Georgia Real Estate Salesperson Exam — All Questions
21 questions
Which type of deed offers the grantee the greatest protection by warranting clear title against defects arising at any time in the property's history?
- a.General warranty deed✓
- b.Special warranty deed
- c.Quitclaim deed
- d.Bargain and sale deed
A general warranty deed provides the greatest protection because the grantor warrants title against all defects, including those arising before the grantor owned the property. A special warranty deed covers only defects arising during the grantor's ownership. A quitclaim deed carries no warranties and conveys only whatever interest the grantor may have. A bargain and sale deed implies ownership but offers limited or no express warranties.
For a deed to transfer title, it must be delivered to and accepted by the grantee. Recording the deed in the public records primarily serves to:
- a.Give constructive notice to the world of the grantee's ownership✓
- b.Transfer title even without delivery
- c.Make the deed valid between the grantor and grantee
- d.Satisfy the requirement of consideration
Recording gives constructive (public) notice of the grantee's interest and establishes lien and title priority against later claimants. A deed is valid between the parties upon proper execution, delivery, and acceptance even if never recorded, so recording is not needed for validity between grantor and grantee. Recording cannot substitute for delivery, and it has nothing to do with consideration.
For a deed to be legally effective in transferring title, it must be:
- a.approved by a local judge
- b.notarized by the grantee's signature
- c.recorded in the county courthouse
- d.delivered to and accepted by the grantee✓
Title passes only when a valid deed is delivered by the grantor and accepted by the grantee during the grantor's life. Recording gives notice but is not required for validity, and it is the grantor's signature - not the grantee's - that is acknowledged.
In a deed, the party conveying the property is the ___ and the party receiving it is the ___.
- a.mortgagor; mortgagee
- b.grantor; grantee✓
- c.trustor; trustee
- d.grantee; grantor
The grantor gives (conveys) title and the grantee receives it; a memory aid is that the grant-OR is the one letting go. Mortgagor/mortgagee and trustor/trustee describe loan parties, not the deed's transfer roles.
The words of conveyance in a deed, such as 'I hereby grant,' appear in the:
- a.habendum clause
- b.acknowledgment
- c.granting clause✓
- d.reddendum clause
The granting clause contains the words of conveyance that actually transfer the interest. The habendum clause ('to have and to hold') defines the extent of the estate, and the acknowledgment is the notarized certification needed for recording.
The habendum clause of a deed:
- a.itemizes the buyer's closing costs
- b.sets the interest rate on the loan
- c.defines the extent of the ownership being conveyed✓
- d.names the title insurance company
The habendum clause ('to have and to hold') follows the granting clause and describes the extent or type of estate granted, such as fee simple. It has nothing to do with title insurance, loan rates, or closing costs.
A quitclaim deed is most commonly used to:
- a.guarantee clear title to a purchasing buyer
- b.transfer title with full warranties of ownership
- c.serve as the security instrument for a loan
- d.release or clear a possible cloud on the title✓
A quitclaim deed conveys only whatever interest the grantor may have, with no warranties, which makes it ideal for clearing clouds - such as releasing a possible claim. It offers no protection to a buyer who needs warranted title.
In a special (limited) warranty deed, the grantor warrants the title against defects:
- a.that arise only after the sale has closed
- b.arising at any time in the property's entire history
- c.arising only during the grantor's period of ownership✓
- d.only those the buyer happens to discover
A special warranty deed warrants title only against defects that arose while the grantor owned the property, not earlier ones. A general warranty deed covers the property's entire history and offers broader protection.
A metes-and-bounds legal description identifies a parcel by:
- a.distances and directions from a point of beginning around the boundary✓
- b.the property's street address only
- c.lot and block numbers on a recorded plat
- d.township, range, and section numbers
Metes and bounds describes a parcel by measured distances (metes) and directions or boundaries (bounds), starting from and returning to a point of beginning. The rectangular survey uses township/range/section, and the lot-and-block system uses a recorded plat.
Under the rectangular (government) survey system, one 'section' contains:
- a.160 acres
- b.43,560 acres
- c.640 acres✓
- d.5,280 acres
A section is one square mile and contains 640 acres; a township is six miles square and holds 36 sections. The number 43,560 is the square feet in one acre, and 160 acres is a quarter-section, not a full section.
The lot-and-block (recorded plat) system of legal description is typically used for:
- a.large rural ranches only
- b.subdivided urban and suburban parcels✓
- c.federal wilderness areas
- d.offshore island properties
The lot-and-block system identifies parcels by lot and block numbers on a subdivision plat recorded in the public records, ideal for developed subdivisions. Rural land more often uses metes and bounds or the rectangular survey.
Recording a deed in the public records provides:
- a.actual notice to one specific buyer
- b.constructive notice to the world of the owner's interest✓
- c.protection against every possible lien
- d.a guarantee of fully marketable title
Recording gives constructive (legal) notice to everyone of the recorded interest, establishing priority. Actual notice is direct knowledge a person truly has; recording alone does not guarantee marketable title or defeat every lien.
An owner's title insurance policy protects:
- a.the lender against the borrower's default
- b.the buyer against future physical damage
- c.the seller against a low appraisal
- d.the buyer against covered title defects that existed before the policy date✓
An owner's title policy indemnifies the buyer against covered hidden title defects, liens, or encumbrances that existed but were undiscovered as of the policy date. A lender's policy protects the lender, and neither covers default, appraisal, or future physical damage.
The 'chain of title' is:
- a.the list of the property's unpaid taxes
- b.the physical survey of the property lines
- c.the recorded history of ownership transfers for a property✓
- d.the loan's amortization schedule
The chain of title is the successive record of conveyances and ownership from the earliest records to the present owner; a gap or defect in it creates a 'cloud.' It is not a survey, a tax list, or an amortization schedule.
'Marketable title' means title that is:
- a.always insured directly by the seller
- b.reasonably free from serious defects and acceptable to a prudent buyer✓
- c.completely free of any and all easements
- d.guaranteed by the federal government
Marketable title is reasonably free from doubt or serious defect so a prudent buyer would accept it; minor, disclosed easements usually do not make title unmarketable. It is not a government guarantee or necessarily easement-free.
In a real estate closing, the escrow (settlement) agent:
- a.holds funds and documents and disburses them when conditions are met✓
- b.represents the buyer as an attorney
- c.guarantees that the loan will be approved
- d.sets the final sale price of the property
A neutral escrow or settlement agent holds the buyer's funds and the seller's deed, then disburses money and delivers documents once all conditions are satisfied. The agent is impartial and does not act as an advocate, set the price, or approve loans.
Acquiring title by openly, notoriously, hostilely, and continuously occupying another's land for the statutory period is known as:
- a.escheat
- b.adverse possession✓
- c.eminent domain
- d.dedication
Adverse possession lets a person gain title by possessing land in a way that is open, notorious, hostile, exclusive, and continuous for the statutory period. Eminent domain is a government taking, escheat is state reversion, and dedication is a gift to the public.
When an owner dies without a will, title to their real property generally passes by:
- a.descent under the state's intestate succession laws✓
- b.adverse possession by the heirs
- c.escheat to the federal government
- d.a general warranty deed to the heirs
A person who dies intestate (without a will) has their property distributed to heirs under state descent-and-distribution laws. Escheat occurs only when there are no heirs at all, and title does not pass by deed or adverse possession in that case.
A real estate transfer (conveyance) tax is typically:
- a.a tax on the transfer of title, often based on the sale price✓
- b.a charge for performing a home inspection
- c.a yearly tax on the property's assessed value
- d.a fee charged to obtain a new mortgage
A transfer or documentary tax is charged when title is conveyed, usually calculated on the sale price and paid at closing. The annual tax on assessed value is the property tax, which is a separate charge.
The acknowledgment on a deed is:
- a.the buyer's professional inspection report
- b.the notary's certification that the grantor's signature is genuine and voluntary✓
- c.the grantee's written promise to repay a debt
- d.the lender's approval of the buyer's loan
An acknowledgment is a formal declaration before a notary that the person signing did so voluntarily; it is generally required before a deed can be recorded. It is not a payment promise, a loan approval, or an inspection.
A grantor conveys whatever interest they may have in a property with no warranties of title. This is accomplished with a:
- a.Quitclaim deed✓
- b.General warranty deed
- c.Special warranty deed
- d.Bargain and sale deed
A quitclaim deed conveys only whatever interest the grantor holds, if any, and provides no warranties of title. It is often used to clear clouds on title or transfer between family members.