Free GA Real Estate Exam Flashcards

The state agency that licenses and regulates Georgia real estate salespersons and brokers under Title 43, Chapter 40. It can issue, suspend, and revoke licenses, investigate complaints, audit brokers, and impose citations and fines for violations.

75 hours of approved pre-license education from a GREC-approved school is required before a salesperson applicant may sit for the exam. Applicants must also be at least 18 and hold a high school diploma or GED.

The salesperson exam has 152 questions: 100 national and 52 Georgia state. Each section is scored separately at 75%; you need 75/100 national and 39/52 state. Failing one section generally means retaking only that section.

A newly licensed salesperson must complete a 25-hour GREC post-license course within the first year of licensure. Failure to complete it causes the license to lapse.

Licenses are renewed every 4 years and require 36 hours of continuing education, including 3 hours of Georgia License Law. Late renewal within 2 years requires lapsed fees; after 2 years the exam must be retaken.

A salesperson must work under a supervising broker who is responsible for their activities. A broker may operate independently; an associate broker holds a broker license but chooses to work under another broker rather than independently.

Brokers must maintain written supervision policies and are vicariously liable for the real estate conduct of their affiliated licensees. Failure to supervise is a common GREC disciplinary charge.

A Georgia licensee must notify GREC of a change of address (or change of broker affiliation) within 30 days. Failing to keep GREC informed is a license law violation.

Violations can lead to citations, fines, suspension, or revocation. Citation fines run up to $1,000 per violation (with a higher aggregate cap for multiple violations). Serious cases entitle the licensee to a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge.

The Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act (O.C.G.A. Section 10-6A) is Georgia's agency statute. It governs all brokerage relationships and recognizes client, customer, dual agency, and designated agency.

A client has an agency relationship created by a written brokerage engagement and is owed full fiduciary-type duties. A customer receives honest dealing and disclosure of known adverse material facts but is not represented and is owed no agency duties.

Under BRRETA, a written brokerage engagement agreement is required to create a client (agency) relationship in Georgia. Without it, the party is treated as a customer, not a client.

A broker must disclose the agency relationship at the first substantive contact with a party, and before any confidential information is exchanged. The 'Exhibit A' agency disclosure is the standard Georgia form for this.

Dual agency is when one broker represents both buyer and seller in the same transaction. Georgia permits it only with the written, informed consent of both parties, and the brokerage must have a written office policy on dual agency.

The broker assigns different licensees to represent the buyer and the seller exclusively, so each designated agent can fully advocate for their assigned client. The broker cannot personally serve as one of the designated agents.

Ministerial acts are informational or clerical tasks (showing property, providing forms, identifying lenders) performed for a customer that do not, by themselves, create an agency relationship under BRRETA.

A salesperson may be paid only through their sponsoring broker, never directly by a client or another party. Commission rates are fully negotiable; there are no state-fixed rates.

Paying a real estate referral fee or commission to an unlicensed person is generally prohibited. Brokers may, however, share commissions with properly licensed cooperating or out-of-state brokers.

The Georgia Association of REALTORS (GAR) Purchase and Sale Agreement is the standard residential contract used in Georgia. It contains the due diligence, financing, and inspection provisions tested on the state portion.

A negotiated period during which the buyer may terminate the contract for any reason. It is a buyer's unilateral right to inspect and walk away, distinct from a contingency that must be satisfied.

The due diligence fee is paid directly to the seller (not into escrow) and is generally non-refundable, compensating the seller for the off-market time. Earnest money is held in the broker's trust account and is typically refundable if the buyer terminates within the due diligence period.

This standard clause makes contract deadlines strictly enforceable—missing a date can be a material breach. Georgia practitioners must track due diligence, financing, and closing dates precisely.

Under the GAR contract, earnest money is generally to be deposited within 5 banking days after the binding agreement date. GREC trust account rules require the broker to deposit received funds promptly per regulation.

Georgia is an 'attorney closing' state—a licensed attorney typically performs the title examination and conducts the closing, rather than an escrow or title company alone.

Georgia is a buyer-beware state: a seller has no general duty to complete a disclosure form but must answer direct questions honestly and cannot conceal defects. Agents must still disclose known adverse material physical-condition facts.

For housing built before 1978, federal law requires the seller/landlord to disclose known lead-based paint hazards, provide the EPA pamphlet, and give buyers a 10-day inspection opportunity. This applies in Georgia regardless of caveat emptor.

Georgia law generally does not require disclosure of psychological stigmas such as a death, suicide, or felony on the property, or that an occupant had a disease not transmitted by occupancy. Material physical defects still must be disclosed.

An adverse material fact is information about the property's physical condition that a reasonable inspection would not reveal and that affects value or desirability. Georgia licensees must disclose known adverse material facts even though the state follows caveat emptor.

Broker trust (escrow) accounts must be held in a federally insured financial institution located in Georgia. Client funds must be kept separate from the broker's operating funds.

Commingling is mixing client trust funds with the broker's personal or business funds and is prohibited (minimal service-charge balances aside). Conversion is using client funds for the broker's own purposes—a more serious violation and grounds for revocation.

Trust accounts must be reconciled at least monthly, and transaction and trust records must be retained for at least 3 years. GREC may audit these records at any time.

A broker is not entitled to any portion of trust funds (such as commission) until the transaction is consummated or properly terminated. Disputed earnest money may require an interpleader action rather than the broker deciding.

Georgia assesses real property at 40% of fair market value. Annual tax equals the 40% assessed value (minus exemptions) multiplied by the local millage rate.

A millage rate expresses property tax as dollars per $1,000 of assessed value (1 mill = $1 per $1,000). In Georgia it is applied to the 40% assessed value after exemptions.

Owner-occupants of a primary residence may claim a homestead exemption that reduces the taxable assessed value. The standard statewide exemption is modest, and many counties and cities add larger local exemptions.

Georgia property taxes are paid in arrears, so at closing the seller typically credits the buyer for the portion of the tax year the seller owned the property. The proration is calculated as of the closing date.

O.C.G.A. Section 8-3-200 mirrors the federal Fair Housing Act and protects 7 classes: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, and familial status. The Georgia Commission on Equal Opportunity (GCEO) enforces it.

A discriminatory housing complaint must generally be filed with GCEO (or HUD) within 1 year of the alleged discriminatory act. Remedies include actual damages, civil penalties, and injunctive relief.

Steering directs buyers toward or away from areas based on protected class; blockbusting induces panic selling by suggesting protected-class change; redlining is denying loans or insurance by area demographics. All are prohibited under federal and Georgia fair housing law.

The most complete form of ownership: indefinite duration, fully inheritable and transferable, with the largest bundle of rights. Most Georgia residential property is conveyed in fee simple absolute.

Joint tenancy carries the right of survivorship and in Georgia must be expressly stated to be created. Tenancy in common has no survivorship—each owner's share passes through their estate. Georgia is an equitable-distribution (not community property) state.

An easement is a legal right to use another's land for a specific purpose (e.g., utility access). An encroachment is an unauthorized physical intrusion onto a neighbor's land; it is a title defect, not a granted right.

A general warranty deed gives the broadest covenants and warrants title against all defects, even before the grantor owned it. A quitclaim deed transfers only whatever interest the grantor has, with no warranties—often used to clear clouds on title.

Georgia primarily uses a security deed (deed to secure debt) rather than a mortgage. Legal title passes to the lender until the debt is repaid, which enables Georgia's non-judicial foreclosure power of sale.

Georgia generally uses non-judicial foreclosure under the power of sale in the security deed, with public advertising and a courthouse-steps sale. Georgia has no statutory post-sale right of redemption for the borrower.

Conventional loans are not government-insured and often need PMI below 20% down. FHA loans are federally insured with low down payments and mortgage insurance premiums. VA loans are federally guaranteed for eligible veterans, often with no down payment.

LTV = loan amount divided by the lesser of sale price or appraised value. A higher LTV means more lender risk; conventional loans above 80% LTV typically require private mortgage insurance.

A CMA is an agent's pricing opinion based on comparable sales used to advise a seller or buyer. An appraisal is an independent licensed appraiser's formal opinion of value, typically required by the lender to support the loan.

Estimates value by adjusting recent comparable sales for differences in features, location, and condition. It is the primary approach for residential property and underlies a salesperson's CMA.

A state fund that may pay limited monetary judgments to consumers harmed by a licensee's fraud or violation when the judgment cannot be collected from the licensee. Payment from the fund can result in suspension of the responsible licensee.