Georgia Real Estate Broker Exam — All Questions

The qualifying broker of a Georgia corporation resigns without warning. Under GREC Rule 520-1-.07(3) the firm must:

• a.Secure a new qualifying broker within 30 days or cease all real estate brokerage activity until it does
• b.Cease all real estate brokerage activity immediately and surrender the firm license to GREC
• c.Secure a new qualifying broker within 60 days or cease all real estate brokerage activity until it does✓
• d.Continue operating under the departing broker’s license until the license period ends

Rule 520-1-.07(3)(a) provides that when the qualifying broker of a partnership, limited liability company or corporation “dies, resigns, or is discharged unexpectedly, the partnership, limited liability company, or corporation must secure a new qualifying broker within 60 days or cease all real estate brokerage activity until it does secure a new qualifying broker.” Paragraph (b) keeps the firm functioning in the meantime: it must designate a partner, member or officer to sign documents and applications filed with the Commission and to disburse trust funds from the firm’s designated trust accounts as required by contracts authorizing the firm to hold them. The firm therefore neither shuts down on the spot nor coasts on a license that has left the building.

A Georgia firm engages an unlicensed assistant under the task guidelines in GREC Rule 520-1-.07(6). Which task is the assistant permitted to perform?

• a.Host the firm’s Sunday open house while the listing agent covers another showing
• b.Record and deposit earnest money, security deposits and rents for the firm✓
• c.Answer a caller’s questions about how the buyer’s financing and closing will work
• d.Describe the amenities of a listing to a prospective purchaser who telephones the office

Paragraph (6)(e) lists the tasks support personnel may perform, including item 9, “record, and deposit earnest money, security deposits, and rents,” along with answering the telephone, submitting listing data to a multiple listing service, assembling closing documents, installing lockboxes, placing signs and scheduling appointments. Paragraph (6)(f) lists what they may not do, and the three distractors are drawn from it: hosting open houses, answering questions on title, financing or closings other than the time and place, and discussing the attributes or amenities of real estate with a prospective purchaser or lessee. Note the asymmetry in item 9 — they may record and deposit funds, but (6)(f)(11) forbids them to collect or hold deposit monies, rent or anything of value from an owner or prospect. Paragraph (6)(a) makes both the firm and the affiliated licensee responsible for the assistant’s acts.

Every written property management agreement between a Georgia broker and a property owner must, under GREC Rule 520-1-.06(2), specify:

• a.That the broker will indemnify the owner against any loss arising from a tenant default
• b.That the owner will maintain a fidelity bond covering the broker and the broker’s employees
• c.That the agreement may be terminated by the owner only at the end of a lease term
• d.Whether security deposits and prepaid rents will be held by the broker or by the owner✓

Rule 520-1-.06(2)(a) lists nine things every written property management agreement must contain: identification of the property; all terms and conditions of management; the terms on which the broker remits income to the owner and provides periodic written statements of income and expenses, at least annually; which property-related expenses the broker pays to third parties and how those payments are funded; the fee or commission and when it is paid; “whether security deposits and prepaid rents will be held by the broker or the owner”; the effective and termination dates; the terms for termination by either broker or owner; and the signatures of broker and owner. The rule requires that termination terms be stated, not that they be limited to lease boundaries, and it imposes no indemnity or owner-purchased bond. Paragraph (b) requires the licensee to give the owner a legible copy when the owner signs and the broker to retain one.

A Georgia broker who provides community association management services must carry a fidelity bond or fidelity insurance policy under GREC Rule 520-1-.06(3) unless the broker at no time handles association funds totaling more than:

• a.$25,000
• b.$60,000✓
• c.$100,000
• d.$250,000

The rule requires any broker who provides community association management services and who “collects, maintains, controls, has access to, or disburses community association funds” to be covered at all times “unless such broker at no time collects, maintains, controls, has access to, or disburses community association funds totaling more than $60,000.00.” Where coverage is required, paragraph (3)(a) sets its terms: written by an insurer authorized in Georgia; covering the maximum funds handled and never less than three months’ assessments from all members plus any required reserves; naming the association as an additional named insured; covering the broker’s partners, officers, licensed affiliates and employees; and giving 30 days’ written notice before cancellation or non-renewal, or 10 days for non-payment of premium. O.C.G.A. § 43-40-22.1 is the authority behind the rule.

Under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-25, enacted by House Bill 399 and effective July 1, 2025, a landlord who is not a resident of Georgia and owns single-family or duplex residential rental property in the state must:

• a.Register the property locally and name a resident agent for service of process on the owner
• b.Obtain a Georgia real estate license personally before collecting any rent on the property
• c.Employ a Georgia-licensed broker who, if non-resident, must employ someone located in Georgia✓
• d.Deposit all tenant security deposits with the clerk of the superior court of that county

Subsection (a) requires that “any landlord that is not a resident of this state that owns or operates single-family or duplex residential rental properties in this state shall employ a broker licensed pursuant to Chapter 40 of Title 43, that may or may not reside within this state. If the broker does not reside within this state, the broker shall employ at least one person, to be located within this state, who shall be responsible for receiving, coordinating, managing, and responding to communications from tenants of such landlord related to maintenance and other issues related to such properties.” The obligation runs to the landlord and is satisfied by engaging a licensed broker, not by the landlord becoming licensed. Section 1 of the same Act amended § 36-74-30(b) so that a tenant must give a code enforcement officer the name, license number and contact information of a licensed property manager; it did not create a registration scheme, and § 36-74-30(b) still bars local governments from requiring registration of residential rental property.

An out-of-state investor owns eleven Georgia duplexes and manages them through his own management company. Under O.C.G.A. § 44-7-25(b), effective July 1, 2025, the owner-management exemptions in § 43-40-29(a)(7) and (a)(8):

• a.Apply to him, because he owns a controlling interest in the management company
• b.Do not apply to him, so the properties must be managed through a licensed broker✓
• c.Apply to him, because the exemptions turn on ownership rather than residency
• d.Apply to him only while the number of rental units he owns stays below twenty-five

Subsection (b) is short and categorical: “The exemptions set forth in paragraphs (7) and (8) of subsection (a) of Code Section 43-40-29 shall not apply to any landlord that is not a resident of this state that owns or operates single-family or duplex residential rental properties as provided for in subsection (a) of this Code section.” Paragraph (a)(7) is the exemption for an owner, or an owner of a management company whose principals hold controlling ownership of the property, who manages property owned by that person; (a)(8) is the exemption for a full-time employee of the owner. Both are switched off for the non-resident landlord of single-family or duplex rentals, whatever the ownership structure and however many units are involved. The result pairs with subsection (a): management must run through a Georgia-licensed broker.

For renewals on or after July 1, 2025, a Georgia broker or associate broker renewing an active license must complete:

• a.36 hours of continuing education, of which at least 18 must be on broker education topics and 3 on license law✓
• b.36 hours of continuing education, of which at least 6 must be on broker education topics and 3 on license law
• c.54 hours of continuing education, of which at least 18 must be on broker education topics and 3 on license law
• d.36 hours of continuing education, with no subject requirement beyond the 3 hours on license law

GREC Rule 520-1-.05(1)(f), effective July 1, 2025, provides that “a Broker or Associate Broker shall satisfactorily complete at least eighteen (18) hours of continuing education on the topic of Broker education, as detailed in Rule 520-2-.04, during each renewal period.” The 18 hours sit inside the 36 required by (1)(d), not on top of them, and the 3-hour license law requirement in (1)(e) is unchanged. Rule 520-2-.04(6)(g), effective the same day, defines the courses: a minimum of three credit hours, containing subject material only on “training Licensees, supervising Licensees, reviewing Brokerage Agreements, and managing a Firm.” GREC’s education requirements page states the same rule for licensees. Note that the copy of Chapter 520-1 published on rules.sos.ga.gov had not yet been updated to show paragraph (1)(f); GREC’s own adopted-rule document controls.

A Georgia broker manages rental property and keeps tenant security deposits in a designated rental trust account. GREC Rule 520-1-.08(4) requires that:

• a.Security deposits be moved to the owner’s operating account within 30 days of receipt
• b.Security deposits be held in an interest-bearing account with the interest paid to the tenant
• c.Security deposits be credited to the tenant, with the balance kept equal to their total✓
• d.Security deposits be replaced by a surety bond whenever the broker also owns rental units

Paragraph (4)(b) requires that “security deposits, if kept in a designated rental trust or escrow account, must be clearly identified and credited to the tenant and there must always be a balance in the account equal to the total of said security deposits.” Paragraph (4)(a) adds that a bill may be paid on behalf of an owner or association only if enough money is credited and deposited to that owner’s or association’s account to cover it, and paragraph (4)(c) closes the bond route in the opposite direction from the last distractor: “a licensee who manages rental property which the licensee owns must maintain any security deposits collected in a designated trust account and may not post a bond in lieu of maintaining such security deposits in a designated trust account.” Interest belongs to whomever the parties designate in writing before the deposit under Rule 520-1-.08(1)(d), not to the tenant by rule.

A Georgia salesperson asks her broker to sign a release so she can join another firm. The broker believes she owes the firm money on a closed file. Under GREC Rule 520-1-.07(5) the broker must:

• a.Withhold the release until the compensation dispute has been resolved between the parties
• b.Sign the release at once and forward the certificate, a fee dispute being no ground to refuse✓
• c.Withhold the release and file a formal written complaint against the salesperson with GREC
• d.Sign the release only after the salesperson returns every listing she secured for the firm

Paragraph (5)(a) requires a written compensation agreement between broker and affiliate, then says that beyond checking such agreements exist, “the Commission shall not regulate the content of such agreements or enforce the provisions of such agreements. A dispute between licensees as to whether the terms of this agreement have been met shall not be grounds for the broker’s refusal to sign a release and to forward the wall certificate of licensure.” Paragraph (5)(b) requires the broker to sign immediately on request and forward the certificate to the Commission or to the new broker. Paragraph (5)(c) obliges the departing licensee to account for listings, keys, signs and records — but says failure to do so “shall not be grounds for the broker’s refusal to sign a release,” though it is grounds for filing a complaint. Under paragraph (5)(e) the departing licensee may not contact the firm’s clients under an existing engagement without the broker’s written approval.

A Georgia home sells for $415,000 and the seller executes a warranty deed. What Georgia real estate transfer tax is due when the deed is recorded?

• a.$41.50
• b.$830.00
• c.$415.00✓
• d.$2,075.00

O.C.G.A. § 48-6-1 imposes the tax “at the rate of $1.00 for the first $1,000.00 or fractional part of $1,000.00 and at the rate of 10¢ for each additional $100.00 or fractional part of $100.00” of the consideration. Work it the way the statute is written: $1.00 covers the first $1,000, leaving $414,000, which is 4,140 increments of $100 at 10¢ each, or $414.00. Total $415.00. On any price that is a whole multiple of $1,000 this reduces to $1.00 per $1,000, so $415,000 produces $415.00 — not a tenth of that, not double it, and not the half-percent figure some other states charge. Section 48-6-3 puts the tax on “the person who executes the deed … or by the person for whose use or benefit” it is executed, which in a normal sale is the seller, and § 48-6-5 makes the clerk of the superior court the collecting officer.

A buyer of Georgia real estate signs a 30-year note for $276,000 secured by a deed to secure debt. What Georgia intangible recording tax is due on the security instrument?

• a.$276.00
• b.$552.00
• c.$1,380.00
• d.$828.00✓

O.C.G.A. § 48-6-61 imposes “an intangible recording tax at the rate of $1.50 for each $500.00 or fraction thereof of the face amount of the note secured by the recording of the security instrument.” Divide the face amount by $500 and multiply by $1.50: $276,000 ÷ $500 = 552 increments, and 552 × $1.50 = $828.00. The distractors come from mis-set rates — $1.00 per $1,000, $1.00 per $500, and $2.50 per $500. The tax is capped: “the maximum amount of any intangible recording tax payable … with respect to any single note shall be $25,000.00.” Section 48-6-61 collects it from the holder of the instrument, though “the holder may pass on the amount of such tax to the borrower or mortgagor,” in which case it may not be treated as part of the finance charge. The security instrument must be recorded within 90 days of the date of the instrument.

A Georgia commercial borrower signs a note secured by real estate in which the entire principal falls due 60 months after the date of the note. What intangible recording tax is due when the deed to secure debt is recorded?

• a.None, because a note maturing in 60 months is a short-term note under the current definition✓
• b.$1.50 for each $500 of the face amount, the same as any other note secured by realty
• c.$1.50 for each $500 of the face amount, reduced by half because the term is under five years
• d.None, because the tax applies only to notes secured by owner-occupied residential property

The intangible recording tax at O.C.G.A. § 48-6-61 reaches only long-term notes. House Bill 586 (Act 77, 2025), effective July 1, 2025, amended the definition at § 48-6-60(3) by replacing “three years” with “62 months,” so a note is long term only “when any part of the principal of the note falls due more than … 62 months from the date of the note.” Sixty months is inside that window, making this a short-term note under § 48-6-60(4), and no recording tax applies. There is no reduced rate, and nothing in the article limits the tax by property type — this note is commercial and would be taxable had it run longer. The former ad valorem tax on short-term notes secured by real estate, § 48-6-63, was repealed effective January 1, 1997, so no substitute levy waits behind it. The same Act carried the 62-month figure into §§ 48-6-66 and 48-6-68.

A Georgia home has a fair market value of $310,000 and no exemptions apply. The county millage rate is 30.0 mills. The parties agree the seller pays the calendar-year county tax through June 30. What is the seller’s share?

• a.$3,720.00
• b.$1,860.00✓
• c.$4,650.00
• d.$9,300.00

Georgia assesses in two steps. O.C.G.A. § 48-5-7(a) provides that “taxable tangible property shall be assessed at 40 percent of its fair market value and shall be taxed on a levy made by each respective tax jurisdiction according to 40 percent of the property’s fair market value,” so the assessed value is $310,000 × 0.40 = $124,000. A mill is one dollar per thousand of assessed value, so 30.0 mills produces $124,000 × 0.030 = $3,720.00 for the year. Six months of that is $1,860.00. The distractors show what happens if you stop early or skip the assessment ratio: $3,720 is the full year, $9,300 is a full year computed on 100 percent of fair market value, and $4,650 is half of that. Note the assessment date — § 48-5-10 fixes liability on property “held and subject to taxation on January 1,” which is why the annual bill is prorated at closing.

A Georgia seller closes at $380,000, pays off a $246,500 loan balance, owes a 6 percent brokerage commission and the state transfer tax, and has $1,850 in other seller charges. What are the seller’s net proceeds?

• a.$105,050.00
• b.$108,090.00
• c.$108,470.00✓
• d.$108,850.00

Take the deductions in order. The commission is 6 percent of $380,000, or $22,800. The Georgia transfer tax under O.C.G.A. § 48-6-1 runs $1.00 per $1,000 on a price that is a whole multiple of $1,000, so $380,000 produces $380.00, and § 48-6-3 charges it to the party executing the deed. Then $380,000 − $246,500 − $22,800 − $380 − $1,850 = $108,470.00. Each distractor drops or mis-rates the transfer tax: $108,850 omits it, $108,090 applies $2.00 per $1,000, and $105,050 applies $1.00 per $100. The intangible recording tax is not in this column — § 48-6-61 collects it from the holder of the new note, who may pass it to the borrower, so it belongs on the buyer’s side of a purchase closing.

Effective July 1, 2025, how many of a Georgia broker's 36 continuing education hours must be Broker-specific courses?

• a.Eighteen hours, one half the renewal requirement✓
• b.Thirty-six hours, the entire renewal requirement
• c.Twenty-four hours, as salespersons must complete
• d.Nine hours, one quarter of the renewal requirement

GREC's amendment to Rule 520-1-.05 took effect July 1, 2025 and requires a minimum of 18 CE hours on Broker-specific topics. The total did not increase: it is still 36 hours per 4-year renewal period, of which 18 must be Broker CE. Cite: GREC, 2025 Broker Continuing Education Rule Changes; Rule 520-1-.05.

How do a Georgia broker's 36 renewal CE hours break down after the 2025 rule change?

• a.18 Broker CE, 18 License Law, no free electives
• b.12 Broker CE, 12 License Law, 12 free electives
• c.18 Broker CE, 3 License Law, 15 any approved✓
• d.24 Broker CE, 3 License Law, 9 any approved

GREC's own FAQ states the split: 18 hours approved for Broker CE, 3 hours approved for License Law, and the remaining 15 hours on any approved CE topic. Cite: GREC, 2025 Broker Continuing Education Rule Changes.

Under amended Rule 520-2-.04, which subject matter qualifies a Georgia course as Broker CE?

• a.Appraisal methodology and residential valuation practice
• b.Fair housing law and brokerage advertising compliance done
• c.Closing statement mathematics, prorations and loan payoffs
• d.Training licensees, brokerage agreements, firm management✓

Rule 520-2-.04 requires a Broker CE course to run a minimum of three credit hours and to cover one or more of: training Licensees, supervising Licensees, reviewing Brokerage Agreements, or managing a Firm. Cite: GREC Rule 520-2-.04, effective 7/1/2025.

A Georgia broker took a course in 2024 that GREC later approved for Broker CE credit. May it count toward the 18-hour Broker CE requirement?

• a.Yes, the approval reaches back to the first offering
• b.No, it must have been approved when it was taken✓
• c.Yes, if the school issues an amended certificate
• d.Only if the broker sits the final examination again

GREC states that credit cannot be received for courses that were not approved for Broker CE credit at the time they were taken. Approval is not retroactive, which is why licensees are told to confirm approval with the school before purchasing. Cite: GREC, 2025 Broker Continuing Education Rule Changes.

Which Georgia licensees remain exempt from continuing education after the 2025 Broker CE rule change?

• a.A broker who has turned sixty-five before renewal
• b.A broker who renews the license on inactive status
• c.Pre-1980 licensees with fewer than six digits✓
• d.Non-resident brokers licensed in another state

The grandfather exemption is unchanged: a licensee who obtained the license prior to 1980 and holds a less-than-six-digit license number remains exempt from CE. A non-resident broker is not exempt but may satisfy Georgia CE by proving active licensure in the resident state with a later expiration date. Cite: GREC, 2025 Broker Continuing Education Rule Changes.