Florida Real Estate Sales Associate — All Questions

Florida's mutual recognition agreements with certain other states allow a qualifying nonresident to:

• a.Skip Florida's prelicensing course and take a shorter Florida-law exam✓
• b.Automatically receive a Florida broker license by mail
• c.Practice in Florida without holding any Florida license
• d.Bypass all background-check and fingerprint requirements

Under mutual recognition, an applicant licensed in a partner state may obtain a Florida license by passing a Florida-law-focused exam instead of completing the full Florida prelicensing course. Other requirements, such as background checks, still apply.

Practicing real estate in Florida without a license is, on a first offense, generally a:

• a.First-degree misdemeanor✓
• b.Matter handled solely through license suspension
• c.Noncriminal civil infraction resulting only in a warning
• d.Second-degree felony punishable exclusively by prison

Unlicensed real estate activity is a first-degree misdemeanor for a first offense in Florida, with escalating penalties for repeat offenses. The state can also pursue civil remedies. A license is required to be paid for services performed for another.

An advertisement stating 'adults only, no children' most likely violates the fair housing prohibition against discrimination based on:

• a.National origin and ancestry
• b.Marital status under federal law
• c.Lawful source of income
• d.Familial status✓

Excluding families with children implicates familial status, a protected class under the federal Fair Housing Act. Licensees must avoid advertising that expresses a preference or limitation based on any protected class.

Inducing owners to sell by suggesting that people of a particular protected class are moving into the neighborhood is called:

• a.Puffing about anticipated future property values
• b.Redlining a defined geographic lending area
• c.Steering buyers toward specific subdivisions
• d.Blockbusting✓

Blockbusting is the illegal practice of causing panic selling by claiming that the entry of a protected class will lower values or change a neighborhood. It violates fair housing law, as do steering and redlining.

Housing may lawfully limit occupancy to persons 55 and older under the fair housing exemption if:

• a.The community is located in a retirement-zoned district
• b.At least 80% of units are occupied by at least one person 55 or older✓
• c.The owner files an annual age waiver with HUD
• d.Every single occupant is at least 55 years of age

The 'housing for older persons' exemption allows 55-and-older communities if at least 80% of the occupied units have at least one resident 55 or older, along with published policies demonstrating intent. This is an exception to the familial-status rule.

The federal Civil Rights Act of 1866 prohibits all racial discrimination in property transactions with:

• a.An exemption for single-family homes sold without a broker
• b.An exemption for owner-occupied fourplexes
• c.The same exemptions found in the Fair Housing Act
• d.No exemptions✓

The Civil Rights Act of 1866 bars all racial discrimination in real property transactions and, as confirmed in Jones v. Mayer, has no exemptions. The later Fair Housing Act has limited exemptions, but they never permit racial discrimination.

A person who believes they suffered housing discrimination may file a complaint with:

• a.The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)✓
• b.The Florida Real Estate Commission exclusively
• c.The local zoning board of appeals
• d.The National Association of REALTORS ethics panel

Fair housing complaints may be filed with HUD, which investigates and enforces the federal Fair Housing Act. State and local fair housing agencies may also have jurisdiction. Complaints generally must be filed within statutory time limits.

A Florida license that remains involuntarily inactive for more than two years generally becomes:

• a.Null and void✓
• b.Eligible for reimbursement from the Recovery Fund
• c.Converted to a broker license by operation of law
• d.Automatically reactivated at the next renewal

If a license stays involuntarily inactive for more than two years, it typically becomes null and void, and the person must requalify to be licensed again. Reactivation is possible only within the statutory window.

A 'group license' issued to a Florida sales associate allows the associate to:

• a.Maintain multiple separate escrow accounts
• b.Hold real estate licenses in several states at once
• c.Work for an owner-developer that has multiple entities under one broker✓
• d.Directly supervise a group of unlicensed assistants

A group license lets a sales associate or broker associate work for an owner-developer that operates through several related entities, all under one broker of record. It is a specific administrative arrangement.

A 'multiple license' in Florida is issued to a broker who:

• a.Holds both a Florida and an out-of-state license
• b.Manages more than one branch office at a time
• c.Acts as broker for more than one business entity✓
• d.Supervises more than ten sales associates

A multiple license allows a broker to serve as the broker for more than one registered business entity. It differs from a group license, which applies to associates of an owner-developer with multiple entities.

A Florida licensee who is selling their own property must:

• a.List it only with their current employing broker
• b.Disclose their licensed status to prospective buyers✓
• c.Route all proceeds through the Recovery Fund
• d.Obtain written FREC approval before listing it

A licensee selling their own property must disclose that they hold a real estate license, so the other party understands they are dealing with a knowledgeable licensee. Honesty and full disclosure remain required.

A Florida licensee who accepts an undisclosed fee from a home inspector in exchange for referrals has committed:

• a.A lawful cooperative marketing arrangement
• b.An illegal undisclosed referral fee (kickback)✓
• c.An acceptable ordinary business courtesy
• d.A permitted finder's fee under Chapter 475

Accepting a secret fee for steering clients to a vendor is an illegal undisclosed kickback. Any compensation arrangement affecting a client must be disclosed. Such conduct is a ground for discipline.

In the DBPR discipline process, the decision whether to file a formal complaint against a licensee is made by:

• a.A jury of licensed brokers
• b.The employing broker of the accused licensee
• c.A probable-cause panel✓
• d.The Governor's executive office

After an investigation, a probable-cause panel determines whether there is probable cause to believe a violation occurred and to file a formal administrative complaint. The matter may then proceed to a hearing.

A 'citation' issued by the DBPR for a minor violation:

• a.Automatically revokes the license upon issuance
• b.Carries a set penalty and becomes final unless timely disputed✓
• c.Requires a full formal administrative hearing first
• d.May be issued only to brokers, never to sales associates

A citation imposes a predetermined fine for specified minor violations and becomes a final order if the licensee does not dispute it within the allowed time. It is a streamlined alternative to a full disciplinary proceeding.

In a Florida brokerage transaction, escrow funds may be held by:

• a.The buyer, in the buyer's own personal bank account
• b.The listing sign or marketing vendor
• c.Any licensee, including the sales associate who took the offer
• d.The broker, a title company, or an attorney, but not a sales associate✓

Escrow funds may be held by a neutral party such as the broker, a title company, or an attorney. A sales associate may not hold or maintain escrow funds; they must be delivered to the broker promptly.

If a Florida broker dies, FREC may issue a temporary license to a suitable person to:

• a.Permanently take over and operate the deceased broker's firm
• b.Wind up the existing business of the brokerage✓
• c.Collect payments from the Recovery Fund
• d.List and sell an unlimited number of new properties

On a broker's death, FREC may grant a temporary broker license to an otherwise unlicensed but qualified person for the limited purpose of concluding the brokerage's pending business. It is not a permanent operating license.

Under limited confidentiality, a Florida transaction broker may NOT disclose that a buyer:

• a.Has been prequalified by a mortgage lender
• b.Intends to have a professional home inspection
• c.Would prefer a 30-day closing timeline
• d.Will pay more than the price already offered✓

Limited confidentiality prohibits a transaction broker from revealing that a buyer will pay more (or a seller will accept less) than the price offered, the parties' motivation, or other bargaining information, unless authorized or required by law.

A Florida real estate team or group advertising name must:

• a.Include the trademarked word 'REALTOR' by law
• b.Be registered as a separate brokerage with the DBPR
• c.Replace the brokerage name to avoid consumer confusion
• d.Be used together with the licensed brokerage's name✓

Team or group names used in advertising must appear with, and may not overshadow, the licensed brokerage's name so the responsible brokerage is clearly identified. Team names may not imply the team is a separate brokerage.

A licensee who sells rental information to a prospective tenant for a fee must refund up to 75% of the fee if:

• a.The tenant does not obtain a rental as represented✓
• b.The listed information is more than 30 days old
• c.The landlord raises the advertised rent after listing
• d.The tenant changes their mind within 24 hours

Under Section 475.453, a licensee who charges for rental information must refund 75% of the fee if the prospective tenant does not obtain a rental as represented and requests a refund within the statutory period.

Chapter 475, Part I, of the Florida Statutes governs:

• a.Community association managers exclusively
• b.Real estate brokers, sales associates, and schools✓
• c.Mortgage loan originators and lenders
• d.State-certified appraisers and appraisal firms only

Chapter 475, Part I regulates real estate brokers, broker associates, sales associates, and real estate schools. Appraisers are covered under Part II. Understanding the statute's scope is central to license law.

To qualify for a Florida broker license, an applicant must generally hold an active sales associate license for at least:

• a.No time at all if the applicant holds a college degree
• b.10 years of continuous licensure
• c.24 months within the preceding five years✓
• d.6 months in any prior period

A broker applicant must have held an active real estate sales associate license for at least 24 months during the five years preceding application, in addition to completing broker prelicensing education and passing the broker exam.

A Florida broker may place escrow funds in an interest-bearing account only if:

• a.All parties consent in writing and agree who receives the interest✓
• b.FREC first issues a written escrow disbursement order
• c.The broker automatically keeps the interest as a service fee
• d.The account balance stays above $10,000 at all times

Escrow funds may be placed in an interest-bearing account only with the written consent of all parties, who must also agree on who is entitled to the interest and when it will be disbursed. The broker cannot simply keep the interest.

Failing to account for or deliver funds that belong to another party is, under Chapter 475:

• a.Permitted whenever the amount is under $500
• b.Only a civil matter with no license consequence
• c.A ground for disciplinary action✓
• d.Excused if the broker was merely careless

Failure to account for and deliver funds or property belonging to another is expressly a ground for discipline. Brokers must safeguard trust funds and deliver them as required. Violations can lead to fines, suspension, or revocation.

Which advertising practice by a Florida licensee is expressly prohibited?

• a.Noting that the seller is motivated, with the seller's consent
• b.Making false, deceptive, or misleading statements✓
• c.Including the brokerage's full licensed name
• d.Stating the property's accurate current list price

Advertising that is false, deceptive, or misleading is prohibited and is a ground for discipline. Accurate, non-deceptive advertising that identifies the brokerage is permitted and expected.

A designated sales associate arrangement in a nonresidential Florida transaction is permitted only when each party has assets of at least:

• a.$250,000 in verified liquid funds
• b.$1 million✓
• c.$5 million in total holdings
• d.$500,000 in combined net worth

Designated sales associates are allowed in nonresidential transactions where the buyer and seller each have assets of $1 million or more and both request the arrangement in writing. Two associates in one firm then each represent a party as a single agent.

A legal description that uses distances and compass directions running from a point of beginning is a:

• a.Government rectangular survey description
• b.Metes-and-bounds description✓
• c.Lot-and-block (recorded plat) description
• d.Monument-and-datum elevation description

A metes-and-bounds description defines a parcel by measured distances (metes) and directional boundaries (bounds), starting and ending at a point of beginning. It is often used for irregular parcels. Florida also uses lot-and-block and rectangular survey descriptions.

In the government (rectangular) survey system, a township is:

• a.One mile square, containing 640 acres
• b.A parcel of exactly 160 acres
• c.Six miles square, containing 36 sections✓
• d.A strip six miles wide running north to south

A township is a six-mile by six-mile square containing 36 sections. Townships are formed by the intersection of township lines and range lines. Each section within it is one square mile.

One section in the government survey system contains:

• a.43,560 acres, one acre per square foot
• b.5,280 acres, one per linear mile
• c.640 acres✓
• d.160 acres, equal to one quarter of a township

A section is one square mile and contains 640 acres. A quarter section is 160 acres, and a quarter-quarter section is 40 acres. These fractions appear frequently in land-description math.

Most platted subdivisions in Florida are legally described using the:

• a.Lot-and-block (recorded plat) system✓
• b.Datum-and-benchmark elevation system
• c.Metes-and-bounds system exclusively
• d.Government rectangular survey alone

The lot-and-block system refers to a recorded subdivision plat that identifies each parcel by lot and block number. It is the most common method for describing platted residential lots. The plat is recorded in the county's public records.

In a metes-and-bounds description, the survey must always close by returning to the:

• a.Nearest principal meridian
• b.Closest government section corner
• c.Geographic center of the township
• d.Point of beginning✓

A metes-and-bounds description begins and ends at the same point of beginning, forming a closed boundary. If it does not close, the description is defective. Monuments and markers help fix the boundaries.

Range lines in the rectangular survey system run:

• a.East and west, parallel to the base line
• b.North and south✓
• c.Only along the banks of navigable waterways
• d.Diagonally between principal meridians

Range lines run north and south, parallel to the principal meridian, and are spaced six miles apart. Township lines run east and west, parallel to the base line. Their intersections form townships.

A distinguishing feature of a tenancy in common is that:

• a.There is no right of survivorship✓
• b.It is available only to legally married couples
• c.The four unities are required to create it
• d.All co-owners must always hold equal shares

In a tenancy in common there is no right of survivorship, so a deceased co-owner's share passes to their heirs or devisees rather than the other owners. Co-owners may hold unequal, freely transferable shares.

Creating a joint tenancy traditionally requires the four unities of:

• a.Price, possession, purpose, and proximity
• b.Time, title, income, and profit
• c.Time, title, interest, and possession✓
• d.Deed, description, delivery, and date

The four unities required for a joint tenancy are time, title, interest, and possession (PITT): the owners take title at the same time, by the same instrument, with equal interests, and equal rights of possession. Breaking a unity can sever the joint tenancy.

In a condominium, an owner holds title to the individual unit plus:

• a.A proprietary lease covering the entire building
• b.Fee simple title to the land beneath the building
• c.An undivided share of the common elements✓
• d.Shares of stock in the condominium corporation

A condominium owner holds fee title to the individual unit and an undivided interest in the common elements, such as hallways, grounds, and amenities. This distinguishes it from a cooperative, which uses corporate shares.

Ownership in a housing cooperative typically consists of:

• a.A life estate covering the entire property
• b.Shares in a corporation and a proprietary lease✓
• c.A fee simple deed to a specific numbered unit
• d.An undivided interest in the common elements

In a cooperative, the resident owns shares in the corporation that owns the building and receives a proprietary lease to occupy a specific unit. The resident does not hold direct title to real estate, unlike a condominium owner.

Florida's constitutional homestead protection shields a primary residence from forced sale EXCEPT for:

• a.Ordinary credit-card judgments but not mortgages
• b.All debts, without any exception whatsoever
• c.Only unpaid federal income tax liens
• d.Property taxes, mortgages, and construction (mechanic's) liens✓

Florida homestead is protected from forced sale by most creditors, but not for obligations such as property taxes, mortgages voluntarily given, and mechanic's liens for improvements. These are the recognized exceptions.

For creditor-protection purposes, Florida's homestead is limited to one-half acre within a municipality or:

• a.One full section anywhere in the state
• b.An unlimited amount of acreage
• c.40 acres regardless of location
• d.160 acres outside a municipality✓

The homestead creditor exemption covers up to one-half acre within a city or up to 160 contiguous acres outside a municipality. Land beyond those limits does not receive the same protection.

Florida's 'Save Our Homes' provision caps annual increases in the assessed value of a homestead at:

• a.A flat $50,000 increase per year
• b.3% or the change in the CPI, whichever is lower✓
• c.10% for all types of property statewide
• d.The full change in market value each year

Save Our Homes limits yearly increases in the assessed value of homestead property to 3% or the change in the Consumer Price Index, whichever is less. This can create a gap between assessed and market value over time.

Florida's homestead property-tax exemption can reduce a home's taxable assessed value by up to:

• a.$100,000 for every homeowner
• b.The property's entire assessed value
• c.$50,000✓
• d.$25,000, with no additional amount available

Florida's homestead exemption can reduce taxable assessed value by up to $50,000, made up of an initial $25,000 plus an additional $25,000 that applies to value above $50,000 for non-school taxes. Exact rules are set by law.

Florida law restricts how homestead property may be devised by will if the owner is survived by:

• a.Any relative within the third degree of kinship
• b.A mortgage lender holding a lien
• c.A business partner or co-investor
• d.A spouse or minor child✓

Florida's constitution restricts devise of homestead when the owner leaves a surviving spouse or minor child, protecting those family members. An owner cannot freely will the homestead away from a spouse or minor child.

A life estate measured by the life of someone other than the life tenant is a life estate:

• a.In remainder to a third party
• b.Pur autre vie✓
• c.Owned in severalty
• d.Held by the entirety

A life estate pur autre vie is measured by the life of a person other than the life tenant. When that measuring life ends, the estate terminates and passes to the remainderman or reverts to the grantor.

When a life estate ends and the property returns to the original grantor, the grantor holds a:

• a.Reversion✓
• b.Remainder interest
• c.Easement in gross
• d.Leasehold estate

If the future interest following a life estate returns to the grantor, it is a reversion. If it passes to a named third party instead, that party holds a remainder. Both are future interests.

A deed conveying land 'so long as it is used as a public park,' which ends automatically if the condition is broken, creates a:

• a.Life estate pur autre vie
• b.Leasehold estate for a fixed term of years
• c.Fee simple absolute with no conditions
• d.Fee simple determinable✓

A fee simple determinable automatically ends and reverts to the grantor if a stated condition is violated, using durational language such as 'so long as.' It differs from a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent, which requires the grantor to act to reclaim the estate.

A lease with a definite beginning and ending date creates an:

• a.Tenancy at sufferance after a holdover
• b.Estate at will with no set term
• c.Periodic tenancy that renews automatically
• d.Estate for years✓

An estate (tenancy) for years has a fixed beginning and ending date and expires automatically without notice. Despite the name, it can be for any definite period, even less than a year. It differs from open-ended periodic tenancies.

A tenant who remains in possession after the lease expires without the owner's consent holds a tenancy:

• a.For years, under the original term
• b.By the entirety with the owner
• c.At sufferance✓
• d.At will, by mutual agreement

A tenancy at sufferance arises when a holdover tenant stays after the lease ends without the landlord's permission. It is the lowest form of estate. The landlord may treat the tenant as a trespasser or accept rent.

In an easement appurtenant, the parcel that benefits from the easement is the:

• a.Leasehold estate
• b.Dominant tenement✓
• c.Servient tenement
• d.Encumbered estate

An easement appurtenant involves two parcels: the dominant tenement benefits from the easement, and the servient tenement is burdened by it. The easement runs with the land and transfers with the dominant parcel.

A utility company's right to run power lines across privately owned land is typically an easement:

• a.Established only by prescription
• b.By necessity created for the landowner
• c.Appurtenant to the utility's headquarters building
• d.In gross✓

An easement in gross benefits a person or entity rather than an adjoining parcel, as with utility easements for power, water, or pipelines. There is no dominant tenement. Commercial easements in gross are generally transferable.

An easement acquired through open, continuous, and hostile use for the statutory period is an easement by:

• a.Prescription✓
• b.Necessity for a landlocked parcel
• c.Reservation stated in a deed
• d.Estoppel based on reliance

An easement by prescription is gained when someone uses another's land openly, continuously, and adversely for the statutory period. It resembles adverse possession but grants a use right rather than ownership.

A landlocked parcel with no road access is most likely to receive access through an easement by:

• a.Estoppel based on a verbal promise
• b.Prescription after long adverse use
• c.Necessity✓
• d.Condemnation by the neighbor

An easement by necessity is created when a parcel would otherwise be landlocked, giving the owner a right of access over adjoining land. Courts recognize it because land must be usable and accessible.

A revocable personal privilege to use another's land, such as a ticket to attend an event, is a:

• a.License✓
• b.Leasehold estate granting possession
• c.Profit a prendre to remove resources
• d.Easement appurtenant that runs with the land

A license is a personal, revocable privilege to enter or use another's land for a specific purpose. Unlike an easement, it does not create a lasting interest in land and can generally be revoked by the owner.