Alaska Real Estate Broker Exam — All Questions
5 questions
Alaska's definition of a personal services contract in AS 08.88.695 and 12 AAC 64.990 covers:
- a.only the exclusive right-to-sell listing a seller has signed
- b.any oral understanding between a licensee and a buyer
- c.the purchase and sale agreement the parties sign
- d.listings, broker fee agreements and management contracts✓
AS 08.88.695(5) defines “personal services contract” to include “a listing, a fee agreement between brokers and sellers, buyers, lessors, or lessees, a management contract with property owners, or any other agreement by which a broker agrees to perform a duty with respect to real estate for an agreed upon fee or commission,” and 12 AAC 64.990(d) repeats the definition for AS 08.88 generally. The category is therefore about the agreement between a broker and a client, not the contract between buyer and seller, and it is not confined to one kind of listing. Entering a personal services contract is itself “specific assistance” under AS 08.88.695(8)(A)(iv), which is what triggers the pamphlet and disclosure duties in AS 08.88.615.
Under AS 08.88.361, an Alaska broker's commission is earned when:
- a.a ready, willing and able buyer first makes an offer on the property
- b.the deed is recorded in the appropriate Alaska recording district
- c.the closing agent disburses the seller's net proceeds after closing
- d.the broker fulfills the terms of a written personal services contract✓
AS 08.88.361 is a single sentence: “A commission is earned when the real estate broker fulfills the terms of a written personal services contract.” Alaska therefore ties the commission to the contract the broker signed rather than to a common-law “ready, willing and able buyer” test, to recording, or to disbursement. What that contract requires is a question of its own terms, which is one reason AS 08.88.341 insists it be written and signed and, if exclusive, carry a definite expiration date. Paying a commission does not by itself create a relationship: AS 08.88.655(b) says the payment of compensation to a broker “may not be construed to establish a relationship between the broker and the party who pays.”
12 AAC 64.550 sets the minimum contents of an Alaska property management contract. Which set of terms does it require?
- a.The owner's mortgage balance, lender, escrow number and parcel
- b.The broker's trust account number, bank and monthly reconciliation
- c.Responsibilities, authority granted, period of the agreement, fee✓
- d.Rent roll, tenant names, deposit totals and utility account numbers
12 AAC 64.550(b) forbids a licensee to conduct property management activity for another person “without a prior written property management contract,” and then names the floor: the contract must include “the specific responsibilities of the property manager,” “the authority and powers given by the property owner to the property manager,” “the period of the agreement,” and “the management fee.” Because a management contract is also a personal services contract, AS 08.88.341 requires it to be signed by both sides and, if exclusive, to carry a definite expiration date. The other lists are ordinary business records; none of them is what the regulation makes mandatory contract content.
A property under an unexpired Alaska management contract is going to be sold. Under 12 AAC 64.550, the sale must be authorized by:
- a.specific language in the contract, or a separate listing agreement✓
- b.a majority written vote of the tenants occupying the building
- c.the commission, which reviews a change of use in advance
- d.the notice that would be required to end a periodic tenancy
12 AAC 64.550(d) provides that “[t]he sale or exchange of a property that is subject to an existing property management contract must be authorized by specific language in the property management contract or by a separate listing agreement.” Management authority and listing authority are separate grants, so a manager cannot market the building for sale on the strength of the management contract alone. Tenants have no vote in the owner's decision to sell, and nothing in AS 08.88 or 12 AAC 64 sends the question to the commission. 12 AAC 64.550(c) is the related rule on money: funds may be moved between accounts held for the same owner only with the owner's written authorization, fully identified in each ledger.
An Alaska licensee represents a buyer. Under AS 08.88.620, the licensee is not obliged to:
- a.keep the buyer's confidential information private after the deal
- b.disclose a conflict of interest to the buyer in a timely manner
- c.show property for which no written agreement to pay a fee exists✓
- d.advise the buyer to get expert advice beyond the licensee's field
AS 08.88.620(6) requires a licensee representing a buyer or lessee to make “a good faith and continuous effort to find real estate for the buyer or lessee,” but subparagraph (B) removes any obligation to “show to the buyer or lessee real estate for which there is not a written agreement to pay compensation to the licensee.” The other three are duties the section does impose, and AS 08.88.625 makes the duties in AS 08.88.615 and 08.88.620 unwaivable except for the good-faith-effort duties in AS 08.88.620(5) and (6) themselves. The confidentiality duty in AS 08.88.620(4) survives the end of the relationship, as AS 08.88.660(c) confirms.