Utah Real Estate Broker Exam — All Questions

Utah Code Section 61-2f-102 defines an associate broker as an individual who is:

• a.Licensed as a broker and answerable to the division for the firm
• b.Licensed to manage rental property but not to list real estate
• c.Licensed as a sales agent and placed in charge of a branch office
• d.Licensed as a broker but engaged by or for a principal broker✓

Section 61-2f-102(4) defines an associate broker as an individual who is "employed or engaged as an independent contractor by or on behalf of a principal broker to perform an act described in Subsection (30) for valuable consideration" and who is licensed or required to be licensed as an associate broker. So the license is broker-level; what places it below the principal broker is the engagement, not the grade. A sales agent license is a different license class under Subsection (42), and a branch office is run by a branch broker, who Subsection (5) defines as an associate broker. Being the individual answerable to the division for the firm describes the principal broker under Subsection (30). And a license limited to rental property describes the separate property manager license under Subsection (34).

Utah Code Section 61-2f-102 defines a dual broker as a principal broker who also functions as the:

• a.Principal broker of a competing brokerage in another county
• b.Licensed appraiser for property the brokerage has listed
• c.Branch broker of a second office of the same brokerage firm
• d.Principal property manager of a separate property company✓

Section 61-2f-102(20) defines "dual broker" as "a principal broker who functions as the principal property manager of a property management company that is a separate entity from a brokerage." Rule R162-2f-202b(7)(a) adds that a dual broker may not conduct real estate sales activities from the separate property management company. Supervising a second office of the same firm makes someone a branch broker under Subsection (5), not a dual broker. Section 61-2f-206(4) bars a principal broker from being responsible for more than one registered entity at the same time except as the chapter or a rule allows, so heading a competing brokerage is not what the term describes. And Rule R162-2f-401b(1)(n)(ii) forbids acting as an agent and an appraiser in the same transaction.

Utah Code Section 61-2f-102 separates an admonition from a reprimand. An admonition is a public discipline that:

• a.Suspends the license until the licensee retakes the exam
• b.Removes the finding from division records after one year
• c.Declares the conduct improper without naming the person✓
• d.Declares the conduct improper and names the person

Section 61-2f-102(1) defines "admonition" as "a public discipline that declares the conduct of a person as improper and does not identify the person." Subsection (40) defines "reprimand" the same way except that it "includes the name of the person." Both are public and both are listed as sanctions the commission may authorize under Section 61-2f-404(1)(a)(v) and (vi), so the naming is the whole of the difference. Neither one suspends a license: suspension is a separate sanction under Subsection (1)(a)(iii)(B), and Section 61-2f-402(6)(a) lets the division publish notices of admonition, reprimand, suspension, revocation, and surrender with discipline pending, which is the opposite of removing the finding.

Which body issues, renews, and disciplines Utah real estate broker licenses?

• a.The Utah Division of Real Estate, in the Commerce Department✓
• b.The Utah State Tax Commission, through its property tax division
• c.The Utah Attorney General, as legal counsel for the state
• d.The Utah Association of Realtors, a private trade group

Section 61-2f-102(17) defines "division" as the Division of Real Estate, and Section 61-2f-103(1) creates the Real Estate Commission within that division. Licensure runs through the division under Part 2 of the chapter, and Rule R162-2f applies its detail. A trade association can set standards for its own members but has no power to grant or take away a state license. The State Tax Commission works on taxation under Title 59, not occupational licensing. The Attorney General approves the standard forms with the commission under Section 61-2f-306(1) and enforces subrogation claims for other funds, but does not issue or renew real estate licenses.

Utah Code Section 61-2f-103 sets the makeup of the Real Estate Commission. It consists of:

• a.Nine members, six of them licensees and three from the public
• b.Three members, two of them licensees and one from the public
• c.Seven members, five of them licensees and two from the public
• d.Five members, four of them licensees and one from the public✓

Section 61-2f-103(4)(a) provides that "the commission consists of five members that the governor appoints and the Senate approves," and Subsection (4)(b) requires four of them to have at least five years' experience in the real estate business and to hold an active principal broker, associate broker, or sales agent license. Subsection (4)(c) makes one member a member of the general public. Subsection (9) then makes three members a quorum, which only works with a five-member body. Terms run four years under Subsection (5)(a), and Subsection (5)(d) bars more than two consecutive terms.

Ann is unlicensed. For a fee she finds a buyer for one neighbor's house, and does nothing else in real estate that year. Under Utah Code Section 61-2f-201 she:

• a.Acted lawfully, because a single transaction is not a business
• b.Needed a license only if the fee was paid as a commission
• c.Acted lawfully, because she never held herself out as an agent
• d.Needed a license, because one act for consideration is enough✓

Section 61-2f-201(2) provides that an individual "is required to be licensed as a principal broker, associate broker, or a sales agent if the individual performs, offers to perform, or attempts to perform one act for valuable consideration of: (a) buying, selling, or exchanging real estate for another person; or (b) offering for another person to buy, sell, or exchange real estate." One act is the whole test, so counting transactions does not help. Offering or attempting counts too, which is why staying quiet about her role changes nothing. And the statute says valuable consideration, not commission, so the label put on the fee is beside the point. The exemptions are in Section 61-2f-202, and acting for a neighbor is not among them.