Florida Real Estate Sales Associate — All Questions

In a general agency relationship, which duty requires a real estate licensee to place the principal's interests above the licensee's own?

• a.The duty to appraise the property
• b.The duty of loyalty (obedience and putting the principal first)✓
• c.The duty to guarantee a sale
• d.The duty of price fixing

Loyalty is a core fiduciary duty owed by an agent to a principal, requiring the agent to act in the principal's best interest. In Florida, however, most licensees work as transaction brokers rather than single agents, which changes the specific duties owed. Fiduciary-style duties are strongest in a single-agent relationship.

Under Florida law, what is the default brokerage relationship presumed when a licensee deals with a member of the public?

• a.Transaction broker✓
• b.No brokerage relationship
• c.Single agent for the buyer
• d.Dual agent

Florida's brokerage relationship law presumes a transaction broker relationship unless the parties establish another relationship in writing. A transaction broker provides limited representation to a buyer or seller but does not owe full fiduciary duties. This default was designed to reduce confusion over agency. Specific statutory details can change, so verify current Chapter 475 provisions.

Which of the following best describes 'real property'?

• a.A lease that lasts less than one year
• b.Movable items owned by a person
• c.Land and everything permanently attached to it, plus the bundle of legal rights✓
• d.Only the physical soil and minerals below the surface

Real property includes land, improvements permanently affixed to it, and the associated legal rights known as the bundle of rights. Personal property (chattel) is movable and not permanently attached. The distinction matters because different laws govern the sale of each.

The 'bundle of rights' in real property ownership includes the right to do all of the following EXCEPT:

• a.Transfer the property to another
• b.Use the property in violation of valid zoning laws✓
• c.Exclude others from the property
• d.Possess the property

The bundle of rights typically includes possession, control, enjoyment, exclusion, and disposition. However, these rights are always subject to government limitations such as zoning, so an owner cannot legally use property in violation of valid law. Ownership rights are not absolute.

An item that was once personal property but has become permanently attached to real estate is called a:

• a.Leasehold
• b.Chattel
• c.Fixture✓
• d.Emblement

A fixture is personal property that has been attached to land or a building in a way that makes it part of the real estate. Courts often use tests such as method of attachment, adaptation, and intention. Fixtures generally transfer with the property unless excluded in the contract.

Which government power allows the taking of private property for public use with just compensation?

• a.Police power
• b.Estoppel
• c.Escheat
• d.Eminent domain✓

Eminent domain is the government's power to take private property for public use, provided just compensation is paid to the owner. The actual process of taking is called condemnation. It is one of the four government powers (often remembered as PETE: police power, eminent domain, taxation, escheat).

When a person dies without a will and without legal heirs, ownership of the property passes to the state through:

• a.Escheat✓
• b.Adverse possession
• c.Eminent domain
• d.Novation

Escheat is the government power by which property reverts to the state when an owner dies intestate (without a will) and leaves no legal heirs. It prevents property from being ownerless. It is one of the four basic governmental powers over real estate.

Which of the following is an example of the government's police power?

• a.Claiming property of a person who dies with no heirs
• b.Collecting property taxes to fund government
• c.Taking land to build a highway with compensation
• d.Enforcing zoning and building codes for public health and safety✓

Police power is the government's authority to regulate property to protect public health, safety, and welfare, and it includes zoning and building codes. Unlike eminent domain, no compensation is paid to the owner for these regulations. It underlies most land-use controls.

A form of co-ownership that includes the right of survivorship, meaning a deceased owner's share passes automatically to the surviving owners, is:

• a.Tenancy in common
• b.Ownership in severalty
• c.Joint tenancy✓
• d.A life estate

Joint tenancy includes the right of survivorship, so when one owner dies their interest passes automatically to the surviving joint tenants rather than through probate. It traditionally requires the four unities of time, title, interest, and possession. Tenancy in common, by contrast, has no survivorship right.

Ownership of real property by one individual or entity alone is called ownership in:

• a.Common
• b.Severalty✓
• c.Joint tenancy
• d.Partnership

Ownership in severalty means title is held by a single person or a single legal entity. The word derives from the idea that the owner is 'severed' from other owners. It contrasts with the various forms of concurrent (co-)ownership.

The highest and most complete form of ownership interest in real estate is:

• a.An easement
• b.A life estate
• c.Fee simple absolute✓
• d.A leasehold estate

Fee simple absolute is the most complete ownership interest, giving the holder full rights subject only to governmental powers and any private restrictions. It is of indefinite duration and freely transferable and inheritable. Most residential property is held in fee simple.

An estate that lasts only for the duration of a specified person's life is a:

• a.Tenancy at sufferance
• b.Periodic tenancy
• c.Life estate✓
• d.Fee simple determinable

A life estate is a freehold interest measured by the life of a named person, often the life tenant. When that person dies, the property passes to a remainderman or reverts to the grantor. The life tenant may use the property but cannot commit waste.

The right of one party to use another's land for a specific purpose, such as a driveway or utility line, is a(n):

• a.Easement✓
• b.Lien
• c.Deed restriction
• d.Encroachment

An easement is a nonpossessory right to use another owner's land for a specific purpose. An easement appurtenant benefits an adjacent parcel, while an easement in gross benefits a person or company such as a utility. Easements can affect a property's value and use.

A lien placed against a property as security for the repayment of a debt is best described as a(n):

• a.Financial encumbrance on title✓
• b.Transfer of full ownership
• c.Physical intrusion onto neighboring land
• d.Government zoning classification

A lien is a claim or encumbrance against property that secures payment of a debt or obligation. Common examples include mortgages, property tax liens, and mechanic's liens. Liens generally must be satisfied before clear title can transfer.

A structure or improvement that unlawfully extends over a property boundary onto a neighbor's land is called a(n):

• a.Easement in gross
• b.Emblement
• c.Estoppel
• d.Encroachment✓

An encroachment occurs when a building, fence, or other improvement intrudes onto an adjoining owner's property. It is typically discovered through a survey and can cloud title. Encroachments may lead to disputes or claims for removal or compensation.

Private restrictions on land use created by a developer and recorded to control a subdivision are commonly called:

• a.Eminent domain orders
• b.Deed restrictions or restrictive covenants✓
• c.Zoning ordinances
• d.Building permits

Deed restrictions, also called restrictive covenants or CC&Rs, are private limitations placed on land use, often by a developer for a subdivision. They run with the land and bind future owners. Unlike zoning, they are enforced by private parties rather than the government.

A homeowners' association (HOA) most commonly has the authority to:

• a.Change state zoning laws
• b.Issue real estate licenses
• c.Enforce community rules and collect assessments from members✓
• d.Set mortgage interest rates

An HOA governs a community, enforcing its covenants and rules and collecting assessments to fund shared expenses. Buyers of HOA-governed property agree to abide by its documents. Assessments and restrictions can materially affect ownership costs and use.

In Florida, a person's primary residence may qualify for a homestead exemption, which primarily provides:

• a.A guarantee that property taxes will never increase
• b.Free title insurance
• c.A reduction in the property's taxable assessed value and certain creditor protections✓
• d.Exemption from all zoning laws

Florida's homestead exemption reduces the taxable assessed value of an owner's primary residence and provides certain protections from forced sale by creditors. It also interacts with assessment-increase limits under the Save Our Homes provision. Exact amounts and rules are set by law and can change.

Which of the following is considered an example of personal property (chattel) rather than real property?

• a.A freestanding refrigerator that is not built in✓
• b.The land itself
• c.An in-ground swimming pool
• d.A permanently installed central air conditioning system

Personal property, or chattel, is movable and not permanently affixed to real estate. A freestanding refrigerator generally remains personal property, while built-in or permanently attached items are usually fixtures. Contracts should specify which items convey to avoid disputes.

A licensee who discovers a material defect that is not readily observable by the buyer generally has a duty to:

• a.Ignore it because buyers should inspect
• b.Disclose the known material defect✓
• c.Report it only to the MLS
• d.Conceal it to protect the seller

Florida law and case precedent require disclosure of known material defects that materially affect a property's value and are not readily observable to the buyer. This duty applies even in a transaction broker relationship. Failure to disclose can create liability for the licensee and seller.

The process by which soil is gradually deposited by the action of water, increasing an owner's land, is called:

• a.Reliction
• b.Avulsion
• c.Accretion✓
• d.Erosion

Accretion is the gradual addition of land through the deposit of soil by natural water action, and the new soil is called alluvion. It typically increases the landowner's property. Erosion is the opposite gradual loss of land.

Which of the following would most likely be classified as a freehold estate?

• a.Fee simple ownership of a home✓
• b.A one-year apartment lease
• c.A tenancy at sufferance
• d.A month-to-month tenancy

Freehold estates involve ownership of real property for an indefinite duration, such as fee simple and life estates. Leasehold estates, by contrast, give possession for a limited time without ownership. The key distinction is ownership versus a temporary right to possess.

A married couple in Florida who take title together as a legally protected form of co-ownership with survivorship rights typically hold title as:

• a.Tenants by the entirety✓
• b.Tenants in common
• c.Joint venturers
• d.Owners in severalty

Tenancy by the entirety is a form of co-ownership available only to married couples in states such as Florida, and it includes rights of survivorship. It also offers protection from certain creditors of only one spouse. On the death of one spouse, the survivor owns the whole.

The physical characteristic of land meaning that no two parcels are exactly alike is known as:

• a.Immobility
• b.Indestructibility
• c.Nonhomogeneity (uniqueness)✓
• d.Scarcity

Nonhomogeneity, also called heterogeneity or uniqueness, means every parcel of land differs at least by location. This is one of the physical characteristics of land, along with immobility and indestructibility. Uniqueness supports the legal remedy of specific performance in real estate contracts.

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.

The rights of a landowner whose property borders a flowing river or stream are called:

• a.Littoral rights along an ocean shore
• b.Prior appropriation water rights
• c.Riparian rights✓
• d.Prescriptive use rights

Riparian rights belong to owners of land bordering flowing water such as rivers and streams, generally allowing reasonable use of the water. Florida follows riparian and littoral doctrines rather than prior appropriation.