Nebraska Real Estate Broker Exam — All Questions

Which sale is exempt from Nebraska's Seller Property Condition Disclosure requirement?

• a.A twenty-year-old house sold by its retiring original owner
• b.A newly constructed residence that has never been occupied✓
• c.A house sold under a lease that grants an option to purchase
• d.A duplex sold by an investor who has never lived in either unit

Section 76-2,120(6)(k) exempts a transfer of newly constructed residential real property which has never been occupied. The rest of the exemption list turns on the character of the transfer rather than the property: foreclosure and trustee's sales, transfers by a bankruptcy trustee, transfers between co-owners, transfers to a spouse or a lineal relative, transfers to or from a government entity, and certain relocation-company transfers. Nothing turns on how old the house is or whether the seller lived there; a duplex sits inside the one-to-four-unit definition; and subsection (2) expressly extends the requirement to a lease with an option to purchase.

If a Nebraska seller fails to deliver the required property condition disclosure statement:

• a.The transfer is voidable for one year at the purchaser's sole election
• b.The transfer stands, and the purchaser may sue for damages, costs, and fees✓
• c.The transfer is void, and the purchaser may recover every sum paid with interest
• d.The transfer stands, and a complaint to the Commission is the only remedy

Section 76-2,120(11) provides that a transfer may not be invalidated solely because of a failure to comply, so the conveyance itself survives. Subsection (12) gives the purchaser a cause of action against the seller for actual damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney's fees, in addition to any other cause of action, and requires it be commenced within one year after the purchaser takes possession or the conveyance occurs, whichever comes first. Voiding the contract and recovering payments with six percent interest is the remedy for a noncompliant subdivision sale under section 81-885.40, not for this statement.

How does a Nebraska designated broker become a subagent of another broker's client?

• a.By any cooperative showing arranged through the multiple listing service
• b.By written contract with the client, signed before any showing takes place
• c.By written notice to the Commission naming the primary broker and the client
• d.By written contract with the primary broker, or by taking up a unilateral offer✓

Section 76-2422(5) requires a designated broker intending to act as a subagent to enter a written contract with the primary designated broker for the client; where that broker has made a unilateral offer of subagency, another designated broker enters the relationship by disclosing to the customer that he or she is a subagent of the client. Section 76-2417(5) adds that the seller must have agreed in writing that subagents may be retained and compensated, and the subagent then carries the same limited-agency duties. The subagent does not contract with the client, no Commission filing creates the relationship, and cooperating on a showing is not subagency.

In a Nebraska cooperative transaction, the seller's payment of the buyer's broker:

• a.Converts the buyer's broker into a subagent of the seller for that deal
• b.Establishes an agency relationship with the seller by operation of law
• c.Does not by itself establish an agency relationship with the seller✓
• d.Requires the buyer's broker to obtain written dual agency consent

Section 76-2424(2) states that payment of compensation by itself shall not establish an agency relationship between the party who paid and the designated broker or any affiliated licensee. Subsection (1) allows compensation from the seller, landlord, buyer, tenant, or a third party, or shared between designated brokers. Where a designated broker is paid by more than one party, subsection (5) requires the parties to consent in writing at or before the time they enter the contract, and 299 NAC 5-003.06 requires that disclosure be signed and dated by all parties. Subagency arises only under section 76-2422(5), and dual agency only where one broker represents both sides.

Without informed written consent, a Nebraska dual agent may not tell one client that the other:

• a.Would accept a price different from the one publicly offered or asked✓
• b.Has retained an attorney to review the terms of the purchase agreement
• c.Has arranged a professional inspection of the property being sold
• d.Has received a competing written offer on the property being sold

Section 76-2419(4) protects exactly four items absent the informed written consent of the client they concern: that a buyer or tenant will pay more than the price or rate offered, that a seller or landlord will take less than the asking price or rate, the client's motivating factors, and willingness to accept other financing terms. Outside that list, subsection (3) lets a dual agent pass on information relevant to the transaction and requires disclosure of all adverse material facts actually known to both clients. Subsection (5) separately bars disclosing confidential information unless a statute requires it or silence would amount to fraudulent misrepresentation.

A Nebraska licensee buying a listed property for his or her own account must:

• a.Obtain the Commission's written approval of the purchase in advance
• b.Withdraw from the listing and refer the seller to an unaffiliated broker
• c.Disclose the interest in writing before the seller becomes obligated to sell✓
• d.Disclose the interest in writing within five days after the purchase closes

Section 81-885.24(9) makes acting in the dual capacity of agent and undisclosed principal an unfair trade practice, and rule 299 NAC 5-003.04 fixes the timing: where a licensee is purchasing for himself, herself, or an entity in which the licensee has any interest, the written disclosure must take place before the seller becomes obligated to sell, be signed and dated by the other party, and be kept for five years. Disclosure after closing comes too late, no rule forces the licensee out of the transaction, and the Commission does not approve individual purchases.

A Nebraska seller's agent must present written offers to the client:

• a.In a timely manner, but only until the property first goes under contract
• b.Only where the offer exceeds the price stated in the listing agreement
• c.In a timely manner, even while the property is already under contract✓
• d.Within three business days of receiving each written offer on the property

Section 76-2417(1)(c)(ii) requires presenting all written offers to and from the client in a timely manner regardless of whether the property is subject to a contract for sale or a lease or letter of intent to lease. Section 76-2418(1)(c)(ii) imposes the mirror duty on a buyer's agent even where the client is already under contract. The single exception, in section 76-2422.01, is where the client is an asset management company. Nebraska fixes no three-day clock, and rule 299 NAC 5-003.18 separately makes it a violation to fail to reduce a prospective purchaser's requested offer to writing, so price is no filter either.

Under the Nebraska Real Estate License Act, a completed and dated copy of the purchase agreement goes to:

• a.The seller only, at the moment the written offer is accepted
• b.Both the purchaser and the seller, within a reasonable time✓
• c.The purchaser only, at the moment the written offer is signed
• d.Both parties' attorneys, within three business days of signing

Section 81-885.24(20) makes failing to deliver within a reasonable time a completed and dated copy of any purchase agreement or offer to buy or sell to both the purchaser and the seller an unfair trade practice, and Firmature v. Brannon confirms the Commission may censure a licensee for it. Section 81-885.24(19) separately requires a copy of any written listing agreement be left with the principal, and section 76-2422(1) requires a copy of any written brokerage-services agreement be left with the client. At consummation, section 81-885.24(21) requires detailed closing statements to both sides.

Every written Nebraska listing agreement must contain:

• a.An automatic renewal provision, with a copy left with the principal
• b.A fixed date of expiration, with a copy left with the principal✓
• c.A protection period of at least ninety days after the expiration date
• d.A guaranteed minimum sale price, with a copy filed at the Commission

Section 81-885.24(19) makes failing to include a fixed date of expiration in any written listing agreement, and failing to leave a copy of the agreement with the principal, an unfair trade practice. Section 76-2422(2) repeats the fixed expiration requirement for the seller's agency agreement and adds the licensee's duties, the terms of compensation, and whether subagency may be offered. Nebraska requires no guaranteed price and no Commission filing, sets no protection period, and an automatic renewal provision is the opposite of the fixed expiration date the statute demands.

Besides a fixed expiration date, a Nebraska seller's agency agreement must set out:

• a.The seller's net proceeds, the closing date, and the buyer's financing terms
• b.The broker's insurance carrier, the policy limits, and the claims history
• c.The licensee's duties, the compensation terms, and any offer of subagency✓
• d.The seller's original purchase price, the assessed value, and the lien payoff

Section 76-2422(2) requires the agreement to include the licensee's duties and responsibilities specified in section 76-2417, the terms of compensation, a fixed date of expiration, and whether an offer of subagency may be made to any other designated broker. Under subsection (1) the designated broker enters the agreement unless affiliated licensees are authorized in writing to sign for the broker, and a copy is left with the client. A narrow carve-out lets a limited seller's agent for a builder set compensation for a specific new-construction property on or before the builder accepts a contract, and section 76-2422.01 excuses stating those duties where the client is an asset management company.

A Nebraska broker who closes a transaction purely as an independent party must:

• a.Disclose in writing to all parties that the broker acts as agent for neither✓
• b.Disclose in writing to all parties that the broker acts as agent for the seller
• c.Obtain a separate closing agent license the Commission issues for that role
• d.Decline any compensation for the services performed at that closing

Rule 299 NAC 2-013 lets a broker not otherwise involved before a written purchase agreement exists close the transaction, and 2-013.01 confines that role to the ministerial acts needed to complete it, including receiving and disbursing funds. The broker must disclose in writing to all parties, before the closing, that he or she is providing only that ministerial service and is not acting as agent for either party; the disclosure is signed by both parties and retained under 299 NAC 3-001. Where the broker was involved earlier, 2-013.02 requires the full obligations owed to seller and buyer. No separate closing license exists and no rule bars payment.

Before subdivision real estate may be offered for sale in Nebraska, the subdivider must:

• a.Apply to the Commission for a subdivision certificate✓
• b.Record the plat and then wait ninety days before offering
• c.Post a performance bond equal to the value of the lots
• d.Apply to the county board for a subdivision certificate

Section 81-885.34 requires application for a subdivision certificate to the commission, in writing on a form the commission prescribes and the Attorney General approves, before the real estate is offered for sale. The filing fee is one hundred dollars plus twenty-five dollars for each hundred lots or fraction, and the application carries audited financial statements, the condition of title, the terms of sale, zoning information, and an offering statement of material facts. Section 81-885.33 adds that subdivision real estate may be sold only by a broker and his or her employees licensed in this state, and section 81-885.42 keeps these sections off sales not made under a common promotional plan to offer twenty-five or more lots.

In marketing Nebraska subdivision real estate, a licensee may not:

• a.Describe the zoning regulations that affect the use of the land
• b.Suggest that the Commission has inspected or approved the real estate✓
• c.State that a subdivision certificate has been issued for the land
• d.Provide the offering statement filed with the subdivision application

Section 81-885.38 forbids a broker or salesperson from referring in any manner to the commission or any member or employee of it when selling, offering, advertising, or otherwise promoting such real estate, and from representing that the real estate has been inspected, approved, or otherwise passed upon by the commission or any state official, department, or employee. The three permitted acts all draw on material section 81-885.34 requires in the application itself. Under section 81-885.40, failure to comply with sections 81-885.33 to 81-885.39 renders the contract void and lets the buyer recover payments with six percent interest.

A Nebraska landlord refuses to rent to an applicant because the applicant is an active-duty servicemember. This refusal is:

• a.Lawful, because the act governs sales rather than rental housing
• b.Lawful, because federal fair housing law does not list that class
• c.Unlawful, because military or veteran status is a protected class✓
• d.Unlawful, but only where the dwelling has five or more units

Section 20-318 makes it unlawful to refuse to rent, refuse to negotiate, or otherwise make unavailable a dwelling because of race, color, religion, national origin, disability, familial status, sex, or military or veteran status. That last class was added by Laws 2021, LB540 and carried forward by Laws 2025, LB150; it is Nebraska's addition beyond the federal list. The act plainly covers rentals as well as sales and sets no unit threshold. Section 81-885.24(1) makes the same refusal an unfair trade practice for a licensee, and section 20-322(6) preserves programs that deliberately benefit veterans or servicemembers.

Under the Nebraska Fair Housing Act, a licensee may not make or record:

• a.An inquiry into a housing applicant's maximum monthly budget
• b.An inquiry into a housing applicant's religion or national origin✓
• c.An inquiry into a housing applicant's required number of bedrooms
• d.An inquiry into a housing applicant's preferred school district

Section 20-318(5) makes it unlawful to cause to be made any written or oral inquiry or record concerning the race, color, religion, national origin, disability, familial status, sex, or military or veteran status of a person seeking to purchase, rent, or lease housing — a prohibition that goes beyond the federal act, which bars discriminatory conduct rather than the inquiry itself. Subsection (6) separately forbids including in any transfer, or honoring, a restrictive covenant pertaining to housing. Budget, bedroom count, and a customer's own stated preferences are ordinary search criteria touching no protected characteristic.

A person who publicly markets for sale an equitable interest in a contract to buy an occupied Nebraska house:

• a.Is exempt, as the holder of an ownership interest in that property
• b.Is exempt, as the contract is personal property rather than real estate
• c.Is acting as a broker or salesperson and must hold a license✓
• d.Is acting as a broker only where compensation actually changes hands

Section 81-885.02(2), as amended by Laws 2025, LB187, 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 owner route: an equitable interest is not an ownership interest for purposes of the owner-and-lessor exemption. Section 81-885.03 makes a single such act by an unlicensed person a violation, and section 81-885.06 bars any suit to recover compensation for work the act reserves to licensees.