Transaction coordinator in Maryland: MREC rules, contract dates and costs

What does a transaction coordinator do on a Maryland sale?

The statewide form is the Maryland REALTORS Residential Contract of Sale, the 11-page form whose current edition carries a 10/26 footer. Maryland REALTORS makes it available to its members only, so the copy a coordinator works from comes from the agent. Montgomery County agents also have GCAAR forms, covered further down.

Once both sides accept, the coordinator reads the contract and its addenda, then builds the calendar. The early work is the deposit, the loan application and whatever inspections the addenda set up. The middle of the file is the financing commitment, the disclosure or disclaimer statement, any ground rent paperwork and the title work. The end is the walk-through and settlement. Through all of it the coordinator chases documents and keeps the file complete for the broker, and leaves every judgment call with the agent.

Does a transaction coordinator need a license in Maryland?

Maryland has no transaction coordinator license. The Maryland REALTORS legal hotline puts it plainly in its article on transaction coordinators: the Maryland Real Estate Commission "has not enacted any regulations directly addressing the role of a transaction coordinator". What MREC has issued is guidance on unlicensed employees, and that list decides what an unlicensed coordinator can take on.

Under that guidance an unlicensed employee may follow up on loan commitments once a contract is negotiated, assemble documents for closing and type contract forms at a licensee's direction for the licensee and broker to approve. They may arrange the date and time of inspections, the mortgage application, the walk-through and settlement. They may not answer questions on title, financing or closing, or discuss or explain a contract with anyone outside the brokerage. They may not be paid a percentage of commission or any amount tied to sales, and they may not collect or hold deposit money.

The hotline adds two points. The broker still has to "reasonably and adequately" supervise a coordinator, whether they sit in the office or work remotely. And it strongly urges a written agreement with every coordinator. Ask for one before the first file.

Which contract deadlines does a Maryland coordinator calendar?

Paragraph 14 of the form sets the clock. A day is a consecutive calendar day, weekends and every kind of holiday included, and it runs from 12:00:00 a.m. to 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern. Counting begins on the day after the act or notice that starts the period. Most of the working periods are blanks the parties fill in, so the table shows where each one lives rather than a default number.

The financing paragraph rewards a coordinator who pays attention. If the commitment isn't delivered in time, the seller can void the contract by written notice. A buyer who wants out has to send notice with written evidence from the lender that the loan couldn't be obtained. The buyer gets the deposit back only if they met their own duties to apply and pursue the loan, so proof of a timely application belongs in the file. The contract deadline tool counts calendar days the way paragraph 14 does, and our guide to day-counting by form compares it with other states.

Who handles settlement and the deposit in Maryland?

The buyer picks who runs settlement. Section 17-524 of the Business Occupations and Professions Article requires a single-family contract presented by a licensee to state, in bold type, that the buyer may choose their own title insurance company, settlement company, escrow company, lender and title lawyer. The Maryland Insurance Administration says the same about title, and adds that "only licensed producers can conduct settlements in Maryland."

Paragraph 8(c) names who holds the deposit. When a broker holds it, the contract directs the broker to keep the check undeposited until both sides accept, then place it in escrow under §17-502(b)(1), which sets a limit of 7 business days after acceptance. If the deal dies, the broker releases the money only on a release signed by both parties, or under the statutory process when one side won't sign. A coordinator never touches that money. MREC's list rules it out for unlicensed staff in any case.

What does the seller have to disclose?

For single-family homes, Real Property §10-702 gives the seller a choice of two commission forms: a property condition disclosure statement or a disclaimer statement. Paragraph 34 of the contract tells the buyer of the right to receive one. If the buyer doesn't get it on or before signing, the buyer may rescind at any time before it arrives or within 5 days after, and gets any deposit back immediately.

That rescission right is why a coordinator chases the statement before anything else on a Maryland listing. A missing disclaimer form is a cheap fix on day one. Found after the inspection, it hands an unhappy buyer a clean exit.

What is ground rent, and why does it matter on a Maryland file?

Some Maryland homes sit on land subject to an annual ground rent. The contract asks in paragraph 6 whether the property is sold in fee simple or subject to ground rent, and paragraph 35 points to a separate ground rent addendum. Under Real Property §8-811, a contract for such a property must carry a statutory notice in boldface of at least 14 point. The notice explains, among other things, that a ground lease holder may demand no more than 3 years of past-due rent.

If ground rent goes unpaid, paragraph 35 warns that the holder can bring an action that leads to a lien. So the coordinator confirms the amount and the holder early, gets the addendum signed and asks the title company to check the SDAT ground rent registry, which shows whether a lease is registered.

How are Maryland transfer and recordation taxes split?

Paragraph 52 sets the default. If the buyer isn't a first-time Maryland homebuyer, recordation taxes and state and local transfer taxes are divided equally unless the contract says otherwise. For a first-time Maryland homebuyer, state law cuts the state transfer tax from 0.50% to 0.25% and has the seller pay all of it, while recordation and local transfer taxes stay split. Any local owner-occupancy reduction goes to the buyer.

To get the first-time reduction the buyer checks a box in the contract and signs an affidavit at settlement. A coordinator who confirms the box was checked, and tells the settlement company early, saves a correction on the settlement statement later. Baltimore City's local rates are set out on its own page.

Why is Montgomery County different?

Montgomery County agents can also write deals on forms from the Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS, the same association that writes the District's contract. GCAAR's library covers both Montgomery County and DC, and its sales contract attaches a jurisdictional addendum for the county. A coordinator moving between Bethesda and Baltimore can meet two different base contracts under one state's law. Our Washington, DC page covers the GCAAR form's clock, including its 6 p.m. cutoff, which differs from the midnight end of day in the Maryland REALTORS form.

Which associations and MLS will a Maryland coordinator use?

Maryland REALTORS is the state association and publishes the statewide contract. Local associations sit under it. Bright MLS lists among its members the Greater Baltimore Board of REALTORS for Baltimore City and County, plus associations for Howard, Anne Arundel and Prince George's counties, and GCAAR for Montgomery. Bright's service area takes in Maryland, and Maryland REALTORS publishes its monthly statistics as Bright MLS reports them.

How busy is the Maryland market?

Maryland REALTORS reported 5,169 homes settled statewide in September 2026, down 7.8% from a year earlier. The median sales price rose 0.5% to $432,000, and the median time on market went from 17 days to 20. Active inventory grew 21.3% to 18,748 homes, or 3.5 months of supply.

The full September statistics list every county. The five jurisdictions in the table made up more than half of the state's September sales, and the DC and Baltimore pages go further into each.

Speed varies as much as price. In Bright MLS's Washington metro report for the same month, Montgomery County homes had a median of 22 days on market and Prince George's homes 24. Baltimore City's median, in the Maryland REALTORS figures, fell to 26 days from 31 a year earlier, while its active inventory rose 17.8%. A coordinator covering the state sees very different file rhythms from one county line to the next.

What do transaction coordinators charge in Maryland?

Per-file pricing is the norm. A Pennsylvania-area TC company lists $525 a transaction for contract to close in Maryland and Delaware, against $450 in Pennsylvania. A company working with brokerages in Virginia, Maryland and DC lists $500. Our October 2026 count of 21 national price cards found one side priced from $300 to $550, and most of them waive the charge for a deal that never reaches settlement. A salaried in-house coordinator is the other route, and the per-file cost calculator compares them.

How do you choose a transaction coordinator in Maryland?

Hold every candidate to MREC's list. Ask what they do when a buyer phones with a financing question. An unlicensed coordinator should pass it to the agent, because answering it is on the "may not" side. Ask how they are paid, since a fee tied to the commission is off limits for unlicensed staff.

• Do they know the Maryland REALTORS form and the GCAAR form, and which counties use each?
• How do they handle a ground rent property?
• Will they sign the written agreement the Maryland REALTORS hotline recommends?
• What happens to their fee if the contract is voided?

The TC checklist template is a good way to see whether their process covers the whole file.

Freelance TC, TC company or DeedSpring: which fits a Maryland agent?

The table sets the usual options side by side. A good freelance TC is worth every dollar on a messy file. What most agents are really paying for, though, is someone who never misses a date and always chases the lender. Software does that on every file at once.

To see what the gap means across a year of files, put your numbers into the TC fee per file calculator.

Compare plans on the DeedSpring pricing page.