Where this fits on the exam
| Official syllabus topic | Brokerage Representation Agreements |
|---|---|
| Official PSI area | Agency |
| Published area weight | 13% of the national portion |
| Exam portion | National salesperson portion |
| Source edition | PSI Georgia Candidate Information Bulletin dated July 1, 2026 |
The Rule
PSI publishes the weight for the complete content area, not a fixed question count for this lesson. Learn the rule well enough to apply it when PSI changes names, numbers, or parties in a new scenario.
The lesson
Listing agreements
An exclusive-right-to-sell listing generally earns the agreed compensation when the property sells during the term, subject to stated exceptions. Exclusive-agency and open listings allocate procuring-cause and owner-sale rights differently.
Buyer and tenant agreements
The agreement defines the search, brokerage services, duration, compensation, exclusivity, and client duties. It should address potential seller or listing-broker payments without implying a fixed market rate.
Protection and termination
A protection period may preserve a compensation claim for specified prospects after expiration. Termination can end future authority without erasing rights or duties already accrued.
Negotiable compensation
Fees and commission structures are negotiated, not set by law, a real estate association, or the MLS. Written agreements should state who owes what and when.
Decision rule
Georgia-specific distinction
Worked example
Scenario. An exclusive-right-to-sell listing is active when the owner independently finds a buyer and sells, with no owner-sale exclusion.
Reason it through. This listing type generally makes the agreed fee due regardless of who procures the buyer, subject to its actual terms.
Answer. The broker may be entitled to the contractually agreed compensation.
Common exam traps
- Calling commission rates standard
- Confusing exclusive agency with exclusive right to sell
- Assuming agency follows the payment source
- Ignoring post-term protection language
Original practice questions with detailed explanations
These questions were written for instruction and mapped to the current outline. They are not copied from PSI or any live examination. Choose an answer before opening the explanation.
Question 1An owner signs an exclusive-agency listing, then sells the home to a coworker without any help from the broker. Under typical exclusive-agency terms, what is the broker owed?
- A. The full agreed commission
- B. No commission for the owner's own sale
- C. Half the commission as a finder's fee
- D. A commission if the sale closes in term
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: B. No commission for the owner's own sale
An exclusive-agency listing makes the broker the only agent but reserves the owner's right to sell without owing a fee. The full-commission answer describes an exclusive-right-to-sell listing, which does not reserve the same owner-sale exception.
- A. Incorrect. An exclusive-agency listing ordinarily preserves the owner's right to find a buyer without owing this commission.
- B. Correct. The seller personally found the buyer without broker assistance, fitting the stated exclusive-agency exception.
- C. Incorrect. A half-fee is not a standard consequence of an owner-found sale.
- D. Incorrect. An exclusive right to sell, rather than exclusive agency, generally covers an owner-found buyer too.
Question 2A new client asks a Georgia salesperson what the standard commission is in the area. What is the proper response?
- A. Say that GREC sets a maximum rate
- B. Quote the typical local rate as standard
- C. Point the client to the MLS rate schedule
- D. Explain that the fee is negotiable
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: D. Explain that the fee is negotiable
Brokerage fees are set by negotiation between the parties, not by law, the MLS or a trade association. Quoting a typical rate as standard is wrong because presenting any rate as standard or fixed is exactly what a Georgia licensee must not do.
- A. Incorrect. GREC does not set a maximum standard commission for this transaction.
- B. Incorrect. A supposed industry standard should not replace the parties' negotiation.
- C. Incorrect. An MLS schedule is not a lawful mandatory commission rate.
- D. Correct. The seller and broker negotiate compensation; it is not fixed by an industry rule.
Question 3A listing expired June 30. It has a 90-day protection period for buyers the broker introduced and named in writing. On August 15, the owner sells directly to a buyer on that list. What is the likely result?
- A. The broker may be owed the agreed fee
- B. The broker is owed nothing after expiration
- C. The broker is owed only marketing expenses
- D. The owner must relist with the same broker
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: A. The broker may be owed the agreed fee
A protection period preserves the broker's compensation claim for named prospects after the listing ends, and this sale falls inside it. Assuming expiration wipes out every right is the mistake: ending the agreement does not erase rights it expressly preserves.
- A. Correct. The sale falls within the stated protection period and involves the protected buyer, so the agreed fee may be due.
- B. Incorrect. Expiration does not necessarily end a surviving protection clause.
- C. Incorrect. The clause concerns the agreed compensation, not merely reimbursement of marketing costs.
- D. Incorrect. The protection clause can preserve compensation without requiring the owner to enter another listing with this broker.
Ready to move on?
You are ready for the next lesson when all of these are true.
- Explain Brokerage Representation Agreements in one clear answer without notes.
- Separate Listing agreements from Buyer and tenant agreements using a fresh example.
- Apply the decision rule to a new fact pattern and name the fact that controls the result.
- State the Georgia-specific point or explain why the national rule applies unchanged.
- Answer every practice question and explain the rule each rejected option misapplies.
- Revisit this topic later in mixed practice without category labels.
Recommended next lesson
Continue with Non-Agency, Customers, Ministerial Acts, and Authority. An agreement decides who is a client, so the next lesson covers everyone else: customers, the ministerial acts a Georgia licensee can perform for them without creating representation, and how actual and apparent authority arise.
Return to the Agency hub to see every official branch and the complete lesson sequence for this content area.