Real Estate Practice Questions: Fair Housing, Listings and Risk
Real Estate Practice accounts for 10 scored questions on the National portion of the Texas sales agent exam. This free set covers broker responsibilities, brokerage agreements, fair housing and risk management. Try 20 original questions, then check the explanation and source for each answer. Six separate Texas-law examples follow and do not affect your National quiz score.
20 questions on real estate practice, scored, each with a full explanation after you answer. Every question is also written out below if you would rather study at your own pace.
20 questions
~15 min
National practice only
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Study mode · National principles
Work through the questions at your own pace.
Choose an answer mentally, then open its explanation. Each question has a source and a point to watch. These are original practice questions, not Pearson VUE exam items or a prediction of your result.
1
A sale found by the owner
A listing provides for the agreed commission if the home sells during its term, even when the owner finds the buyer. There are no relevant exclusions in the agreement. Which listing type does this describe?
A.Open listing
B.Exclusive agency listing
C.Exclusive right-to-sell listing
D.Net listing
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Exclusive right-to-sell listing
An exclusive right-to-sell listing does not leave the owner a general commission-free route merely by finding the buyer. The agreement still controls when compensation is earned and any exceptions. The listing type alone does not guarantee payment in every possible circumstance.
Watch for this: An owner's retained right to sell without a commission points instead to exclusive agency, subject to the agreement.
Rule: Brokerage agreements; exclusive right to sell
An agreement gives the seller a stated net amount and makes the broker's compensation the excess sale proceeds. What is the main conflict this structure creates?
A.The seller loses the right to review any offer
B.The broker must accept the first offer received
C.The buyer automatically becomes the broker's client
D.The broker's gain can compete with the seller's best result
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. The broker's gain can compete with the seller's best result
A net listing can reward the broker for retaining proceeds that otherwise could benefit the seller. Recognize the conflict without assuming that every jurisdiction permits or prohibits the arrangement. The Texas supplement explains that state's specific restrictions.
Watch for this: A compensation incentive does not replace the duty to put the client's interests first.
Rule: Brokerage agreements; net listings and conflicts of interest
Which list names the seven protected classes stated in the federal Fair Housing Act?
A.Race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status and disability
B.Race, color, religion, national origin, age, marital status and disability
C.Race, color, religion, occupation, sex, familial status and credit score
D.Race, color, education, national origin, income, familial status and disability
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status and disability
The correct list matches HUD's summary of the Act. Age, income and marital status are not separately named classes under this federal statute. That does not make every decision using those factors lawful: other laws, local protections and discriminatory effects can matter.
Watch for this: Answer the question about this Act without treating its list as the whole of discrimination law.
To earn a commission, an agent urges an owner to sell by claiming that families of a particular race are moving nearby and will lower property values. Which violation is described?
A.Steering
B.Blockbusting
C.Redlining
D.Market allocation
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Blockbusting
The agent is trying, for profit, to induce a sale through a representation about the arrival of a protected group. That is blockbusting. The focus is the pressure on the owner to sell, not a lender's loan decision or a buyer's search criteria.
Watch for this: The profit motive and the attempt to induce a sale are important parts of this example.
A mortgage lender refuses otherwise qualifying applications solely because the homes are in a majority-minority neighborhood. Which practice is illustrated?
A.Blockbusting
B.A lawful credit-risk comparison
C.Steering in home selection
D.Discriminatory redlining
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Discriminatory redlining
The lender is restricting credit based on the neighborhood's racial composition, not a legitimate assessment of the applications. HUD identifies this kind of mortgage denial as lending discrimination. Geography by itself does not make every lending decision unlawful; the discriminatory basis matters.
Watch for this: Do not confuse a racial lending boundary with a supported, consistently applied credit assessment.
Two competing brokerages agree not to accept listings below the same minimum commission rate. There is no joint venture or other integration of their services. What is the problem?
A.They have agreed to fix a price floor
B.They have independently quoted their own fees
C.They have created an exclusive agency listing
D.They have negotiated one client's service agreement
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. They have agreed to fix a price floor
A bare agreement between competitors to set a commission floor is price fixing. Each firm must make its pricing decisions independently. Similar rates alone do not establish collusion, and negotiability does not require a broker to accept every proposed discount.
Watch for this: The decisive fact is the competitors' agreement, not whether the rate happens to be high, low or common.
A residential agent is offered a specialized industrial listing but lacks the necessary market and property knowledge. Which response best addresses the competence problem?
A.Accept and rely only on the seller's technical claims
B.Accept but omit unfamiliar issues from the marketing
C.Explain the limits and arrange qualified help or a referral
D.Use a disclaimer instead of obtaining the missing expertise
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Explain the limits and arrange qualified help or a referral
An active license is not expertise in every property type. Bring the limits to the broker's and client's attention and obtain the competence needed before undertaking work you cannot perform properly, or refer it. Texas Rule 531.4 is a state illustration of this broader competence principle.
Watch for this: Disclosure alone does not supply missing skill or make unsupported advice safe.
An agent knows a roof leaks but tells a buyer it has no leaks. How should that statement be classified?
A.An opinion about the home's visual appeal
B.Misrepresentation of a material fact
C.A prediction about future maintenance costs
D.An estimate of the property's asking price
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Misrepresentation of a material fact
The agent is making a specific factual claim that the agent knows is false. It is not mere praise or puffing. A fraud claim requires its other legal elements, so this short scenario should not be read as a complete court finding or an automatic damages award.
Watch for this: Calling a home 'beautiful' and denying a known leak are different kinds of statements.
Two buyers request the same budget and property features. An agent shows them different neighborhoods solely because they are of different races. What is the agent doing?
A.Discriminatory steering
B.Applying the buyers' property criteria
C.Performing a market allocation agreement
D.Preparing a neutral market comparison
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Discriminatory steering
The agent, not the buyers' stated housing needs, is restricting choice by race. That is steering. Helping buyers search by their own lawful property preferences is different from deciding where they should live because of a protected characteristic.
Watch for this: Good intentions do not make protected-class channeling lawful.
A rental development does not qualify as housing for older persons. Its advertisement says 'adults only, no children.' Which conclusion is correct under the Fair Housing Act?
A.The owner's approval makes the preference lawful
B.A private lease can waive the advertising rule
C.The ad expresses a prohibited familial-status preference
D.The ad is lawful if an agent did not write it
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. The ad expresses a prohibited familial-status preference
The advertisement excludes households with children in housing where familial-status protection applies. Section 3603(b)'s common owner exemptions do not remove the advertising restriction. Qualifying housing for older persons has a separate familial-status exception under Section 3607(b), which the question expressly rules out.
Watch for this: Do not teach 'never exempt' as a substitute for checking which protection and which exception apply.
An owner actually occupies one unit of a four-unit dwelling and otherwise qualifies for Section 3603(b)(2). Which statement correctly describes the scope of that exemption?
A.Every housing decision the owner approves is lawful
B.An owner-occupied building of any size qualifies
C.Every federal civil-rights law is waived for the property
D.Section 3604(c)'s advertising rule still applies
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Section 3604(c)'s advertising rule still applies
The exemption concerns certain Fair Housing Act sale-or-rental provisions, not Section 3604(c). It also does not erase separate laws such as Section 1982's protection against racial discrimination in property rights. The single-family owner exemption has different conditions, including restrictions on using brokerage services.
Watch for this: Keep the owner-occupied four-unit exemption separate from the single-family no-broker exemption.
Independent competing brokerages agree that one will take only east-side clients and the other only west-side clients, solely to avoid competing. What is this arrangement?
A.An independent choice of a farm area
B.An unlawful market-allocation agreement
C.An exclusive right-to-sell listing
D.A buyer's location preference
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. An unlawful market-allocation agreement
The competitors are agreeing not to compete for territory or customers. That is a bare horizontal market allocation. A firm independently choosing a service area is different; not every geographic limit or legitimate integrated arrangement is the agreement described here.
Watch for this: Look for coordination between competing businesses, not just two firms working in different places.
For a live sales call covered by the FTC Telemarketing Sales Rule, a brokerage has an established business relationship with a consumer. The consumer then tells that brokerage not to call again and gives no later permission. May the relationship alone justify another sales call?
A.Yes, until 18 months after the last transaction
B.Yes, if the agent calls during permitted hours
C.No, the seller-specific request must be honored
D.Yes, if a different agent at the firm calls
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. No, the seller-specific request must be honored
The established-business-relationship exception does not override a request to stop calls from that seller. Calling at an allowed time or changing the caller does not fix that problem. This question concerns a covered live sales call, not every service message or communication channel.
Watch for this: An exception to the National Registry restriction is not permission to ignore the brokerage's own Do Not Call list.
Rule: 16 CFR 310.4(b)(1)(iii); seller-specific Do Not Call
A visitor slips on a wet brokerage-lobby floor and brings a bodily-injury claim. Which insurance category is the closer starting point for reviewing possible coverage?
A.General liability insurance
B.Professional liability insurance
C.Title insurance
D.Private mortgage insurance
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. General liability insurance
General liability commonly addresses premises-related bodily injury. Professional liability, often called errors and omissions coverage, addresses specified errors in services. Neither label guarantees a payout: policy terms, exclusions and the facts still control.
Watch for this: The injury happened at a brokerage, but it did not arise from professional advice or a missed transaction task.
Rule: Insurance; general liability versus professional liability
One broker has the exclusive listing, but the agreement lets the owner find a buyer without owing a commission. No broker helps produce that buyer, and no other payment provision applies. Which listing fits?
A.Open listing
B.Exclusive right-to-sell listing
C.Net listing
D.Exclusive agency listing
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Exclusive agency listing
Exclusive agency protects the selected broker against competing brokers while retaining the owner's stated self-sale right. An open listing is nonexclusive. An exclusive right-to-sell listing ordinarily does not retain that general self-sale exception.
Watch for this: The word 'exclusive' alone does not answer the question. Ask which right the owner retained.
A management agreement requires the broker to report rent collected, authorized expenses and the owner's balance each month. Which action fulfills that obligation?
A.Send the owner only the broker's commission invoice
B.Provide the agreed accounting supported by the records
C.Treat gross rent as the manager's own business revenue
D.Wait until the property is sold to explain the balance
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Provide the agreed accounting supported by the records
The agreed accounting lets the owner see what was received, spent and retained on the owner's behalf. The monthly timing comes from this hypothetical agreement, not a universal statutory deadline. Recordkeeping and trust-account rules remain separate obligations.
Watch for this: A management fee is not the same thing as all the money collected for the owner.
A listing is not authority to sign the sale contract
A seller authorizes a broker to market the property and find a buyer. The seller gives no authority to sign a sale contract on the seller's behalf. What does the listing alone authorize?
A.Finding a buyer within the agreed scope of brokerage
B.Executing the buyer's contract in the seller's name
C.Conveying the seller's title without further instructions
D.Changing the seller's legal obligations without approval
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Finding a buyer within the agreed scope of brokerage
A listing is an employment or brokerage agreement. A right to find a buyer is not, by itself, authority to bind the owner to a sale contract or sign a deed. Additional valid authority would have to be established, not inferred from the listing's name.
Watch for this: 'Right to sell' in a listing label does not mean power to sign for the owner.
Rule: Agency authority; a listing is not power to sign a sale contract
A privately operated brokerage office serves the public. The owner says its small size and old building mean it has no ADA Title III duties. Which response is correct?
A.Title III covers only offices operated by government
B.Every preexisting building is exempt from Title III
C.Only offices receiving federal funds have duties
D.Size and age alone do not exempt the office
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Size and age alone do not exempt the office
Title III addresses access to businesses serving the public. Existing-building barrier removal uses a readily achievable standard, which considers difficulty, expense and resources. New construction, alterations and other access duties have their own requirements. This is not a claim that every building needs the same work.
Watch for this: Do not confuse public-facing business duties with a promise of automatic exemption for an older office.
A buyer asks a non-attorney agent whether a disputed deed restriction is legally enforceable. The issue is outside the agent's authorized brokerage role. What should the agent do?
A.Promise enforceability if the restriction is recorded
B.Refer the legal question to an attorney
C.Offer a legal conclusion labeled as a personal view
D.Assume the restriction expired because it is old
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Refer the legal question to an attorney
Recognizing the boundary of brokerage work is part of competence. Share relevant factual information without supplying an unauthorized legal opinion. The client's attorney can analyze the restriction and advise the client. Texas Rule 537.11 provides a specific state illustration of that boundary.
Watch for this: Adding 'in my opinion' does not turn a legal conclusion into factual form completion.
Rule: Broker responsibilities; unauthorized practice of law; Texas illustration: 22 TAC 537.11
A client claims an agent negligently missed a required transaction deadline and caused a financial loss. Which insurance category is the closer match to review?
A.General liability for a premises injury
B.Private mortgage insurance for lender credit risk
C.Professional liability or errors and omissions coverage
D.Property insurance for damage to the office building
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Professional liability or errors and omissions coverage
The alleged loss arises from professional services rather than a visitor's injury or damage to the office. E&O is the relevant category to examine. Whether the particular claim is covered depends on the policy, including exclusions and reporting requirements.
Watch for this: Insurance may respond to a claim; it does not excuse the missed duty or guarantee payment.
Rule: Insurance; professional liability and errors and omissions
Competing firms coordinate fees. Independently arriving at similar prices is not enough to establish an agreement.
Optional supplement · Texas-specific applications
6 Texas rules to keep separate.
These examples require Texas form or statutory knowledge. They are not included in the National quiz or its score. If you only need National practice, you can skip to the study resources.
1
A Texas non-representation showing agreement
In 2026, a Texas agent who does not represent the seller arranges a residential showing for a prospective buyer without representing that buyer. For this showing-only non-representation arrangement, which terms must the written agreement have?
A.An exclusive term of at least 30 days
B.No end date if the buyer receives IABS
C.A nonexclusive term ending within 14 days of signing
D.An oral term lasting only for the showing
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. A nonexclusive term ending within 14 days of signing
Sections 1101.562 and 1101.563 govern this limited arrangement. The agreement must precede the showing, be nonexclusive and end no more than 14 days after it is entered into. Other required contents still apply. This is not the different case of a listing-brokerage agent hosting its own listing's open house.
Watch for this: The 14-day limit belongs to the non-representation arrangement, not every buyer-representation agreement limited to showing.
Rule: Texas Occupations Code 1101.562, 1101.563; effective January 1, 2026
A Texas property-management sales agent receives rent and a security deposit held for another person. Which action does Rule 535.146(b)(2) require of the agent?
A.Deposit the funds in the agent's own trust account
B.Keep the funds until the owner requests them
C.Place the money in an operating account temporarily
D.Immediately deliver the funds to the sponsoring broker
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Immediately deliver the funds to the sponsoring broker
A sales agent may not maintain a trust account and must immediately deliver received trust money to the sponsoring broker. The broker's separate deposit-or-delivery rule generally sets an outside deadline of the second working day after receipt, unless the principals expressly agree otherwise in writing.
Watch for this: Do not give the sales agent the broker's deposit deadline. Their duties are different.
A buyer asks a Texas sales agent who is not an attorney to invent a clause changing the buyer's termination rights. What should the agent do?
A.Have the buyer consult an attorney about the custom clause
B.Draft it because the buyer supplied the general idea
C.Add it if it fits inside the Special Provisions box
D.Copy similar wording from an unrelated transaction
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Have the buyer consult an attorney about the custom clause
Rule 537.11(b)(5) bars drafting or recommending language that defines or changes the parties' rights, obligations or remedies. The client should obtain their own legal advice. A client's request, a short clause or an available blank does not remove the restriction.
Watch for this: Recognizing that legal language is needed does not authorize the agent to create it.
In an otherwise permitted use of the applicable TREC form, which task may a Texas sales agent perform without giving legal advice?
A.Give an opinion that the seller has valid title
B.Complete factual blanks and explain informational choices
C.Write a new remedy for breach of contract
D.Interpret whether a disputed restriction is enforceable
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Complete factual blanks and explain informational choices
Rule 537.11 allows informational completion and explanation of informational choices without practicing law. It does not permit advice on legal effect or title validity. Its other limits still apply, including use of a mandatory form approved for the purpose rather than replacing it with added wording.
Watch for this: Filling a blank with a fact is different from designing the legal consequence of that fact.
An associated Texas sales agent, acting for the broker in a brokerage transaction, makes a material misrepresentation. The broker says, 'I did not know, so Section 1101.803 cannot apply to me.' Is that reading correct?
A.Yes, actual knowledge is expressly required by that section
B.Yes, only the individual agent can ever be responsible
C.No, the section does not state that knowledge requirement
D.No, the section guarantees the same damages in every case
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. No, the section does not state that knowledge requirement
Section 1101.803 makes the broker liable to TREC, the public and clients for conduct under the chapter by the broker or an associated or acting sales agent. It does not supply the claimed knowledge exception. That does not decide every element, defense or damages question in a particular civil case.
Watch for this: Do not turn the statutory responsibility into either automatic immunity or a guaranteed court outcome.
The two protections a Texas net listing still needs
A Texas seller requires a net listing and appears familiar with current market values. What additional protections must the listing agreement provide under Rule 535.16(b)?
A.A buyer's waiver and a seller's inspection report
B.An unlimited commission and an automatic extension
C.A guaranteed sale date and a standard local fee
D.The seller's desired-price floor and a specified commission ceiling
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. The seller's desired-price floor and a specified commission ceiling
The agreement must assure the principal no less than the desired price and limit the broker to a specified maximum commission. Those requirements are in addition to the seller requiring the arrangement and appearing familiar with current market values. The rule restricts net listings rather than imposing a blanket ban.
Watch for this: The seller's request alone does not satisfy all of the rule's conditions.
A sales agent and a sponsoring broker have different trust-money duties. A showing-only non-representation agreement is not the same as a representation agreement with limited services. When the facts change, check the rule again instead of carrying over a deadline from a different situation.
The official topic has 10 scored items. The counts below describe our 20-question sample, not a promise of which questions you will see. The Texas bonus examples are excluded.
Real Estate Practice: official allocation and free practice coverage
National subtopic
Exam items
Our questions
Responsibilities of broker
2
2
Brokerage agreements between the broker and principal
3
5
Fair Housing
3
7
Risk management
2
6
A sample is not complete coverage of every possible question. See Pearson VUE's Salesperson outline, section V. Sources beside each answer explain the underlying principle. Texas-specific rules and examples link to their own authority.
Start with who did what. A lender rejecting a neighborhood, an agent restricting a buyer's choices and competing firms dividing territory can all limit choice, but they trigger different rules.
Read the conditions before choosing an answer. A listing type does not erase the agreement's terms. A fair-housing exemption does not waive every civil-rights law. Insurance describes potential protection, not a promise that a particular claim will be paid.
Choose what to study next.
Start with the lesson behind a missed question, then try another problem without notes.
The current Salesperson National outline allocates 10 scored items: two on broker responsibilities, three on brokerage agreements, three on fair housing and two on risk management. Contracts and Agency is a separate area. This 20-question sample covers the four broad groups, not every skill listed beneath them.
Are these real Pearson VUE questions?
No. These are original practice exercises using hypothetical situations. The rules and principles are supported by the linked sources, but the wording is not from Pearson VUE's live exam. The questions have not been calibrated to its difficulty, and a high score here is not a pass prediction.
Why are the six Texas examples separate?
They test Texas-specific requirements such as showing agreements, trust-money handling and TREC's limits on form completion. They remain free to read but do not count toward the National quiz score. General competence questions can cite a Texas rule as an illustration without requiring that rule number or its state-specific details.
Does fair housing always prohibit adults-only advertising?
Not as an unqualified rule. Familial-status restrictions are unlawful in ordinary covered housing, but qualifying housing for older persons has a specific exception. The common owner exemptions in Section 3603(b) do not remove Section 3604(c)'s advertising restriction. An exemption from one provision does not waive every other civil-rights law.
May a broker quote a rate that matches a competitor's?
Yes, if the firm chose it independently. A matching price alone does not prove price fixing. Competing firms may not make a bare agreement to set rates, minimum fees or territories. A client can negotiate; the broker does not have to accept every requested discount.
Can I keep practicing in the app?
Yes. Open the web app or choose the mobile app. Selected activities are free, and full access is paid. This website topic-quiz result does not transfer to your account. Sign in to save practice completed inside the app instead.
Sources and review notes
Reviewed September 6, 2026 for rules effective through September 5, 2026. The topic allocation comes from Pearson VUE's Salesperson outline. HUD, FTC and Department of Justice sources support the federal topics. California DRE material is used for general agency and listing concepts, not California rules applied to Texas. Texas-only requirements have their own references. The scenarios are hypothetical teaching examples, not reported transactions. This page is exam preparation, not advice for a transaction.
Use the source beside an answer to check the specific rule.
