Practice Questions
Twenty-Five Practice Items, Answered in Full
Original practice material written for study. Nothing here is taken from any licensing examination, no item reproduces a live question, and state-specific rules are deliberately excluded because they vary. Verify any local rule against your commission's own statute and rules.
Below are twenty-five original questions written in the style licensing examinations use, grouped by the areas a content outline normally names. Each answer states the rule the item is built on and explains what the other three options were doing there.
Getting an item right is not the point of working these. Being able to say why the runner-up option fails is, because distractor pull is what separates a candidate who knows the material from one who can score on it.
Work Them Like This
Commit to an answer before you read the explanation, with nothing open in front of you. An item you look up first has trained recognition, which is the skill that feels reliable while the page is open and disappears in the testing center.
Give yourself roughly the per-item pace your jurisdiction's time allowance implies, divide the total time by the question count in the current candidate handbook, and hold to it. If an item is not resolving, mark it and move; an unanswered question at the end costs exactly what a wrong one does.
Then review by cause rather than by topic. Sort every miss into wrong definition, wrong rule, arithmetic slip, unit mismatch, misread prompt, or ran out of room. Each of those has a different remedy, and the topic label conceals which one applied.
These items cover principles that hold broadly. They are not a substitute for your jurisdiction's license law, which is examined separately in most places and has to be studied from local sources.
Ownership and Interests (Items 1-5)
Question 1
An owner dies without a will, and after a diligent search no surviving heirs can be identified. Ownership of the property passes to the state. This process is called: A) Escheat B) Intestate succession C) Eminent domain D) Reversion
A. Escheat is the state's claim to property left with no will and no locatable heirs; it exists so that title never ends up ownerless. B is the near miss and the one worth understanding: intestate succession is the statutory scheme that distributes an estate when there is no will, and it operates whenever heirs do exist. Escheat only applies once that scheme runs out of takers. C is the taking of private property for public use with compensation, which has nothing to do with death. D describes a future interest returning to a grantor or the grantor's successors, which requires an earlier grant that created it.
Question 2
Which form of concurrent ownership is available only to a married couple and carries a right of survivorship? A) Tenancy in common B) Joint tenancy C) Tenancy by the entirety D) Tenancy at will
C. Tenancy by the entirety is restricted to spouses, includes survivorship, and in the jurisdictions recognizing it also gives protection against a creditor of one spouse alone. A carries no survivorship at all, which is its defining feature: an owner's undivided share passes through the estate. B carries survivorship but is not limited to spouses. D is not a form of co-ownership; it is a leasehold that either party can end, and it appears here purely because the word tenancy is in it.
Question 3
A utility company holds a recorded right to run and maintain transmission lines across a landowner's parcel. No neighboring parcel benefits. This interest is best described as: A) An easement appurtenant B) An easement in gross C) A license D) A restrictive covenant
B. An easement in gross benefits a person or an entity rather than a parcel of land, which is why commercial utility rights are the standard example. A requires a benefited parcel, a dominant tenement, adjacent to or at least served by the burdened one, and the facts say no parcel benefits. C is revocable permission rather than an interest in land, and it would not normally be recorded or survive a sale. D restricts how an owner may use their own land; it does not grant anyone a right to enter and do something on it.
Question 4
A parcel fronts a large lake. The owner's rights to use and access that water are described as: A) Riparian rights B) Littoral rights C) Prior appropriation D) An easement by necessity
B. Littoral rights attach to land bordering a static body of water such as a lake, sea or ocean. A applies to land along a flowing watercourse, a river or a stream, and is the trap in this item because the two terms are usually taught in the same breath. C is a competing doctrine in which water use is allocated by priority of claim rather than by ownership of the bank, and it is adopted by state law rather than by the shape of the water. D concerns access across another parcel when a property would otherwise be landlocked.
Question 5
A grantor conveys property to a relative for the duration of that relative's life, with ownership then passing to a named third party. The third party's interest during the relative's lifetime is: A) A remainder B) A reversion C) A leasehold D) A fee simple absolute
A. A remainder is a future interest held by someone other than the grantor that becomes possessory when the life estate ends. B is the same idea except that the interest returns to the grantor, which is the distinction the item is testing; the third party here is named, so nothing returns. C is a possessory interest under a lease, and no lease exists on these facts. D is present, absolute ownership, which the third party does not have while the life tenant is alive.
Contracts and Agency (Items 6-10)
Question 1
A prospective buyer pays a seller for the exclusive right to purchase a parcel at a set price within ninety days, without obligating themselves to buy. To be enforceable, this agreement: A) Must be in writing, because it concerns an interest in real property B) Need not be in writing, because the buyer is not obligated to purchase C) Need not be in writing, because it lasts less than one year D) Must be notarised to be valid between the parties
A. An option to purchase is an interest in real property, and the statute of frauds requires such agreements to be in writing and signed by the party to be charged. B misreads what the option does: the buyer's freedom not to exercise it does not remove the seller's binding commitment to hold the price open. C applies the one-year rule to the wrong category; the duration is irrelevant once the subject is real property. D confuses enforceability between the parties with the acknowledgment that recording usually requires.
Question 2
During a listing appointment, a seller tells their agent that the basement floods during heavy rain, a condition not visible on inspection. The agent's obligation is to: A) Keep the information confidential, as it came from the client B) Disclose the condition to prospective buyers C) Disclose it only if a buyer asks directly about the basement D) Advise the seller to repair it and say nothing either way
B. A known material defect that is not apparent on reasonable inspection must be disclosed to prospective buyers. The duty of confidentiality owed to a client covers the client's bargaining position, motivation and financial circumstances; it does not extend to concealing a defect in the property. A treats confidentiality as absolute, which it is not. C makes disclosure contingent on the buyer guessing what to ask, which inverts the purpose of the rule. D describes a remedy for the condition, not a substitute for disclosure of a known defect.
Question 3
A purchase contract states that if the buyer defaults, the seller keeps the deposit as the seller's sole remedy and the agreed measure of loss. This clause provides for: A) Specific performance B) Liquidated damages C) Rescission D) Compensatory damages
B. Liquidated damages fix the recovery in advance, which spares the seller from proving actual loss and caps what the buyer is exposed to. A is the opposite remedy: it compels completion of the purchase rather than ending the deal, and the clause here expressly forecloses it. C unwinds the contract and returns the parties to their prior positions, which is not what retaining the deposit does. D is recovery of proven actual loss, the very thing the clause exists to avoid having to establish.
Question 4
A broker represents both the seller and the buyer in one transaction by assigning one licensee in the firm to each party, each owing full duties to their own client. Where permitted, this arrangement is generally known as: A) Dual agency B) Designated agency C) Sub-agency D) A transaction brokerage
B. Designated agency names individual licensees within the same firm to represent opposing parties, so that full duties continue at the licensee level even though the firm is on both sides. A is the arrangement in which the same licensee represents both parties, which necessarily limits the duties owed to each. C is an older structure in which a cooperating broker works on behalf of the listing broker's client. D describes a non-agency role providing services without representing either party. Which of these a jurisdiction permits, and what disclosure and consent it requires, is state law and must be checked locally.
Question 5
A licensee deposits a client's earnest money into the firm's operating account and uses it briefly to cover payroll before restoring it. The fiduciary duty most directly breached is: A) Loyalty B) Obedience C) Accounting D) Disclosure
C. The duty to account covers the safekeeping and correct handling of money and documents belonging to others, and mixing client funds with the firm's own, commingling, breaches it whether or not the money is restored. A is broader and concerns putting the client's interests ahead of the licensee's; it is implicated, but the item asks which duty is most directly breached and the funds-handling duty is the specific one. B concerns following the client's lawful instructions. D concerns communicating material facts. Trust account rules, including deadlines for deposit, are set by each jurisdiction.
Finance and Calculation (Items 11-17)
Question 1
A property sells for $420,000. The total commission is 5%, split evenly between the listing and cooperating brokerages. The listing agent receives 55% of their brokerage's share. What does the listing agent earn? A) $5,775 B) $10,500 C) $11,550 D) $4,725
A. Work outward one step at a time. The total commission is $420,000 x 0.05 = $21,000. The listing brokerage's half is $10,500. The agent's 55% of that is $10,500 x 0.55 = $5,775. B is the brokerage's share before the agent split, the most common way to stop one step early. C is 55% of the whole commission, which skips the brokerage split. D is the 45% remainder retained by the brokerage rather than the agent's portion.
Question 2
An investment property produces annual net operating income of $63,000 and is valued at $900,000. What is the capitalization rate? A) 6.3% B) 7% C) 7.5% D) 14%
B. Rate equals income divided by value: $63,000 / $900,000 = 0.07, or 7%. Keep the relationship in mind rather than three separate formulas, since income, rate and value form one triangle and any two give the third. A comes from dividing by $1,000,000, a rounding shortcut that is not the figure given. C does not follow from these numbers at all and is there to reward guessing near the right magnitude. D is the result of dividing by half the value, a slip that occurs when the split of a partnership interest is read into the problem.
Question 3
A buyer purchases a home for $300,000 and makes a down payment of $45,000. What is the loan-to-value ratio? A) 15% B) 80% C) 85% D) 87.5%
C. The loan is $300,000 - $45,000 = $255,000, and $255,000 / $300,000 = 0.85, so the ratio is 85%. A is the down payment expressed as a share of price, which is the complement of the answer and the distractor that catches candidates who compute the right numbers and report the wrong one. B is a familiar benchmark inserted because it looks like a standard threshold. D does not derive from these figures. Note that loan-to-value compares the loan against price or appraised value, whichever is lower, so the appraisal can change the ratio even when the price does not.
Question 4
A rental property's tenant pays $1,500 on the first of the month. The sale closes on the 10th, the buyer is credited with the day of closing, and the parties use a 30-day month. How much of that month's rent is credited to the buyer at closing? A) $450 B) $500 C) $1,050 D) $1,500
C. Daily rent is $1,500 / 30 = $50. The buyer owns the day of closing, so the buyer holds days 10 through 30, which is 21 days: 21 x $50 = $1,050. A is the seller's 9 days, days 1 through 9, and is the mirror-image error. B does not follow from a 30-day month. D ignores the proration entirely. Two cautions carry into any proration item: confirm whether the method is a 360-day or 365-day convention, and confirm which party is charged with the day of closing, because both are conventions stated in the problem or by local practice rather than universal rules.
Question 5
A rectangular lot measures 220 feet by 198 feet. How large is it? A) 0.5 acre B) 1 acre C) 1.5 acres D) 2 acres
B. The area is 220 x 198 = 43,560 square feet, which is one acre exactly. The figure 43,560 square feet per acre is worth committing to memory, because area items are otherwise unsolvable and the conversion appears in lot-size, subdivision and price-per-acre problems alike. The other options are distributed around the correct answer to catch a multiplication slip or a conversion done from a half-remembered figure. Check units before calculating: a prompt stating one dimension in yards or in rods is testing the conversion rather than the multiplication.
Question 6
A borrower pays 1.5 discount points on a $320,000 loan. What is the cost of the points? A) $480 B) $3,200 C) $4,800 D) $48,000
C. A point is one percent of the loan amount, so 1.5 points is $320,000 x 0.015 = $4,800. A and D are decimal-place errors, the characteristic failure on this item type. B is one point rather than one and a half. Two distinctions are commonly tested alongside this arithmetic: points are calculated on the loan amount and not on the purchase price, and discount points paid to reduce the interest rate are a different thing from an origination charge for making the loan.
Question 7
Which federal law requires disclosure of settlement costs and prohibits kickbacks and unearned fees for the referral of settlement business? A) TILA B) RESPA C) ECOA D) FIRREA
B. RESPA governs the settlement process: it requires the prescribed cost disclosures and bars kickbacks, fee-splitting and unearned charges for referrals. A concerns the disclosure of credit terms and the cost of borrowing so that borrowers can compare offers. C prohibits discrimination in the extension of credit and requires notice when an application is denied. D concerns appraisal standards and the regulation of appraisers. Acronym items are a vocabulary test rather than a reasoning test: learn what each statute regulates in one sentence and these become quick points.
Fair Housing and Regulation (Items 18-22)
Question 1
A licensee telephones homeowners in a neighborhood, suggests that members of a particular protected class are moving in, and urges them to list before values decline. This practice is: A) Steering B) Blockbusting C) Redlining D) Puffing
B. Blockbusting is inducing or attempting to induce sales or rentals by representations about the entry into a neighborhood of persons of a protected class. It is prohibited whether or not any sale results, because the attempt is the violation. A is directing prospects toward or away from particular areas on a protected basis, which concerns where buyers are shown rather than who is persuaded to sell. C is the denial or pricing of credit or insurance by geography in a way that burdens protected classes, and it is a lender or insurer practice. D is non-actionable sales exaggeration and is not a fair housing concept at all.
Question 2
Which of the following is NOT a protected class under the federal Fair Housing Act? A) Familial status B) National origin C) Marital status D) Disability
C. The federal protected classes are race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status and disability. Marital status is not among them at the federal level. It is a trap worth knowing precisely, because many state and local fair housing laws do add classes beyond the federal list, and where they do, the broader law governs conduct in that jurisdiction. On a licensing item, read carefully whether the question asks about federal law or about your state's law. A protects households with children under eighteen, including pregnancy and those securing custody.
Question 3
Which sale is most likely to fall within an exemption from the federal Fair Housing Act? A) A single-family home sold by an owner who owns no other rental homes, without a broker and without discriminatory advertising B) A home listed with a brokerage and advertised on a multiple listing service C) A unit in a large apartment complex managed by a property management firm D) A home sold privately but advertised with a statement expressing a racial preference
A. The limited exemption for a private owner depends on conditions being met together: the owner must not own more than the permitted number of such homes, must not use a broker or agent, and must not advertise in a discriminatory way. B fails because a broker is used. C is ordinary covered rental housing. D fails on the advertising condition, and this is the key point about the exemptions: the prohibition on discriminatory advertising applies regardless, so no exemption protects a discriminatory notice or statement.
Question 4
A tenant with a disability asks a landlord to waive a no-pets policy so that an assistance animal may live in the unit. Granting this request is best described as: A) A reasonable accommodation B) A reasonable modification C) A variance D) A concession the landlord may grant or refuse at will
A. A reasonable accommodation is a change to a rule, policy, practice or service that allows a person with a disability equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling, and waiving a pet restriction for an assistance animal is the standard example. B is a physical change to the premises, such as installing a ramp or a grab bar, and the two terms are the most confused pair in this area. C belongs to zoning and permits a use or dimension departing from an ordinance. D misstates the law: these requests are governed by fair housing obligations and are not discretionary, although the landlord may verify a disability-related need where it is not obvious.
Question 5
Which phrase in a property advertisement would most likely violate the federal Fair Housing Act? A) 'Recently renovated kitchen' B) 'Perfect for a young Christian couple' C) 'Two blocks from the rail station' D) 'Off-street parking available'
B. The Act prohibits any notice, statement or advertisement indicating a preference, limitation or discrimination based on a protected class, and this phrase signals preferences on religion, familial status and age-adjacent grounds at once. Intent is not required: the question is what the wording conveys to an ordinary reader. A, C and D describe the property and its location in neutral terms, which is the safe pattern. Describe the dwelling and the amenities; never describe the preferred occupant.
Land Use and Valuation (Items 23-25)
Question 1
An appraiser estimates the value of a leased office building by dividing its net operating income by a market rate of return. Which valuation approach has the appraiser applied? A) Sales comparison approach B) Cost approach C) Income approach D) Gross rent multiplier analysis
C. The income approach converts a property's income stream into value using a rate drawn from the market, and it is the approach of choice where the property is held for the income it produces. A derives value from recently closed transactions on comparable parcels, with adjustments made to the comparables and never to the subject. B builds value from the cost to reproduce or replace the improvement, less accrued depreciation, plus land valued separately, and it suits new or special-purpose buildings with few comparable sales. D is a related income technique, but it applies a multiplier to gross rent rather than capitalizing net operating income, so it is not what the facts describe.
Question 2
A municipality adopts a zoning ordinance restricting the height of new buildings in a district. No owner is compensated. This exercise of government authority is: A) The police power B) Eminent domain C) Escheat D) Taxation
A. The police power is the authority to regulate private conduct and land use to protect public health, safety and welfare, and regulation under it does not by itself require compensation. B is the power to take private property for public use, and compensation is required, which is the distinction the item turns on: regulating a use is not taking the property. C concerns property passing to the state when an owner dies with no will and no heirs. D raises revenue. All four are ordinarily taught together as the public limitations on private ownership, so learn them by what each one does rather than by name alone.
Question 3
An owner receives permission from the local zoning authority to build closer to the side boundary than the setback requirement allows, because the lot's unusual shape makes compliance impractical. This permission is: A) A nonconforming use B) A variance C) A conditional use permit D) Spot zoning
B. A variance authorizes a departure from a dimensional requirement such as a setback, height or lot coverage, and it is granted on a showing of hardship arising from the particular parcel. A is a use that lawfully predates the current ordinance and is allowed to continue, so it involves no permission because nothing new is being approved. C permits a use the ordinance already contemplates in that district subject to conditions, which is a use question rather than a dimensional one. D is the pejorative term for rezoning a single parcel inconsistently with the surrounding plan, and it is not a permission an owner applies for. Procedures, hearings and standards for each are set by local ordinance.
What Your Misses Are Telling You
Sort every wrong answer above into one of these before you study anything further. The category names the remedy.
Wrong definition. Two similar terms were never separated precisely, riparian against littoral, accommodation against modification. Remedy: write one sentence of your own for each term in the pair, saying what it is for.
Wrong rule. You knew the vocabulary but applied the wrong principle to the facts. Remedy: work scenario items in blocks and state the rule aloud before choosing an option.
Arithmetic or decimal slip. The method was right and the number was not. Remedy: repeat the same computation with fresh figures until the sequence is automatic.
Unit or convention mismatch. Monthly against annual, square feet against acres, a 360-day against a 365-day year. Remedy: convert everything to a common basis before the first keystroke.
Misread prompt. The item said EXCEPT or NOT and you answered the question it did not ask. Remedy: underline the qualifier before reading the options.
Stopped one step early. You produced an intermediate figure that was sitting in the options. Remedy: restate what the question asked for before selecting an answer.
Pace. You knew it and ran out of room. Remedy: practice marking and moving; an unattempted item costs exactly what a wrong one does.
Questions About This Practice Set
Do these come from a real licensing exam?
No. Every item here was written for study. Licensing examination content is secure and copyrighted, and any source claiming to reproduce live questions is either wrong or acting improperly. What original items can reproduce is the format, the reasoning demanded and the way distractors are built, which is what you actually practice against.
Can I use these if I am testing in any state?
Yes, for the general portion. Ownership, agency, contracts, finance, valuation, land use and federal fair housing law hold broadly, which is why they are covered here. The state portion is not, because license law is written locally, and it has to be studied from your jurisdiction's own statute, commission rules and the state-portion outline in the current candidate handbook.
Why do the explanations spend so long on the wrong answers?
Because that is where the points are. Items are built so that two options look defensible to a candidate who half knows the material, and being able to say precisely why the runner-up fails is what converts partial knowledge into a correct answer under time. If you can only explain the right answer, the next item with the same pair of terms is still a coin flip.
How many items like this should I work before testing?
A count is the wrong target, because a hundred items worked properly beat several hundred skimmed. The measure that matters is whether two full-length attempts taken a few days apart hold the same range, above your jurisdiction's published standard with a margin, with the state portion clearing on its own and both finished inside the time allowance.
Should I work the general or the state material first?
Run a diagnostic and let it decide. Candidates fresh from a national course are usually weakest on local license law, and because the state portion is short and separately judged in most jurisdictions, it is the cheaper place to gain points. If your diagnostic says otherwise, follow the diagnostic rather than the general rule.
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