South Dakota Broker Associate Exam — All Questions

What must every advertisement placed by an individual South Dakota licensee clearly state?

• a.The name of the firm with which the licensee is associated✓
• b.The licensee's own license number and its expiration date
• c.The name of the responsible broker who supervises the licensee
• d.The street address of the office where the licensee is registered

SDCL 36-21A-72(1) requires that "Each advertisement shall clearly state the name of the firm with which an individual licensee is associated." The requirement is the firm name, not the supervising broker's personal name, not a license number and not an address; the point is that a consumer reading the advertisement can tell which licensed brokerage stands behind it. Subdivision (3) adds that any advertisement seeking listings or offering to buy, sell or lease must clearly disclose that the acts or services are being offered by a licensee, and subdivision (4) forbids any announcement giving the impression that a property sold for a price other than the actual selling price. SDCL 36-21A-2 defines advertising broadly enough to cover any publication or broadcast, oral or written.

A South Dakota licensee advertises a property the licensee personally owns. What does SDCL 36-21A-72 require?

• a.The advertisement must disclose that the owner of the property is a licensee✓
• b.The advertisement must be placed in the responsible broker's firm name
• c.The advertisement must be approved in writing by the commission first
• d.The advertisement must omit any reference to the licensee's status

SDCL 36-21A-72 closes with a targeted exception: "Notwithstanding subdivisions (1) to (4), inclusive, of this section, a licensee may advertise in the licensee's individual name an offer to sell or lease property of which the licensee is the owner. The advertisement shall disclose that the owner of the property being sold or leased is a licensee." So the firm-name requirement is lifted, but a new disclosure replaces it, and concealing the licensee's status is the one thing the sentence forbids. No prior commission approval of advertising exists in the chapter. The disclosure fits SDCL 36-21A-27, which provides that a licensee "does not qualify for the exceptions set forth in this chapter including any transaction in which that person has a personal interest": a consumer dealing with a licensee-owner is dealing with a trained professional and is entitled to know it.

What must an advertisement placed by a South Dakota real estate team do?

• a.Name each team member's license number and years of licensed service
• b.Name the affiliated brokerage and identify any nonlicensed individuals shown✓
• c.Name the team leader and state the team's share of the local market
• d.Name the brokerage only where the team's name differs from the firm's

SDCL 36-21A-72(2) requires that each advertisement of a real estate team "shall clearly state the name of the brokerage company the team is affiliated with, shall clearly identify the nonlicensed individuals included in the advertisement, and may not contain language that would lead the public to believe that the team is offering real estate brokerage services independent of the real estate broker." All three obligations apply to every team advertisement, so the conditional version fails. License numbers and years of service are not required, and market-share claims would risk SDCL 36-21A-71(4) on misleading advertisements. SDCL 36-21A-1(21) and (22) define a team and a team leader, and ARSD 20:69:18:01 requires the team leader to keep the responsible broker's list of licensed team members current.

What does SDCL 36-21A-78 require of a South Dakota licensee who is taking a listing?

• a.Obtain a licensed appraisal that supports the agreed listing price
• b.Substantiate that the listing agreement information is accurate✓
• c.Inspect the property personally before the listing may be published
• d.Have the seller's information verified by the responsible broker first

SDCL 36-21A-78 states that "On taking a listing, a licensee shall substantiate that the information taken in the listing agreement is accurate," and then supplies a safe harbor for hidden problems: "As far as latent defects are concerned, it is not a violation of this section if the licensee disclosed to the buyer that the listing information or parts of the listing information are solely the representations of the seller." Substantiating means checking the facts recorded, such as lot size and legal description, not commissioning a valuation or performing an inspection. A licensed appraisal is a separate service under SDCL 36-21A-6(8) and SDCL 36-21A-12.2, which confirms that a broker price opinion or comparative market analysis is not an appraisal. Routing verification to the responsible broker does not discharge the listing licensee's own duty under this section.

Under SDCL 36-21A-75, who furnishes the closing statement to the buyer?

• a.The listing broker
• b.The seller's attorney
• c.The selling broker✓
• d.The title company

SDCL 36-21A-75 is two sentences and allocates one statement to each broker: "The listing broker shall furnish a closing statement to the seller. The selling broker shall furnish a closing statement to the buyer." Each broker therefore serves the side that broker brought to the transaction, and the listing broker's duty runs to the seller rather than to both. Attorneys and title companies commonly prepare settlement documents in practice, but the statutory duty is placed on the licensee and cannot be delegated away. SDCL 36-21A-71(14) makes the point sharply by treating as unprofessional conduct a broker's failure to deliver a complete, detailed closing statement showing all receipts and disbursements, to retain true copies in the broker's files, and to date and sign the statement.