Nebraska Real Estate Broker Exam — All Questions

All advertising by a Nebraska real estate licensee must prominently display:

• a.The broker's business name as recorded with the Commission✓
• b.The license number of the salesperson who secured the listing contract
• c.The street address of the office where the transaction file is kept
• d.The name of the multiple listing service that carries the property

Rule 299 NAC 2-004 puts all advertising under the broker's direct supervision and requires the recorded business name to appear conspicuously and in a way the public can identify, and section 81-885.24(33) makes failing to display it an unfair trade practice. Advertising contrary to rules 004 through 007 counts as misleading or inaccurate advertising under section 81-885.24(2). Team advertising carries an extra layer: under 2-004.07b the supervising broker's recorded name must sit adjacent to the team name and be similar or greater in size. Nebraska requires no license number, MLS name, or office address in the advertisement.

A Nebraska licensee advertising his or her own property for sale must:

• a.Limit the advertising to a post office box number and telephone number
• b.Place the advertising only through the employing broker's franchise network
• c.Obtain the Commission's written approval of the advertising copy beforehand
• d.Disclose in the advertising that he or she is a licensee acting as a principal✓

Rule 299 NAC 2-006 bars a licensee from advertising property under his or her own name unless the licensee owns it, and requires any licensee advertising his or her own property, including property held by an entity in which the licensee has a direct or beneficial interest, to disclose the licensed status. The last option describes a prohibited blind advertisement, not a cure: rule 2-005 forbids advertising that makes the offer look as though it came from a private party outside the business, and forbids any advertisement showing only a post office box, telephone number, or street address. No rule requires franchise placement or prior approval of copy.

In a Nebraska corporation that operates a real estate business, the designated broker is:

• a.The broker given full authority over the firm's real estate activities✓
• b.The corporate officer who holds the largest single block of the firm's stock
• c.Any associate broker the board of directors selects for a one-year term
• d.The affiliated salesperson with the longest continuous service at the firm

Section 81-885.01(6) defines the designated broker as an individual holding a broker's license who has full authority to conduct the real estate activities of the business. In a partnership, limited liability company, or corporation, the partners, members, or board identify that person by filing a statement with the commission subordinating full authority to him or her; in a sole proprietorship it is the owner or the broker the owner names. The same subdivision makes the designated broker responsible for supervising associate brokers and salespersons. Because a broker's license is essential, a salesperson cannot hold the role, and neither stock ownership nor seniority decides it.

What distinguishes a Nebraska associate broker from a salesperson?

• a.An associate broker holds a salesperson's license and awaits the broker exam
• b.An associate broker holds a salesperson's license endorsed for branch offices
• c.An associate broker holds a broker's license confined to property management
• d.An associate broker holds a broker's license while working for another broker✓

Section 81-885.01(1) defines an associate broker as a person who has a broker's license and is employed by another broker to participate in brokerage activity, while section 81-885.01(17) defines a salesperson as someone other than an associate broker employed by a broker for the same work. The practical consequences follow from the broker's license: section 81-885.19(2) lets an associate broker manage a branch office, which a salesperson may not do. Section 81-885.24(24) applies to both, requiring funds to be placed with the employing broker as soon after receipt as practicable.

Under the Commission's rules, a Nebraska designated broker whose salesperson violates the license law:

• a.Is shielded from discipline where the salesperson acted without the broker's knowledge
• b.Is disciplined only after the salesperson's own license has been revoked
• c.May be disciplined for failure to supervise, separately from the salesperson's case✓
• d.Is disciplined only where the broker received a share of the disputed commission

Rule 299 NAC 5-003.21 lists failure by a designated or employing broker to supervise his or her associate brokers and salespersons among the actions demonstrating negligence, incompetency, or unworthiness under section 81-885.24(29), and 5-003.19 extends the duty to unlicensed persons hired to assist. That exposure is the broker's own, so it neither waits on the outcome of the salesperson's case nor depends on the broker sharing in the money. Ignorance is no answer either — supervision is precisely the duty the rule imposes, and section 81-885.01(6) assigns it to the designated broker.

A Nebraska real estate team leader is responsible for:

• a.Reporting the team's transactions to the Commission at each license renewal
• b.Supervising the team's activity, in place of the designated broker's supervision
• c.Supervising the team's activity, subject to the designated broker's supervision✓
• d.Holding a separate brokerage license issued in the registered team name

Section 81-885.56 makes the team leader responsible for supervising the real estate activities of the team, expressly subject to the overall supervision of the designated broker — the leader adds a layer rather than replacing one. Section 81-885.24(31) requires the team leader to give the designated broker a current list of team members, and (32) requires the broker to keep a record of all team leaders and members, preserved five years after the team dissolves under 299 NAC 3-003.05. A team holds no license of its own, and section 81-885.24(34) forbids team advertising suggesting it is an independent brokerage.

A Nebraska salesperson may accept compensation from someone other than the employing broker only if:

• a.The paying party reports the payment to the Commission in writing beforehand
• b.The compensation is a referral fee below the threshold the Commission sets
• c.The employing broker consents in writing within thirty days after the payment
• d.The employing broker consented in writing before the compensation was accepted✓

Section 81-885.24(8) makes accepting compensation from anyone other than the employing broker without that broker's consent an unfair trade practice, and rule 299 NAC 2-010 requires the consent be given in writing in advance, with the employing broker keeping a copy for five years. The same rule governs the consent section 81-885.24(7) requires before a licensee represents another broker. Consent supplied after the fact does not satisfy the rule, notice to the Commission is no substitute for the broker's consent, and Nebraska sets no dollar threshold that exempts the payment.

When may a Nebraska broker keep part of the earnest money as compensation?

• a.Only once the transaction has been consummated or has been terminated✓
• b.Only once the seller has signed and accepted the buyer's written offer
• c.Only once the listing agreement's fixed expiration date has gone by
• d.Only once the buyer's financing contingency has been formally satisfied

Section 81-885.24(35) makes it an unfair trade practice to charge or collect any part of the earnest money as compensation until the transaction has been consummated or terminated. The subsection carves out a payment the broker makes to a third party for goods or services on the client's behalf, provided it carries no profit or payment for the broker's own services and the broker keeps a record of it. Rule 299 NAC 3-005 handles the related accounting point: money that will ultimately be the broker's may sit in the trust account so long as it is separately identified and paid out by trust account check once it is due.

By when must a Nebraska broker deposit earnest money after an offer is accepted in writing?

• a.Within 5 banking days or before the inspection period ends
• b.Within 72 hours or before the end of the next banking day✓
• c.Within 24 hours or before the end of that same banking day
• d.Within 10 days or before the date scheduled for closing

Rule 299 NAC 5-003.14 makes failure to deposit earnest money within 72 hours or before the end of the next banking day after an offer is accepted in writing an action demonstrating negligence, incompetency, or unworthiness under section 81-885.24(29), unless the purchase agreement provides otherwise. The same rule requires that where an offer is not accepted, the deposit be returned forthwith. Rule 299 NAC 3-007 carries the identical deadline into cooperative sales, where the selling broker deposits into his or her own trust account and then transfers the money to the listing broker by check drawn on that account.

A Nebraska salesperson who receives an earnest money check from a buyer must:

• a.Send it to the listing broker identified in the multiple listing service
• b.Deposit it in the salesperson's own account and remit the money later
• c.Keep it until the seller accepts the offer, then pass it to the broker
• d.Place it with the employing broker as soon after receipt as is practicable✓

Section 81-885.24(24) requires an associate broker or salesperson to place any deposit money or other funds entrusted to him or her in the custody of the employing broker as soon after receipt as practicable, and the Nebraska Supreme Court called the provision unambiguous in Weiner v. State ex rel. Real Estate Comm. The duty runs to the licensee's own employing broker and does not wait on acceptance of the offer; the broker then deposits the money under 299 NAC 5-003.14. Section 81-885.21 puts the trust account in the broker's name, so a salesperson never holds trust funds personally.

Which practice is an unfair trade practice under the Nebraska Real Estate License Act?

• a.Offering free lots or running a lottery to influence a prospective purchaser✓
• b.Giving a prospective purchaser a list of competing properties for sale
• c.Giving a prospective purchaser the Commission's brokerage disclosure pamphlet
• d.Giving a prospective purchaser a written estimate of the closing costs

Section 81-885.24(17) reaches soliciting, selling, or offering real estate by offering free lots or conducting lotteries to influence a purchaser or prospective purchaser. The other three are required or expressly permitted. Rule 299 NAC 5-003.11 requires the licensee to identify in writing the categories of closing costs the purchaser will bear and to prepare a written estimate. Section 76-2417(4) lets a seller's agent show alternative properties and list competing ones without breaching any duty. And section 76-2421(1)(a) requires the current commission-approved brokerage disclosure pamphlet be given at the earliest practicable opportunity.

A Nebraska broker who prepares a land contract for use in closing a transaction must:

• a.Have each separate land contract reviewed by the title insurer
• b.Have each separate land contract approved by the Commission
• c.Have each separate land contract approved by an attorney✓
• d.Have each separate land contract recorded before that closing

Rule 299 NAC 5-003.01 makes preparing a land contract or trust deed for use in closing a real estate transaction, without each separate instrument being approved by an attorney, an action demonstrating negligence, incompetency, or unworthiness under section 81-885.24(29). Rule 5-003.16 treats advising against the use of an attorney in any real estate transaction the same way. The Commission does not approve transaction documents at all — section 81-885.38 forbids a licensee even from representing that the commission has inspected or passed upon real estate.

Under the Nebraska Real Estate License Act it is an unfair trade practice for a licensee to:

• a.Offer or enter into an exclusive right-to-sell listing agreement
• b.Offer or enter into a right-to-list home sale agreement✓
• c.Offer or enter into a written buyer's agency agreement
• d.Offer or enter into a subagency contract with another broker

Section 81-885.24(37) forbids offering or entering into a right-to-list home sale agreement. Section 81-885.01(16) defines that term as an agreement giving another person the exclusive right to list residential real estate for sale at a future date for consideration, which either states that it runs with the land or purports to create a lien or other security interest; ordinary home warranties, insurance contracts, options, contracts for deed, mortgages, and utility rights are carved out. The other three are the standard written agreements section 76-2422 contemplates.

Placing a for-sale sign on a Nebraska property is an unfair trade practice unless the licensee holds:

• a.Written consent of the municipality in which the property lies
• b.Written consent of the owner or the owner's authorized agent✓
• c.Verbal consent of the owner or the owner's authorized agent
• d.Written consent of the owners of the adjoining properties

Section 81-885.24(11) makes it an unfair trade practice to place a sign on property offering it for sale or rent without the written consent of the owner or the owner's authorized agent. Rule 299 NAC 2-011 reads the word "placing" to include retaining the sign, so written authorization covers both putting it up and leaving it up, and the sign must come down within a reasonable time after that authorization ends. Verbal permission does not meet the statute, and neither neighbors nor the municipality supply the consent it requires.

Money that will ultimately belong to a Nebraska broker but is held in the firm's trust account:

• a.Is not commingling where it is separately identified and paid out by trust check✓
• b.Is commingling regardless of how the broker's trust records identify the money
• c.Is commingling unless the broker holds a written trust account waiver
• d.Is not commingling where the broker withdraws the money within 72 hours

Rule 299 NAC 3-005 states directly that a trust account will necessarily hold money that will ultimately belong to the broker, that such money must be separately identified in the trust records, and that it is paid to the broker by check drawn on the trust account once due — and that its presence does not constitute commingling as prohibited by section 81-885.24(4). Commingling means mixing the principals' money with the broker's own without that separation. The 72-hour period in 299 NAC 5-003.14 is a deposit deadline, not a withdrawal deadline, and the waiver in 299 NAC 3-001 excuses maintaining the account, not the accounting.

When the parties dispute who is entitled to earnest money a Nebraska broker holds, the broker must:

• a.Divide the deposit between the parties and then close the transaction file
• b.Forward the deposit to the Commission to hold until the parties agree
• c.Pay the deposit to whichever party's claim the broker finds more credible
• d.Keep the deposit in trust pending a written release or a filed civil action✓

Rule 299 NAC 3-008 requires the broker to continue holding a disputed deposit in the trust account until he or she has a written release from all parties consenting to its disposition, or until a civil action is filed to determine disposition, at which point the broker may pay it into court. Two narrow safe harbors follow: 3-008.01 protects a good-faith return to the purchaser where a contingency was not met and no action is pending, and 3-008.02 protects payment to the seller a year after an accepted offer on a good-faith view that the buyer abandoned the claim. The Commission does not hold stakes, and 299 NAC 5-003.15 forbids withholding money from a party rightfully entitled to it.

How long must a Nebraska broker preserve the records of a consummated transaction?

• a.Three years following consummation of that transaction
• b.Seven years following consummation of that transaction
• c.Two years following consummation of that transaction
• d.Five years following consummation of that transaction✓

Rule 299 NAC 3-003.01 sets five years from consummation. The same period runs from termination or expiration for a listing or agency agreement that produced no sale under 3-003.02, for an executed contract that fell through under 3-003.03, for a paid broker's price opinion or comparative market analysis under 3-003.04, and for team records after a team dissolves under 3-003.05. Section 81-885.24(21) adds the substance of what is kept: true copies of the detailed closing statements the broker delivered to the seller and the buyer.