Rhode Island Real Estate Salesperson Exam — All Questions

Rhode Island's real estate conveyance tax on an ordinary sale is imposed at a rate of:

• a.$2.30 for each $500 of consideration, paid by the grantee
• b.$3.75 for each $500 of consideration, paid by the grantor✓
• c.$2.00 for each $1,000 of consideration, paid by the grantor
• d.One percent of the sale price, split between the parties

The tax applies when the consideration paid exceeds $100 and runs at $3.75 for each $500, or fractional part, of consideration including any lien or encumbrance remaining. In the absence of an agreement to the contrary the grantor pays. A second tier of $3.75 per $500 applies to residential consideration above a statutory threshold. Cite: R.I. Gen. Laws Section 44-25-1(a) and (b), as amended by P.L. 2025, ch. 278, art. 5, sec. 10, effective October 1, 2025.

A Rhode Island transaction collapses and the buyer and seller each claim the deposit. The principal broker must transmit the money to the general treasurer:

• a.Within 30 days of the failed closing
• b.Within 90 days of learning of the dispute
• c.No later than 180 days from the date of the original deposit✓
• d.Only after a court orders the funds interpleaded into the registry

Whenever ownership of deposit money is in dispute, the broker deposits the money with the general treasurer within 180 days of the date of the original deposit, to be held in trust until the dispute is resolved. The parties may agree in writing to extend that period. Cite: R.I. Gen. Laws Section 5-20.5-26(a)(1)(iv); 230-RICR-30-20-2.19(C).

Both parties to a failed Rhode Island transaction sign a written release directing the escrow agent to pay the deposit to the buyer. The agent must pay:

• a.Within ten days of receiving the release✓
• b.Within thirty days of receiving the release
• c.At the next regular disbursement date
• d.Only after the department approves the release

An escrow agent shall pay sums held in escrow as instructed by the parties to a failed real estate transaction within ten days of receipt of a written release signed by all the parties, and failure to do so is a ground for discipline. Cite: R.I. Gen. Laws Sections 5-20.5-26(d) and 5-20.5-14(a)(37).

A Rhode Island principal broker concludes in good faith that the buyer forfeited the deposit and wants to release it to the seller. The broker must first give the buyer written notice by certified mail of the intent to release the deposit in:

• a.Twenty-one days
• b.Sixty days✓
• c.Ten business days
• d.Ninety days

Forfeiture to a seller requires a good faith determination, certified mail notice to the buyer of the intent to release in sixty days, and no written dispute from the buyer within that period. The mirror rule for returning a deposit to a buyer uses a twenty-one-day notice to the seller. Cite: 230-RICR-30-20-2.19(A) and (B).

A Rhode Island seller tells a licensee, "Get me $400,000 and keep anything above it." The licensee:

• a.May take the listing if the arrangement is in writing
• b.May take the listing if the overage is disclosed at closing
• c.May take the listing only with the principal broker's consent
• d.May not take it, because net listings are prohibited✓

Accepting a listing based on a net price is a ground for discipline, and the department's regulation flatly forbids a licensee from entering into a net listing contract. Where an owner wants to list that way, the agreed commission is added and the listing is written in the usual manner. Cite: R.I. Gen. Laws Section 5-20.5-14(a)(22); 230-RICR-30-20-2.26(D).