Free National / General study sheet
Property Disclosures and Environmental Issues Texas Real Estate Exam Cheat Sheet
Quick answerThis 9-item national area tests property and environmental conditions, the federal laws and reviews connected to them, and the disclosure obligations and liability that follow from known material information.
Source-checked National / General portion
Use the national rule unless the question identifies Texas law or a TREC form. The 9-item weight belongs to the National / General portion. Texas-specific recall cards below are bridges to the separate state portion.
Name the condition, match the rule or review, then ask who knew the fact and which duty follows.
Exam scope
What Pearson tests
Verified against the official content outline.
- A: lead, asbestos, radon, mold, groundwater, underground storage tanks, waste sites, brownfields, flood areas, and flood insurance
- A: Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, EPA, CERCLA, SARA, Phase I and II assessments, impact statements, and wetlands
- B: environmental and property-condition disclosure obligations and liability
Decision traps
Common traps to catch
Check the governing source material.
- Phase I reviews. Phase II samples. An EIS evaluates a proposed major federal action.
- CERCLA generally excludes petroleum. Petroleum tanks commonly fall under RCRA Subtitle I and state law.
- The pre-1978 lead rule requires disclosure and a buyer opportunity, not testing or removal.
- A Section 5.008 form exemption does not erase a license holder's independent defect duty.
- Floodplain, flood zone, and mandatory flood insurance answer different questions.
Essential vocabulary
Property Disclosures and Environmental Issues terms to know
- Material fact
- A fact significant enough to affect a reasonable party's decision or the property's value.
- Lead disclosure
- Federal disclosure package and buyer opportunity for most pre-1978 housing.
- CERCLA
- Federal Superfund cleanup and hazardous-substance liability law.
- SARA
- The 1986 CERCLA amendments; Title III created EPCRA.
- Phase I
- Records, history, interviews, and site review, normally without sampling.
- Phase II
- Targeted sampling and analysis of an environmental concern.
- Radon
- Radioactive soil gas; EPA action level is 4 pCi/L.
- Asbestos
- Fibrous mineral; friable material can release airborne fibers.
- Mold
- Moisture-related growth; Texas regulates specified mold work.
- Underground storage tank
- A regulated tank system whose releases can contaminate soil and groundwater.
- Brownfield
- Property whose reuse may be complicated by actual or potential contamination.
- Environmental impact statement
- A detailed NEPA review of significant effects and alternatives for a proposed major federal action.
- Latent defect
- A hidden property defect not readily found through ordinary observation.
Check your recall
Can you answer these without notes?
Open each card only after you commit to an answer.
1Which review normally collects soil or groundwater samples?
Phase II. Phase I reviews; an EIS evaluates a federal action.
2May an agent conceal a defect when the seller's notice is exempt?
No. The seller's form duty and the agent's defect duty are separate.
3What does the pre-1978 lead rule require?
Disclosure, records, pamphlet, warnings, and a buyer opportunity. Not testing.
4Which Texas deaths have an express no-duty rule?
Natural death, suicide, and an unrelated accident. Section 5.008(c).
5Does a Phase I create automatic CERCLA immunity?
No. It supports AAI; every protection criterion still matters.
6What is Texas's registry no-duty authority?
Code of Criminal Procedure Article 62.056(e).
7What law commonly governs leaking petroleum underground tanks?
The UST program authorized by RCRA Subtitle I and state law. CERCLA generally excludes petroleum.
8What does Clean Water Act Section 404 address?
Discharges of dredged or fill material into covered waters, with the Army Corps issuing most permits and EPA providing oversight.
9What facts activate DTPA Section 17.46(b)(24)?
Known information, nondisclosure intended to induce the transaction, and a consumer who would not have entered had it been disclosed.
Use the sheet, then retrieve
Turn recognition into recall.
Read the full lesson when a definition is fuzzy. Then answer the topic questions without looking back at this sheet.
Primary sources
Checked .
- Pearson VUE Texas Real Estate Content Outlines
- eCFR, 40 CFR Part 745 Subpart F
- EPA, current lead disclosure pamphlet
- EPA, Superfund: CERCLA Overview
- EPA, All Appropriate Inquiries
- EPA, Clean Water Act Section 404
- Texas Property Code Section 5.008
- Texas Occupations Code Section 1101.652
This is exam-prep education, not legal, tax, or transaction advice. Confirm the current law, form, and official exam materials before relying on a rule in practice.