Pennsylvania Real Estate Salesperson Course Notes

Fixture analysis: attachment + adaptation + objective intent + relationship/agreement; a written agreement can control. Trade fixture = tenant-installed business item treated as personal property when timely/legally removed; emblements = qualifying annual crops produced by tenant labor. Annexation changes personal property toward realty; severance changes real property into personal property; a bill of sale transfers personal property. Economic characteristics: scarcity, modification/improvement, permanence of investment (fixity), area preference/situs.

• Treating every attached item as a fixture without analyzing intent/agreement.

• Answer the rule actually tested by the facts; reject choices that add unsupported duties or exceptions.

Bundle of rights: possession, control/use, enjoyment, exclusion, and disposition—subject to law and private restrictions. Fee simple absolute = broadest private estate. Defeasible fee = fee simple subject to a condition. Life estate ends on a measuring life; future interest may be remainder or reversion. Tenancy in common: undivided co-ownership, unequal shares allowed, no automatic survivorship. Joint tenancy: survivorship when validly created; distinguish from tenancy in common. Leaseholds: estate for years (fixed term), periodic estate (renews), estate at will, estate at sufferance (holdover). Lease types include gross, net, percentage.

• Assuming every co-ownership form has survivorship.

• Answer the rule actually tested by the facts; reject choices that add unsupported duties or exceptions.

Market price = amount actually paid; market value = opinion of value under defined market assumptions. Characteristics of value commonly include demand, utility, scarcity, and transferability (DUST). High-yield principles: substitution, contribution, anticipation, highest and best use, conformity, competition, progression/regression. Highest and best use: legally permissible, physically possible, financially feasible, maximally productive.

• Mixing market price with market value.

• Answer the rule actually tested by the facts; reject choices that add unsupported duties or exceptions.

Contract types: express vs implied; bilateral = promise for promise; unilateral = promise accepted by performance. Validity basics: voluntary agreement/mutual assent, competent parties, lawful consideration, lawful purpose. Offer must be accepted without material change; a change in price/terms is a counteroffer. Executed = fully performed; executory = performance remains. Void = no legal effect; voidable = one party may avoid; unenforceable = valid but cannot be judicially enforced as presented.

• Calling a changed offer an acceptance instead of a counteroffer.

• Answer the rule actually tested by the facts; reject choices that add unsupported duties or exceptions.

Stay within competence; do not give unauthorized legal advice or draft legal instruments beyond authorized form-completion activity. Listing agreements: exclusive right-to-sell, exclusive agency, open/nonexclusive; know net-listing conflict concerns and MLS purpose. Exclusive right-to-sell usually earns compensation if the property sells during the term under the contract; exclusive agency may preserve owner-sale rights if written terms do. Property-management agreements define authority, maintenance, leasing, rent/security-deposit handling, accounting, compensation, and limits.

• Giving legal/technical advice instead of referring to an appropriate professional.

• Answer the rule actually tested by the facts; reject choices that add unsupported duties or exceptions.

Lead: most pre-1978 housing triggers federal disclosure; disclose known lead information/records, provide EPA pamphlet, include warning language; buyer generally gets a 10-day inspection opportunity. Asbestos, radon, and mold: report known facts; do not diagnose. Radon is invisible/odorless and testing determines levels; suspect asbestos/mold issues call for qualified expertise. Underground tanks, groundwater contamination, waste sites, and brownfields can create environmental and financing/title risk. Phase I ESA seeks recognized environmental conditions through noninvasive due diligence; Phase II may use sampling/testing.

• Assuming pre-1978 lead law requires remediation rather than disclosure/opportunity.

• Answer the rule actually tested by the facts; reject choices that add unsupported duties or exceptions.

Conventional = no federal insurance/guarantee. FHA = insured; VA/USDA use federal guarantee/assistance structures; program rules differ. Seller financing includes land contracts/contracts for deed; know lien-theory/title-theory/deed-of-trust concepts at the national level. Primary mortgage market originates loans; secondary market buys/sells existing mortgages/MBS, replenishing lender capital. Loan terms: amortization reduces balance through scheduled principal+interest; acceleration can make the entire balance due after qualifying default; due-on-sale/alienation clauses can be tested.

• Reversing high vs low LTV when thinking about mortgage insurance.

• Answer the rule actually tested by the facts; reject choices that add unsupported duties or exceptions.

Memorize 43,560 sq ft/acre and 5,280 ft/mile; Pearson says these are not supplied at the test center. Rectangle area = L × W. Acres = sq ft ÷ 43,560. NOI = effective income − operating expenses; Value = NOI ÷ cap rate; Cap rate = NOI ÷ Value. Commission = sale price × negotiated rate; then apply any stated split.

• Forgetting percent-to-decimal conversion.

• Answer the rule actually tested by the facts; reject choices that add unsupported duties or exceptions.

State salesperson exam: 40 scored + 10 unscored pretest; Commission domain = 5 scored items under the outline effective March 16, 2026. Commission administers/enforces RELRA, licensure, rules, complaints/investigations, hearings/appeals, and discipline within statutory authority. Continuing education: generally 14 approved hours during each 2-year license period; hardship waiver may cover all/part when illness, emergency, or hardship prevented completion. Routine broker-office inspections: no more than 4/year during regular business hours. Special inspections can occur for complaint/reasonable belief or follow-up to noncompliance.

• Applying the four-per-year inspection cap to special inspections.

• Answer the rule actually tested by the facts; reject choices that add unsupported duties or exceptions.

Standard salesperson pathway: age 18+, high-school graduate/equivalent, 75 hours (5 credits) approved basic real-estate education unless a recognized degree exception applies. Pass both National and PA State exam portions within 3 years before submitting the completed license application. A salesperson is employed by a licensed broker and does not independently operate a brokerage. RELRA salesperson scope expressly includes CMA work and negotiating a loan on real estate on behalf of the employing broker; other laws may also apply.

• Using old 60-hour education figures instead of 75 hours.

• Answer the rule actually tested by the facts; reject choices that add unsupported duties or exceptions.

Consumer Notice: initial in-person interview = provide written Notice. Remote initial interview = oral disclosure first, then written Notice by earlier of first in-person meeting or first property showing. Initial interview = first substantive discussion of consumer’s real-estate needs. Consumer Notice says THIS IS NOT A CONTRACT. Retain signed/refused acknowledgment for 6 months; note a refusal to sign. Nonwaivable duties to all consumers include reasonable professional skill/care and honesty/good faith; present written offers/counteroffers/notices/communications timely subject to the rule’s exception.

• Waiting until contract/settlement to provide the Consumer Notice.

• Answer the rule actually tested by the facts; reject choices that add unsupported duties or exceptions.

Advertising: obtain seller/lessor authority; own-property ads disclose licensed status unless listed with a real estate company. Salesperson/associate broker ads include employing broker business name + telephone number at least equal in size to the salesperson/associate’s name + phone. Property management: salesperson may assist only under broker supervision/control; cannot independently negotiate lease terms or execute lease for lessor. Reporting: felony/misdemeanor conviction/guilty/nolo plea = notify Commission within 30 days. Other-jurisdiction real-estate discipline = notify within 30 days after notice.

• Missing the next-business-day escrow deadline.

• Answer the rule actually tested by the facts; reject choices that add unsupported duties or exceptions.

Seller Disclosure Law: covered seller discloses known material defects as required; disclosure form focuses on defects not readily observable. Seller need not conduct an independent investigation solely to complete it. Agent-liability rule under the disclosure chapter turns on actual knowledge of the defect/misrepresentation; actual knowledge still triggers duties. PA agreement of sale generally includes date, parties, property/interest, price, payment/conveyance dates, required zoning classification, agency capacity, escrow provision, Recovery Fund notice, and road-access permit notice. Zoning classification exception: property/each subdividable parcel zoned solely or primarily for single-family dwellings. If required zoning is omitted, agreement is voidable at buyer’s option and deposit returned if voided.

• Calling a CMA/BPO an appraisal.

• Answer the rule actually tested by the facts; reject choices that add unsupported duties or exceptions.