Free Real Estate Maryland-Real-Estate-Salesperson Practice Exam with Questions & Answers | Set: 3

Maryland law establishes that the Maryland Real Estate Commission has nine members: five must be licensed real estate professionals (one from each of Maryland’s five geographic regions) and four must be consumer members who are not engaged in the real estate business. This composition ensures both industry expertise and public representation. The pre-licensing course presents this under Maryland License Law and MREC structure, aligning with the Maryland Business Occupations and Professions Article, Title 17 (§17-202).

Informed consent is a legal requirement under Maryland Agency Law when a brokerage represents both a buyer and a seller in the same real estate transaction (dual agency).

In this arrangement, the broker acts as the dual agent, while separate intra-company agents may represent each party.

The client must receive full disclosure of the potential conflicts of interest and consent in writing before dual agency can occur.

Without informed, written consent, dual agency is prohibited under Maryland Real Estate Commission (MREC) regulations.

In Maryland, a licensee owes clients fiduciary duties that include reasonable skill and care, loyalty, obedience to lawful instructions, disclosure, confidentiality, accounting, and prompt presentation of all written offers. Failing to present an offer promptly breaches the duty of reasonable care and the professional standard of practice and is treated as negligence (a failure to exercise the care a reasonably prudent licensee would exercise under similar circumstances). This is distinct from:

Fraud (intentional deception),

Misrepresentation (false statement or omission of material fact),

Puffing (non-factual opinion or sales talk).

Because the buyer’s financial harm flowed from the licensee’s carelessness (delay), the appropriate theory is negligence.

References (Maryland Sources / Pre-Licensing Core Content):

Maryland Business Occupations and Professions Article, Title 17 (Real Estate Brokers Act) — duties to clients; grounds for discipline for incompetence or negligence.

COMAR 09.11.02 (MREC Code of Ethics) — obligation to promptly present all written offers and perform with reasonable skill and care.

Maryland 60-Hour Pre-Licensing Course: “Real Estate Brokerage and the Law of Agency” (fiduciary duties; standards of care; prompt presentation of offers).

Regardless of who pays the commission, the client is the person named in the agency agreement—in this case, Sadie, the property owner.

The Maryland Real Estate Brokers Act defines the client as the party with whom the broker or salesperson has an agency relationship, not necessarily the one providing compensation.

Third-party payments do not alter the contractual relationship or fiduciary duties.

Only licensed or certified appraisers may perform an appraisal for a fee in a federally related transaction.

A real estate licensee, however, may prepare a Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) or Broker Price Opinion (BPO) to help a seller decide on a listing price or a buyer to make an offer.

A CMA compares recent sales, active listings, and expired listings of similar properties to estimate a realistic price range.

This procedure is emphasized in the “Appraisal and Valuation” module as a permitted pricing tool for real estate professionals.

Reference (Maryland Source):

– Maryland 60-Hour Principles and Practices of Real Estate Pre-Licensing Course, Valuation and CMA section.

– Business Occupations and Professions Article §17-511 (b).

The course stresses that licensees must protect a seller’s privacy and personal security when marketing property. Photos that display personal possessions such as firearms, medications, financial documents, or valuables should never be published. Revealing these items can create a safety and liability risk for the seller and may violate professional ethical standards regarding confidentiality.

Therefore, the image showing the owner’s collection of antique guns should not be made public.

Reference (Maryland Source):

– Maryland 60-Hour Principles and Practices of Real Estate Pre-Licensing Course, Listing and Marketing Property section.

– Maryland Code of Ethics for Real Estate Licensees, COMAR 09.11.02.01 et seq.

A complaint against a real estate licensee in Maryland must be filed with the Maryland Real Estate Commission (MREC).

The complaint can be submitted online via the Commission’s official website or by mail using the form provided by the MREC.

The Commission investigates alleged violations of the Real Estate Brokers Act, including misconduct, ethical breaches, or failure to comply with license law.

Complaints are not handled by the brokerage or individual agents.

Maryland’s Property Condition Disclosure Law requires residential sellers to deliver the Maryland Residential Property Disclosure and Disclaimer Statement to a prospective purchaser on or before the time the buyer enters into a contract of sale. This timing ensures the buyer receives statutory condition information before becoming contractually bound, and failure to provide it timely can trigger buyer rights to rescind.

Maryland agency law requires fiduciary duties to each client—loyalty, confidentiality, disclosure, obedience, reasonable care—but it does not prohibit a licensee from showing the same property to multiple buyer clients. A licensee must avoid disclosing one client’s confidential information (e.g., willingness to pay more) and provide fair, diligent service to each, but there is no exclusivity right entitling a buyer to first refusal unless contractually agreed. Therefore, no violation occurred when Renae showed the property to more than one client.

Escheat is the government’s power to take title to property when someone dies intestate (without a will) and no heirs or creditors can be found. This differs from eminent domain (the government’s power to take private property for public use with just compensation) and from a taking (the act under eminent domain). A life estate is a private freehold interest measured by a person’s lifetime, not a government power. These core definitions are covered in the Real Property and the Law module.