Minnesota Real Estate Salesperson Exam — All Questions

When a Minnesota salesperson receives an earnest-money check from a buyer, the funds must be:

• a.Held by the salesperson in cash until the seller accepts
• b.Delivered promptly to the broker to be held in the broker's trust account✓
• c.Sent directly to the county recorder
• d.Deposited into the salesperson's personal checking account until closing

Client and customer money such as earnest money must be handled through the employing broker's trust (escrow) account. A salesperson must deliver received funds to the broker promptly, and the broker may not commingle trust funds with business or personal accounts. Mishandling trust money is a serious license-law violation.

Before a Minnesota licensee may advertise a property for sale, including by placing a yard sign, what must she have?

• a.The owner's recorded oral consent
• b.An open listing filed with the MLS
• c.A written estimate of the seller's net proceeds
• d.A signed listing or other written authorization✓

Licensees must obtain a signed listing agreement or other signed written authorization from the owner, or from a person authorized to offer the property, before advertising to the general public. Minnesota defines advertising to include placing a sign on the owner's property. Cite: Minn. Stat. 82.66, subd. 1(a).

What is the longest an override clause may run after a Minnesota residential listing agreement expires?

• a.Two years
• b.Ninety days
• c.Six months✓
• d.Twelve months

Listing agreements may not contain an override clause longer than six months after the listing expires. The two-year figure is the separate allowance for an override used in connection with the purchase or sale of a business, whose length must be negotiable. Cite: Minn. Stat. 82.66, subd. 1(c) and (d)(2).

A Minnesota listing expired on Friday. By when must the broker furnish the seller a protective list to keep the override clause enforceable?

• a.Within ten days after the listing expired
• b.Within 72 hours after the listing expired✓
• c.Before the listing agreement was signed
• d.Within 30 days after the listing expired

A licensee may not seek to enforce an override clause unless a protective list was furnished to the seller within 72 hours after the listing agreement expired. The broker also bears the burden of showing each person named actually responded to advertising, contacted the licensee, or was physically shown the property during the listing. Cite: Minn. Stat. 82.66, subd. 1(d)(1) and (e).

Which provision does Minnesota law flatly prohibit in a listing agreement?

• a.A holdover clause or automatic extension✓
• b.A definite expiration date for the listing
• c.A statement of the basis for the commission
• d.A notice that compensation is negotiable

Holdover clauses, automatic extensions and similar provisions are prohibited outright. The other three are affirmative requirements: every listing must carry a definite expiration date, the commission or the basis for computing it, and the boldface notice that compensation is determined between each broker and the broker's client. Cite: Minn. Stat. 82.66, subd. 1(b) and (c).

Until an offer has been presented to the Minnesota seller, whom may the licensee tell about its terms?

• a.Only other buyers represented by the same broker
• b.Any licensee who asks, as a professional courtesy
• c.Any party, once earnest money has been deposited
• d.No other prospective buyer or their licensee✓

A licensee may not disclose the terms of an offer to another prospective buyer, or to the licensee representing or assisting that buyer, before the offer is presented to the seller. All written offers must in any event be promptly submitted in writing to the seller. Cite: Minn. Stat. 82.71, subds. 1 and 2.

Which fact does Minnesota declare NOT to be a material fact a licensee must disclose to a prospective purchaser?

• a.That the basement floods after heavy rain
• b.That the roof has an unrepaired hail claim
• c.That the home was the site of a suicide✓
• d.That the septic system failed its inspection

Minnesota removes from the material-fact duty the fact or suspicion that a property was the site of a suicide, accidental death, natural death or perceived paranormal activity, that an owner or occupant was suspected of HIV infection or diagnosed with AIDS, or that it sits near an adult family home, community-based residential facility or nursing home. Known physical defects remain disclosable. Cite: Minn. Stat. 82.68, subd. 3.

When must a Minnesota seller of residential real property deliver the written disclosure of material facts?

• a.Before signing an agreement to sell the property✓
• b.Within three days after the agreement is signed
• c.At the closing, with the deed and settlement statement
• d.Only when the buyer asks for it in writing

Before signing an agreement to sell or transfer residential real property the seller must make a written disclosure of all material facts known to the seller that could adversely and significantly affect an ordinary buyer's use and enjoyment of the property, made in good faith on the best of the seller's knowledge. Delivery to the licensee representing the buyer counts as delivery to the buyer. Cite: Minn. Stat. 513.55.

Which sale is exempt from Minnesota's seller disclosure requirement?

• a.A 1920s bungalow sold by its long-time owner
• b.A brand-new house that has never been lived in✓
• c.A townhome unit in a common interest community
• d.A lake cabin sold on a contract for deed

The exceptions include a transfer of newly constructed residential property that has not been inhabited, along with gratuitous transfers, court-ordered transfers, foreclosures and deeds in lieu, transfers to a spouse, parent, grandparent, child or grandchild, and transfers to a tenant already in possession. Cite: Minn. Stat. 513.54.

How long does a Minnesota buyer have to sue a seller for failing to make the required seller's disclosure?

• a.Six years after the purchase closed
• b.Two years after the defect is discovered
• c.Two years after the purchase closed✓
• d.Four years after the agreement was signed

An action for failure to disclose must be commenced within two years after the date the prospective buyer closed the purchase or transfer. The clock runs from closing, not from discovery. A separate claim for fraud or negligent misrepresentation is not barred by these sections. Cite: Minn. Stat. 513.57, subds. 2 and 3.

Before signing an agreement to sell Minnesota real property, the seller must disclose in writing what?

• a.The status and location of all known wells✓
• b.The name of the buyer's title insurance agent
• c.The property's assessed value for the past five years
• d.Every utility easement recorded against the parcel

The seller must deliver either a statement that the seller knows of no wells, or a disclosure giving the legal description and county and a map showing each well, marking each as in use, not in use, or sealed. At closing a well disclosure certificate is signed, and the county recorder will not accept the deed without that certificate or the statutory no-wells certification on the deed. Cite: Minn. Stat. 103I.235, subd. 1.

Minnesota's state deed tax on a home sale with net consideration above $3,000 is computed at what rate?

• a..0023
• b..0033✓
• c..0043
• d..0010

When the consideration, exclusive of any lien or encumbrance remaining at the time of sale, exceeds $3,000, the deed tax is .0033 of the net consideration. When it is $3,000 or less, and for mergers, consolidations and designated transfers, the tax is a flat $1.65. The tax is due when the taxable deed is presented for recording. Cite: Minn. Stat. 287.21, subd. 1.

Which characteristic is protected in Minnesota housing under the Human Rights Act but is not a protected class under the federal Fair Housing Act?

• a.Familial status, such as children in the home
• b.National origin of the applicant
• c.Disability, including mental impairment
• d.Status with regard to public assistance✓

For real property the Minnesota Human Rights Act covers race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex, gender identity, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, disability, sexual orientation and familial status. Creed, marital status, status with regard to public assistance, sexual orientation and gender identity go beyond the federal list; age is not among the housing classes. Since 2026 a failure to engage in the process of determining whether a reasonable accommodation exists for a person with a disability may itself be an unfair discriminatory practice. Cite: Minn. Stat. 363A.09; 363A.02, subd. 1, as amended by Laws 2026, ch. 99, s. 1.