T. Licensing Flashcards
Unlicensed consumers may only perform real estate activities in certain situations. In which of these scenarios would the consumer need a real estate license?
A. Mickey is selling his own home and isn’t using the services of a listing agent.
B. Jessie is searching for a new home for a friend moving into town. Jessie will be compensated 2% of the sale price for her time and effort.
C. Ronald is acting as executor of his uncle’s estate, which includes selling the property his uncle owned.
D. Peter is helping his sister, Kristen, find a new apartment. He will not be compensated in any way.
B. Jessie is searching for a new home for a friend moving into town. Jessie will be compensated 2% of the sale price for her time and effort.
One of the first things you probably learned about real estate license law is that you must have a real estate license to perform real estate activities for another person for a fee. Option A is incorrect, because Mickey is selling his home for himself, rather than for another person and for compensation. In options C and D, the consumer isn’t being compensated, so that means those two answers are also incorrect. Option B is the correct answer, because Jessie is performing real estate activities for someone else—and is receiving compensation for it. Jessie would need to be licensed to act in this capacity for compensation, or she’d be breaking the law.
A person performing real estate activities under the judgment or order of a court, such as a trustee in a bankruptcy, is ________.
A. Required to have a broker license
B. Required to have at least a sales agent license
C. Required to have taken all pre-licensing courses, but passing the exam is not required
D. Not required to have a real estate license
D. Not required to have a real estate license
While most people performing real estate activities are required to have a license, there are several exceptions to this rule. Someone who is performing real estate activities under a court order is one such exception. This means that options A and B are incorrect. Option C states that the person must have taken all the pre-licensing courses but doesn’t have to pass the exam. This isn’t a stipulation TREC has established for any person in Texas, so that answer is incorrect, too. Option D is correct: Someone performing real estate activities under a court order or judgment is exempt from licensing requirements, so no real estate license is required.
Jonathan has always wanted to be a real estate broker, owning his own brokerage and showing other individuals the real estate ropes in Texas. He received his license as a sales agent three years ago today. As he celebrates his third anniversary, he is looking forward to meeting the experience requirement so that he can pursue his broker’s license someday. How much longer must Jonathan wait to apply for his broker’s license?
A. Jonathan must wait another full year before he can apply, because the requirement is to be an active agent for 48 of the previous 60 months.
B. Jonathan can apply for the broker’s license in six months, because the requirement is to be an active agent for 42 of the previous 48 months.
C. Jonathan has met the experience requirement and can apply for his license today. The requirement is to be an active agent for 36 months.
D. Jonathan must wait two full years before he can apply, because the requirement is to be an active agent for 60 of the previous 72 months.
A. Jonathan must wait another full year before he can apply, because the requirement is to be an active agent for 48 of the previous 60 months.
This seems, on the surface, to be an easy question, as long as you’ve memorized how many years’ experience a sales agent must have before becoming a broker. (Hint: It’s five years, and yes, definitely memorize this.) But depending on how such a question is worded, it can be easy to think, “Okay, the answer is four years” and miss the actual question, which is how much longer Jonathan must wait before applying for his broker’s license. The question says that Jonathan has already practiced for three years, which means he needs to wait one more year. There’s another number that comes into play here, too, because for a broker applicant, the requirement is to be an active agent for 48 of the previous 60 months. Jonathan must wait until his four-year anniversary before he can apply for his broker’s license. He must have four years of experience as an active agent within the previous five years to meet the experience requirements for broker candidates. Obviously, option A is the correct answer here, because we gave that away in the beginning. But in this question example, it’s more important to pay attention to how the various numbers could lead you to the incorrect answer than it is for you to get this right.
Texas sales agent Carl just received his license. Which of the following is a true statement?
A. Carl must complete his 18-hour continuing education requirement by the end of his initial two-year licensing period.
B. Carl must complete 98 hours in qualifying courses of post-license education by the end of his initial two-year licensing period.
C. Carl must complete his 24-hour continuing education requirement by the end of his initial two-year licensing period.
D. Carl has no additional educational requirements to complete until his second two-year licensing period.
B. Carl must complete 98 hours in qualifying courses of post-license education by the end of his initial two-year licensing period.
As an aspiring sales agent, you’re probably keenly aware of exactly how much more education you have to go through before you can practice real estate. As we’ve mentioned before, there’s certain information you’re going to have to memorize; there’s just no way around it. The hours of education, before and after you’re licensed, as well as if you were to become a broker, are all important numbers. In this question, we need to figure out what, if any, education he’s required to take between the time that he obtains his license and he renews it for the first time. Let’s look at option D first. Is Carl finished with real estate courses for more than two years? No such luck, we’re afraid. Option D is incorrect. Now that we know he’s required to take more courses, let’s look at the options, starting with option C. Is there a 24-hour CE requirement for Texas licensees? There isn’t, so we can mentally mark C as incorrect. Now the question is whether a new licensee is required to fulfill the regular CE requirement of 18 hours, or must he complete a post-license requirement of 98 hours? Remember that post-license education is required in many states, including Texas, for new licensees. This is where your memory will have to step up to give you the answer. After being licensed, sales agents must also complete an additional 98 hours in qualifying courses by the expiration date of their initial two-year licensing period; 90 of those hours must be the Sales Agent Apprentice Education (SAE) courses, and eight hours must be the Legal 1 and Legal 2 courses. This means that option B is the correct answer.
Texas real estate sales agent applicant Jose just had his license application rejected. Which of the following is a reason TREC would reject an application?
A. Jose scored a 75 on the state licensing exam.
B. Jose didn’t provide his fingerprints to the Department of Public Safety within three months of the date his application was filed.
C. Jose didn’t provide documentation TREC requested within one year from the date the application was filed.
D. Jose didn’t submit the required license fee within 10 days of TREC making a written payment request.
C. Jose didn’t provide documentation TREC requested within one year from the date the application was filed.
This is a question where your memorization skills are put to the test. First, focus on why TREC would reject an application. Often, it has to do with the application being submitted with incomplete information, paperwork, or no fees. Let’s look at option A. Jose is a sales agent applicant, and 75 is a passing score for sales agent applicants, so we know option A is incorrect. Option B sounds right at first, but the second part of the statement, “within three months,” is incorrect. TREC gives applicants who are missing paperwork and other information one year from the application filing date to provide that data before their applications are rejected. This means that option B is incorrect. Option D may sound right, also. It says that Jose didn’t submit the required license fee within 10 days of TREC making a written payment request. However, once TREC makes a written payment request, the applicant has 20 days—not 10—to submit the payment, which means that option D is also incorrect. Now let’s look at option C. Applicants can be rejected for several reasons, including failure to provide documentation/information or fingerprints—or failure to satisfy a current education, experience, or exam requirement—within one year from the application filing date or written request from TREC. Because Jose didn’t submit the documentation TREC requested within one year of his application date, his application was rejected (and this means option C is correct).
TREC has just received notice that broker Madelyn’s sponsorship of sales agent Elliot has terminated. What happens next?
A. TREC will place Elliot’s license on inactive status.
B. TREC will assign Elliot a new sponsoring broker and send his new sales agent license to that broker.
C. TREC will assign Elliot a new sponsoring broker and send his new sales agent license to Elliot’s home address.
D. TREC will suspend Elliot’s license until he gets a new sponsoring broker.
A. TREC will place Elliot’s license on inactive status.
When it comes to changing the broker sponsorship of a sales agent, there are certain procedures that must be followed. Let’s look at TREC’s responsibility here. We know that TREC will need to issue the sales agent a new license in his current sponsoring broker’s name. But let’s look at TREC’s other responsibilities in this realm. Options B and C both state that TREC will assign Elliot a new sponsoring broker. But as you know, it’s up to a sales agent and broker to find each other and agree to work together. TREC never plays matchmaker when it comes to pairing up a broker and sales agent. Therefore, options B and C are both incorrect. Now let’s look at option D: Can TREC suspend a sales agent’s license until he finds a new sponsoring broker? That makes it seem like the sales agent is being disciplined, which Elliot is not. Option D is incorrect. Instead, TREC places the sales agent’s license on inactive status, which simply means the sales agent may not practice real estate without being sponsored by a new broker. Option A, therefore, is correct. When TREC receives the notice that the broker’s sponsorship of the sales agent has terminated, TREC places the sales agent license on inactive status.
Which of the following statements about a Texas broker’s office is true?
A. Each Texas broker may only maintain a single place of business in the state.
B. A Texas broker who has more than one place of business in Texas must apply for a branch office license for each additional office.
C. Texas brokers may not have home offices.
D. Texas brokers may only have branch offices if they maintain a separate primary place of business outside of their home.
B. A Texas broker who has more than one place of business in Texas must apply for a branch office license for each additional office.
Texas brokers are required to maintain a place of business in the state. Let’s look at these statements one at a time, beginning with option A. Is there any requirement that a Texas broker may maintain only one office in the state? Definitely not, so we can call option A incorrect. Let’s look at option C. Are home offices prohibited in Texas? Once again, this is incorrect. Option D states that Texas brokers are only allowed branch offices if they have a separate place of business outside of their home. You’ll have to rely on your memory about Texas broker offices, but we’ll clue you in: There is no such requirement, so answer D is incorrect. This leaves us with option B as the correct answer. Any broker who maintains more than one place of business in Texas must apply for a branch office license for each. This simply means the broker must submit an application with the appropriate fee to TREC. Each branch office’s license certificate must state the address at which the broker’s office is located.
