Free California Agency Practice Test — LicenseIQ

Question 1

Which statement about dual agency is correct?

Accepted Answer

Dual agency creates an inherent conflict; with informed written consent, the agent provides limited representation and must keep each party's confidences.

Question 2

An agent authorized to perform a single specific act for a principal is a:

Accepted Answer

A special (limited) agent has authority for a specific task, typical of a listing agent. A property manager is usually a general agent.

Question 3

Which of the following is a fiduciary duty an agent owes the principal?

Accepted Answer

Fiduciary duties are Confidentiality, Obedience, Accounting, Loyalty and Disclosure (COALD), plus reasonable care.

Question 4

What satisfies a California agent's duty regarding registered sex offenders living near a listing?

Accepted Answer

Civil Code §2079.10a provides that delivering the statutory notice about the Megan's Law website satisfies the duty. Agents are not required to search the database.

Question 5

When must a listing agent give the seller the 'Disclosure Regarding Real Estate Agency Relationship' form?

Accepted Answer

Civil Code §2079.14 requires the seller's agent to provide the form before the listing agreement is signed and to obtain a signed acknowledgment of receipt.

Question 6

A seller instructs her listing agent not to show the home to buyers of a certain national origin. The agent should:

Accepted Answer

Obedience requires following lawful instructions only. Discriminatory instructions violate fair housing laws and must be refused.

Question 7

Which state agency enforces California's Fair Employment and Housing Act in housing?

Accepted Answer

The Civil Rights Department (formerly the Department of Fair Employment and Housing) enforces FEHA. The DRE can separately discipline licensees for discriminatory conduct.

Question 8

Which duty does a seller's agent owe to a buyer who is a customer, not a client?

Accepted Answer

Customers are owed HARD duties - Honesty, Accounting, Reasonable skill and care, and Disclosure of material facts - but not loyalty, obedience or confidentiality.

Question 9

A buyer wants to sue the listing agent for breaching the §2079 inspection duty. What is the time limit?

Accepted Answer

Section 2079.4 bars an action for breach of the inspection duty after two years from possession. Possession is the earliest of recordation, close of escrow, or occupancy.

Question 10

A material defect that a seller/agent must disclose is one that:

Accepted Answer

Material defects significantly affect value or would influence a buyer's decision and must be disclosed.

Question 11

Under California's agency disclosure form, a seller's agent owes the BUYER which of the following duties?

Accepted Answer

The statutory form explains that an agent owes all parties diligence, honesty, good faith, and disclosure of known material facts. Fiduciary loyalty and obedience run only to the principal.

Question 12

A seller has already accepted an offer, and another buyer submits a higher offer. The listing agent should:

Accepted Answer

Listing agents must present all offers through closing, but should not give legal advice about the seller's obligations under the existing contract.

Question 13

A seller knows that the basement flooded last spring, but the damage was repaired and is not visible. The seller and listing agent must:

Accepted Answer

Latent (hidden) defects known to the seller or agent must be disclosed; failing to do so can create liability for both.

Question 14

A seller's tenant died of natural causes in the home four years before the current offer. Must the seller's agent volunteer this fact?

Accepted Answer

Civil Code §1710.2 removes the duty to disclose deaths occurring more than three years before the offer. It never protects an intentional misrepresentation in response to a direct inquiry.

Question 15

The client a broker represents is the:

Accepted Answer

The principal is the client to whom the agent owes fiduciary duties; a customer is a party the agent works with but does not represent.

Question 16

An agent tells a buyer he will show homes only if the buyer uses the agent's brother as mortgage broker. This is an illegal:

Accepted Answer

Conditioning one service on the purchase of another is a tying arrangement prohibited by antitrust law.

Question 17

An agent advertises a home as having a 'new roof' without verifying it; the roof is actually 18 years old. This is:

Accepted Answer

Stating unverified facts that prove false is negligent misrepresentation; knowingly false statements are fraud. Puffing is opinion, not a verifiable fact.

Question 18

When a broker appoints one salesperson to represent the seller and another salesperson in the same office to represent the buyer, this is:

Accepted Answer

Designated agency assigns separate agents within one brokerage; the broker is still a dual agent and written consent is required.

Question 19

During a listing walk-through, the agent notices fresh paint on one ceiling area and a musty odor. The agent should:

Accepted Answer

Agents are not inspectors, but must recognize red flags (stains, odors, cracks) and disclose them for further investigation.

Question 20

A listing where the seller may sell themselves without owing commission, but only the listing broker among agents is protected, is:

Accepted Answer

In an exclusive agency listing, the seller pays no commission on a self-sale, but the listing broker is protected if any broker sells it. (Reclassified to section 6 / CORE.)

Question 21

Which area falls OUTSIDE the agent's statutory visual inspection duty?

Accepted Answer

Section 2079.3 excludes areas that are not reasonably and normally accessible. Visible conditions in accessible areas must be disclosed if they materially affect value or desirability.

Question 22

An agency relationship can be terminated by all of the following EXCEPT:

Accepted Answer

Agency ends by performance, expiration, mutual agreement, operation of law, death or incapacity, or destruction of the property - not by the wish of an unrepresented customer.

Question 23

Where is the agency relationship CONFIRMED in a California residential sale?

Accepted Answer

Disclosure (the §2079.16 form) comes first. Confirmation, stating whom each agent represents, is made in the purchase contract or a separate signed writing under §2079.17.

Question 24

Which agency licenses independent escrow companies in California?

Accepted Answer

Independent escrow companies are licensed by the DFPI under the Escrow Law. Brokers acting as agent or party in the transaction are exempt.

Question 25

A buyer's agent did not prepare the buyer's offer. When must the agent present the agency disclosure form to the buyer?

Accepted Answer

If the buyer's agent did not prepare the offer, §2079.14 requires the form no later than the next business day after receiving the offer from the buyer. Otherwise it must be given as soon as practicable before the buyer-broker agreement and before the offer is signed.

California real estate agency practice test

1. Which statement about dual agency is correct?

2. An agent authorized to perform a single specific act for a principal is a:

3. Which of the following is a fiduciary duty an agent owes the principal?

4. What satisfies a California agent's duty regarding registered sex offenders living near a listing?

5. When must a listing agent give the seller the 'Disclosure Regarding Real Estate Agency Relationship' form?

6. A seller instructs her listing agent not to show the home to buyers of a certain national origin. The agent should:

7. Which state agency enforces California's Fair Employment and Housing Act in housing?

8. Which duty does a seller's agent owe to a buyer who is a customer, not a client?

9. A buyer wants to sue the listing agent for breaching the §2079 inspection duty. What is the time limit?

10. A material defect that a seller/agent must disclose is one that:

11. Under California's agency disclosure form, a seller's agent owes the BUYER which of the following duties?

12. A seller has already accepted an offer, and another buyer submits a higher offer. The listing agent should:

13. A seller knows that the basement flooded last spring, but the damage was repaired and is not visible. The seller and listing agent must:

14. A seller's tenant died of natural causes in the home four years before the current offer. Must the seller's agent volunteer this fact?

15. The client a broker represents is the:

16. An agent tells a buyer he will show homes only if the buyer uses the agent's brother as mortgage broker. This is an illegal:

17. An agent advertises a home as having a 'new roof' without verifying it; the roof is actually 18 years old. This is:

18. When a broker appoints one salesperson to represent the seller and another salesperson in the same office to represent the buyer, this is:

19. During a listing walk-through, the agent notices fresh paint on one ceiling area and a musty odor. The agent should:

20. A listing where the seller may sell themselves without owing commission, but only the listing broker among agents is protected, is:

21. Which area falls OUTSIDE the agent's statutory visual inspection duty?

22. An agency relationship can be terminated by all of the following EXCEPT:

23. Where is the agency relationship CONFIRMED in a California residential sale?

24. Which agency licenses independent escrow companies in California?

25. A buyer's agent did not prepare the buyer's offer. When must the agent present the agency disclosure form to the buyer?

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