West Virginia Real Estate Broker Exam — All Questions

4 questions

Broker Management: Trust Funds, Operations, and Supervision

On the West Virginia broker exam, the state portion includes a distinctive block worth about 18 items covering:

  • a.Federal income-tax preparation
  • b.Residential appraisal licensing
  • c.Broker Management, including trust-fund handling, brokerage operation, and supervision of licensees
  • d.Home inspection standards

The West Virginia broker state portion emphasizes Broker Management, an approximately 18-item block that tests how a broker runs a brokerage: handling trust funds, operating the office, and supervising affiliated licensees. This management focus is what differentiates the broker exam from the salesperson exam.

Broker Management: Trust Funds, Operations, and Supervision

A West Virginia broker who receives earnest money on behalf of a client must:

  • a.Deposit it into the broker's real estate trust or escrow account, kept separate from the broker's own funds
  • b.Deposit it into the broker's personal account until closing
  • c.Keep it in the office safe as cash until the sale closes
  • d.Forward it to the West Virginia Real Estate Commission

A broker must place client money such as earnest money into a designated real estate trust or escrow account and keep it separate from the broker's business and personal funds. Commingling or converting trust money is a serious violation. The broker, not the salesperson, is ultimately responsible for the integrity of the trust account.

Broker Management: Trust Funds, Operations, and Supervision

In West Virginia, responsibility for supervising the licensed activity of affiliated salespersons rests with the:

  • a.West Virginia Association of Realtors
  • b.Individual salesperson only
  • c.County clerk where the property is located
  • d.Broker who employs and supervises them

A salesperson may act only under a supervising broker, and the broker is responsible for supervising the salesperson's licensed activity and for the firm's trust funds and records. Broker Management questions frequently test this supervisory accountability, which is central to why the broker license is a higher tier.

Broker Management: Trust Funds, Operations, and Supervision

A West Virginia broker who commingles client trust funds with the brokerage's operating account has:

  • a.Acted properly as long as records are kept
  • b.Committed a violation that can lead to discipline by the Real Estate Commission
  • c.Done nothing wrong because the broker owns the firm
  • d.Satisfied the trust-account requirement

Commingling trust money with operating or personal funds is prohibited and is one of the most common grounds for broker discipline. The West Virginia Real Estate Commission may investigate and impose sanctions. Proper practice is to keep client funds in a separate trust or escrow account with records supporting a full accounting.

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