Oklahoma Real Estate Broker Exam — All Questions

In Oklahoma, responsibility for the brokerage trust account holding client funds rests with:

• a.The broker, who must maintain the account and keep client funds separate from personal or business funds✓
• b.Each individual sales associate for the transactions they handle
• c.The title company only
• d.The buyer's attorney

Trust-account handling in Oklahoma is a broker-only responsibility. The broker maintains the trust account, ensures client funds such as earnest money are not commingled with personal or operating money, and is accountable for accurate records. Sales associates deliver received funds to the broker; they do not maintain the account.

Commingling, as prohibited for an Oklahoma broker, means:

• a.Depositing earnest money into the trust account
• b.Keeping detailed records of each client's funds
• c.Mixing client trust funds with the broker's own personal or business funds✓
• d.Refunding earnest money when a contract is properly terminated

Commingling is mixing client trust money with the broker's own personal or business funds, and it is prohibited. Client funds must be held separately in the trust account. Depositing earnest money into the trust account and maintaining per-client records are proper practices, not commingling.

When there is a dispute over earnest money in an Oklahoma transaction, the broker should generally:

• a.Release the funds to the buyer immediately
• b.Retain the disputed funds in the trust account until the dispute is resolved by written agreement, court order, or another lawful basis✓
• c.Keep the funds as a commission
• d.Deposit the funds into the broker's operating account for safekeeping

A broker holding disputed earnest money must keep the funds in the trust account and may not decide the dispute or take the money. Disbursement waits for the parties' written agreement, a court order, or another lawful basis. OREC treats improper handling of disputed trust funds as a serious violation subject to audit and discipline.

Oklahoma brokers may be subject to which oversight of their trust accounts?

• a.No oversight at all once the account is opened
• b.Review only by the brokerage's own accountant
• c.Oversight only after a consumer files a lawsuit
• d.Registration and audit or examination of trust-account records by the Commission✓

Because trust accounts hold consumer money, OREC may require registration of the account and may audit or examine trust-account records to confirm client funds are properly segregated and reconciled. Brokers are expected to maintain records that support such an examination at any time.