, including photos, to a variety of sites and removing the public display may take care of the issue. The agent may also seek to provide the buyer with any contact information they may have for other sites where the photos are displayed.
Ultimately, however, it is the responsibility of the buyer as property owner to address any concerns about the continued publication of such images. They likely will be able to contact the consumer facing sites directly to remove the remaining images.
If you represent a buyer who is concerned about potential privacy issues if the photos remain online once the property closes, it may be best to address this issue prior to ownership by requesting the removal as a term of the offer.
Q: I have an active broker license in MA but have been in a different state for the past year. If I were to return to MA, do I need to affiliate with an agency to sell?
A: No. If you have a Massachusetts broker’s license in active status, you can work under your name and broker’s license; there is no obligation to affiliate with someone else.
If you do operate under your own license, you need to make sure you comply with all Professional Standards of Practice. This includes operating under the name on the license or filing the appropriate dba; advising the Board of your current address; following advertising rules and strictly adhering to escrow holding requirements (if you will be holding or receiving any client funds). While not requirement, you may also want to consider an E&O insurance policy.
Q: How do I properly disclose the abutting “paper street” and how it affects the property that I have listed?
A: The status of any “way” must be addressed individually, and this starts with reviewing the deed for the property to be listed. Any use and ownership stems from the rights in the creation and may still exist. This comes up more often than you might think if you are selling previously subdivided land.
In most cases, a “paper street” is one that was laid out in a plan but never constructed. Unless they were specifically laid out and accepted as a public way they were likely created when an owner of a large tract of land divided the land into lots and streets and then sold them off without ever retaining any ownership in the streets and without being adopted by the Town. The Derelict Fee Statute, G.L. c. 183, § 58 seeks to address this by providing that abutting lot owners would acquire title to the way, typically to the center line. Note, however, that unless the owner has gone through a long expensive process in the Land Court to remove the roadway purposes that land cannot be altered to prevent its use for travel.
Be careful not to broaden the scope of ownership when listing the property. Disclose what you know, share a copy of the deed or plan, and when ownership or access rights are in doubt, it may be best to suggest that your client hire an attorney to do a pre-listing title search.
See: https://malegislature.gov/Laws/GeneralLaws/PartII/TitleI/Chapter183/Section58 and
http://masscases.com/cases/app/24/24massappct968.html
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Services provided through the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® is intended for informational purposes and does not constitute legal advice, nor does it establish an attorney-client relationship. The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS®, by providing this service, assumes no actual or implied responsibility for any improper use of responses to questions through this service. The Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® will not be legally responsible for any potential misrepresentations or errors made by providing this service. For more information regarding these topics authorized callers should contact the MAR legal hotline at 800-370-5342 or e-mail at legal@marealtor.com.