Nevada Real Estate Broker Exam — All Questions

A Nevada broker sells lots in a registered subdivision. Under NRS 119.182(1), the purchaser's signed receipt for the required information, together with copies of the contracts and agreements, must be kept in the broker's files within Nevada for:

• a.5 years after the closing or the last activity involving the property, as for other transactions
• b.3 years, or 1 year after final payment has been made on the contract, whichever is longer✓
• c.1 year, or 3 years after final payment has been made on the contract, whichever is shorter
• d.7 years after the Division approves the subdivision's advertising under NRS 119.184

NRS 119.182(1) requires the information submitted under NRS 119.140 to be given to and reviewed with each purchaser by the broker or salesperson before the execution of any contract of sale, and requires the broker to obtain the purchaser's signed receipt for a copy of it. Where a contract for disposition is entered into, "the receipt and a copy of all contracts and agreements must be kept in the broker's files within the State of Nevada for 3 years or 1 year after final payment has been made on any contract for the sale of property, whichever is longer," subject to inspection and audit as the Division's regulations prescribe. That is a different clock from the general retention rule in NAC 645.650, which is exactly why it is worth knowing separately - a broker who applies the general rule to a subdivision file has applied the wrong one. The reversed "whichever is shorter" version inverts the statute, and the Division's advertising approval under NRS 119.184 starts no retention period. Subsection 2 gives the purchaser of a non-exempt subdivision interest an unwaivable right to cancel by written notice until midnight of the fifth calendar day following execution of the contract, and subsection 4 gives the developer 15 days after receiving that notice to return all payments.

A Nevada timeshare purchaser cancels the contract within the statutory period. Under NRS 119A.410, the developer must return all payments the purchaser made within:

• a.20 days after receipt of the notice of cancellation✓
• b.15 days after receipt of the notice of cancellation
• c.30 days after receipt of the notice of cancellation
• d.5 days after receipt of the notice of cancellation

NRS 119A.410(4) provides that "[t]he developer shall, within 20 days after receipt of the notice of cancellation, return all payments made by the purchaser." The 15-day answer is the corresponding figure for a subdivision sale under NRS 119.182(4) - a real Nevada deadline attached to the wrong chapter, which is the trap. Subsection 1 gives the purchaser the right to cancel by written notice "until midnight of the fifth calendar day following the date of execution of the contract," and requires the contract to state that right; subsection 2 makes the right unwaivable and renders the contract voidable by the purchaser if the developer attempts to obtain a waiver; and subsection 3 allows the notice to be delivered personally, sent by certified mail return receipt requested, or sent by express, priority or recognized overnight service with proof of service. Under NRS 119A.400, the project broker or sales agent must review the approved public offering statement with each prospective purchaser before any contract is executed and obtain a signed receipt, and where a contract is signed the project broker must keep that receipt for 3 years. NRS 119A.420 requires purchaser deposits to be held in escrow until the cancellation right has expired unescercised, unless a surety bond satisfactory to the Division is posted instead.

The buyer of Nevada ranch land is also conveyed the seller's permit to appropriate water. Under NRS 533.384, the buyer must:

• a.file a report of conveyance, including an abstract of title, with the county recorder
• b.apply to the State Engineer for a new permit to appropriate the same water
• c.file a report of conveyance, including an abstract of title, with the State Engineer✓
• d.record the deed only, since a water right always passes automatically with the land

NRS 533.384(1)(a) requires a person to whom an application or permit to appropriate public waters, a certificate of appropriation, an adjudicated or unadjudicated water right, or an application or permit to change the point of diversion, manner of use or place of use is conveyed to file with the State Engineer, together with the prescribed fee, "a report of conveyance" containing an abstract of title, a copy of any deed, written agreement or other document pertaining to the conveyance, and any other information the State Engineer requests. The filing goes to the State Engineer, not the county recorder, and it reports an existing right rather than applying for a new permit. Paragraph (b) adds a second filing with the irrigation district where the place of use lies wholly or partly within one. The State Engineer's confirmation of the report is not a determination of ownership - NRS 533.386 says only a court can decide that - and the confirmation does not establish the actual quantity of water the right yields. The underlying framework is NRS 533.025: "[t]he water of all sources of water supply within the boundaries of the State whether above or beneath the surface of the ground, belongs to the public."