TEXAS REAL ESTATE 2026 STUDY EXAMS GUIDE
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔usury - ✔✔charging an interest rate in excess of what the law allows
-usury laws enacted to protect the borrower
✔✔discount rate - ✔✔the rate that a bank pays when it borrows from the Federal
Reserve
✔✔discount point - ✔✔one percent of the loan amount
✔✔fiduciary relationship - ✔✔one person places trust and confidence in another to
responsibly handle the obligations of the position as his or her representative
✔✔law of agency - ✔✔governs the relationship between a broker and his principal
✔✔principal - ✔✔client
✔✔Buyer Representation Agreement - ✔✔the written agreement that creates the
agency and contractual relationship between a broker and a buyer
✔✔Listing Agreement - ✔✔obligates the broker to act as a fiduciary to the seller
-must be signed by the seller to be enforceable
✔✔types of listings - ✔✔open listing, exclusive agency, exclusive right to sell, net listing
-all must be in writing to satisfy the Statute of Frauds
✔✔open listing - ✔✔the owner reserves the right to list with as many brokers as he
chooses
✔✔exclusive agency - ✔✔the broker is the exclusive agent and receives commission
unless the seller sells the property himself
✔✔exclusive right to sell - ✔✔the broker is the exclusive agent and receives the
commission even if the seller sells the property himself
-the type of listing a broker wants
✔✔net listing - ✔✔all money over the amount the owner wants for the sale of the
property is treated as the broker's commission
✔✔principal's duties to an agent - ✔✔-compensation
-information
-indemnification
-avaliability
, ✔✔agent's duties to a principal (OLD CAR) - ✔✔-obedience
-loyalty
-disclosure
-confidentiality
-accounting
-reasonable care
✔✔blockbusting - ✔✔panic selling
✔✔antitrust laws - ✔✔prohibit businesses from establishing groups or standards that
interfere with normal business competition
-enforced under the Sherman Antitrust Act
-most common antitrust violations in the real estate industry include price fixing,
boycotting competitors and allocating customers or markets
✔✔commission - ✔✔-always negotiable, no standard or fixed rate
-conditions: must be the procuring cause of sale, have a compensation agreement in
writing, be licensed by TREC, advise the purchaser in writing to have the abstract
examined by an attorney or to obtain title insurance
✔✔dual agency/intermediary - ✔✔only permitted if both the buyer and seller agree in
writing
✔✔material facts - ✔✔anything that might influence the decision of a purchaser
-must be disclosed
-Texas uses Seller's Disclosure form
✔✔Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act
(CERCLA) - ✔✔established the Superfund to clean up hazardous waste and respond to
spills
-set up guidelines for liability (the owner is personally responsible for the whole cleanup
cost)
✔✔Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) - ✔✔determines the effect of a project on a
community
✔✔elements of a valid and enforceable contract - ✔✔1. mutual assent
2. legally competent parties
3. consideration
4. lawful objective
5. adherence to a Statue of Frauds
✔✔Statute of Frauds - ✔✔requires that a contract be in writing
-without this, it would be valid but not enforceable
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SURE A+
✔✔usury - ✔✔charging an interest rate in excess of what the law allows
-usury laws enacted to protect the borrower
✔✔discount rate - ✔✔the rate that a bank pays when it borrows from the Federal
Reserve
✔✔discount point - ✔✔one percent of the loan amount
✔✔fiduciary relationship - ✔✔one person places trust and confidence in another to
responsibly handle the obligations of the position as his or her representative
✔✔law of agency - ✔✔governs the relationship between a broker and his principal
✔✔principal - ✔✔client
✔✔Buyer Representation Agreement - ✔✔the written agreement that creates the
agency and contractual relationship between a broker and a buyer
✔✔Listing Agreement - ✔✔obligates the broker to act as a fiduciary to the seller
-must be signed by the seller to be enforceable
✔✔types of listings - ✔✔open listing, exclusive agency, exclusive right to sell, net listing
-all must be in writing to satisfy the Statute of Frauds
✔✔open listing - ✔✔the owner reserves the right to list with as many brokers as he
chooses
✔✔exclusive agency - ✔✔the broker is the exclusive agent and receives commission
unless the seller sells the property himself
✔✔exclusive right to sell - ✔✔the broker is the exclusive agent and receives the
commission even if the seller sells the property himself
-the type of listing a broker wants
✔✔net listing - ✔✔all money over the amount the owner wants for the sale of the
property is treated as the broker's commission
✔✔principal's duties to an agent - ✔✔-compensation
-information
-indemnification
-avaliability
, ✔✔agent's duties to a principal (OLD CAR) - ✔✔-obedience
-loyalty
-disclosure
-confidentiality
-accounting
-reasonable care
✔✔blockbusting - ✔✔panic selling
✔✔antitrust laws - ✔✔prohibit businesses from establishing groups or standards that
interfere with normal business competition
-enforced under the Sherman Antitrust Act
-most common antitrust violations in the real estate industry include price fixing,
boycotting competitors and allocating customers or markets
✔✔commission - ✔✔-always negotiable, no standard or fixed rate
-conditions: must be the procuring cause of sale, have a compensation agreement in
writing, be licensed by TREC, advise the purchaser in writing to have the abstract
examined by an attorney or to obtain title insurance
✔✔dual agency/intermediary - ✔✔only permitted if both the buyer and seller agree in
writing
✔✔material facts - ✔✔anything that might influence the decision of a purchaser
-must be disclosed
-Texas uses Seller's Disclosure form
✔✔Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act
(CERCLA) - ✔✔established the Superfund to clean up hazardous waste and respond to
spills
-set up guidelines for liability (the owner is personally responsible for the whole cleanup
cost)
✔✔Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) - ✔✔determines the effect of a project on a
community
✔✔elements of a valid and enforceable contract - ✔✔1. mutual assent
2. legally competent parties
3. consideration
4. lawful objective
5. adherence to a Statue of Frauds
✔✔Statute of Frauds - ✔✔requires that a contract be in writing
-without this, it would be valid but not enforceable
