Real Estate Practice Exam
This is a free 15-question sampler for the real estate salesperson licensing exam, written by the StudyPDF team. It covers the national portion only: ownership and land use controls, legal descriptions, easements and liens, agency and disclosure, contracts, financing, the three appraisal approaches, fair housing and closing math, mixing multiple choice, select all that apply and fill in the blank. Answer all 15 questions, then check your score and read the explanation for every question.
Which of the following is a private land use control rather than a government power?
All Business & Licensure quizzes
- Practice test · 15 questions
Notary Practice Test
- Practice test · 15 questions
SIE Practice Exam
- Practice test · 15 questions
PMP Practice Exam
Now make your own
Upload your prep book, slides or notes, or just tell Bo what you want to learn. You do not need a document to start.
All 15 questions at a glance
Prefer to read before you play? Every question in the sampler is listed below. Answers and explanations stay collapsed until you open them.
1. Which of the following is a private land use control rather than a government power?
- A. A city zoning ordinance
- B. A recorded deed restriction in a subdivision
- C. The power of eminent domain
- D. The annual real property tax
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. A recorded deed restriction in a subdivision
Deed restrictions, sometimes called covenants, are created by a private owner or developer and recorded against the land, and neighbors or an owners association enforce them in court. Government controls come from the four public powers, usually remembered as police power, eminent domain, taxation and escheat. Zoning is an exercise of police power, and it is set locally, so what is allowed on a lot varies from town to town. When a private restriction and a zoning rule disagree, the stricter of the two controls what the owner may actually do.
2. Which method of legal description identifies a parcel by referring to a map recorded in the public records?
- A. Metes and bounds
- B. The rectangular government survey
- C. Lot, block and subdivision
- D. The property's street address
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. Lot, block and subdivision
The lot and block method, also called the recorded plat method, points to a subdivision map on file with the county and names the lot and block on it. Metes and bounds walks the boundary from a point of beginning using distances and directions, and it must close back where it started. The rectangular government survey divides land into townships and sections, where one section is one square mile and contains 640 acres. A street address is never a legal description, because addresses get reassigned and do not fix a boundary.
3. A homeowner holds a recorded right to cross her neighbor's land to reach her garage. The parcel that benefits from that right is called:
- A. The dominant tenement
- B. The servient tenement
- C. An easement in gross
- D. A license
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. The dominant tenement
In an easement appurtenant there are two parcels: the dominant tenement gets the benefit and the servient tenement carries the burden. Because the easement attaches to the land rather than to the person, it normally passes to the next owner of each parcel automatically. An easement in gross benefits a person or a company instead of a parcel, which is how utility lines are usually held. A license is only permission, it is personal and it can be revoked, so it is much weaker than an easement.
4. Several claims are recorded against the same property. Which one generally takes priority over the others regardless of when it was recorded?
- A. A recorded first mortgage
- B. A mechanic's lien filed last year
- C. An unpaid general real property tax lien
- D. A judgment lien from a lawsuit
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. An unpaid general real property tax lien
Most liens rank by the date they were recorded, first in time being first in right. Real property tax and special assessment liens are the standard exception, because they are given priority by statute and jump ahead of earlier recorded claims. Tax liens are also specific liens, meaning they attach to one identified parcel, while a judgment lien is general and attaches to everything the debtor owns in that jurisdiction. The exact ranking below taxes is set by state law, so check your own statute for where mechanics liens fall.
5. An owner hires a property manager under a written management agreement to run an apartment building. What is the manager's relationship to the owner?
- A. An independent vendor who owes the owner no fiduciary duties
- B. A general agent, authorized to handle a continuing series of transactions
- C. A special agent, authorized for one transaction only
- D. A trustee who holds legal title to the building
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. A general agent, authorized to handle a continuing series of transactions
A property manager acts for the owner over and over, signing leases, collecting rent, hiring repairs and paying bills, so the agreement creates a general agency with full fiduciary duties. A listing broker is the classic special agent, hired for one transaction with narrow authority. The manager's job is to produce the best net operating income the property can sustain while keeping it in good physical condition, and both halves of that matter. Tenant screening, advertising and rules must follow the federal Fair Housing Act exactly the way a sale must.
6. What does the statute of frauds require before a contract for the sale of real property can be enforced in court?
- A. It must be notarized
- B. It must be recorded before closing
- C. It must be in writing and signed by the party being held to it
- D. It must be signed in front of two witnesses
Show answer and explanation
Answer: C. It must be in writing and signed by the party being held to it
Every state has a statute of frauds, and real estate sale contracts are on the list of agreements it requires to be written and signed. Writing is on top of the ordinary elements of a valid contract: mutual assent through offer and acceptance, consideration, legally competent parties and a lawful object. Notarizing and recording serve other purposes, mainly proving a signature and giving public notice, and neither is what makes the promise enforceable. Some states add their own formalities for particular documents, so follow the forms your prelicense course gives you.
7. A buyer submits a written offer. The seller changes the closing date, signs the changed document and returns it. What is the legal effect?
- A. The seller has made a counteroffer, and the buyer's original offer is no longer open
- B. The seller has accepted, and a binding contract now exists on the buyer's terms
- C. The original offer stays open, and the buyer must go through with the purchase
- D. Nothing happens, because only the buyer may propose terms
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. The seller has made a counteroffer, and the buyer's original offer is no longer open
Acceptance has to mirror the offer exactly. Any change in terms is a counteroffer, which rejects the original offer and puts the seller in the offering position, so the buyer is now free to accept, counter again or walk away. That is why sellers who counter can lose a buyer who has since found another house. Contingencies work differently: a financing or inspection contingency written into an accepted contract keeps the contract alive but lets the named party exit or renegotiate if the stated condition is not met by the deadline.
8. Which statement describes a deed of trust?
- A. It transfers ownership of the property to the lender at closing
- B. It is a lease that gives the tenant an option to buy
- C. It is a two party instrument in which the lender takes possession of the property
- D. It is a three party instrument in which a neutral trustee holds title or the power of sale until the debt is paid
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. It is a three party instrument in which a neutral trustee holds title or the power of sale until the debt is paid
A mortgage names two parties, the borrower as mortgagor and the lender as mortgagee. A deed of trust names three: the borrower as trustor, the lender as beneficiary and a neutral trustee who holds bare legal title or the power of sale and reconveys it when the loan is paid. Which instrument is used, and whether the state follows title theory or lien theory, is decided by state law, and it drives how foreclosure works there. In either arrangement the borrower keeps possession and the right to use the property while paying.
9. A title company offers a brokerage a fee for every buyer the brokerage sends its way. Which federal law does that arrangement run into?
- A. The Truth in Lending Act
- B. The Americans with Disabilities Act
- C. The Fair Housing Act
- D. The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act
Show answer and explanation
Answer: D. The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act
RESPA governs settlement services on most residential mortgage loans, and it prohibits giving or accepting anything of value for referring settlement service business, including title work, appraisals and insurance. It also drives the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure timing that borrowers see. The Truth in Lending Act is about disclosing the cost of credit, mainly the annual percentage rate and the finance charge, and about advertising rules. Nothing here is legal advice, and RESPA enforcement questions belong with a lawyer or your state commission.
10. Which of the following are duties a listing agent owes to the seller who is the agent's client?
Select all that apply.
- A. Obeying the client's lawful instructions
- B. Keeping the client's finances and motivation to sell confidential
- C. Guaranteeing the property will sell for the asking price
- D. Accounting for every dollar of the client's money handled by the brokerage
- E. Concealing a known material defect from the buyer if the seller asks
- F. Deciding which offer to take without telling the seller the others exist
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A. Obeying the client's lawful instructions, B. Keeping the client's finances and motivation to sell confidential, D. Accounting for every dollar of the client's money handled by the brokerage
The classic fiduciary duties are obedience, loyalty, disclosure to the client, confidentiality, accounting and reasonable care. Obedience stops at the law: an instruction to hide a known material defect or to discriminate is one the agent must refuse, and in most states known material defects about the property have to be disclosed to the buyer as well. No agent can promise a sale price, because the market sets it. Presenting every offer is a core duty, since only the seller decides which one to take.
11. Which of the following are protected classes under the federal Fair Housing Act?
Select all that apply.
- A. Occupation
- B. Familial status, meaning households with children under 18
- C. Source of income
- D. National origin
- E. Disability
- F. Level of education
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. Familial status, meaning households with children under 18, D. National origin, E. Disability
The federal list is race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status and disability, and HUD applies sex to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Occupation, source of income, marital status and age are not on the federal list, but many states, counties and cities add them, so your state portion may treat them as protected where you practice. Disability also brings affirmative obligations, including allowing reasonable modifications and making reasonable accommodations in rules. Always answer national portion questions from the federal list and check your own state's additions separately.
12. Which statements about the three appraisal approaches to value are correct?
Select all that apply.
- A. The income approach is the usual choice for an owner occupied single family home
- B. The cost approach adds land value to what it would cost to rebuild the improvements, minus depreciation
- C. The sales comparison approach adjusts the prices of similar properties that recently sold
- D. The income approach divides net operating income by a capitalization rate
- E. An appraisal and an agent's comparative market analysis are the same thing
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B. The cost approach adds land value to what it would cost to rebuild the improvements, minus depreciation, C. The sales comparison approach adjusts the prices of similar properties that recently sold, D. The income approach divides net operating income by a capitalization rate
Sales comparison leads for houses, because there are plenty of recent sales to adjust against. The cost approach carries the most weight for new construction and for special purpose buildings such as a school or a church, where comparable sales barely exist. The income approach fits property bought for the income it throws off, and the basic relationship is value equals net operating income divided by the capitalization rate. An appraisal is an independent opinion of value by a licensed appraiser, while a comparative market analysis is a pricing tool an agent prepares, and confusing the two is a common exam trap.
13. Complete the sentence.
A home sells for $320,000. The seller agreed to a 6 percent commission, and the listing and selling brokerages split it evenly. Each brokerage receives _____.
Options for blank 1: $4,800, $9,600, $16,000, $19,200
Show answer and explanation
Answer: $9,600
Six percent of $320,000 is $19,200, and half of that is $9,600 per brokerage. Read these questions carefully, because they often ask for one agent's share rather than the whole fee, which means a second split between the brokerage and its agent. Commission rates and splits are always negotiable between the parties, and no law, board or association may set them.
14. Complete the sentence.
The annual property tax on a home is $3,600 and it is paid in arrears. The sale closes on June 1, and the closing agent prorates using twelve equal months, charging the seller through May 31. The seller's share of the tax is _____.
Options for blank 1: $1,200, $1,500, $1,800, $2,100
Show answer and explanation
Answer: $1,500
Divide $3,600 by 12 to get $300 a month, then count the months the seller owned the home, January through May, which is five months, for $1,500. Because the tax is paid in arrears, that amount is a credit to the buyer and a debit to the seller at settlement. Proration conventions differ: some closings use a 360 day year with 30 day months, others use the actual 365 days, and whether the day of closing belongs to the seller or the buyer is set by the contract or by local custom.
15. Complete the sentence.
A buyer purchases a home for $300,000 and puts $60,000 down, leaving a $240,000 loan. The loan to value ratio is _____. The lender charges two discount points on that loan, which costs the buyer _____ at closing.
Options for blank 1: 70 percent, 75 percent, 80 percent, 90 percent
Options for blank 2: $2,400, $4,800, $6,000, $9,600
Show answer and explanation
Answer: 80 percent, $4,800
Loan to value is the loan divided by value, so $240,000 divided by $300,000 is 80 percent. When the sale price and the appraised value differ, lenders base the ratio on the lower of the two. One discount point is 1 percent of the loan amount, never of the sale price, so two points on $240,000 is $4,800, and points are paid up front to buy the interest rate down. On a conventional loan an LTV above 80 percent normally triggers private mortgage insurance, which is one reason 20 percent down is such a common target.
What the real estate licensing exam actually asks
Real estate licensing is a state matter, not a federal one. Your state's real estate commission decides who may sit the exam, how many prelicense education hours you need first, which testing vendor delivers the test, how many questions it has, how long you get and what score passes. Two neighboring states can differ on every one of those points, so the only numbers you should trust are the ones in your state's candidate handbook. That handbook is free, it is published by the vendor your state contracts with, and it is the first thing to download.
What almost every state shares is the two part structure. There is a national portion covering the principles and practices that are broadly the same everywhere, and a state portion covering your own state's license law, agency rules, disclosure forms and commission regulations. Many states score the two parts separately, which means you can pass one and fail the other and have to return for the half you missed.
This sampler covers the national portion only. That part typically asks about property ownership and land use controls, legal descriptions, encumbrances, agency relationships and disclosure, contracts, financing, valuation, property management, federal fair housing law and settlement math. Nothing on this page is legal advice, and none of it substitutes for your state's own rules.
How to use this sampler and how to study the material
Take all 15 questions in one sitting without notes, then read the explanation for every question, including the ones you got right. Guessing correctly and knowing why are different things, and only one of them survives to exam day. Treat each wrong answer as a topic rather than a fact. If you missed the easement question and the lien priority question, review encumbrances as a whole, because they are the same idea seen from two angles.
The national portion rewards vocabulary more than most people expect. Words like dominant tenement, servient tenement, general agent, special agent, appurtenant and consideration all have narrow legal meanings, and the exam writes distractors out of the terms that sound close. Build a running list of terms you keep confusing and drill those pairs against each other rather than reading the chapter again.
Do the math with a pencil, not by recognizing the answer. Commission splits, prorations, points, loan to value and transfer tax all follow the same pattern: identify the base, apply the rate, then check whether the question wants the whole figure or one party's share. The three fill in the blank questions here are all math for that reason. Then sit down separately with your state portion, since none of it is covered on this page.
How StudyPDF builds full practice tests from your prep book
Fifteen questions can show you where you are shaky. They cannot get you ready on their own, and a generic national bank says nothing about the state law half of your exam.
StudyPDF works from your own material instead. Upload the prep book you bought, the packet from your state approved prelicense course, your instructor's slides or the brokerage handbook you were handed, and Bo, the study agent, builds full length practice tests from those exact pages. That is the only practical way to drill your state portion, because your state's license law lives in your course materials and nowhere in a national question bank. Every question is grounded in your pages, and every explanation cites where the answer came from, so you can go straight back to the source when something looks wrong. Regenerate fresh tests as often as you want, narrow them to one area such as agency or financing, and track which concepts you keep missing.
You do not need to upload anything to start. If your course materials are still in the mail, name a topic instead, for example easements and encumbrances or loan to value math, and Bo writes a practice test from that. Starting is free, and it fits around a job, which is how most people study for this exam.
Written by the StudyPDF team. Last updated 2026-08-19.