Massachusetts Agency
Practice Questions & Answers (2026)

Agency law is one of the most tested subjects on the Massachusetts real estate exam, and it's also one of the most misunderstood. The Massachusetts Board of Registration of Real Estate Brokers and Salespersons expects licensees to understand the legal duties owed to clients vs. customers, and the specific timing of required disclosures under Massachusetts law. Study these questions carefully — candidates who rely on national agency frameworks and don't account for MA-specific rules are among the most common failures on the state portion.

Practice Questions

Massachusetts Agency — Practice Questions & Answers

123 questions on Agency from the Massachusetts real estate question bank. First 10 are free — sign up to unlock all 123.

Q1. Massachusetts law requires buyer agents to provide buyers with a written agency disclosure:

A.Only at closing
B.Before the buyer makes an offer
C.At the first substantive contact
D.Only when a buyer signs a purchase agreement

Explanation

Massachusetts mandates that licensees provide the 'Massachusetts Mandatory Licensee-Consumer Relationship Disclosure' at the time of first substantive contact with a prospective buyer or seller.

Q2. In Massachusetts, 'mandatory buyer agency' means that:

A.All buyers must hire a buyer's agent
B.Agents showing a property to a buyer must represent that buyer unless disclosed otherwise
C.Dual agency is prohibited in Massachusetts
D.Sellers must pay buyer agent commissions

Explanation

Massachusetts mandatory buyer agency law presumes the agent working with a buyer represents the buyer unless the parties agree otherwise and the proper disclosures are made.

Q3. A seller's agent in Massachusetts owes which fiduciary duty to the seller?

A.Obedience only
B.Loyalty, confidentiality, disclosure, obedience, reasonable care, and accounting
C.Disclosure of all material facts to all parties
D.Duty to find the highest possible offer regardless of seller's terms

Explanation

A seller's agent owes the full set of fiduciary duties to the client: loyalty, confidentiality, disclosure, obedience, reasonable care, and accounting (OLD CAR).

Q4. Under Massachusetts agency law, a designated agency arrangement allows:

A.One agent to represent both buyer and seller without disclosure
B.A broker to designate different agents within the same firm to represent buyer and seller separately
C.An agent to represent multiple buyers on the same property
D.A salesperson to act as the principal broker

Explanation

Designated agency allows a broker to appoint one licensee to represent the buyer and another to represent the seller within the same brokerage, reducing conflicts inherent in traditional dual agency.

Q5. Which of the following best describes a facilitator (transaction broker) under Massachusetts law?

A.An agent who represents both buyer and seller equally
B.A neutral party who assists both parties without representing either
C.An agent designated by the broker to represent the seller
D.A buyer's agent who also handles escrow

Explanation

A facilitator or transaction broker in Massachusetts is a neutral party who assists both the buyer and seller in completing the transaction without representing either party as a fiduciary.

Q6. An agent who has a buyer client and learns of a seller's financial distress that would motivate a lower price MUST:

A.Disclose the information to the seller's agent
B.Keep the information confidential and use it to benefit the buyer client
C.Refuse to continue the transaction
D.Report the information to the Board of Registration

Explanation

A buyer's agent owes undivided loyalty to the buyer client and must use all available information, including the seller's motivation, to benefit the buyer — while keeping that information confidential from the seller.

Q7. Under Massachusetts law, a buyer's agent owes the buyer the duty of:

A.Minimum effort to find a suitable property
B.Reasonable skill, care, and undivided loyalty
C.Disclosing the seller's confidential information
D.Dual representation without consent

Explanation

A buyer's agent owes the buyer full fiduciary duties including reasonable skill and care, undivided loyalty, confidentiality, obedience, disclosure, and accounting.

Q8. The Massachusetts Mandatory Licensee-Consumer Relationship Disclosure form must be provided:

A.Only to buyers, not sellers
B.At the first substantive contact with a prospective buyer or seller
C.Only when a written representation agreement is signed
D.At the closing table

Explanation

Massachusetts law requires the disclosure of agency relationships at the time of first substantive contact — the first meeting where real estate needs and financial qualifications are discussed.

Q9. Dual agency in Massachusetts requires:

A.No disclosure if both parties are sophisticated
B.Informed written consent from both buyer and seller
C.Approval from the Board of Registration
D.A court order permitting the dual representation

Explanation

Dual agency — representing both buyer and seller in the same transaction — is legal in Massachusetts only with the informed written consent of both parties.

Q10. An agent who represents the seller but works directly with an unrepresented buyer is acting as a:

A.Buyer's agent
B.Seller's subagent
C.Facilitator
D.Designated agent

Explanation

When an agent representing the seller assists an unrepresented buyer, they are acting as the seller's agent (or subagent). The buyer is a customer, not a client, and the agent's loyalty remains with the seller.

Q11. In a designated agency arrangement, the designated buyer's agent owes loyalty to:

A.The supervising broker
B.Both the buyer and the seller equally
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