Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws > Chapter 5-20.6 - Relationships in Residential Real Estate Transactions

• Advice and consent: Under the Constitution, presidential nominations for executive and judicial posts take effect only when confirmed by the Senate, and international treaties become effective only when the Senate approves them by a two-thirds vote.
• Affiliated licensee: means a licensed real estate salesperson or real estate broker as defined in §?5-20. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Bequest: Property gifted by will.
• Brokerage: means a principal broker as defined in §?5-20. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• Buyer: means a person who acquires or seeks to acquire an ownership interest in real estate. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• Client: means a buyer, seller, tenant, or landlord who has agreed to representation by a licensee in a real estate transaction, evidenced by an executed, mandatory relationship disclosure, to whom a licensee owes the duties set forth in §?5-20. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Confidential information: means the following information:

  (i)  A buyer's or tenant's willingness to pay more than the offered price;

  (ii)  A seller's or landlord's willingness to accept less than the asking price;

  (iii)  A buyer's or tenant's previous offers made to purchase or lease real estate;

  (iv)  A seller's or landlord's previous offers received to purchase or lease real estate;

  (v)  Any parties' motivating factors;

  (vi)  Any parties' willingness to agree to other financing terms;

  (vii)  Any facts or suspicions regarding circumstances, other than known, material defects of a property that a licensee must in all cases disclose, that may psychologically impact or stigmatize any real estate; or

  (viii)  Any information about a party's assets, liabilities, income, or expenses. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2

• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Customer: means a buyer, seller, tenant, or landlord who has agreed to certain assistance by a licensee in a real estate transaction, evidenced by an executed, mandatory relationship disclosure, to whom a licensee owes the duties set forth in §?5-20. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Designated client representative: means an affiliated licensee appointed by the principal broker or his or her designee to represent a buyer, seller, tenant, or landlord in a real estate transaction. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• Designee: means an associate broker as defined in §?5-20. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Director: means the director of business regulation for the state. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Dual facilitator: means a single licensee who, with the prior written consent of both parties, assists a seller client and a buyer client in the same transaction subject to the limitations set forth in §?5-20. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• Employee: includes an employee of a covered employer who has been employed by the same employer for at least twelve (12) months, and has been employed from at least one thousand two hundred fifty (1,250) hours of service during a twelve-month (12) period immediately preceding the commencement of leave. See Rhode Island General Laws 30-33-2
• Employee benefits: means all benefits, other than salary or wages, provided or made available to employees by an employer and includes group life insurance, health insurance, disability insurance, and pensions, regardless of whether benefits are provided by a policy or practice of an employer. See Rhode Island General Laws 30-33-2
• Employer: means any person, partnership, corporation, association, other business entities, the state of Rhode Island, Rhode Island municipalities, and other units of local government. See Rhode Island General Laws 30-33-2
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Family military leave: means leave requested by an employee who is the spouse or parent of a person called to military service lasting longer than thirty (30) days with the state of Rhode Island or the United States pursuant to the orders of the governor of Rhode Island or the President of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 30-33-2
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• in writing: include printing, engraving, lithographing, and photo-lithographing, and all other representations of words in letters of the usual form. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-16
• Indemnification: In general, a collateral contract or assurance under which one person agrees to secure another person against either anticipated financial losses or potential adverse legal consequences. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Inter vivos: Transfer of property from one living person to another living person.
• Joint committee: Committees including membership from both houses of teh legislature. Joint committees are usually established with narrow jurisdictions and normally lack authority to report legislation.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Landlord: means a person who leases or attempts to lease his or her ownership interest in real estate to another person. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• Lease: means an express written or oral contract between a landlord and tenant for the use or occupancy by the tenant of real estate that is owned by another person. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Licensee: means an individual licensed by the director as a real estate broker or real estate salesperson pursuant to chapter 20. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
• Mandatory relationship disclosure: means a form that describes the relationship between a consumer and a principal broker and his or her affiliated licensees that meets the requirements of §?5-20. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• Ministerial acts: means acts of an administrative nature that licensees perform for client or customers, including, but not limited to, showing property; preparing offers or agreements to sell, purchase, exchange, rent, or lease; conveying offers or agreements to the parties; and providing information and assistance. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• Minority leader: See Floor Leaders
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgagee: The person to whom property is mortgaged and who has loaned the money.
• national security infrastructure: means the land, buildings, equipment or other forms of infrastructure that are principally and predominantly used to support and advance the national security of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 30-32-3
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• person: may be construed to extend to and include co-partnerships and bodies corporate and politic. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-6
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Principal broker: means a real estate broker licensed by the director who is designated by the brokerage to be responsible for the supervision and activities of his or her affiliated licensees in accordance with this chapter and chapter 20. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• Prosecute: To charge someone with a crime. A prosecutor tries a criminal case on behalf of the government.
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real estate: refers to vacant land on which a building is intended to be constructed for use as one or two (2) residential dwellings or land with physical improvements consisting of a house and/or structure comprised of four (4) or fewer residential units. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• real estate: may be construed to include lands, tenements, and hereditaments and rights thereto and interests therein. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-10
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Sales agreement: means an express written contract signed by the buyer and seller for the purchase and sale of the real estate. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• Seller: means a person who sells or attempts to sell an ownership interest in real estate to another person. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Tenant: means a person who acquired or seeks to acquire an interest in real estate that entitles him or her to occupy or use a property that is owned by another person. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• town: may be construed to include city; the words "town council" include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
• town council: include city council; the words "town clerk" include city clerk; the words "ward clerk" include clerk of election district; the words "town treasurer" include city treasurer; and the words "town sergeant" include city sergeant. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-9
• Transaction coordinator: means a principal broker or his or her designee who supervises a real estate transaction in a capacity in which one affiliated licensee represents a buyer or tenant as a designated client representative and another affiliated licensee represents a seller or landlord as a designated client representative in the same transaction. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• Transaction facilitator: means a licensee who provides assistance to a buyer, seller, tenant, or landlord, or both, in a real estate transaction. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-20.6-2
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• United States: include the several states and the territories of the United States. See Rhode Island General Laws 43-3-8