Text Book: "Broker Responsibility" Edition 2.0
Chapter 1
Are there any violations of the Act or TREC rules if the rebate was not paid to avoid violation of RESPA?
Chapter 2
1. What are the best methods to communicate limitations on activities?
2. Knowing that I am responsible for my salespersons, am I required to have E&O coverage? If not required, what are the reasons I might
want to have E&O?
3. What does my policy cover?
4. What could be covered by my E&O policy?
5. When should I notify my E&O carrier of threats of action?
6. What is the difference between civil liability and my responsibility to adhere to TRELA and the TREC rules?
Chapter 3
A common area of concern involves the early termination of listing or buying representation agreements.
1. I am the listing agent. The seller wants to terminate the listing before the end of the listing. What should I do, and what are my
rights?
2. I am the buyer's agent. The buyer wants to terminate representation before the end of the buyer representation agreement. What should
I do, and what are my rights?
3. A buyer informs me that he wants me to represent him. The buyer informs me that he may be subject to a buyer representation agreement with another broker. How should I proceed?
4. I began working with a buyer, but I did not sign a buyer representation agreement with the buyer. I think that the buyer has started working with another agent and may be looking at some of the same properties I showed or called to the buyer's attention. How should I proceed, and what are my rights?
Chapter 4
1. May property deposits be placed in my brokerage operating account?
2. May a salesperson have a trust account?
3. Who may be authorized to deposit and withdraw money from the trust account?
4. What are you able to use trust funds for?
5. What documentation do I need to put trust funds in an interest-bearing account?
6. Is it legal to keep some of my own money in a trust account to cover bank fees?
7. Am I allowed to pay myself a commission out of the trust account?
8. Do I have to keep separate trust accounts for security deposits for each property or client?
Chapter 5
1. I have an associate who is conducting property management in violation of our policy against property management activities.
What do I do?
2. If my brokerage does not allow property management, may I conduct property management on my own?
3. For someone else?
4. What if I indemnify the broker?
Chapter 6
1. By policy, who in a brokerage should be a designated, licensed supervisor?
2. How does a broker effectively make the delegation?
3. Which duties may be delegated?
Chapter 7
Tell what's wrong with each sample ad (Appendix B).
Chapter 8
1. What are the goals of a well-drafted records retention and destruction policy?
2. Define "records" for the purpose of a records retention and destruction policy.
3. Classifying records into certain categories is helpful in developing a records retention and destruction policy. What are some of the categories that might be used?
4. For each of the categories identified in question 3, assign a period of time to retain the record. Why did you choose the amount of time assigned to each?
5. How are the records of the organization received and how does the organization want the records stored either on a temporary or permanent basis?
6. Does the organization have a policy about the destruction of information received in formats that it does not keep permanently or for a long period of time?
7. How and when are files destroyed (both paper and electronic)? Who is responsible for enforcing the broker's file destruction policy?
8. As independent contractors, agents may maintain their own files (on their own computers, at home, etc.). What policies does the broker require of the agent with respect to these files?
9. Does the brokerage operation have a privacy policy in place concerning the receipt, storage and transmission of personal information? What is personal or private information? What should the privacy policy look like? If personal information is in a permanent file, is the personal information redacted or eliminated? Does the organization have a method to determine where personal information may be received and how it is handled or processed?
10. Does the organization educate its employees and agents about the policies under this section? Describe such educational efforts.
11. Is there need in some brokerages for multiple records retention and destruction policies (firms with departments or divisions)?
Chapter 9
1. Based on what you learned in Chapter 2, what might be the written policies a broker could create to assure basic competencies in the areas and disciplines the broker will authorize a salesperson to engage in?
2. Based on what you learned in chapter 7 and what you know about the rules, what would be the minimum policy you might create as a broker to assure compliance with the rules? What would be your minimum oversight of compliance with the rules in all media types?
3. Based on what you learned in Chapter 5, what might a policy need to include to comply with the requirement for this section of the Rules?
4. Discuss ways in which a brokerage can
* make sure the agents' licenses do not expire;
* insure the broker is aware of any and all compensation the agents receive;
* keep the agents informed of changes in TREC's Act, its Rules, or its forms; and
* make sure that agents satisfy the educational requirements the broker requires.
Chapter 10
1. May a broker stipulate in an MLS listing that all offers be sent directly to the seller?
2. May a broker, with the seller's agreement, list the seller's property on MLS, have offers sent to the seller and the broker and let the seller be solely responsible for negotiating the terms of a contract with a buyer?
3. May a broker charge only a minimal fee for listing a property on MLS, and by contract with the seller, allow the seller to choose to pay for each additional brokerage service the seller desires?
Chapter 11
1. Can a broker be the designated officer for more than one company?
2. Can a licensed salesperson own his or her own real estate company?
3. May a license holder use an assumed name in business (DBA)?
4. I am the sponsoring broker for a salesperson, John Smith, who owns an LLC. We are co-managers of the LLC. The name of the LLC is John Smith Realty, LLC. Is my salesperson permitted to use John Smith Realty, LLC in general and in his advertising?
5. I know LLCs and corporations need to be licensed, but do partnerships need to be licensed if real estate brokerage activity is performed under the partnership's name?
6. If I have a licensed limited partnership, can the general partner be an LLC if a manager of the LLC is a designated broker?
7. Does the designated broker own 10 percent of a licensed business entity if the designated broker 10 percent or more of another business entity that owns 100 percent of the licensed business entity?
8. What qualifies as proof of ownership of the business entity?
9. Does TREC determine which brokerage business names may be registered with the agency if a name is similar to others already registered?
10. May a broker pay a commission to a salesperson's unlicensed entity?