Free National / General study sheet
Real Estate Practice Texas Real Estate Exam Cheat Sheet
Quick answerThis 10-item national area tests how a competent real estate professional operates: legal boundaries, brokerage agreements, property management, Fair Housing, supervision, antitrust, risk management, and consumer protection.
Source-checked National / General portion
Use the national rule unless the question identifies Texas law or a TREC form. The 10-item weight belongs to the National / General portion. Texas-specific recall cards below are bridges to the separate state portion.
Name the official subtopic first, then identify the actor and the one fact that activates the rule. Do not pull a neighboring Texas state-law topic into the wrong national subtopic.
Exam scope
What Pearson tests
Verified against the official content outline.
- A: competence and unauthorized practice of law
- B: representation, listings, MLS, property management, termination, fees
- C: protected classes, violations, advertising, HUD, ADA
- D: supervision, privacy, outreach, liability, antitrust, fraud, insurance
Decision traps
Common traps to catch
Check the governing source material.
- Competence is not legal authority. Training cannot authorize legal drafting.
- A 2026 buyer agreement may be representation or showing-only non-representation.
- The no-broker condition is for the single-family exemption. Ads remain covered.
- A firm may quote its own fee. Competitors may not coordinate fees.
- E&O means professional error. General liability means injury or damage.
Essential vocabulary
Real Estate Practice terms to know
- Scope of expertise
- Competence in the market, location, and property type.
- Unauthorized practice of law
- Legal work a real estate license does not authorize.
- Exclusive right-to-sell listing
- The broker is generally paid if the property sells during the term.
- Exclusive agency listing
- The seller can generally self-sell without owing the fee.
- Open listing
- The successful procuring broker earns the fee.
- Net listing
- The broker receives the amount above the principal's stated net, subject to limits.
- Procuring cause
- The uninterrupted chain that results in the transaction.
- Fair Housing Act
- The federal law prohibiting specified housing discrimination.
- Steering
- Directing housing choices based on a protected characteristic.
- Blockbusting
- Inducing transactions by suggesting protected-class entry will harm property values.
- Redlining
- Discriminatory denial or limitation of services based on the racial or ethnic character of an area.
- Vicarious liability
- Responsibility imposed on one person or business for another person's conduct because of their relationship.
- Errors and omissions insurance
- Coverage designed for specified professional-service claims, subject to policy terms and exclusions.
- General liability insurance
- Coverage designed for specified bodily-injury, property-damage, and premises or operations claims.
- MLS
- A cooperative listing service through which participating brokers share listing information.
Check your recall
Can you answer these without notes?
Open each card only after you commit to an answer.
1Competence or UPL?
Unfamiliar property is competence. Drafting legal rights is UPL.
2What compensation disclosure is required in the 2026 buyer agreement?
The amount or rate, how determined, and that it is not set by law and is negotiable.
3Which fair housing rule remains despite the common exemptions?
The ban on discriminatory advertising.
4May a brokerage quote its own fee?
Yes, if set independently. Competitors may not coordinate fees.
5What defines Texas competence?
Local market, current industry, judgment and skill, and property-type knowledge.
6What four conditions govern a Texas net listing?
Seller requires it, knows values, gets the stated net, and commission is capped.
7What are the seven federal Fair Housing classes?
Race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability. 42 U.S.C. Section 3604.
8E&O or general liability for a slip-and-fall in the brokerage office?
General liability. E&O is the professional-services bucket, subject to the actual policy.
9When must a Texas broker deposit property-management trust money?
By the close of business on the second working day after receipt unless the principals agree otherwise in writing. 22 TAC Section 535.146(b)(3).
10Fair Housing Act or ADA for an apartment leasing office open to the public?
The public-facing office can be covered by ADA Title III. The apartments and housing transaction are covered by fair housing law. Both can apply.
11Does written delegation remove a Texas broker's overall supervisory responsibility?
No. 22 TAC Section 535.2(e) allows delegation but bars relinquishing overall responsibility.
12How long can a showing-only non-representation agreement last?
No more than 14 days, and it must be nonexclusive. TRELA Section 1101.563(e).
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
- HUD, Housing Discrimination Under the Fair Housing Act
- TREC Rules
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.