Free Florida real estate practice exam

Questions 1 to 4: Brokerage, licensing, and the real estate business

Question 1: Real Estate Brokerage Activities and Procedures

A Florida sales associate works for an owner-developer with several affiliated companies under common control. The companies develop and sell their own properties. Which arrangement may allow the associate to work across qualifying affiliated entities?

A. A group license registered through one owner-developer for work across the qualifying affiliated entities

B. A separate multiple broker license issued to the sales associate for each company

C. A branch-office registration that automatically authorizes work for every affiliated company

D. A blanket exemption from license registration because the properties belong to developers

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: A

A group license is available in the owner-developer setting described in F.A.C. 61J2-6.006. It lets a sales associate or broker associate registered under one owner-developer work for qualifying affiliated entities. An ordinary brokerage cannot use it to replace branch-office registration.

Why the other choices do not fit: B confuses a broker's multiple licenses with a sales associate's group license. C confuses office registration with the associate's employment registration. D invents an exemption from registration.

Topic: Real Estate Brokerage Activities and Procedures (12% of exam)

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Question 2: Real Estate Brokerage Activities and Procedures

The sole active qualifying broker of a Florida brokerage corporation dies. No replacement or temporary broker has been registered. Which statement correctly describes the next step?

A. The corporation may continue taking new listings for 14 days while it looks for a broker

B. A broker associate on staff automatically becomes the qualifying broker

C. The vacancy must be filled within 14 calendar days, and no new brokerage business may be performed before an active or temporary broker is registered

D. The corporation is permanently barred from operating again

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: C

Under F.A.C. 61J2-5.018, an active-broker vacancy must be filled within 14 calendar days to prevent automatic cancellation of the corporate registration. The entity may register an active or temporary broker. The 14-day deadline is not permission to conduct new brokerage business without one.

Why the other choices do not fit: A mistakes the replacement deadline for permission to keep taking new business. B assumes an automatic appointment. D treats a curable registration problem as a permanent ban.

Topic: Real Estate Brokerage Activities and Procedures (12% of exam)

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Question 3: License Law and Qualifications for Licensure

A Florida sales associate applies for a broker license through the standard sales-associate experience path. Which experience meets the requirement?

A. 12 months as an active sales associate during the preceding 3 years

B. 24 months as an active sales associate during the preceding 5 years

C. 24 months holding an inactive license during the preceding 5 years

D. Completion of the broker course with no qualifying experience

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: B

The standard path requires 24 months of qualifying active experience during the five years before the application. F.S. 475.17 also recognizes specified alternative experience paths. The broker course and the experience requirement are separate.

Why the other choices do not fit: A supplies too little experience. C counts inactive status as work experience. D treats education as a replacement for experience.

Topic: License Law and Qualifications for Licensure (6% of exam)

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Question 4: The Real Estate Business

A Florida sales associate has an active real estate license but is not a member of the National Association of REALTORS®. In advertising, which description may the licensee use?

A. REALTOR®, because all active Florida real estate licensees may use the term

B. Real estate licensee, because the person holds an active Florida license

C. REALTOR® associate, because the person is licensed under a Florida broker

D. Member of the Florida Real Estate Commission, because the person is regulated by FREC

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: B

REALTOR® is a membership mark, not another name for every person with a real estate license. A nonmember can describe the license actually held but cannot claim REALTOR® membership. See the National Association of REALTORS® trademark rules.

Why the other choices do not fit: A and C misuse the membership mark. D confuses being regulated by FREC with serving on the commission.

Topic: The Real Estate Business (1% of exam)

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Questions 5 to 8: Commission rules, relationships, fair housing, and property rights

Question 5: Real Estate License Law and Commission Rules

All seven FREC seats are filled. At a scheduled meeting, only three members are present. The commission

A. May proceed because three members represent a functional majority of the four licensed member seats

B. May vote on the matter provided the three present members reach a unanimous decision

C. Cannot take official action because the required quorum of at least four members has not been met

D. May proceed with routine administrative business but must postpone all disciplinary cases

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: C

F.S. 455.207(3) requires at least 51% of appointed members for a quorum unless another law provides otherwise. With seven appointed members, four must be present. Three cannot conduct official business, even with a unanimous vote.

Why the other choices do not fit: A counts only selected seats instead of all appointed members. B cannot cure a missing quorum with unanimity. D invents a separate quorum rule for routine business.

Topic: Real Estate License Law and Commission Rules (2% of exam)

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Question 6: Authorized Relationships, Duties, and Disclosures

A licensee has no brokerage relationship with an unrepresented buyer who wants to view a single-family home. No statutory disclosure exception applies. When must the licensee provide the written no brokerage relationship disclosure?

A. Before or at the time of entering into a listing agreement

B. At closing

C. Before the showing of property

D. Within the first five business days of contact

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: C

The disclosure must be given before showing the property under F.S. 475.278(4)(b). Subsection (5) sets the residential-sales scope and exceptions. Those details matter: the same disclosure rule does not automatically apply to every commercial sale, rental, or casual conversation.

Why the other choices do not fit: A uses the listing-agreement trigger from a different disclosure rule. B waits until closing. D invents a five-day grace period.

Topic: Authorized Relationships, Duties, and Disclosures (7% of exam)

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Question 7: Federal and State Laws Pertaining to Real Estate

For real estate exam purposes, which protected category is central to the equal property rights guaranteed by the Civil Rights Act of 1866?

A. Race

B. Race and color

C. Race, color, and national origin

D. All seven federal protected classes

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: A

42 U.S.C. 1982, derived from the Civil Rights Act of 1866, protects equal property rights against racial discrimination. The exam distinction is between that protection and the separate seven-class framework of the Fair Housing Act. A housing transaction exempt from parts of the Fair Housing Act is not thereby exempt from the prohibition on racial discrimination.

Why the other choices do not fit: B adds color as a separate answer category. C adds national origin. D substitutes the Fair Housing Act’s seven-class list for the specific law named in the question.

Topic: Federal and State Laws Pertaining to Real Estate (3% of exam)

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Question 8: Property Rights: Estates and Tenancies

Roberto buys a 50-acre ranch outside Ocala. The previous owner had conveyed the mineral rights to an energy company ten years ago and granted a utility easement across the northern boundary. After closing, Roberto discovers that a neighbor's fence extends three feet onto his western property line. How many distinct limitations on Roberto's bundle of rights are described in this scenario?

A. One, because only the mineral rights conveyance counts and easements merge into the deed at closing

B. Two, because the mineral rights conveyance and the utility easement are limitations but the encroachment is not

C. Two, because the utility easement and the fence encroachment are limitations but mineral rights are separate from the bundle

D. Three, because the mineral rights conveyance, the utility easement, and the fence encroachment are each distinct limitations

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: D

Three separate issues affect the property. The prior conveyance separated the specified mineral rights from the surface ownership. The easement permits another party to use part of the land for its stated purpose. The fence is an encroachment that interferes with exclusive possession; it does not automatically transfer title to the neighbor. See the property-rights and ownership-restrictions objectives in the FREC Course I syllabus.

Why the other choices do not fit: A incorrectly assumes the easement disappears at closing. B ignores the encroachment. C incorrectly excludes the severed mineral rights.

Topic: Property Rights: Estates and Tenancies (8% of exam)

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Questions 9 to 12: Deeds, descriptions, contracts, and mortgage debt

Question 9: Titles, Deeds, and Ownership Restrictions

All of the following are common uses of a quitclaim deed in Florida EXCEPT

A. Removing an ex-spouse from title after a divorce

B. Clearing a cloud on title caused by a misspelled name in a prior conveyance

C. Providing the grantee with a covenant of quiet enjoyment

D. Transferring property between family members as a gift

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: C

A quitclaim deed transfers whatever interest the grantor has without promising that the title is good. It does not supply the title covenants associated with a warranty deed. Those covenants include quiet enjoyment. Compare Florida’s statutory warranty deed provision, F.S. 689.02, and the deed objectives in the Course I syllabus.

Why the other choices do not fit: A, B, and D describe uses of quitclaim deeds. C promises a title covenant the deed does not provide.

Topic: Titles, Deeds, and Ownership Restrictions (7% of exam)

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Question 10: Legal Descriptions

A valid legal description in a Florida deed can be based on a

A. Street address assigned by the local post office

B. Lot-and-block reference to a recorded plat

C. Property appraiser's folio number

D. County-assigned 911 dispatch address

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: B

A lot-and-block description refers to a recorded plat, using the lot, block, subdivision, and recording information needed to identify the parcel. The plat supplies the boundaries. A street address, folio number, or emergency-service address by itself is not the standard recorded-plat description asked for here. See the legal-description methods in the FREC Course I syllabus.

Why the other choices do not fit: A and D describe location addresses. C is an administrative parcel identifier. B refers to the recorded legal description.

Topic: Legal Descriptions (5% of exam)

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Question 11: Real Estate Contracts

A seller signs an otherwise valid written 90-day option on a vacant lot in exchange for $10 that the buyer pays. There is no fraud, duress, or other defect. The seller argues only that $10 is too little for an option on a $200,000 property. Under the ordinary contract rule, the option is

A. Enforceable, because courts generally do not inquire into the adequacy of consideration

B. Unenforceable, because option consideration must bear a reasonable relationship to the property's market value

C. Voidable at the seller's election due to unconscionable consideration

D. Void, because nominal consideration fails to create a binding legal obligation

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: A

Consideration must have legal value, but the exchanged values do not have to be equal. On these facts, the paid $10 supports the option. The seller’s objection to the price alone does not establish invalidity. The written agreement and absence of other defects keep the question focused on sufficiency rather than adequacy of consideration. See the contract-elements objectives in the FREC Course I syllabus.

Why the other choices do not fit: B invents a proportional-value requirement. C assumes unconscionability from price alone despite the stated facts. D treats nominal consideration as having no legal value.

Topic: Real Estate Contracts (12% of exam)

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Question 12: Residential Mortgages

A borrower signs a valid promissory note. The mortgage intended to secure it is unenforceable, and no other collateral secures the note. What happens to the debt?

A. The debt is void because the mortgage and note form a single inseparable instrument

B. The debt remains valid and enforceable as an unsecured personal obligation of the borrower

C. The debt is automatically discharged because the lender lost its security interest

D. The debt converts to an involuntary lien against all of the borrower's real property

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: B

The note is the promise to repay. The mortgage provides security for that promise. Losing the mortgage lien does not, by itself, cancel an otherwise valid note, so the debt remains a personal obligation without that security. See F.S. 697.02 on the nature of a mortgage and F.S. 673.4121 on the issuer’s obligation under a note.

Why the other choices do not fit: A incorrectly merges the debt and the security into one inseparable obligation. C assumes loss of collateral discharges the debt. D invents an automatic replacement lien.

Topic: Residential Mortgages (9% of exam)

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Questions 13 to 16: Investments, taxes, zoning, and financing

Question 13: Real Estate Investments and Business Opportunity Brokerage

Two apartment complexes in Orange County each generate $120,000 in annual net operating income. Complex A is in a Class A neighborhood with long-term tenants and trades at a 5% cap rate. Complex B is in a transitional area with high turnover and trades at a 10% cap rate. Compared to Complex B, Complex A is

A. Worth twice as much because its lower cap rate reflects lower perceived investment risk

B. Worth the same because both properties produce identical net operating income

C. Worth half as much because its lower cap rate indicates a weaker return for investors

D. Worth twice as much because a lower cap rate indicates the property generates higher rental income

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: A

Use value = net operating income ÷ cap rate. Complex A: $120,000 ÷ 0.05 = $2,400,000. Complex B: $120,000 ÷ 0.10 = $1,200,000. With equal NOI, the lower cap rate produces the higher value. The risk descriptions explain why investors in this example accept different rates; they do not establish a universal rate for a neighborhood class. See the income approach in the IRS real property valuation guidelines.

Why the other choices do not fit: B ignores the different cap rates. C reverses the formula’s effect. D contradicts the equal NOI stated in the question.

Topic: Real Estate Investments and Business Opportunity Brokerage (2% of exam)

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Question 14: Taxes Affecting Real Estate

A property has a taxable value of $185,000 and is subject to a combined millage rate of 18.5 mills. What is the annual property tax?

A. $3,422.50

B. $34,225.00

C. $3,700.00

D. $342.25

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: A

One mill means $1 of tax for each $1,000 of taxable value. Convert 18.5 mills to 0.0185, then calculate $185,000 × 0.0185 = $3,422.50. The question already supplies taxable value, so do not subtract another exemption. See the Florida DOR property tax overview.

Why the other choices do not fit: B and D move the decimal one place too far. C applies a 20-mill rate instead of 18.5 mills.

Topic: Taxes Affecting Real Estate (3% of exam)

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Question 15: Planning and Zoning

A local Florida zoning code assigns applications for setback variances to its board of adjustment. An owner asks for a smaller setback because the lot has an unusual shape. Which statement is correct?

A. The request automatically changes the parcel’s zoning district

B. The board must apply the local variance criteria; a variance is different from rezoning

C. FloridaCommerce must approve every residential setback variance

D. A private deed restriction automatically authorizes the variance

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: B

A dimensional variance seeks relief from a rule such as a setback under the local code’s criteria. It does not itself rezone the parcel. The deciding body depends on the local code, which the question identifies. Avoid the blanket claim that every rezoning is legislative: Florida distinguishes broad legislative decisions from site-specific quasi-judicial decisions. See the Florida Supreme Court’s Snyder decision.

Why the other choices do not fit: A confuses a variance with rezoning. C gives a state agency a local-code role the facts do not support. D treats a private covenant as government approval.

Topic: Planning and Zoning (1% of exam)

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Question 16: Types of Mortgages and Sources of Financing

A borrower took out a 30-year FHA loan with a case number assigned in 2021 and put 3.5% down. The balance is now 74% of the original property value. Why does that reduction alone not end annual mortgage insurance premiums?

A. FHA loans with less than 10% down carry annual MIP for the entire life of the loan

B. The loan-to-value ratio must fall below 78% before automatic cancellation takes effect

C. FHA requires a minimum of 11 years of consecutive payments before MIP can be removed

D. Annual MIP cancellation requires the borrower to submit a new FHA appraisal at current market value

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: A

For FHA case numbers assigned on or after June 3, 2013, an original LTV above 90% generally carries annual MIP for the mortgage term. At 90% or less, the applicable duration is 11 years. A later fall in LTV does not substitute the conventional PMI cancellation schedule. See HUD guidance on final MIP payment dates.

Why the other choices do not fit: B uses the conventional PMI threshold. C applies the 11-year rule to the wrong original LTV band. D invents an appraisal-based cancellation requirement.

Topic: Types of Mortgages and Sources of Financing (4% of exam)

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Questions 17 to 20: Discipline, appraisal, closing math, and market demand

Question 17: Violations of License Law, Penalties, and Procedures

A licensee is found to have violated Chapter 475 on three separate counts. FREC imposes a formal reprimand, a $4,500 fine, and a two-year suspension. The licensee objects, arguing FREC cannot combine different penalties for violations arising from related transactions. The licensee's argument is

A. Incorrect, because FREC has the authority to impose multiple penalties simultaneously for the same or related violations

B. Correct, because the combined penalties exceed the statutory maximum for a single disciplinary proceeding

C. Correct, because FREC must choose either a fine or a suspension but cannot impose both for related violations

D. Incorrect, because the licensee waived the right to challenge penalty combinations by not requesting a formal hearing

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: A

F.S. 475.25(1) permits any or all of the listed disciplinary measures. The statutory ceiling is $5,000 per count for an administrative fine and ten years for suspension. The commission must still follow the applicable disciplinary rules and process. The objection here fails because combining a fine, reprimand, and suspension is permitted.

Why the other choices do not fit: B invents a combined-proceeding cap. C wrongly makes the available penalties mutually exclusive. D assumes a waiver that the facts never establish.

Topic: Violations of License Law, Penalties, and Procedures (3% of exam)

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Question 18: Real Estate Appraisal

A comparable home sold for $410,000. Its pool adds $20,000 compared with the subject, which has no pool. The subject has a garage worth $10,000 more than the comparable’s garage. Assume no other differences. What is the adjusted comparable price?

A. $440,000

B. $420,000

C. $390,000

D. $400,000

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: D

Adjust the comparable to resemble the subject. Subtract $20,000 for the comparable’s superior pool, then add $10,000 for its inferior garage: $410,000 − $20,000 + $10,000 = $400,000. The subject’s price is not adjusted in this calculation. See comparable-sale adjustments in the IRS real property valuation guidelines.

Why the other choices do not fit: A adds both differences. B reverses the signs. C subtracts the pool but forgets to add the garage difference.

Topic: Real Estate Appraisal (8% of exam)

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Question 19: Real Estate Related Computations and Closing of Transactions

Maria is purchasing a home in Hillsborough County for $350,000 and is borrowing $280,000. Using the Florida documentary stamp rates commonly tested on the sales associate exam, what are the documentary stamp taxes on the deed and the promissory note, excluding intangible tax and other closing costs?

A. $2,450 on the deed and $980 on the note

B. $2,450 on the deed and $1,225 on the note

C. $2,800 on the deed and $980 on the note

D. $3,430 on the deed and $0 on the note

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: A

Hillsborough County uses the ordinary deed rate of $0.70 per $100 or fraction of $100: $350,000 ÷ 100 × $0.70 = $2,450. The note rate is $0.35 per $100 or fraction: $280,000 ÷ 100 × $0.35 = $980. The price determines the deed tax; the debt determines the note tax. This question excludes intangible tax. See Florida DOR documentary stamp guidance.

Why the other choices do not fit: B uses the wrong base or rate for the note. C miscalculates the deed tax. D puts both amounts on the deed and leaves the note untaxed.

Topic: Real Estate Related Computations and Closing of Transactions (6% of exam)

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Question 20: Real Estate Markets and Analysis

Mortgage rates rise while household incomes, lending standards, and other conditions stay the same. What is the most direct effect on buyers who need financing?

A. Home prices immediately increase because sellers must recover the higher borrowing costs they incur on their existing mortgages

B. Supply decreases because builders halt construction projects in response to reduced profit margins from higher material costs

C. Demand increases because buyers rush to purchase before rates climb even higher, creating a temporary surge

D. Demand decreases because higher mortgage rates reduce buyer purchasing power, shrinking the pool of qualified purchasers

Show answer and explanation

Correct answer: D

A higher mortgage rate increases the payment on the same loan balance. With the same income and underwriting limits, a borrower generally qualifies for a smaller loan. That reduces purchasing power and can weaken demand. It does not make every home price change immediately. Mortgage rates also do not move mechanically one-for-one with Federal Reserve policy rates. See the CFPB guide to mortgage interest-rate factors.

Why the other choices do not fit: A assumes immediate price increases and changes to existing mortgage costs. B substitutes construction costs for the financing effect. C predicts increased demand even though purchasing power falls.

Topic: Real Estate Markets and Analysis (1% of exam)

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