Ohio Real Estate Salesperson

Joint tenancy includes the right of survivorship so a deceased owner's interest passes automatically to surviving co-owners, while tenancy in common has no survivorship right and each owner's interest passes to their heirs; tenancy in common also allows unequal ownership shares.

An easement appurtenant benefits a specific parcel of land (dominant estate) and runs with the land, while an easement in gross benefits a specific person or entity (such as a utility company) and has no dominant estate.

A general warranty deed warrants title against all defects throughout the entire chain of title, while a special warranty deed only warrants against defects that arose during the grantor's period of ownership.

An owner's policy protects the buyer's equity interest up to the purchase price, while a lender's (mortgagee) policy protects the lender's security interest only up to the outstanding loan balance and terminates when the loan is paid off.

A bilateral contract involves mutual promises from both parties (promise for a promise), while a unilateral contract involves a promise from one party that can only be accepted through actual performance by the other party.

Under an exclusive agency listing the seller retains the right to sell the property themselves without paying a commission, while under an exclusive right to sell the broker earns a commission regardless of who procures the buyer.

A client has a fiduciary (agency) relationship with the broker and is owed full fiduciary duties (loyalty, obedience, disclosure, confidentiality, accounting, and reasonable care), while a customer is owed only honesty, fair dealing, and disclosure of material facts.

A promissory note is the borrower's written promise to repay the debt (evidence of the debt), while a deed of trust is the security instrument that gives the lender a lien on the property as collateral for that debt.

A CMA is an opinion-of-value tool prepared by a real estate agent, while a formal appraisal must be performed by a licensed or certified appraiser following USPAP standards and is required for most federally related loans.

A fixed-rate mortgage maintains the same interest rate for the life of the loan, while an ARM has an interest rate that can fluctuate during the loan term based on market conditions.

An addendum adds terms or conditions to a contract before it is fully executed (signed by all parties), while an amendment modifies an already-signed contract after execution.

A nonexclusive agency agreement (ORC 4735.01(JJ)) allows the client to simultaneously obtain services from other brokers or brokerage firms, while an exclusive agency agreement grants one broker the sole right to represent the client, though the seller may still sell on their own without paying commission.