Lesson 10: Agency, Ethics and the Law

According to Rule 531.3 of the Texas Administrative Rules, a real estate agent should be informed on which of the following? A) National real estate issues B) Market conditions affecting the real estate business C) State developments in the real estate industry D) All of these are correct

All of these are correct A) National real estate issues B) Market conditions affecting the real estate business C) State developments in the real estate industry

Which of the following is one of the primary intentions of a law? A) Providing people with a reasonable expectation of safety and protection from harm B) Creating and maintaining order C) Protecting individual rights and freedoms D) All of these are correct

All of these are correct A) Providing people with a reasonable expectation of safety and protection from harm B) Creating and maintaining order C) Protecting individual rights and freedoms

TRELA's primary responsibility is to: A) provide the basic framework for the behavior of licensees. B) regulate the actions for members of the Texas Real Estate Commission. C) neither of these. D) both of these.

both of these. A) provide the basic framework for the behavior of licensees. B) regulate the actions for members of the Texas Real Estate Commission. What TRELA primarily does is provide the basic framework for the behavior of licensees. In addition, it regulates the actions for members of the Texas Real Estate Commission.

Real estate advertising must be... A) efficient. B) discriminatory. C) completely truthful. D) interesting.

completely truthful.

The _________________ has been used in the past by courts as a means of identifying an appropriate standard of conduct. A) golden rule B) Fair Treatment Standards C) TRELA rules D) NAR code of ethics

NAR code of ethics The NAR code of ethics has been used in the past by courts as a means of identifying an appropriate standard of conduct. There is an established precedent of courts looking to the NAR code of ethics when judging cases against real estate licensees.

Which of the following is not a common way of dividing Ethics/Morals? A) Social/Personal B) Secular/Religious C) Reasonable/Unreasonable D) Regulated/Unregulated

Reasonable/Unreasonable When we look at the concepts of ethics and morals there are numerous perspectives from which to examine these concepts. Since both concepts deal with what is considered appropriate behavior, one perspective looks at how these concepts are understood in the context of religious structures. Another perspective examines these concepts from their relation to society and people that make up that society. These concepts can also be explored from the perspective of how they are regulated under the law.

How are violations of The Real Estate License Act punished? A) All of these are correct B) A court ordered injunction C) Suspension or revocation of a license D) Punitive damages

Suspension or revocation of a license The provisions of The Real Estate License Act (TRELA) are primarily enforced by the Texas Real Estate Commission (TREC). The primary enforcement tool available to TREC is the suspension or revocation someone's real estate license. TREC is the only body that is empowered to do this.

The single most important fair housing legislation passed in the last 60 years is the Fair Housing Act, also known as which of the following?` A) Title XIV of the Accommodation Fairness Act of 1972 B) Title X of the Minority Rights Act. C) Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. D) Title II of the Protected Classes Act.

Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968. The single most important piece of fair housing legislation passed in the last 60 years is the Fair Housing Act (a.k.a. Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968). This act established prohibitions on discriminating in the sale, rental, and financing of housing related transactions, if the discrimination was primarily based on a person's race, color, religion, or nationality. This act was later amended to prohibit discrimination against people on the basis of sex, familial status, or disability.

Title IX prohibits discrimination by educational programs and activities that receive federal funds on the basis of which of the following? A) Race B) Religion C) Nationality D) Sex

Sex Title IX is the most significant portion of The Education Amendments Act of 1972. This section of law prohibited discrimination on the basis of sex by educational programs and activities that received federal funds. It is one of the major pieces of legislation that combats sex discrimination.

Which of these was NOT outlawed by the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890? A) Group boycotting. B) Allocation of markets. C) Taking a commission below market rate. D) Price fixing.

Taking a commission below market rate. The Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890 outlawed any contract, combination, or conspiracy that was deemed to restrain interstate or foreign commerce. The second half of the act made the formation, or intention to form, a monopoly (control of a market by one firm) a felony. What should be noted is that this is not intended to punish businesses that outcompete other businesses, or provide a superior product. The Sherman Act is primarily intended to combat firms that achieve market dominance by unfairly suppressing the ability of other firms to compete. All of these answers involve conspiring between real estate firms, except "taking a commission below market rate", which is simply a competitive market action.

Which of the following prohibits credit discrimination on the basis of nationality? A) The Equal Credit Opportunity Act B) The Credit Expansion and Improvement Act C) The Community Reinvestment Act D) The Fair Credit and Equal Opportunity Act

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act Enforced by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), the Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) forbids credit discrimination on the basis of race, color, nationality, sex, marital status, or use of public assistance.

Loans covered by the Truth In Lending Act allow the borrower: A) the right to change the brokerage's commission rate. B) the right to change the terms of a loan during the whole escrow period. C) the right of rescission for three days. D) the right of first refusal for seven days.

the right of rescission for three days. Furthermore, if an individual is establishing a loan covered by TILA, he or she is granted the right of rescission. This means that the individual establishing the loan is given three days to stop the loan process, if he or she changes her mind about establishing the loan.