South Carolina Real Estate Broker Exam — All Questions

Which body licenses and regulates real estate brokers in South Carolina?

• a.The South Carolina Department of Revenue
• b.The South Carolina Real Estate Commission, within the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR)✓
• c.The South Carolina Bar
• d.The county register of deeds

The South Carolina Real Estate Commission, part of the Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation (LLR), licenses and disciplines real estate salespersons, brokers, brokers-in-charge, and property managers. It administers the license law and enforces standards of conduct. Revenue, the Bar, and county offices have no real estate licensing authority.

South Carolina real estate license law is found primarily in:

• a.Title 12 (Taxation)
• b.Title 56 (Motor Vehicles)
• c.The South Carolina Constitution
• d.Title 40, Chapter 57 of the South Carolina Code✓

South Carolina's real estate license law is in Title 40, Chapter 57 of the South Carolina Code, administered by the Real Estate Commission. It defines license categories, standards, and discipline. The broker exam tests these state provisions alongside the national real estate body of knowledge.

In South Carolina's license ladder, which credential is the supervisory tier responsible for a brokerage's trust account and licensees?

• a.Broker-in-charge✓
• b.Provisional salesperson
• c.Property manager-in-training
• d.Notary broker

South Carolina's ladder runs salesperson to broker to broker-in-charge (and property manager-in-charge for management). The broker-in-charge supervises the office, its associated licensees, and the trust account. A broker license is a prerequisite step, and the broker exam introduces the supervisory and trust responsibilities that a broker-in-charge later carries.

A South Carolina broker who holds client earnest money must:

• a.Keep it in the broker's personal account
• b.Hold it in cash until closing
• c.Deposit it into a designated trust account and not commingle it with the broker's own funds✓
• d.Send it to the Real Estate Commission

Client money such as earnest money must be held in a designated trust account and kept separate from the broker's own funds. Commingling or converting trust money violates the South Carolina license law and is a frequent basis for discipline. The broker-in-charge is responsible for the trust account and its records.