Pennsylvania Real Estate Salesperson Exam — All Questions

Under Pennsylvania law, when must a licensee provide the Consumer Notice to a prospective buyer or seller?

• a.At the initial interview, before substantive discussion✓
• b.Only at the closing table when documents are signed
• c.Only at the time a written offer is first presented
• d.Within thirty days after the transaction has closed

Pennsylvania requires the Consumer Notice to be given at the first substantive contact, before the licensee discusses a consumer's specific needs or motivations. The notice explains the agency relationships available. It ensures consumers understand whom the licensee represents before sharing confidential information.

In Pennsylvania, a licensee who represents both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction, with the informed written consent of both, is acting as a:

• a.Designated agent for the buyer only
• b.Dual agent✓
• c.Subagent of the seller only
• d.Transaction licensee owing no agency duties

A dual agent represents both parties in the same transaction and may do so in Pennsylvania only with the informed written consent of both the buyer and seller. The dual agent must remain neutral and cannot advocate for one party over the other. Full disclosure and consent are mandatory.

Under Pennsylvania law, which document must the seller of most residential resale properties provide to a buyer disclosing known material defects?

• a.The Agreement of Sale addendum
• b.The Consumer Notice
• c.The Seller's Property Disclosure Statement✓
• d.The Recovery Fund notice

Pennsylvania's Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law requires most sellers of residential property to complete a Seller's Property Disclosure Statement identifying known material defects. It is delivered to the buyer before an agreement of sale is signed. Certain transfers, such as some estate or foreclosure sales, are exempt.

The Consumer Notice a Pennsylvania licensee hands over at the initial interview tells the consumer that:

• a.The licensee represents the consumer from that moment on
• b.Signing the notice creates a buyer agency agreement
• c.No business relationship is presumed without a written agreement✓
• d.The notice is itself the contract governing the transaction

The form is headed THIS IS NOT A CONTRACT and closes by warning the consumer that unless a business relationship is selected by signing a written agreement, the licensee is not representing the consumer and no relationship is presumed. The acknowledgment records delivery, not representation. Cite: 49 Pa. Code § 35.336(c).

A Pennsylvania licensee's initial interview with a buyer happens over the telephone. The written Consumer Notice must then be provided no later than:

• a.Ten days after the telephone interview takes place
• b.The first in-person meeting or the first showing, whichever comes first✓
• c.The moment the first written offer to purchase is signed
• d.The interview itself, sent by fax or electronic mail

When the initial interview is not in person the licensee gives the prescribed oral disclosure at that interview, then delivers the written Consumer Notice by the earlier of the first in-person meeting after the interview or the first time anyone working with the licensee shows the consumer a property. Cite: 49 Pa. Code § 35.284(a)(2) and § 35.339.

A Pennsylvania transaction licensee owes no loyalty or ordinary confidentiality, yet is still forbidden to disclose that:

• a.The seller will accept less than the listing price✓
• b.The property has a known material structural defect
• c.The listing broker, not the buyer, is paying the fee
• d.Another offer on the property has already been made

A transaction licensee owes a duty of limited confidentiality covering exactly three items: that the seller will take less than the asking price, that the buyer will pay more than the written offer, and that either side will accept financing terms other than those offered. Known material defects must still be disclosed. Cite: 49 Pa. Code § 35.316.

A Pennsylvania broker names one licensee in the firm to represent the seller and another to represent the buyer in the same transaction. The broker:

• a.Has no agency relationship with either of the parties
• b.Represents the seller, whose listing the firm holds
• c.Must withdraw the firm from the transaction entirely
• d.Is a dual agent who must guard both sides' confidences✓

Designated agency requires the principal's written consent, and because the broker supervises both designated licensees the broker automatically serves as a dual agent, with duties to protect the confidential information disclosed to each and to take no action detrimental to either party. Firm licensees who are not designated have no agency relationship with either party. Cite: 49 Pa. Code § 35.315(d) and (f).

Which transfer falls outside Pennsylvania's Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law?

• a.A resale of a condominium unit by its owner
• b.A sale of land with no dwelling built on it✓
• c.A sale of a four-unit residential apartment building
• d.An installment sales contract for a single-family house

The law reaches transfers of one to four residential dwelling units, including condominium and cooperative units, installment sales contracts and leases with an option to purchase. Unimproved real property is one of the listed exceptions, along with transfers by court order, foreclosure, transfers between co-owners, and transfers to a spouse or a lineal relative. Cite: 68 Pa.C.S. § 7103.

An action for damages under Pennsylvania's Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law must be commenced within:

• a.One year after the agreement of sale is signed
• b.Six years after the buyer discovers the defect
• c.Two years after the date of final settlement✓
• d.Four years after the deed has been recorded

The chapter sets its own two-year limitations period running from final settlement, not from discovery of the defect. A transfer is not invalidated merely because someone failed to comply; the remedy is the buyer's actual damages. Cite: 68 Pa.C.S. § 7311(b).

Under Pennsylvania's Real Estate Seller Disclosure Law, a licensee becomes liable for a violation when the licensee:

• a.Does not inspect the property before listing it
• b.Relies on the seller's answers without verifying them
• c.Recommends a home inspector who misses a defect
• d.Actually knew of an undisclosed material defect✓

An agent of either party is not liable under the chapter unless the agent had actual knowledge of a material defect that was not disclosed, or of a misrepresentation about one. The Commission's rules likewise say a licensee need not conduct an independent investigation to confirm the seller's disclosures. Cite: 68 Pa.C.S. § 7310; 49 Pa. Code § 35.284a(d).

Pennsylvania later added which subject to the statutory list that the seller property disclosure statement must cover?

• a.Storm water facilities and who must maintain them✓
• b.The price the seller originally paid for the property
• c.The names of the listing broker and the salesperson
• d.Any offers the seller has previously turned down

Act 6 of 2015 added the condition and location of all storm water facilities, together with a statement of whether ongoing maintenance falls on the property owner or on someone else. The other subjects listed in the statute are conditions of the property, not the seller's price history or negotiating record. Cite: 68 Pa.C.S. § 7304(b)(17), added June 19, 2015, P.L.23, No.6.