Washington Real Estate Broker Exam — All Questions

May a Washington principal waive the broker duties listed in RCW 18.86.030?

• a.Yes, any of them, if the waiver is initialed by both parties
• b.Yes, all but the duty to account for money and property
• c.No; the statute states these duties may not be waived✓
• d.Yes, but only in commercial real estate transactions

RCW 18.86.030(1) states that the duties it lists are owed to the principal and to all parties in a transaction and may not be waived. The added duties in RCW 18.86.040, 18.86.050 and 18.86.060 are waivable only to the narrow extent those sections themselves allow. Cite: RCW 18.86.030(1).

Unless otherwise agreed, what does a Washington broker owe with respect to the property's condition?

• a.A walkthrough inspection of all systems before any offer
• b.No independent inspection and no independent verification✓
• c.Verification of every statement the seller puts in writing
• d.A written review of the buyer's financial ability to close

RCW 18.86.030(2) says that unless otherwise agreed a broker owes no duty to conduct an independent inspection of the property, no duty to investigate either party's financial condition, and no duty to independently verify statements made by a party or by a source the broker reasonably believes reliable. The duty to disclose known material facts still stands. Cite: RCW 18.86.030(2).

A Washington listing is already under contract when a second written offer arrives. What must the broker do?

• a.Hold it until the pending contract fails or is terminated
• b.Return it unopened, since the seller cannot accept it
• c.Present it only if it beats the pending contract price
• d.Present it in a timely manner, the contract notwithstanding✓

RCW 18.86.030(1)(c) requires a broker to present all written offers, written notices and other written communications in a timely manner regardless of whether the property is subject to an existing contract for sale or the buyer is already a party to an existing contract to purchase. Cite: RCW 18.86.030(1)(c).

What must a Washington broker do with the statutory real estate brokerage pamphlet?

• a.Provide it and obtain an acknowledgment of receipt✓
• b.Post it in the firm's office where clients may read it
• c.Mail it to the party within three days after closing
• d.Offer it, and note in the file if the party declines

RCW 18.86.030(1)(f) requires the broker to provide the pamphlet prescribed by RCW 18.86.120 and obtain an acknowledgment of receipt from the party, as soon as reasonably practical but before the party signs a services agreement or an offer. Cite: RCW 18.86.030(1)(f).

When must a Washington broker disclose in writing whom the broker represents?

• a.At the first substantive contact with any prospective party
• b.Within 24 hours after the parties reach mutual agreement
• c.Before the principal signs an offer, and before mutual assent✓
• d.On the day the closing agent records the deed of conveyance

RCW 18.86.030(1)(g) requires the broker to disclose in writing whether the broker represents the buyer, the seller, or both as a limited dual agent before the broker's principal signs an offer, or as soon as reasonably practical but before the parties reach mutual agreement. Cite: RCW 18.86.030(1)(g).

What may a Washington limited dual agent not do?

• a.Keep looking for other properties for the buyer client
• b.Disclose a known material fact to both of the principals
• c.Receive compensation from both principals in the deal
• d.Advocate terms favoring one principal over the other✓

The acknowledgment RCW 18.86.020(2)(b)(iv) puts into the services agreement says a limited dual agent may not advocate terms favorable to one principal to the detriment of the other, and RCW 18.86.060(2) keeps the duty to take no action adverse to either party. Disclosing known material facts remains required by RCW 18.86.030(1)(d), and RCW 18.86.080(5) allows compensation from more than one party. Cite: RCW 18.86.060; RCW 18.86.020(2)(b)(iv).

How does chapter 18.86 RCW treat the common law fiduciary duties of a real estate agent?

• a.It adds them on top of the statutory duties it lists
• b.It supersedes them; the duties it creates are statutory✓
• c.It leaves them intact for sellers but not for buyers
• d.It applies them only when no services agreement exists

RCW 18.86.110 states that the duties under the chapter are statutory duties and not fiduciary duties, and that the chapter supersedes the fiduciary duties of an agent to a principal under the common law. The common law continues to apply to the parties in all other respects. Cite: RCW 18.86.110.

How long does a Washington broker's duty to keep a principal's confidential information last?

• a.Past termination, yielding only to a subpoena or court order✓
• b.Until the agency relationship ends by notice or by closing
• c.Three years, matching the firm's record retention period
• d.Until the property closes and the file goes to the escrow agent

RCW 18.86.040(1)(d) and RCW 18.86.050(1)(d) each state the duty not to disclose confidential information, except under subpoena or court order, even after termination of the agency relationship. RCW 18.86.070(2) confirms it survives termination. Cite: RCW 18.86.040(1)(d); RCW 18.86.050(1)(d).

After a Washington agency relationship ends, which duties remain unless otherwise agreed in writing?

• a.Loyalty and the duty to keep seeking a buyer for the seller
• b.Reasonable skill and care, plus honesty and good faith
• c.Accounting for money and property, and confidentiality✓
• d.Disclosure of material facts learned after termination

RCW 18.86.070(2) provides that except as otherwise agreed in writing, a broker owes no further duty after termination of the agency relationship other than to account for all moneys and property received during the relationship and to not disclose confidential information. Cite: RCW 18.86.070(2).

A Washington seller's broker learns of a defect and never tells the seller. Is the seller charged with that knowledge?

• a.Yes; an agent's knowledge is always imputed to the principal
• b.No; the principal must actually know it, absent a writing✓
• c.Yes, but only once the broker records it in the file
• d.No, unless the broker learned it from a licensed inspector

RCW 18.86.100 displaces the common law rule of imputed knowledge: unless otherwise agreed to in writing, a principal does not have knowledge or notice of any facts known by an agent of the principal that are not actually known by the principal. The broker's own duty to disclose material facts is untouched. Cite: RCW 18.86.100.

Washington now restricts marketing a residential listing to a limited group of buyers or brokers. What does the statute require?

• a.A written waiver signed by the seller before any private showing
• b.Notice to the multiple listing service within three business days
• c.Approval by the firm's designated broker and a five-day period
• d.Concurrent marketing to the general public and all other brokers✓

RCW 18.86.130, added to chapter 18.86 RCW by 2026 c 57 (Substitute Senate Bill 6091), bars a broker from marketing residential real estate to a limited or exclusive group of prospective buyers or brokers unless the property is concurrently marketed to the general public and all other brokers, except as reasonably necessary to protect the health or safety of the owner or occupant. Marketing to the public does not oblige the owner to allow access. Cite: RCW 18.86.130.

When must a Washington broker deposit earnest money into the firm's trust account?

• a.Within three banking days after mutual acceptance is reached
• b.On the same banking day the funds are received by the broker
• c.The next banking day after receipt, absent a deferral term✓
• d.Within five business days after the seller signs the offer

RCW 18.85.285 requires brokers to deposit all funds into their firm's trust bank account the next banking day following receipt, unless the purchase and sale agreement provides for a deferred deposit. Cite: RCW 18.85.285.

Interest earned on a Washington firm's pooled trust account is remitted to the state. How is it divided?

• a.75 percent to the housing trust fund, 25 percent to education✓
• b.50 percent to the housing trust fund, 50 percent to education
• c.100 percent to the real estate commission account for audits
• d.25 percent to the housing trust fund, 75 percent to education

RCW 18.85.311 divides remittances received under RCW 18.85.285 between the housing trust fund created by RCW 43.185A.130, which receives 75 percent, and the real estate education program account created by RCW 18.85.321, which receives 25 percent. The depository remits quarterly. Cite: RCW 18.85.311.

Absent a written agreement otherwise, to whom must an earnest money check be made payable in Washington?

• a.The individual broker who is handling the transaction
• b.The real estate firm, exactly as the firm is licensed✓
• c.The seller, who then forwards it to the closing agent
• d.The designated broker, in that person's own name

WAC 308-124D-200 requires checks for earnest money, security and damage deposits, rent, lease, contract or mortgage payments on client-owned property to be made payable to the real estate firm as licensed, unless the parties agree in writing that the seller or an escrow agent will be the payee; the firm must keep a copy of that written agreement. Cite: WAC 308-124D-200.

How long must a Washington real estate firm keep transaction records available for inspection?

• a.Two years from the date the transaction closes or fails
• b.Seven years, to match federal recordkeeping standards
• c.Five years from the date the listing agreement is signed
• d.Three years, at the licensed office or a central facility✓

WAC 308-124C-110 requires records to be retained and available for inspection by the director for a minimum of three years. Records are kept at the licensed office address, but transactions closed for at least one year may be moved to one central facility located in Washington. Cite: WAC 308-124C-110.

Which basis does the Washington Law Against Discrimination protect in real estate transactions that the federal Fair Housing Act does not name?

• a.Marital status, and veteran or military status✓
• b.Race, color, and national origin, exactly as under federal law
• c.Religion and sex, which Washington names creed and gender
• d.Familial status, which Washington calls families with children

RCW 49.60.222(1) covers sex, marital status, sexual orientation, race, creed, color, national origin, citizenship or immigration status, families with children status, honorably discharged veteran or military status, disability, and the use of a trained dog guide or service animal. Marital status, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, and citizenship or immigration status reach past the federal list; families with children status is Washington's wording for the federal familial status. Cite: RCW 49.60.222(1).

When must a Washington seller deliver the Form 17 seller disclosure statement?

• a.Before the property is first advertised for sale to the public
• b.At the time the buyer's written offer is presented to the seller
• c.Not later than five business days after mutual acceptance✓
• d.Not later than ten business days before the closing date

RCW 64.06.030 requires the seller to deliver a completed, signed and dated real property transfer disclosure statement not later than five business days after mutual acceptance, unless otherwise agreed or unless the buyer has expressly waived the right to receive it. Cite: RCW 64.06.030.

A Washington buyer receives the Form 17 and does nothing for a week. What is the effect?

• a.The agreement is void because the buyer never approved it
• b.The statement is deemed approved and accepted by the buyer✓
• c.The buyer keeps the right to rescind until the closing date
• d.The seller must redeliver the statement and restart the clock

RCW 64.06.030 gives the buyer three business days from receipt, or as otherwise agreed, to approve the statement or to rescind the agreement in the buyer's sole discretion by written notice. If no written rescission notice is delivered within that window, the disclosure statement is deemed approved and accepted by the buyer. Cite: RCW 64.06.030.

A Washington buyer expressly waives the seller disclosure statement. Which part cannot be waived?

• a.The section on structural defects in the dwelling itself
• b.The section listing homeowners association assessments
• c.The section on the title and any recorded encumbrances
• d.The Environmental section, if any answer would be yes✓

RCW 64.06.010(7) exempts a transfer in which the buyer expressly waives receipt of the seller disclosure statement, but adds that if the answer to any of the questions in the section entitled Environmental would be yes, the buyer may not waive receipt of that section. Cite: RCW 64.06.010(7).

Which transfer is exempt from Washington's seller disclosure statement requirement?

• a.A sale of a four-unit residential building to an investor
• b.A sale by an owner who never occupied the residence
• c.A sale to a buyer who held an interest within two years✓
• d.A sale of a condominium unit that is under ten years old

RCW 64.06.010(4) exempts a transfer where the buyer had an ownership interest in the property within two years of the date of the transfer. Chapter 64.06 RCW otherwise reaches improved residential real property of one to four dwelling units, so the fourplex sale is covered, and nothing turns on whether the seller lived there. Cite: RCW 64.06.010(4); RCW 64.06.005.

Who owes the Washington real estate excise tax, and what happens while it is unpaid?

• a.The seller; the deed cannot be recorded until paid✓
• b.The buyer; the sale is void until the treasurer is satisfied
• c.The escrow agent; the firm's trust account covers a shortfall
• d.The listing firm; the commission is held back until it is paid

RCW 82.45.080 makes the tax the obligation of the seller, enforceable by an action of debt or in the manner prescribed for foreclosing mortgages. RCW 82.45.090 bars the county auditor from accepting the instrument of sale or conveyance for filing or recording until the tax is paid and the treasurer affixes verification of payment. Cite: RCW 82.45.080; RCW 82.45.090.