Idaho Principles and Practices
Area VI is 12% and holds the content most out-of-state study material misses: community property, the homestead exemption, manufactured housing, water rights, Idaho's deed-of-trust foreclosure, and the recording act.
Community property
Idaho is a community property state. Under Idaho Code 32-903, property owned before marriage and property acquired by gift, bequest, devise or descent stays separate. Under 32-906(1) all other property acquired after marriage is community, and — a point that surprises candidates — the rents, issues and profits of separate as well as community property are community unless a conveyance or a written agreement of both spouses says otherwise. Under 32-912 either spouse may manage community property, but neither may sell, convey or encumber community REAL estate unless the other joins in the instrument or has given an express power of attorney.
Property taxes, assessed value and the homestead exemption
Property is assessed at market value for assessment purposes as of January 1 (63-205). The homestead exemption in 63-602G exempts the lesser of $125,000 or 50% of market value, only where the homestead is owner-occupied and used as the owner's primary dwelling place and the owner has certified that no other exemption is claimed. An owner ordinarily applies once. Claiming two exemptions triggers recovery of the tax plus a matching penalty, and a repeat within seven years is a misdemeanor. Taxes are payable December 20 and June 20 under 63-903.
Mobile homes, manufactured housing and water rights
Under Idaho Code 63-304 a manufactured home becomes real property when the running gear is removed, it is permanently affixed to a foundation on qualifying land, and the owner records a statement of intent to declare it real property with the county recorder; 63-305 then treats it as a fixture and bars removal without the consent of everyone holding an interest in the land. Water is the property of the state (42-101) and rights are acquired only by the application, permit and license procedure (42-103, 42-201). Under 42-220 a confirmed right is appurtenant to and passes with a conveyance of the land, and 42-248 requires notice of a change of ownership to the Department of Water Resources within 120 days.
Foreclosure and recording
Idaho deeds of trust are foreclosed by advertisement and sale under Idaho Code 45-1505 and 45-1506, or judicially at the beneficiary's option. After the notice of default is recorded, notice of sale goes by registered or certified mail to the grantor and other required parties at least 120 days before the sale; publication runs once a week for four successive weeks with the last at least 30 days out; the default may be cured within 115 days of the recording of the notice of default; and the purchaser takes possession on the tenth day after the sale. A deficiency action must be brought within three months under 45-1512. Idaho's recording act, 55-812, is race-notice: an unrecorded conveyance is void against a later purchaser in good faith and for value whose conveyance is first duly recorded.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Idaho Real Estate Commission
- Exam vendor
- Pearson VUE
- Prelicensing education
- 180 classroom hours (90 salesperson + 90 broker)
- Passing score
- 75 scaled score (0-100 scale, not a percentage)
- Scored questions
- 130
- Time limit
- 240 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Idaho?
The Idaho Real Estate Commission licenses brokers and salespersons. Idaho Code 54-2005 creates the Commission inside the Division of Occupational and Professional Licenses, with five governor-appointed members, and 54-2007 charges it with enforcing the license law and making the rules. The Commission contracts with Pearson VUE to deliver the exams.
What education and experience do I need before the Idaho broker exam?
Idaho Code 54-2022 requires 90 classroom hours of prelicense education for a salesperson and a minimum of 90 additional classroom hours for a broker or associate broker, 180 in all. Idaho Code 54-2012(2)(a) then requires two years of full-time active experience as a licensed salesperson within the five years immediately preceding application. A designated broker must also complete a Commission-approved business conduct and office operations (BCOO) course within the three years before being designated.
How is the Idaho broker exam structured?
130 scored items: an 80-item national/general portion in 150 minutes and a 50-item Idaho state portion in 90 minutes, four hours in total, plus 5-10 unidentified pretest items in each portion. The Idaho state portion for brokers is weighted 4% Commission duties, 4% licensing, 30% license law and rules, 20% agency, 10% calculations and closing costs, 12% Idaho principles and practices, and 20% brokerage management - the last of which is broker-only and does not appear on the salesperson exam at all.
What score do I need to pass, and can I retake just one portion?
Idaho reports a scaled score on a 0-100 scale, which the candidate handbook says must not be read as the percentage of questions answered correctly. The passing point is 75 for the broker examination and 70 for the salesperson examination. A candidate who passes one portion and fails the other retakes only the failed portion, provided it is passed within one year of the date of the passed portion.
Sources: https://dopl.idaho.gov/rec/, https://www.pearsonvue.com/us/en/id/realestate.html, https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/091300.pdf, https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/091306.pdf, https://legislature.idaho.gov/statutesrules/idstat/Title54/T54CH20/
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