Iowa Real Estate Broker Exam — All Questions

Which task may an unlicensed personal assistant lawfully perform for an Iowa licensee?

• a.Host an open house for the public when no licensee is able to attend
• b.Record and deposit earnest money and perform other bookkeeping duties✓
• c.Show a listed property for sale to a prospective buyer without a licensee
• d.Explain the terms of a purchase agreement to a buyer outside the firm

Rule 481-2007.13(4)"a" lists what unlicensed support personnel may do under a licensee's direct supervision, and item (9) expressly permits them to "record and deposit earnest money, security deposits, and advance rents, and perform other bookkeeping duties." The same list allows submitting listing data to a multiple listing service, assembling closing documents, placing signs, scheduling showings and closings, and acting as a courier. The other three choices come from the barred list in rule 481-2007.13(4)"b": showing property for sale independently (item 4), discussing or explaining a contract, listing or agreement with anyone outside the firm (item 7), and independently hosting open houses attended by the public (item 2). An assistant may accompany a licensee at an open house as a host, greeting prospects, handing out prepared material and having visitors sign a register, but must not answer questions about the material aspects of the house or its price and terms.

A nonlicensed employee of an Iowa broker may, for rental property under Iowa Code chapters 562A and 562B:

• a.Negotiate the rent and the lease term directly with a prospective tenant
• b.Show the property, collect rent and deposits, and complete form agreements✓
• c.Do nothing at all, because leasing requires an active real estate license
• d.Act only if the broker files a written authorization with the commission

Section 543B.7A(3), added by 2024 Iowa Acts ch. 1072, excludes from chapter 543B "a person who is a nonlicensed employee of a real estate broker and who engages in advertising, showing, listing, collection of rents and deposits, procuring of prospects, completing form agreements, and executing form agreements as it relates to the rental of real estate under chapter 562A or 562B," and rule 481-2007.13(4)"a"(23) to (26) mirrors it. That is a real carve-out, so treating all leasing activity as licensed work overstates the law. It is also a narrow one: the listed acts stop at completing and executing form agreements, and negotiating terms is separately defined as a licensed act by section 543B.3(4), so the same employee may not bargain the rent or the lease term and may not show property for sale. Nothing is filed with the commission; instead rule 481-2007.13(2) requires the brokerage to adopt a written company policy authorizing support personnel and specifying the duties they may perform, with copies given to the licensee and the assistant.