Welcome to the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS
® (MAR) Government Affairs site. On this page you can read about Legislative and Regulatory issues and make a contribution to RPAC.
Contact MAR staff to obtain more information on any issue or to find out how you can help with MAR's Government Affairs initiatives.
Attend REALTOR® Day on Beacon Hill June 5th, 2013 at 9:30 am
MAR welcomes Martha Coakley, Massachusetts Attorney General to
REALTOR® Day on Beacon Hill. Re-elected to her second term as Attorney General in 2010, Coakley has advocated for consumers and taxpayers, and fighting for equality for all while in office. Under her leadership, her office recovered more than $440 million for Massachusetts homeowners and taxpayers and helped keep more than 15,000 people in their homes.
The Annual REALTOR® Day on Beacon Hill on June 5, 9:30 am at the Massachusetts State House in Boston is an annual event providing Realtors® with a terrific opportunity to meet with state legislators and relay your views on the issues affecting your business.
MAR works diligently on your behalf to eliminate efforts to over-regulate the real estate industry. Below are a few of the key issues on this year’s agenda that can be discussed with legislators at Day on Beacon Hill.
Click here for information about
2013 Legislative Agenda
Click here to read about
Boston's Proposed Condo Fines
Click here to read
MAR's 2012 Legislative Accomplishments
Click here for the
National Association of REALTORS® Legislative and Regulatory Year in Review
Please
login here to view MAR position papers and testimony submitted on specific issues.
REALTOR® Member Value has been demonstrated recently in government affairs. MAR members and professional staff are proud to have lobbied succesfully for these important issues:
| Defeat of energy scoring on homes |
$300 to $700 in fees per transaction |
| Defeat of local sign fees |
$25 per listing |
| Defeat of environmental disclosure |
$250 per transaction |
| Defeat of transfer taxes on home sales |
1 percent fee per transaction |
| Defeat of sales tax on services |
prevented 6.25% tax on all commisions |
| Defeat of proposed entrance of banks into real estate |
fair competition was preserved |
| Protection of federal morgage interest deduction |
approx. $3,000 per homeowner |
| Defeat of lead inspection mandate |
$250 per transaction |
| Protected affordable housing initiative 40B |
new listings from housing production |
| Defeat of Rent Control |
REALTORS® saved millions |
| Defeat of home rental tax |
protecting rental business for REALTORS® |
| Rewrite of Worcester Vacant Property Ordinance |
protected REALTORS® from $300 fines for code violations |
| Homebuyer Tax Credit |
resulted in increased transactions to revitalize the housing market |
Your REALTOR® dues also help to ensure your representation on legal issues affecting you and your clients. Recent successes include Quinlan v. Clasby, a case for which MAR filed an amicus
brief in support of a broker who succeeded in confirming a very important legal standard that has helped brokers defend themselves against innumerable Chapter 93A claims over the years.
MAR also filed amicus briefs in two related and very important real estate cases; Urman v. South Boston Savings Bank and Underwood v. Risman which reaffirmed that there is no liability under Chapter 93A for nondisclosure of defect unless the seller or broker has actual knowledge of the defect.
In the case of Kelly v. Marx, the SJC adopted the position advocated by the Massachusetts Association of REALTORS® in the amicus “friend of the court” brief. In its ruling, the SJC held that the reasonableness of a liquidated damages provision should be evaluated based upon the circumstances at the time the contract was made and that the “second look” doctrine advocated by the Appeals Court in its decision should be rejected.