Georgia Real Estate Salesperson Exam — All Questions

A Georgia broker disburses earnest money in a way one party has not expressly agreed to. What must the broker then do?

• a.File an interpleader action in court within three business days
• b.Hold firm funds equal to the amount that was disbursed
• c.Obtain the qualifying broker's countersignature on the check
• d.Immediately notify all of the parties of the disbursal in writing✓

When a broker makes a disbursal to which all parties to the contract do not expressly agree, the broker must immediately notify all parties in writing. Interpleader is one of the seven listed safe-harbour grounds for disbursing, not a follow-up obligation. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.08(3)(b)-(c).

When must a Georgia licensee make the written disclosure of the party or parties the licensee's firm represents?

• a.Before any property is shown to a prospective buyer
• b.No later than when any party first makes an offer✓
• c.At the closing, on the settlement statement signed by both
• d.Within three days after a brokerage engagement is signed

The written disclosure of whom the firm acts for, and from whom it will receive valuable consideration, must be made in a timely manner but in any event not later than the time that any party first makes an offer to purchase, sell, lease or exchange. Earlier is better, but that is the outside limit. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.06(4)(b).

When GREC issues a citation in lieu of a formal disciplinary proceeding, what fine may it impose?

• a.Up to $500 per violation, capped at $2,500 in one citation
• b.Up to $750 per violation, capped at $3,000 in one citation
• c.Up to $2,000 per violation, capped at $10,000 in one citation
• d.Up to $1,000 per violation, capped at $5,000 in one citation✓

A citation may order a course of study, periodic accountant's reports on a trust account, and a fine not to exceed $1,000.00 for each violation, with fines for multiple violations limited to $5,000.00 in any one citation. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.14(1).

Under GREC's citation schedule, a trust fund deposit is treated as untimely when it is made more than how long after receipt, absent a contrary contract term?

• a.One business day after the licensee receives the funds
• b.Three business days after the licensee receives the funds✓
• c.Five business days after the licensee receives the funds
• d.Ten business days after the licensee receives the funds

The schedule of violations sets a $600 fine for failure to deposit trust funds promptly where the deposit was made more than three business days after receipt, unless the contract provides otherwise. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.14(3)(t); O.C.G.A. 43-40-25(b)(3).

What identifying information must a Georgia licensee include when preparing an offer to purchase?

• a.The firm's tax identification number and the closing attorney's number
• b.The Commission file number assigned to the brokerage engagement
• c.The six-digit license number of each firm and licensee in the deal✓
• d.The expiration date of the pocket card and of the wall certificate

A licensee preparing or signing a brokerage engagement or an offer to purchase, sell, lease or exchange must include the six-digit license number issued by the Commission for each firm and each licensee participating in the transaction. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.10(2).

A Georgia salesperson's license lapsed three years ago for nonpayment. How may it be reinstated?

• a.Pay the fees and retake the Salespersons Prelicense Course✓
• b.Pay the fees and show 36 hours of continuing education
• c.Pay the fees and retake the state portion of the examination
• d.It cannot be; the person must qualify as an original applicant

A license lapsed longer than two years but less than five may be reinstated to active status by paying the required fees and completing the appropriate prelicense course, taken within one year prior to the application. Continuing education alone works only inside the two-year window; original-applicant status is required past five years. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.05(4)(c)-(h).

How long must a Georgia broker keep copies of sales contracts, closing statements and leases?

• a.One year from the date the transaction closes
• b.Two years from the date the transaction closes
• c.Three years from the date the transaction closes✓
• d.Five years from the date the transaction closes

Copies of sales contracts, brokerage engagements, closing statements, leases and other transaction documents must be kept in a broker's file for three years and made available to authorized agents of the Commission on reasonable request. They may be kept on paper, film or electronically. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.10(4).

A Georgia salesperson asks his broker to sign a release so he can change firms. What does the rule require of the broker?

• a.Sign it once the salesperson settles any disputed commission split
• b.Sign it within thirty days of receiving the written request to do so
• c.Sign it after the salesperson returns every listing he brought in
• d.Sign it immediately and send the wall certificate to the Commission✓

When a licensee requests that a release form be signed, the releasing broker shall immediately sign the release and forward the wall certificate to the Commission or notify the Commission that it went to the new broker. A commission dispute or unreturned firm property is not grounds for refusing to sign. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.07(5)(a)-(c).

May an active Georgia salesperson hold her license with two Georgia brokers at the same time?

• a.Yes, if both brokers agree to the arrangement in writing
• b.No; she may be licensed under only one Georgia broker✓
• c.Yes, if the second firm handles only property management
• d.No, unless the Commission grants her a written waiver

An active associate broker, salesperson or community association manager must be licensed under an active Georgia broker and cannot be licensed under more than one Georgia broker during the same period. She may affiliate with a broker in another state only under the written-permission conditions in the rule. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.05(2)(a).

How may a Georgia broker return earnest money to a buyer?

• a.By check, or by crediting the amount at the closing✓
• b.By check only, and only after the seller signs a release
• c.In cash, if the buyer signs a receipt for the money
• d.By any means the sales contract expressly authorizes

All refunds of earnest money must be paid by check or credited at the closing of a transaction. A cash refund is not permitted even with a receipt, and the contract cannot authorize a method the rule forbids. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.08(3)(e).

Which money-handling task may a Georgia firm's unlicensed assistant perform?

• a.Accept a security deposit handed over by a prospective tenant
• b.Accept an earnest money check from a buyer during a showing
• c.Negotiate the commission split with a cooperating brokerage
• d.Record and deposit earnest money and rents the firm received✓

The task guidelines allow support personnel to record and deposit earnest money, security deposits and rents, but separately forbid them to collect or hold deposit monies, rent or anything of value received from an owner or from a prospective purchaser or lessee. Handling the paperwork and the bank run is permitted; taking the money from the public is not. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.07(6)(e)-(f).

A Georgia licensee is convicted of an offense she must report. When must she notify the Commission?

• a.Within thirty days of the conviction, in writing
• b.Within five days of the conviction, in writing
• c.Within ten days of the conviction, in writing✓
• d.At the next renewal of her license, in writing

Notice of a criminal action must be given to the Commission in writing within ten days of any conviction, with a copy of the indictment or accusation and the conviction; notice of an administrative or civil action is due within ten days of the conclusion of the proceedings. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.05(5)(a).

A Georgia buyer signs a $400,000 note secured by a deed to secure debt with a fifteen-year term. What is the intangible recording tax?

• a.$1,200.00✓
• b.$800.00
• c.$400.00
• d.$25,000.00

The tax is $1.50 for each $500.00 or fractional part of the face amount of the note: $400,000 / $500 = 800 units x $1.50 = $1,200.00. The $25,000 figure is the statutory maximum on any single note, not the tax here. Cite: Georgia Department of Revenue, Intangible Recording Tax; O.C.G.A. 48-6-60 through 48-6-77.

Within what period must the security instrument for a Georgia long-term note be recorded, and with whom?

• a.30 days, with the county tax commissioner
• b.60 days, with the Clerk of the Superior Court
• c.90 days, with the Georgia Department of Revenue
• d.90 days, with the Clerk of the Superior Court✓

Every holder of a long-term note secured by real estate must record the security instrument within 90 days of the date of the instrument, and the collecting officer for the intangible recording tax is the Clerk of the Superior Court. Late payment draws a 50 percent penalty plus 1 percent interest per month. Cite: Georgia Department of Revenue, Intangible Recording Tax.

How much of a Georgia broker's own money may remain in the firm's designated trust account?

• a.Nothing; commingling of any amount is prohibited outright
• b.Only a required minimum balance and a service-charge cushion✓
• c.Up to one month of the firm's average commission receipts
• d.Any amount, so long as the ledger identifies it as the broker's

A broker may keep the broker's own clearly identified funds in a trust account only to satisfy a bank's required minimum balance and to cover service charges and similar account costs; earned commissions may sit there briefly but any excess must be removed each month, and only checks payable to the broker may withdraw them. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.08(1)(e).

How current must an applicant's certified criminal history report be when a Georgia license application is filed?

• a.Obtained no more than 60 days before the application✓
• b.Obtained no more than 30 days before the application
• c.Obtained no more than six months before the application
• d.Obtained no more than twelve months before the application

No more than 60 days prior to making application, each candidate must obtain at his or her own expense and attach a certified criminal history report from the Georgia Crime Information Center, or the equivalent report from a former resident state. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.04(7).

Which remark by a Georgia licensee is expressly prohibited by GREC's fair housing rule?

• a.This subdivision's covenants restrict short-term rentals
• b.Two homes on this street closed below list price last quarter
• c.The county has proposed a millage rate increase for next year
• d.The schools here will slip as the neighborhood's mix changes✓

The rule forbids representing, to induce or discourage a sale or listing, that the presence of persons of a particular race, colour, religion, sex, handicap, familial status or national origin will lower property values, change the area's composition, raise crime, or cause a decline in the quality of the schools serving the area. The other three remarks concern the property or the market, not a protected class. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.13(1).

What does an individual pay the Commission to activate an original Georgia real estate license?

• a.$75.00, of which $20.00 goes to the Recovery Fund
• b.$45.00, of which $10.00 goes to the Recovery Fund
• c.$45.00, of which $20.00 goes to the Recovery Fund✓
• d.$125.00, of which $25.00 goes to the Recovery Fund

The activation fee for original licensure as an individual broker, associate broker, salesperson or community association manager is $45.00, which includes $20.00 for the Real Estate Education, Research, and Recovery Fund; the $75.00 activation fee applies to a firm, school or instructor. The renewal fee is charged separately. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.04(1)(a)1.

A Georgia property management agreement must set terms for written statements of property income and expenses at least how often?

• a.Written statements of income and expenses annually✓
• b.Written statements of income and expenses at least monthly
• c.Written statements of income and expenses at least quarterly
• d.Written statements of income and expenses at every renewal

Every written property management agreement must specify the terms on which the broker will remit income and provide periodic written statements of income and expenses to the owner, provided that those statements are submitted at least on an annual basis. A shorter cycle may be agreed, but annually is the floor the rule sets. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.06(2)(a)3.

What does a Georgia licensee pay to renew an individual license through the Commission's online system?

• a.$125.00, the same as a mail-in renewal application
• b.$100.00, which is $25.00 less than a mail-in renewal✓
• c.$170.00, which covers the next four-year period
• d.$75.00, plus a $25.00 electronic processing charge

The four-year renewal fee is $125.00 if submitted in any manner other than the Commission's online system and $100.00 if submitted and paid online. The $170.00 figure is what an original applicant pays: the $45.00 activation fee plus the $125.00 renewal fee. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.04(1)(a)2; GREC, Renewing a License - Real Estate.

A Georgia salesperson manages a duplex she owns and collects the tenants' security deposits. What does the rule require?

• a.She may post a surety bond instead of holding the deposits
• b.She must remit the deposits to the broker's operating account
• c.She must return the deposits to the tenants within thirty days
• d.She must hold them in a designated trust account, not a bond✓

A licensee who manages rental property which the licensee owns must maintain any security deposits collected in a designated trust account and may not post a bond in lieu of doing so. A non-broker licensee may open such an account only with the approval of the broker holding the license, and must report on it regularly. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.08(4)(c); r. 520-1-.08(9).

What real estate activity may a Georgia licensee on inactive status perform?

• a.Referring prospects to an active broker for a referral fee
• b.Managing rental property owned by an unlicensed employer
• c.Dealing only in real estate that the licensee alone owns✓
• d.Showing the listings of the firm that last held the license

Inactive licensees may not perform real estate brokerage activity on any real estate except real estate owned solely by the inactive licensee. Referral of prospects is itself an act of a licensee, and a licensee who wants to work for an unlicensed owner must surrender the license rather than go inactive. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.05(2)(g)-(i).

May a Georgia broker pay part of a commission to a broker licensed only in another state?

• a.Yes, but that broker may not perform other brokerage acts here✓
• b.Yes, if that broker first registers the referral with the Commission
• c.No; only Georgia licensees may receive any part of a commission
• d.No, unless the property lies within fifty miles of the state line

A Georgia broker may divide or share a commission with a broker licensed in another state and may pay a referral fee to one. That out-of-state broker may not perform any of the other acts of a broker on Georgia property without a non-resident licence or a written agreement with a Georgia broker. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-1-.07(7); O.C.G.A. 43-40-9.

What is the minimum length of a Georgia continuing education course, and how soon may a licensee repeat it for credit?

• a.One credit hour, and it may be repeated in the same period
• b.Two credit hours, and it may be repeated after six months
• c.Three credit hours, and not until one full year has passed✓
• d.Three credit hours, and it may never be repeated for credit

No school may offer a continuing education course of fewer than three credit hours, and a licensee who has used a course for credit may not repeat it unless at least one full year has passed since completing it. Cite: Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. r. 520-2-.04.