Additional Topics
Area V is worth 5 scored items and covers exactly three printed subtopics: subdivided and out-of-state land sales, the Nebraska Fair Housing Law, and equitable interest.
Subdivided and Out-of-State Land Sales
Section 81-885.01(19) defines subdivided land as real estate registered under the federal Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act as that act stood on January 1, 1973, or out-of-state real estate divided or proposed to be divided into twenty-five or more lots, parcels, or units. Section 81-885.33 makes it unlawful to sell or offer such real estate except through a broker and employees licensed in this state, and section 81-885.34 requires the subdivider to apply to the Commission for a subdivision certificate before offering, paying one hundred dollars plus twenty-five dollars per hundred lots and supplying audited financials, the condition of title, the terms of sale, zoning information, and an offering statement. Contracts must give an uninspected purchaser an unconditional refund right. Section 81-885.38 forbids any suggestion that the Commission has inspected or approved the land, and section 81-885.40 renders a noncompliant contract void with recovery of payments at six percent interest. Section 81-885.42 keeps these sections off sales not made under a common promotional plan for twenty-five or more lots.
Nebraska Fair Housing Law
The Nebraska Fair Housing Act, sections 20-301 to 20-344, tracks the federal act and then goes past it. Section 20-318 makes it unlawful to refuse to sell or rent, to discriminate in terms or conditions, to advertise a preference, to misrepresent availability, or to induce sales by representing a neighborhood's changing composition, on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, disability, familial status, sex, or military or veteran status — that last class being Nebraska's addition beyond the federal list. Section 20-318(5) goes further than federal law by making it unlawful to make or record any written or oral inquiry concerning a protected characteristic of a person seeking housing, and subsection (6) forbids including or honoring restrictive covenants. Section 20-322 preserves narrow exemptions for religious organizations, private clubs, rooms in an owner's own home, and housing for older persons, and permits programs that deliberately benefit veterans and servicemembers. Section 81-885.24(1) makes the same refusals an unfair trade practice for a licensee.
Equitable Interest
Nebraska has closed the route by which an unlicensed wholesaler marketed a contract rather than the property. Section 81-885.02(2) provides that acting as a broker, associate broker, or salesperson includes publicly marketing for sale an equitable interest in a contract for the purchase of real property, other than a vacant lot, between an owner and a prospective purchaser. Section 81-885.04(1) closes the companion argument by providing that an equitable interest is not an ownership interest for purposes of the owner-and-lessor exemption. Under section 81-885.03 a single such act by an unlicensed person violates the act and supports a cease and desist order, and section 81-885.06 bars any court action to recover compensation for work the act reserves to licensees.
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State-specific details
State exam facts
- State regulator
- Nebraska Real Estate Commission (NREC)
- Exam vendor
- Pearson VUE
- Prelicensing education
- 60 class hours beyond the 90-hour salesperson requirement
- Passing score
- 75%
- Scored questions
- 130
- Time limit
- 240 minutes
Who regulates real estate brokers in Nebraska?
The Nebraska Real Estate Commission (NREC) licenses and disciplines brokers, associate brokers, and salespersons under the Nebraska Real Estate License Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. sections 81-885 to 81-885.56). NREC contracts with Pearson VUE to deliver the licensing exams, at Pearson Professional Centers in Lincoln, Omaha, and North Platte and at community college sites including Columbus, Grand Island, Hastings, Lexington, McCook, Norfolk, and Scottsbluff.
What experience do I need before the Nebraska broker exam?
Under Neb. Rev. Stat. section 81-885.13(3), broker applicants must have served actively for two years as a licensed salesperson or broker and complete 60 class hours of commission-approved education beyond the salesperson requirement, or qualify under the hardship provision. Rule 299 NAC 1-004.01 reads 'served actively for two years' as full-time experience, or the equivalent period if less than full time. Applicants must be at least 19 years old, and a new broker may not act as a designated broker until completing postlicensure courses in real estate trust accounting, brokerage finance, business ethics, and risk management.
How is the Nebraska broker exam structured?
The Nebraska broker exam is entirely multiple choice, in two portions taken in one 4-hour appointment: an 80-item national portion (2.5 hours) and a 50-item Nebraska state portion (1.5 hours), for 130 scored items, plus 5 to 10 unscored pretest items. A score of 75% is required. A salesperson candidate who passes one portion may retake only the portion failed; a broker candidate who fails either portion must retake both parts of the examination.
What does the Nebraska state portion of the broker exam cover?
Pearson VUE publishes a separate broker state outline (effective September 1, 2023) with five areas across the 50 scored items: Duties and Powers of the Real Estate Commission (5), Licensing (7-8), Statutory Requirements Governing the Activities of Licensees (17-18), Agency (15), and Additional Topics (5). Agency alone is 30% of the state portion. The broker outline is not the salesperson outline: the two carry identical areas and subtopics but swap the item counts for Statutory Requirements and Agency.
Sources: https://nrec.nebraska.gov/licensing-forms/licenseinformation.html, https://www.pearsonvue.com/content/dam/VUE/vue/en/documents/publications/092800.pdf, https://nebraskalegislature.gov/laws/statutes.php?statute=81-885.13
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