Wyoming Real Estate Salesperson Exam — All Questions

Real estate salespersons in Wyoming are licensed and regulated by:

• a.The county clerk
• b.The Wyoming Real Estate Commission✓
• c.The Wyoming Secretary of State
• d.The Wyoming Association of Realtors

The Wyoming Real Estate Commission licenses and disciplines brokers and salespersons under the Wyoming Real Estate License Act (W.S. Title 33, Chapter 28). A trade association is a private membership group and does not issue licenses.

In Wyoming, a licensed salesperson may conduct real estate brokerage:

• a.Only while associated with and supervised by a responsible broker✓
• b.Independently after the license issues
• c.For any broker willing to share a fee
• d.Only after also becoming a responsible broker

A Wyoming salesperson must be associated with and supervised by a responsible broker and may not operate independently. The responsible broker is accountable for the affiliated licensees and for the brokerage's trust accounts and records.

A Wyoming salesperson may lawfully be paid a commission by:

• a.Any cooperating broker in the transaction
• b.The seller directly upon listing
• c.The buyer directly at closing
• d.The responsible broker with whom the license is associated✓

A Wyoming salesperson is compensated only through the responsible broker with whom the license is associated, not directly by a buyer, seller, or another broker. The responsible broker supervises the salesperson and handles client funds.

The administrative fine the Wyoming Real Estate Commission may impose for each separate offense is capped at:

• a.$1,000
• b.$5,000
• c.$2,500✓
• d.$10,000

Alongside the fine the commission may censure a licensee, impose probation and set its terms, or suspend or revoke the license. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-111(a).

An individual convicted of a first offense of performing real estate activity in Wyoming without a license faces:

• a.a fine of up to $500 and no jail exposure
• b.a fine of up to $2,500, up to six months in the county jail, or both✓
• c.a felony conviction and up to two years in prison
• d.a fine of up to $5,000 and up to one year in the county jail

A subsequent violation raises the exposure to a fine of up to $5,000 or up to one year in the county jail or both; a convicted corporation, partnership or association is fined up to $5,000. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-114(a).

In Wyoming, a person who performed real estate activity while unlicensed may:

• a.sue for the reasonable value of the services actually rendered to the client
• b.sue only the responsible broker who accepted the work
• c.recover the fee if the client knew of the lack of a license
• d.not institute or recover in any suit for compensation for that activity✓

The bar is absolute: no action or suit may be instituted, and no recovery had, unless the person was licensed at the time of engaging in the real estate activity. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-115.

Wyoming requires a responsible broker to keep a full set of transaction records for:

• a.not less than two years from the company's last participation✓
• b.five years from the date on which the transaction was consummated
• c.three years from the date the listing was taken
• d.seven years from the date of the last payment

The commission's forms rule repeats the two-year floor for readily available and properly indexed copies of unrecorded documents. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-123.

A Wyoming licensee advertising the sale of real estate the licensee personally owns must:

• a.omit the real estate company name from the advertisement
• b.obtain the commission's written approval before publishing
• c.state that an owner is a licensee✓
• d.list the property with an unaffiliated brokerage

Licensees advertising property they do not own must include the company name under which they are licensed; the owner-licensee rule adds the ownership disclosure. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-119(f)-(h).

Every printed or electronic broker's price opinion prepared in Wyoming must carry a statement that the document:

• a.was prepared for a lender's internal use only
• b.may not be shown to any third party
• c.is valid for 90 days from the date of preparation
• d.is an opinion of price and not a certified appraisal of market value✓

The statute prescribes the sentence and adds that if an appraisal is desired, the service of a certified appraiser must be obtained. A licensee may give a price opinion to a potential seller, a potential buyer, or any third party for a purpose permitted by law. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-125(a)-(b).

Contested cases arising under the Wyoming Real Estate License Act may be heard by an independent hearing officer, who may not be:

• a.a licensed Wyoming attorney
• b.an employee of the attorney general's office or of the commission✓
• c.a person who has at any time held a Wyoming real estate license or permit
• d.a resident of the county where the violation occurred

The hearing officer makes written findings of fact and conclusions of law in each contested case and forwards them to the commission; judicial review may be had in the district court of the county where the violation allegedly occurred. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-113(a)-(c).

The Wyoming Real Estate Commission consists of:

• a.five commissioners appointed by the governor, no more than one from any county✓
• b.seven commissioners elected by the licensee population
• c.nine commissioners appointed by the attorney general
• d.five commissioners, every one of whom must be an active Wyoming real estate licensee

Not less than three nor more than four members must have been licensees in Wyoming for at least five years before appointment; terms run three years, and three members are a quorum. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-105(a), (h).

The most a claimant may be paid out of the Wyoming real estate recovery account on a single judgment is:

• a.$20,000 of the actual damages, including costs and interest
• b.$50,000, the statutory balance of the account
• c.$10,000 of the actual damages included in the judgment and left unpaid✓
• d.the full amount of the judgment, because the statute sets no ceiling at all

The claimant must also show a writ of execution returned unsatisfied, and must file the verified petition within one year of the termination of all proceedings, appeals included. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-202(a).

A judgment against a Wyoming licensee qualifies for payment from the real estate recovery account only if it rests on:

• a.negligence in preparing a comparative market analysis
• b.fraud, willful misrepresentation, deceit, or conversion of trust funds✓
• c.breach of a written listing agreement
• d.any judgment arising out of a licensed real estate activity

The transaction must also have occurred while the licensee was licensed and performing real estate activity, and the account pays only the actual damages included in the judgment. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-202(a).

After the Wyoming commission pays a claim from the real estate recovery account, the judgment debtor's license is suspended until the debtor repays the amount in full with interest at:

• a.18 percent a year✓
• b.8 percent per year
• c.12 percent per year
• d.the statutory post-judgment rate

The suspension is immediate, a discharge in bankruptcy does not relieve the licensee of it, and repayment does not stop the commission from taking separate disciplinary action. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-204.

Wyoming collects an additional $20 from every person obtaining or renewing a license. Once the real estate recovery account balance reaches $20,000:

• a.the entire fee is refunded to licensees at renewal
• b.collection of the fee stops until the account balance falls below $20,000
• c.the entire fee is transferred to the state general fund
• d.half goes to the recovery account and half to the education fund✓

When the recovery account reaches $50,000 the whole fee goes to the education fund, and when the recovery and education funds each exceed $50,000 the commission stops collecting the fee. No general fund money may be appropriated for these payments. Cite: Wyo. Stat. §33-28-201(b)-(c); §33-28-206(a).