Free Real Estate Practice Tests

Joint tenancy requires the four unities: time, title, interest, and possession. Dee got her interest at a different time and by a different deed, so she can't be a joint tenant. She holds one-third as a tenant in common. Ana and Cal's joint tenancy between themselves survives—if Ana dies, Cal takes her share, not Dee.

The trap is assuming the whole joint tenancy blows up. Only the transferred share is severed. And a joint tenant can convey his own interest without the others' permission.

The federal act has a narrow exemption for an owner-occupied building with four or fewer units (the “Mrs. Murphy” exemption). A separate exemption covers an individual who owns no more than three single-family homes and sells or rents one without a broker and without discriminatory advertising.

Using a broker kills the single-family exemption, a 12-unit building is too big, and discriminatory advertising is never exempt. Also remember the Civil Rights Act of 1866 bars racial discrimination in property transactions with no exemptions.

Value = net operating income ÷ cap rate: $54,000 ÷ 0.06 = $900,000.

$324,000 comes from multiplying instead of dividing. Use the IRV triangle: Income = Rate × Value, so Value = Income ÷ Rate. And make sure you're using net operating income (after operating expenses, before debt service), not gross rent.

A counteroffer is a rejection of the original offer plus a new offer. Once the seller countered, the buyer's $350,000 offer was dead and can't be revived by a later “acceptance.” The seller's statement is now a new offer that the buyer can accept or ignore.

“Yes” is the trap: the terms match, but there's no longer an offer on the table to accept.

If the commission is 6% of the price, the seller keeps 94%. So price × 0.94 = $300,000, and price = $300,000 ÷ 0.94 = $319,148.94 → $319,149.

$318,000 is the trap: adding 6% of $300,000 doesn't work, because the commission is figured on the higher sale price, not on the net. Check it: $318,000 × 0.94 = $298,920—short of the goal.

Daily rate: $4,380 ÷ 365 = $12. Seller's days: January (31) + February (28) + March (31) + April 1–20 (20) = 110 days. Seller's share: 110 × $12 = $1,320, debited to the seller and credited to the buyer, because the buyer will pay the full year's bill later.

$3,060 is the buyer's 255 days—right math, wrong party. $1,332 counts 111 days, an off-by-one on the day of closing.

Area = 660 × 330 = 217,800 sq ft. Acres = 217,800 ÷ 43,560 = 5. Value = 5 × $9,500 = $47,500.

$38,000 prices only 4 acres and $95,000 prices 10—both come from sloppy division. Always go square feet → acres → dollars, and sanity-check: 5 acres × $9,500 is under $50,000.

The California property tax year runs July 1–June 30. The first installment is due November 1 and delinquent after December 10; the second is due February 1 and delinquent after April 10. Memory hook: No Darn Fooling Around—Nov 1, Dec 10, Feb 1, Apr 10.

February 1 is when the second installment is due, not when it goes delinquent—the classic mix-up.

California's recording statute protects a later good-faith purchaser for value who records first. An unrecorded deed is void against that purchaser. Ben had no notice of Ava's deed (it wasn't recorded, and she wasn't in possession), paid value, and won the race to record. Ava's remedy is a claim against Owen.

“First in time” is the trap. If Ben had known about Ava's purchase, or if Ava had recorded before Ben, Ava would win.

The TDS is required for most transfers of single-family residential property, but the statute exempts certain transfers—including sales ordered by a probate court in administering an estate, foreclosure sales, transfers between co-owners, transfers to a spouse or lineal relative, transfers between spouses in a divorce, and transfers to or from a government entity.

“As is” is the trap: an as-is sale still requires the TDS, and any waiver of the requirement is void as against public policy. Being a non-occupant investor doesn't exempt a seller either.

A Texas broker who agrees to represent both a buyer and a seller in the same transaction must act as an intermediary, and that requires written consent from each party that states the source of any expected compensation. (A written listing or buyer representation agreement can supply the consent if it spells out the prohibited conduct in conspicuous bold or underlined print.) The intermediary must act fairly and impartially.

No TREC pre-approval is involved, and the broker can still be paid—the source just has to be disclosed.

Under the Texas Property Code, if a contract is signed without the required Seller's Disclosure Notice, the buyer may terminate for any reason within 7 days after receiving the notice.

Three days is a trap borrowed from other states' rules. Disclosure doesn't obligate the seller to make repairs.

A rural homestead can be up to 200 acres for a family or 100 acres for a single adult. An urban homestead is limited to 10 acres of land in one or more contiguous lots.

100 acres is the single-adult rural limit, and 10 acres is the urban limit—both common traps.