Massachusetts
Massachusetts runs on a two-stage contract, and that's exactly where deadlines slip — Ratifyly is built to catch it. The moment an Offer to Purchase is signed, Ratifyly reads it and starts tracking the dates it sets: the inspection window and the deadline to sign the binding Purchase & Sale Agreement. When the P&S follows, it reads that too, confirms the paperwork a MA transfer requires is present and signed — the agency relationship disclosure, lead-paint notification on pre-1978 homes, and the smoke/CO Certificate of Compliance before closing — and flags anything missing before it becomes a problem. Because MA is a caveat-emptor state with no mandated condition form, Ratifyly won't invent one; it verifies what the law and the contract actually require and keeps the brokerage, the agent, the closing attorney, and the client on one live view of the same transaction.
The contracts we read
Massachusetts is a two-stage, attorney-close state. A deal starts with a binding Offer to Purchase (commonly the Greater Boston Real Estate Board / MAR form), which is then superseded by a more detailed Purchase and Sale Agreement — typically drafted or heavily negotiated by the parties' attorneys — and the closing itself is conducted by counsel. Ratifyly reads the actual document in front of it, whether that's a GBREB or MAR standard form, an attorney-drafted P&S, or a brokerage's own paperwork.
But Ratifyly isn't limited to those. Because it reads the document itself— not a fixed template — it handles whatever version an agent actually uses: the statewide association form, a regional or local board form, an attorney-drafted contract, or a brokerage's own paperwork. And it reads the whole packet, not just the contract — disclosures, addenda, the closing disclosure, title commitment, inspection reports, wire instructions, and more — so nothing in the file goes unreviewed.
Required paperwork we check
- Massachusetts is a caveat-emptor state — there is no state-mandated seller property-condition disclosure form; the seller's duty is the common-law bar on affirmative misrepresentation, not an affirmative disclosure statement (buyer-beware; sellers may decline to fill out any voluntary condition report)
- Mandatory Licensee-Consumer Relationship (agency) Disclosure — the broker must disclose the agency relationship at the first personal meeting to discuss a specific property (254 CMR 3.00)
- Federal lead-paint disclosure plus the Massachusetts Property Transfer Lead Paint Notification for homes built before 1978 (federal 42 U.S.C. 4852d / 40 CFR 745; MA lead law, MGL c.111 §197A)
- Smoke detector and carbon monoxide Certificate of Compliance from the local fire department at transfer, valid 60 days (MGL c.148 §26F and §26F½, 'Nicole's Law')
- Where applicable: private drinking-water well testing and Title 5 septic-system inspection certification on transfer (MGL c.111 §127B½; 310 CMR 15.301)
Deadlines we track
- Home inspection contingency window — negotiated in the Offer to Purchase, commonly ~7-10 days after acceptance
- Purchase & Sale Agreement signing deadline — the Offer sets the date the binding P&S must be executed (rule of thumb roughly 3 business days after the inspection period ends)
- Mortgage financing / loan-commitment contingency date set in the P&S (the appraisal is folded into the lender's process)
- Title examination by buyer's counsel and clearing of any defects ahead of closing
- Smoke/CO detector fire-department inspection and Certificate of Compliance obtained before the deed passes (certificate valid 60 days)
- Closing / settlement date — attorney-conducted, when the deed is delivered and recorded
This page summarizes commonly used Massachusettsforms and requirements for reference only — it is not legal advice, and forms and statutes change. Always follow your brokerage's current compliance guidance, the controlling Massachusetts statutes, and the forms your transaction actually uses.
See Ratifyly read a Massachusetts contract.
Send us your Massachusetts purchase agreement and we'll show you exactly what it pulls out, audits, and puts on the timeline.