100+ Free Real Estate Practice Exam Questions (September 2026)

Since the offer includes all the personal property as well, Mrs Thompson is required to do a package loan. A package loan is a real estate loan used to finance the purchase of both real property and personal property, such as in the purchase of a fully furnished condominium.

A mechanic’s lien also called a construction lien is a lien placed on your property for nonpayment for work you had done on the property. It is a claim made against a property by a contractor or other professional who has supplied labor or materials for work on that property. They are designed to protect professionals from the risk of not being paid for services. A mechanic’s lien is involuntary and specific.

The income approach is a real estate valuation method that uses the income the property generates to estimate fair value. It's calculated by dividing the net operating income by the capitalization rate.

The Fair Housing Act is a law that prohibits discrimination in the buying, selling, renting or financing of housing. These laws prohibit discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex, disability, children, nationality and more. Changing terms of a sale because someone is Chinese is clearly illegal and a violation of The Fair Housing Act.

The Market Data Approach is also commonly called the sales comparison approach. The Cost Approach is also referred to as summation. And lastly, the Income Approach, is also known as capitalization. Each method has its own set of benefits. The answer is the Market Data Approach or Sales Comparison Approach because it's a single family residence.

Tenancy at Will is a property tenure that can be terminated at any time by either the tenant or the owner or landlord. It exists without a contract or lease and usually does not specify the length of a tenant's duration or the exchange of payment. If you do not have a lease, but you do have your landlord's permission to live in your apartment, you are a tenant at will.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in several areas, including employment, transportation, public accommodations, communications and access to state and local government' programs and services. The act specifically requires reasonable accommodations must be provided to people with disabilities.

In this situation, the new offer cannot be accepted unless the seller's counteroffer is withdrawn or hypothetically rejected. Remember, if a new offer is accepted two valid contracts could exist, so the first step must be to withdraw the counteroffer.

Fee packing, equity stripping, and balloon payment abuses are all examples of predatory lending practices. Predatory lending typically refers to lending practices that impose unfair, deceptive, or abusive loan terms on borrowers. While these practices are wrong, unfortunately sometimes they are perfectly legal.

Radon is radioactive gas dispersed from natural decay of mineral in earth. odorless, colorless, tasteless. Rises out of ground and enters homes through openings in basement where usually found. If trapped inside a house, can increase to harmful health levels. Small particles inhaled into lungs can cause cancer. Can also contaminate groundwater. Radon is usually detected by radon test kits.

Think of supply and demand like a scale usually if one side raises, the other will lower or vice versa. Generally, low supply and high demand increase price. In contrast, the greater the supply and the lower the demand, the price tends to fall. So in real estate terms, when the supply of available houses in an area decreases significantly the average cost of housing goes up.

The rectangular survey system consists of principal meridian lines that cover most states in the US, running north to south and baselines running east to west. These principal meridian lines are named or numbered to identify their location. Using those lines for references, quadrangles are formed, which are smaller squares identifiable by where they are located near the principal meridian and baseline. This process continues, creating a smaller and smaller grid that can be used to identify the specific location of any property.

In plain terms, a bilateral contract is an agreement between two or more parties. Most business and personal contracts fall into this category.

Corporations may be formed for profit or nonprofit purposes. A corporation is managed and operated by a board of directors. A corporation has certain rights, privileges, and liabilities beyond those of partnerships. Doing business as a corporation has its advantages and disadvantages. Because a corporation is a legal entity, it can purchase property. One large disadvantage especially when it comes to corporations is when owning income producing property they experience double taxation. Since its a legal entity they must pay taxes on profits. Dividends from the remaining corporate profits are then distributed to the shareholders and then taxed again as part of the shareholder's income.

Frontage is the boundary between a plot of land or a building and the road onto which the plot or building fronts. Frontage may also refer to the full length of this boundary. This length is considered especially important for certain types of commercial and retail real estate, in applying zoning bylaws and property tax.

The amount owed is called the principal and the price of borrowing the money is called the interest.

A non-exclusive buyer agency agreement allows buyers to hire more than one agent to find their home; however, buyers must inform each agent they work with that another agent is involved and whether they have shown them specific homes.

In real estate, commingling refers to the act of mixing the client’s funds with the broker’s own funds. Commingling can be both legal and illegal depending on the state and circumstance. Typically, from an agent’s perspective, commingling should be avoided at all costs. Commingling can be legal in some circumstances, but in most cases, as an agent or a broker, it’s best to avoid it.

Specific performance is an equitable remedy in the law of contract, whereby a court issues an order requiring a party to perform a specific act, such as to complete performance of the contract. In our instance since the washer and dryer were included in the contract, the buyer may sue the seller for specific performance.

A deed is a written legal document by which ownership of real estate is conveyed from one party to another. For a deed to be legal it must include the identification of the grantor and grantee, and the adequate description of the property.

The seller is usually entitled to keep the earnest money, because this is considered forfeiture of the contract. The only way the buyer can back out and get their earnest money back is if something happens with the inspection, appraisal, or they have a contract clause offering that protection.

Hypothecation occurs when an asset is pledged as collateral to secure a loan. A rental property, for example, may undergo hypothecation as collateral against a mortgage issued by a bank.

According to the 28/36 rule, she would need to spend less than $1260 in housing costs a month to qualify for most loans. All you do is multiply .28 to her monthly income. This is useful for agents to work with clients to determine what loans they can qualify. The 28/36 Rule states: a household should spend a maximum of 28% of its gross monthly income on total housing expenses, and no more than 36% on total debt service. Lenders typically want no more than 28% of your gross monthly income to go toward your housing expenses including your mortgage payment, property taxes, and insurance. Once you add in monthly payments on other debt, the total shouldn't exceed 36% of your gross income.

An individual seeking to be excused from the requirements of a zoning ordinance needs a variance. A variance is a request to deviate from current zoning requirements. If granted, it permits the owner to use his land in a way that is ordinarily not permitted by the zoning ordinance.

An addendum would be drafted to include the furniture he is purchasing, and any additional charge(s) for that furniture. Remember an addendum ADDS terms to a contract. An amendment typically changes terms of a contract. There is a difference, make sure to understand it!

When contracting parties have signed a contract and both parties have done all they promised to do, it is called an executed contract or executed agreement.

The alienation clause is a contract provision that comes into effect when ownership of a specified asset is transferred or sold. It ensures that if a transfer of property happens the lender is paid in full from the original borrower. It's a legal clause lenders add for protection.

Emblements are annual crops cultivated by a tenant that is treated as the tenant's personal property. Read More Here

Holding earnest money is only legal with written authorization, and even then it's best to deposit it as soon as possible. Having verbal authority is not good enough, and in many states is considered illegal.

Each square, six miles by six miles, is called a township. Since each township is six miles by six miles, townships contain 36 square miles, each one forming a section.

Fixing is the practice of setting the price of a good or service to make a particular price a standard. So in our terms, real estate fixing is when competing agents meet up and agree on the same commission rates. Typically agencies set their commission rates depending on the price of the property. Any agreement even if it just implied with other brokerages to set a standard commission rate is a violation of the antitrust laws.

Easements are appurentent meaning generally pass along with ownership changes in real estate, but there are several ways of legally terminating them. Expiration, release, merging, and abandonment of the easement are all ways to legally terminate the applicable easement. The servient estate serves the dominant estate and cannot terminate the easement even through revocation.

The statute of frauds is a common law concept that requires written contracts for certain agreements to be legally binding. The statute applies to land sales and most purchases of goods over $500 (this includes real estate sales agreements). This is a bit of a trick question. There are some circumstances in real estate where a written contract is not required, so it is not ALL real estate contracts, but it is ALL real estate sales agreements.

The habendum clause is the statement in a contract that describes the rights and interests being given. It almost always begins with the words "to have and to hold."

Most real estate agents make money through commission. A commission is a fee paid to an agent for performing a transaction. A commission is usually a percentage of the property's selling price, although sometimes it can be a flat fee.

Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule (Section 1018 of Title X) requires that potential buyers and renters of housing built prior to 1978 receive certain information about lead and lead hazards in the residence prior to becoming obligated to buy or rent, and provides the opportunity for an independent lead inspection for buyers. Sellers, landlords, and agents are responsible for compliance.

The Federal Fair Housing Act is a law that prohibits discrimination in the buying, selling, renting or financing of housing. These laws prohibit discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex, disability, children, nationality and more. You cannot have a listing that states looking for white people only. Or looking for married couples without children only. The interesting thing is though you can put language referring to sex. For example “Seeking female roommate.” However, it's only in cases of finding someone to share living spaces with. The “Mrs. Murphy” exemption provides that if a dwelling has four or fewer rental units and the owner lives in one of those units, that home is exempt from the FHA. “Mrs. Murphy” is the hypothetical elderly widow who has converted a portion of her home into a rental apartment to supplement her limited income.

An amendment typically changes terms of a contract. An addendum “adds” terms to a contract. For example, let's say a buyer and seller have agreed to an April 10th closing date but later both agreed to change the closing date to April 25th. They would use an amendment. Addendums are used to add or delete terms or conditions NOT previously agreed to. That's the difference.

A bit of a trick question. Crossing out part of a printed contract is actually allowed and legally enforceable as long as both parties and the original text is still readable.

The formula for finding commission is pretty simple. Just times whatever percentage you have by the total price of the house. In this case, they give us the rate and what the broker received so we have to adjust the steps. In order to find the commission, you can take $11,000 and divide it by the percentage which is .055 making your total $200,000. Alternatively, you can take the answers below and multiply each one by .055 and whichever matches the broker's commission is the correct answer.

Owning real estate carries with it a "bundle of legal rights” The bundle of rights is the right of possession, the right of control, the right of exclusion, the right of enjoyment and the right of disposition. When a person purchases property, he or she is given the rights to the property. Interestingly the rights can be split up and given to different parties. Think of the bundle of rights as a bundle of sticks. Read More Here

According to the law of supply and demand, the first property sold would have sold for the lowest price. Remember generally speaking, when the supply of houses goes down, the price goes up, and vice versa.

Economic obsolescence refers to the loss of property value due to external factors, meaning things off the property affecting the properties value. A new noisy highway would be considered economic obsolescence because it is an external factor. Usually, in these circumstances, homeowners cannot do anything to prevent it. Read More Here

Joan is the optionor, and Bob is the optionee. And Bob can assign an option if he wants. Joan cannot force to purchase the property. Remember, a seller cannot force a buyer to buy the property with an option to purchase. It's worth noting that they can in a lease to purchase, but in the question, it specifies it's an option contract.

Functional obsolescence refers to the loss of property value due to an obsolete design feature. Outdated plumbing would be considered functionally obsolete because it is outdated. Who determines what is obsolete or not? Usually the buyer or homeowners. If a neighborhood is filled houses with new bathrooms and/or new plumbing, and your's isn't, It would be considered functionally obsolete. Read More Here

Most real estate sales contracts include contingency clauses, making them voidable. A voidable contract is a legal agreement between two parties that may be unenforceable for any number of reasons. If a contract has a contingency it's voidable. It still can be considered valid but only after the contingencies are met or no longer exist.

As a general rule of thumb all written offers must be presented to the seller. It is a serious breach of a real estate agent's fiduciary duty to the seller not to present all purchase offers.

When a purchaser signs a purchase agreement and gives the seller's broker a large check it is considered an offer. When a potential buyer is found, the agent must help them prepare an offer to purchase the property. The form itself is usually pre-drafted or preprinted. Forms vary from state to state. It is customary but not required for a buyer to provide a deposit when making an offer to purchase. This deposit is referred to as earnest money. It’s important the buyer understands the document as it becomes legally binding as soon as they sign it.

Economic life is the expected period of time during which an asset remains useful to the average owner. When an asset is no longer useful to its owner, then it is said to be past its economic life. The economic life of an asset could be different than its actual physical life.

In this case, the contract would be voidable by the buyer because of fraud. Voidable contracts have the necessary elements to be enforceable, so they appear to be valid, but can be rejected by one party if the contract is discovered to have any number of defects. Fraud is the act of intentionally deceiving another party for financial or personal gain.

Usually, the lender or financing organization will hire the appraiser. Technically the seller pays for the appraiser since it comes out of the final sales price, however the hiring aspect is almost always done by the lender.

Closing is always the final step in executing a real estate transaction. Closing is known by many names. Some areas may call it settlement and transfer, some may call it passing papers. Traditionally it is called closing.

Commingling refers to mixing brokers funds with clients funds. The opposite of commingling is separation, which is just separating the funds.

Consideration is anything of legal value that is offered in exchange by one party for something of value from another party. Common forms of consideration include money, property in exchange, work or a promise to perform. Without consideration, a contract is not valid.

A prepayment penalty clause states that a lender can penalize a borrower if the borrower pays off the mortgage much sooner than usual.

Antitrust Laws are a collection of federal and state government laws that regulate the conduct and organization of business corporations, normally to promote fair competition for the benefit of consumers. While selling a house without a license is illegal and some of the other answers are too, the only clear antitrust violation is dividing territories. Which is when competing brokers agree to split territories, and divide interests accordingly. An example of this is if agencies meet up and agree to divide the town in to three separate areas to work in. This prevents competition which is bad for the consumer and a clear antitrust violation.

It's the seller that must make the disclosure. It's real estate professionals' job to make sure all parties are in compliance with the law, but ultimately it's the sellers obligation.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless, colorless, gas created from burning fuels. If the system is used correctly and with proper ventilation, gas is controlled. However, if not there can be immediate and serious health risks. If inhaled, causes red blood cells to deprive the body of oxygen. Extreme exposure cuts off oxygen and cause death within 30 mins or less. It's a good rule of thumb to use a CO Detector on every floor, especially with floors with an open flame.

The Superfund Amendments and Re-authorization Act of 1986 (SARA) was passed when the original act, CERCLA, expired in 1985. It amended the comprehensive environmental response, compensation, and liability act. The big change had to do with liability. When a property owner has been innocent of all involvement with a hazardous waste site, under certain circumstances, he may claim immunity from responsibility. In plain terms it allows truly innocent landowners to have immunity from legal liability. SARA also required EPA to revise the Hazard Ranking System to ensure that it accurately assessed the relative degree of risk to human health and the environment posed.

Remember, execution means the contract is closed and cannot be assigned. Only executory contracts can be assigned.

Fixtures, easements, and mineral rights are all examples of real property - a mortgage is not. Real Property is all things attached to the land and all the legal rights to it. Real property is usually things that are immovable such as the home itself or the buildings within the property line. There are some exceptions of items that can be moved but are still real property, like for businesses. Business-related items like mineral rights, or if you own a farming business it would include crops, barns, and stables. Those are all considered real property because it is part of the business.

Condominium often shortened to condo, is a type of living space which is similar to an apartment but which is independently sellable and therefore regarded as real estate. Unlike apartments, which are leased by their tenants, condominium units are owned outright. The answer is all the condominium owners in the form of percentage undivided interests because all condominium owners legally own a portion of all the facilities there.

Usury is the practice of making unethical or immoral monetary loans that unfairly enrich the lender. Currently, most states have usury laws in place and set a cap on the maximum amount of interest a lender can charge. These rates can vary significantly by state and may differ depending on the type of financial product you’re using. Usury is a form of predatory lending.

The assessed value is a property's determined valuation to calculate the appropriate tax rates.

Similar to a receipt, a bill of sale is a written instrument that attests to a buyer's purchase of property from a seller.

Real Property is all things attached to the land and all the legal rights to it. Real property is usually things that are immovable such as the home itself or the buildings within the property line. There are some exceptions of items that can be moved but are still real property, like for businesses. Business-related items like mineral rights, or if you own a farming business it would include crops, barns, and stables. Those are all considered real property because it is part of the business.

Property tax is an ad valorem tax assessed on real estate by a local government and paid by the property owner. Public services for real estate owners are paid by real property tax.

Encroachment is an intrusion on a person's territory or property. For those of you who are football fans, it's pretty much the same thing as the penalty. If a tree grows over someone's property, or when a fence or another piece of your neighbor's property crosses the property lines. Those are all examples of encroachment. Encroachment can lead to some large legal issues and if there are potential encroachment owners and agents should seek a solution immediately.

In order to qualify for the Fair Housing Act’s "Housing for Older Persons" Exemption, at least 80 percent of the units must have at least one occupant who is 55 years of age or older OR all units are occupied by residents over the age of 62.

Fee simple absolute or (fee simple for short) is an estate in land. It is the highest form of real estate ownership that is recognized by law, in which the owner can enjoy the property to its fullest extent and is only limited by government powers which we’ll cover later on. Fee simple absolute is the greatest interest in a parcel of land that one can possibly own. The fee simple estate has unlimited duration and can be passed on to heirs. Read More Here

Depreciation. Only the Cost Approach valuation process uses depreciation.

The Fair Housing Act is a law that prohibits discrimination in the buying, selling, renting or financing of housing. These laws prohibit discrimination based on race, religion, color, sex, disability, children, nationality and more.

Appreciation, in general terms, is an increase in the value of an asset over time. The increase can occur for a number of reasons, including increased demand or weakening supply, or as a result of changes in inflation or interest rates.

The statute of frauds is a legal concept that requires certain types of contracts to be executed in writing (real estate included). The statute specifically covers contracts for the sale of land, agreements involving goods worth over $500, and contracts lasting one year or more.

Deed restrictions are limitations to the use of the property imposed by a past or current owner and are usually legally binded forever. Some common examples of deed restrictions are: Type and number of trees you can remove from the property, house color, window size, overall style, color, and construction materials used in a renovation.

Personal property is all things removable like clothes, lawn mowers, couches, TV's, and furniture. Real Property is all things attached to the land and all the legal rights to it. Real property is usually things that are immovable such as the home itself or the buildings within the property line. There are some exceptions of items that can be moved but are still real property, like for businesses. In this case the only item that would qualify as real property is garage.

A Sole Proprietorship is one individual or married couple in business alone. Sole proprietorship's are the most common form of business structure. This type of business is simple to form and operate and may enjoy greater flexibility of management, fewer legal controls, and fewer taxes. However, the business owner is personally liable for all debts incurred by the business. A sole proprietor may purchase property for both personal and business use through his own name or through the name of his business. However, only personal property used in direct relation to business operations is viewed as a tax-deductible business expense.

States may require additional information, but federally at the minimum, all advertising for property or services must include the broker firm's name. This is all for all advertising, social media included.

In this problem we have to find the annual property taxes. First off we have to find the assessed value. In order to do that we have to take the market value which is $400,000 and then multiply it by the assessment rate which is 25%. So $400,000 x .25 = $100,000. Now that we the assessed value we must subtract the deductions. So $100,000 - $25,000 = $75,000. The next step is to utilize mills. The mill rate is the amount of tax payable per dollar of the assessed value of a property. So we have to multiply the assessed value by the mill rate which is $75,000 x .02275 = $1,706.25 So the annual property taxes on the property is $1,706.25.

When you hear life estate think of life and death. A life estate is an interest in real property which is held for the duration of the life of a designated person. It may be limited by the life of the person holding it or by the life of another person. This designated person is called a life tenant. This is kind of a trick question, in this case since Andrew created the life estate FOR his sister she is the life tenant, meaning it will last until her death. Read More Here

A lawsuit for specific performance would grant your client the house. Specific Performance asks the court to force the opposing party into a contract that binds them to actually perform the contract at issue, rather than award damages for breach of contract.

Codicil (pronounced kaa-duh-sl) is a written supplement or amendment to an existing will such as one affecting the transfer of real estate upon death. In plain terms it's an addendum of any kind to a will.

The proper procedure for changing a contract that has already become binding is to sign a separate amendment. Remember, separate amendments are used to modify or change executory contracts.

A mortgagee is an entity that lends the mortgagor money. This entity is typically referred to as the lender.

A double net lease is when two additional costs will be added to your base rent. Usually taxes and insurance costs are added to your monthly payment.

The rescission of a contract occurs when there is an agreement between the contracting parties to waive all the remaining duties and to terminate the contract. Basically, it would be returning the parties to the same legal position they were in before entering into the contract.

This is a bit of a trick question. There are four main elements of a valid real estate contract: The party must be the legal age of 18 or older and deemed legally competent. The contract must be legal or hold a legal purpose. A clear and specific consideration must be included in the agreement. The contract must hold mutual consent or be agreed upon by both parties. Monetary consideration is optional. Consideration is a main element, but it doesn't necessarily have to be money. Remember, consideration is anything of legal value, it could be a promise or promise to perform an action.

All of the options would be justifiable reasons to insist on a mutual release except the buyer finding another property they prefer.

Specific performance is a legal remedy that binds the parties of a contract to the terms of the contract. Specific performance asserts that parties must perform the exact terms of the agreement as they promised to do when the agreement was made.

If demand increases more than supply does, we get an increase in price. If supply rises more than demand, we get a decrease in price. If they rise or decrease the same amount, the price remains the same.

Receiving compensation from both the buyer and the seller is not an antitrust violation. Dual agency is when one real estate agent represents both the buyer and seller in a transaction. While it may seem ideal from an agent’s perspective, it can lead to some significant risks, which is why it is illegal in eight states. In most states, though, dual agency is legal, but state laws have measures in place to protect parties that use it. Still even in states where it is illegal it is not classified as an antitrust violation, while all the other examples are.

The acceleration clause is a contract provision that requires a borrower to repay all of an outstanding loan if upon a breach of the contract.

Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was established in 1974. It allowed greater control by EPA to control contaminant levels, take legal action against public water auth. for violations, and require periodic water testing and notification to state authority and homeowners if contaminated.

Most loans require some form of homeowners insurance. Homeowners insurance is property insurance that covers losses and damages. They cover an individual's house and assets in the home. It may also provide liability coverage against accidents in the home or on the property.

While discrimination of race, gender, and religion are all illegal today, back then the specific law that extended equal rights in real property to members of all races was the Civil Rights Act of 1866.

Proration is the allocation or division of money items at the closing. Proration mainly comes into play when a seller prepays their home taxes for the year. Because they paid for the full year and are selling the property, the buyer will then owe the seller the remaining months of taxes.

A lender's refusal to lend money to potential homeowners attempting to purchase property located in predominantly minority neighborhoods is redlining. Steering is the illegal practice of channeling home seekers to particular areas, either to maintain the homogeneity of an area or to change the character of an area, which limits their choices of where they can live. It is a form of redlining. Its worth mentioning that, because people often get these two things confused. Steering is a FORM of redlining, and they are not exactly the same things.

Void contracts are not contracts because they lack an essential element of a contract and are thus unenforceable. Voidable contracts have the necessary elements to be enforceable, so they appear to be valid, but can be rejected by one party if the contract is discovered to have any number of defects.

Housing prices tend to rise with inflation. While the economy is experiencing inflation, interest rates typically rise and housing prices rise. There is a correlation between inflation and house prices. In fact, there are correlations between inflation and any good with a limited supply. When interest rates are low, buying homes can be more affordable and increase the demand for homes. If the supply of homes remains constant and the demand increases, then the prices of homes will increase.

Fixtures are personal property attached to the land to count as real property. Window blinds are screwed into the house, therefore they are considered a fixture in this example.