An earnest-money payment and an option notice can fall due on the same Sunday. With no Monday holiday, only the payment moves to Monday. Try 12 original questions on contract dates, buyer agreements and broker duties, then check each answer against the Texas source.
12 questions on texas exam deadlines, 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.
12 questions
~9 min
Texas State Law
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How do you count days on Texas real estate exam questions?
First name the person who must act. Then mark what starts their clock: the contract taking effect, a broker receiving money, or a buyer receiving a disclosure. Count in the units that rule uses. Before you choose an answer, check whether the last day can move and whether there is a time of day or a closing that cuts it short.
For example, under Paragraph 5 of the TREC resale contract, a buyer normally has three calendar days after the effective date to deliver the initial earnest money. A broker who already holds trust money generally has until close of business on the second working day after receipt to deposit or deliver it. Same money, different people and starting dates.
Pick an answer before opening the explanation. If you miss one, write down the event that started the clock and the rule you used instead. These are original Pass Texas study scenarios. The score reflects this fixed set only.
1
One contract, two Sunday deadlines
A TREC resale contract takes effect Thursday. It gives the buyer a three-day option, and the buyer pays the option fee Friday. No legal holiday falls that week or the following Monday. What are the latest times to deliver the initial earnest money and to give the seller option termination notice?
A.Both are due Sunday at 5 p.m.
B.Earnest money by the end of Monday; option notice by 5 p.m. Sunday at the property.
C.Both move to the end of Monday.
D.Earnest money by Friday; option notice by 5 p.m. Monday.
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Earnest money by the end of Monday; option notice by 5 p.m. Sunday at the property.
Friday is day one, Saturday day two and Sunday day three. Paragraph 5A moves the buyer’s money delivery to the end of Monday. Paragraph 5B keeps the buyer’s notice deadline at 5 p.m. Sunday, using the local time where the property sits.
Watch for this: Decide what the buyer is delivering. The extension for money does not give the buyer another day to terminate.
Rule: TREC resale contract, Paragraphs 5A(2) and 5B
The resale contract becomes effective Tuesday. Wednesday is a Legal Holiday under the form. Thursday and Friday are ordinary days. When must the buyer deliver the initial earnest money?
A.Thursday, counting Tuesday as day one.
B.Saturday, skipping Wednesday.
C.Monday, allowing three working days.
D.Friday, the third calendar day after Tuesday.
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Friday, the third calendar day after Tuesday.
Start on Wednesday even though it is a holiday. Thursday is day two and Friday is day three. Friday is an ordinary day, so the buyer delivers the money to the escrow agent by the end of Friday.
Watch for this: Paragraph 5A tests the last day for a weekend or Legal Holiday. It does not remove holidays from the middle of the count.
A resale contract effective Monday calls for additional earnest money within four days after the effective date. The buyer pays the initial deposit Wednesday. There are no holidays. When is the additional deposit due?
A.Friday of the same week.
B.Thursday, with the initial earnest money.
C.Sunday, four days after the initial deposit.
D.The following Monday, after the weekend.
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Friday of the same week.
The parties filled in four days for the additional money. Count Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from the effective date. Paying the first deposit on Wednesday changes neither the starting date nor the four-day term.
Watch for this: The printed three-day rule applies to the initial payment. Read the filled-in term for the additional deposit.
Rule: TREC resale contract, Paragraph 5A(1) and (2)
The buyer misses the earnest-money deadline and delivers the full amount to escrow Tuesday at 9 a.m. The seller first gives notice at noon that day to terminate solely for the late delivery. Is that notice in time under Paragraph 5C?
A.Yes, the seller has until the end of Tuesday.
B.Yes, the buyer missed the original deadline.
C.No, the seller needed to give notice before the buyer delivered the earnest money.
D.No, because the buyer always gets a two-day grace period.
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. No, the seller needed to give notice before the buyer delivered the earnest money.
The seller could have given notice after the missed deadline and before the money arrived. Delivery at 9 a.m. closed that window under Paragraph 5C. Noon is too late to use that provision.
Watch for this: A missed deadline does not automatically terminate the contract. The order of the payment and the seller’s notice decides this example.
A broker receives a tenant’s security deposit on Friday. Monday and Tuesday are normal working days. The principals have no different written timing agreement. What is the latest the broker may deposit the money in trust or deliver it to an authorized escrow agent?
A.Close of business Monday.
B.Close of business Tuesday.
C.End of Sunday.
D.Three days after the tenant signs the lease.
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Close of business Tuesday.
The broker’s receipt starts this clock. Monday is the first working day after receipt and Tuesday is the second. The default outside limit is close of business Tuesday.
Watch for this: The three-day delivery term in the resale contract answers a different question. Here the broker already has the tenant’s money.
A sponsored sales agent accepts a tenant’s security deposit on Friday morning. She plans to keep the check until Tuesday because she remembers a second-working-day rule. When should she give it to her sponsoring broker?
A.At the next weekly office meeting.
B.By close of business Tuesday.
C.When the tenant moves in.
D.Immediately upon receiving it.
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Immediately upon receiving it.
The sales agent must immediately deliver trust money to her sponsoring broker. The broker then has a separate duty to deposit or deliver it. That second clock starts when the broker receives the money.
Watch for this: Changing the person holding the same check changes the answer.
On September 8 a prospective residential buyer enters a nonexclusive agreement for showings without representation. The license holder meets the conditions for that role. What is the latest termination date the agreement may state?
A.September 21.
B.September 30.
C.September 22.
D.October 8.
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. September 22.
September 22 is 14 days after September 8. The limit runs from the date the agreement is entered into, even if the first tour happens later. The agreement must also be nonexclusive.
Watch for this: The 14-day limit belongs to this non-representation showing arrangement. Do not apply it to every buyer representation agreement.
Rule: Texas Occupations Code §§1101.562 and 1101.563(e)
A buyer asks a Texas license holder to present an offer on a house the buyer found online. The license holder will perform brokerage for the buyer. There will be no showing. By when must the written buyer agreement be in place?
A.Before the license holder presents the offer.
B.When the seller accepts the offer.
C.Within 14 days after the offer.
D.Before the first inspection.
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Before the license holder presents the offer.
When no residential property will be shown, presenting the purchase offer is the trigger. The license holder must enter the written agreement with the prospective buyer before presenting that offer on the buyer’s behalf.
Watch for this: Skipping the tour changes the trigger. It does not postpone the agreement until a contract exists.
An individual broker plans to file for inactive status September 30, before her license expires. She still sponsors two sales agents. What is the latest date she may give both agents written notice that their sponsorship will end?
A.September 30, before submitting the application.
B.September 1.
C.October 30.
D.August 31.
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. August 31.
Count backward from the planned filing. August 31 is 30 days before September 30. The broker must notify every sponsored sales agent in writing and confirm to TREC that she gave the required notice.
Watch for this: September 1 leaves 29 days. The relevant date here is the broker’s filing date, even if the license expires later.
On Friday a sponsored agent asks her broker for help handling a transaction. The broker’s office is closed Saturday and Sunday. Under the broker’s duty to respond to a sponsored agent, by which day must the broker reply?
A.Monday, when the office opens.
B.Sunday.
C.Tuesday, the second working day.
D.Wednesday, after three working days.
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Sunday.
Rule 535.2(j) gives the broker or delegated supervisor two calendar days to respond to a sponsored sales agent. Saturday and Sunday count. An office closure does not turn them into extra days.
Watch for this: Save the two-working-day rule for the broker’s handling of trust money. This question is about a response.
A broker lists a home in February. The buyer and seller sign the sales contract in April and close on June 12. Under TREC’s ordinary minimum retention rule, how long must the broker keep the sales contract for this completed sale?
A.Four years from the June 12 closing.
B.Four years from signing the listing.
C.Two years from June 12.
D.Four years from signing the sales contract.
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Four years from the June 12 closing.
For a sale that closes, the broker keeps the required transaction records for at least four years from closing. The signed offers and contracts are among those records. A transaction that terminates instead has a different end date.
Watch for this: The document can be months old before the retention period starts.
Paragraph 7B(2) is checked on a resale contract. The buyer receives the required Seller’s Disclosure Notice two days before closing and plans to close on schedule. Under this paragraph, can the buyer close and still use the rest of the seven days to terminate?
A.Yes, the buyer always gets seven full days.
B.Yes, if the buyer gives written notice before moving in.
C.No, the right ends at closing if closing comes first.
D.No, the right ended as soon as the buyer received the notice.
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. No, the right ends at closing if closing comes first.
Receipt starts the seven-day period. Paragraph 7B(2) also requires the buyer to act before closing if closing comes sooner. Here the buyer can exercise that right before closing, but cannot close and use the remaining days afterward.
Watch for this: When a rule gives two cutoffs, put both on the calendar and choose the earlier one.
Sources checked . Each answer identifies the contract paragraph, Commission rule or statute used. For the State exam topic list, see the Pearson VUE Texas content outlines. These examples are for exam practice. For a live transaction, use the signed documents and consult your broker.
