Chapter Definitions

  1. Law
  2. Tennessee Code
  3. Professions, Businesses and Trades
  4. Tennessee Real Estate Broker License Act of 1973
  5. General Provisions
  6. Chapter Definitions

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As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:

  1. “Acquisition agent” means a person who by means of personal inducement, solicitation, or otherwise attempts directly to encourage any person to attend a sales presentation for a time-share program; provided, however, that “acquisition agent” shall not include any person or that person's employee who engages in any such activity solely on real property owned or leased by the person on or within the premises of a hotel, motel, private resort or lodging rental office or phone or mail solicitation business;
  2. “Adverse facts” means conditions or occurrences generally recognized by competent licensees that have negative impact on the value of the real estate, significantly reduce the structural integrity of improvements to real property or present a significant health risk to occupants of the property;
  3. “Affiliate broker” means any person engaged under contract by or on behalf of a licensed broker to participate in any activity included in subdivision (4);
    1. “Broker” means any person who, for a fee, commission, finders fee or any other valuable consideration or with the intent or expectation of receiving a fee, commission, finders fee or any other valuable consideration from another, solicits, negotiates or attempts to solicit or negotiate the listing, sale, purchase, exchange, lease or option to buy, sell, rent or exchange for any real estate or of the improvements on the real estate or any time-share interval as defined in the Tennessee Time-Share Act, compiled in title 66, chapter 32, part 1, collects rents or attempts to collect rents, auctions or offers to auction or who advertises or holds out as engaged in any of the foregoing;
    2. “Broker” also includes any person employed by or on behalf of the owner or owners of lots or other parcels of real estate, at a salary, fee, commission or any other valuable consideration, to sell the real estate or any part of the real estate, in lots or parcels or other disposition of the real estate. It also includes any person who engages in the business of charging an advance fee or contracting for collection of a fee in connection with any contract whereby the person undertakes primarily to promote the sale of real estate either through its listing in a publication issued primarily for that purpose or for referral of information concerning the real estate to brokers, or both;
  5. “Client” means a party to a transaction with whom the broker has entered into a specific written agency agreement to provide services;
  6. “Customer” means any party, other than a client in a transaction, for whom or to whom a licensee provides services;
  7. “Designated agent” refers to a licensee who has been chosen by the licensee's managing broker to serve as the agent of an actual or prospective party to a transaction, to the exclusion of other licensees employed by or affiliated with the broker;
  8. “Dual agency” refers to a situation in which the licensee has agreements to provide services as an agent to more than one (1) party in a specific transaction and in which the interests of the parties are adverse;
  9. “Facilitator” means any licensee:
    1. Who assists one (1) or more parties to a transaction who has not entered into a specific written agency agreement representing one (1) or more of the parties; or
    2. Whose specific written agency agreement provides that if the licensee or someone associated with the licensee also represents another party to the same transaction, the licensee shall be deemed to be a facilitator and not a dual agent; provided, that notice of assumption of facilitator status is provided to the buyer and seller immediately upon the assumption of facilitator status, to be confirmed in writing prior to execution of the contract. A facilitator may advise either or both of the parties to a transaction but cannot be considered a representative or advocate of either party. “Transaction broker” may be used synonymously with, or in lieu of, “facilitator” as used in any disclosures, forms or agreements under this chapter;
  10. “Limited agency” means an agency relationship created for the purpose of providing real estate services in which the client's or other party's liability for the actions or statements of an agent, subagent or facilitator is limited to actions or statements initiated by specific instruction of the client or other party or those actions or statements about which the client or other party had knowledge;
  11. “Material” means any statement, representation or fact relative to a transaction that would affect a reasonable person's decision to enter into an agreement and that has been identified by the person as being of significance to a particular party;
  12. “Party” means any person or persons seeking to obtain or divest an interest in real estate or a business opportunity as a buyer, seller, landlord, tenant, option grantee or option grantor;
  13. “Person” means and includes individuals, corporations, partnerships or associations, foreign and domestic;
  14. “Real estate” means and includes leaseholds, as well as any other interest or estate in land, whether corporeal, incorporeal, freehold or nonfreehold, and whether the real estate is situated in this state or elsewhere;
  15. “Time-share salesperson” means any person acting as a seller of any time-share interval under contract with or control of a licensed real estate broker pursuant to a registered time-share program. Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, a licensed broker or affiliate broker is entitled to sell time-share intervals pursuant to a registered time-share program; and
  16. “Transaction” means the purchase, sale, rental or option of an interest in real estate or business opportunity.


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