West Virginia Real Estate Salesperson Exam — All Questions

Under West Virginia rules, a licensee should disclose the agency relationship to a consumer:

• a.Within 30 days after an accepted offer
• b.Before confidential information is shared, at the start of the relationship✓
• c.Only after a purchase contract is signed
• d.At the closing

West Virginia requires licensees to disclose the agency relationship before confidential information is shared, generally at the start of the working relationship. The disclosure explains whether the licensee represents the seller, the buyer, or acts as a dual agent.

In West Virginia, dual agency, in which one licensee or firm represents both the buyer and the seller, is:

• a.Created automatically whenever a firm has both sides
• b.Allowed with no disclosure to the parties
• c.Permitted only with the informed written consent of both parties✓
• d.Prohibited in all circumstances

In West Virginia, dual agency is permitted only with the informed written consent of both the buyer and the seller. The dual agent must treat both parties honestly and may not disclose one party's confidential information to the other.

When a member of a West Virginia team signs the Commission's Notice of Agency Relationship form, the form must:

• a.name only the team member who actually signs
• b.be signed personally by every team member
• c.list, or have attached to it, all the members of the team✓
• d.be filed with the Commission within 10 days

The agency form is signed by the licensee and the client when the relationship is created and by all parties before negotiations begin; the broker keeps a signed copy in the transaction file. For teams, the rule adds that all team members must be listed on or attached to the form. Cite: W. Va. C.S.R. §174-1-16.1.

A change in a West Virginia licensee's agency status has made an earlier disclosure inaccurate. The licensee must:

• a.make a note of the change in the transaction file
• b.prepare a corrected form, dated and acknowledged in writing by all parties✓
• c.disclose the change orally at the closing
• d.terminate the representation agreement and negotiate a new one with the client

If a change makes an earlier disclosure inaccurate, incomplete or misleading, the licensee prepares a corrected form and immediately presents it to all parties; the corrected form must be dated and acknowledged in writing by everyone. Cite: W. Va. C.S.R. §174-1-16.3.

Before a West Virginia licensee may receive a financial incentive for steering a client to a lender or an affiliated business, the licensee must obtain from the principal:

• a.an oral acknowledgment noted in the transaction file
• b.the Commission's prior written approval of the referral
• c.nothing, if the incentive is customary
• d.a signed acknowledgment of and consent to the receipt of that incentive✓

Directing a party to a lender or affiliated business while expecting a financial incentive, rebate or other compensation is a disciplinary ground unless the principal has first given a signed acknowledgment and consent. Sharing compensation between licensed brokers is not caught by the rule. Cite: W. Va. Code §30-40-19(a)(32).

A West Virginia licensee who intends to acquire an interest in, or an option to purchase, a property he is dealing with must:

• a.disclose his true position to the owner✓
• b.resign the listing before making any offer
• c.obtain the Commission's prior written consent
• d.route the purchase through an unrelated brokerage

Failing to disclose the licensee's true position to an owner, where the licensee directly or through a third party purchases, acquires, or intends to acquire an interest in or an option on the property, is an enumerated ground for discipline. Cite: W. Va. Code §30-40-19(a)(34).

A West Virginia licensee may negotiate a transaction directly with a party who is exclusively represented by another broker only when:

• a.the represented party starts the conversation
• b.the other broker specifically authorizes the contact✓
• c.the exclusive listing is more than 90 days old
• d.the licensee copies the other broker on every message

The Act forbids negotiating a real estate transaction directly with a person represented exclusively by another broker unless the conduct is specifically authorized by that other broker. Who initiated the contact does not matter. Cite: W. Va. Code §30-40-19(a)(39).

Before paying part of his compensation to a broker representing another party to the transaction, a West Virginia broker must:

• a.obtain the Commission's prior approval
• b.amend the written listing agreement
• c.give written notice to all parties✓
• d.disclose the split at the closing table

The Commission's rule requires written notice to all parties prior to the payment. Cite: W. Va. C.S.R. §174-1-10.5.

A West Virginia licensee marks up an expenditure made on behalf of a principal and keeps the difference without saying so. The licensee has:

• a.taken undisclosed compensation, a ground for discipline✓
• b.earned a lawful administrative fee
• c.violated only the trust fund account rule
• d.breached no duty as long as the total charge is reasonable

Accepting, taking or charging any undisclosed compensation on expenditures made by or on behalf of the licensee's principal is an enumerated ground on which the Commission may refuse, suspend or revoke a license. Cite: W. Va. Code §30-40-19(a)(26).

West Virginia's statutory definition of a "team" covers a group of two or more associate brokers or salespersons who:

• a.are affiliated with different responsible brokers
• b.share a marketing budget but represent their clients separately
• c.all hold broker licenses and share a single office
• d.are affiliated with the same broker and act as one agent representative✓

The definition also sweeps in non-licensed professionals working with the group, which is why the advertising rule requires each non-licensed team member named in an advertisement to be identified as "Non-Licensed." Cite: W. Va. Code §30-40-4 ("Team"); W. Va. C.S.R. §174-1-17.1.b.

A West Virginia licensee who persuades a seller to cut another licensee's agreed commission must first obtain:

• a.a notarized statement from the seller
• b.that other licensee's prior written consent✓
• c.the Commission's written approval
• d.nothing, because commission rates are always negotiable

Inducing any person to alter, modify or change another licensee's fee or commission for brokerage services without that licensee's prior written consent is a disciplinary ground. Cite: W. Va. Code §30-40-19(a)(38).

Failing to state on the Commission's notice of agency relationship form whether the licensee represents the seller, the buyer, or both is:

• a.a violation only where a party can prove actual harm
• b.excused whenever the licensee is acting as a transaction broker for both sides
• c.treated as a private civil matter between the parties
• d.an express statutory ground for refusing, suspending or revoking the license✓

The Act lists the omission itself as a disciplinary ground, alongside the separate ground of failing to furnish copies of the notice of agency relationship to each party who executed it. Cite: W. Va. Code §30-40-19(a)(12), (a)(13).