What is tested in Finance and Closing?
| Official PSI area | Finance and Closing |
|---|---|
| Exam portion | Georgia supplement |
| Published weight | 15 of the 52 Georgia questions |
| Published branches | 2 |
| Source edition | PSI Georgia Candidate Information Bulletin dated July 1, 2026 |
| Last verified | August 2, 2026 |
The Rule
PSI publishes 15 items for the combined group but no split between finance and closing. It also does not publish a fixed number of tax, security-deed, foreclosure, attorney, title, or calculation questions.
Why this area matters
This group is a chain, not a fact pile. Follow the note, security instrument, title evidence, closing statement, deed, money, tax base, attorney, recording, and post-closing documents in order.
Complete official content outline
These are all branches named in PSI's current salesperson outline. The teaching points below unpack each branch so you can move from recognition to application.
A. Finance
Translate national lending concepts into Georgia instruments, remedies, and taxes.
- Promissory note versus security deed
- Title effect and reconveyance when secured debt is paid
- Power-of-sale foreclosure concepts
- Loan terms, liens, priority, and payoff
- Intangible recording tax on a note secured by Georgia real estate
B. Closing Procedures
Know who performs the legal work and how title, money, taxes, and documents move through settlement.
- Georgia-licensed attorney conducts the closing
- Title search and title evidence
- Closing disclosure or settlement statement entries
- Debits, credits, prorations, and payoff
- Deed execution, delivery, acceptance, and recordation
- Georgia real estate transfer tax
- Licensee boundary against unauthorized legal advice
Complete lesson sequence
Work in order the first time. Each page connects the official topic to a full lesson, Georgia distinction, worked example, exam traps, original questions, mastery check, and recommended next lesson.
Lesson 156
Security Deed Versus Mortgage in Georgia
Separate the note, security instrument, title effect, default remedy, payoff, and public cancellation.
Lesson 157
Georgia's Attorney-Closing Rule
Ask who controls the legal work, documents, explanations, funds, execution, and recording rather than who merely attends signing.
Lesson 158
Georgia Real Estate Closing Process and Parties
Name the step, document, and legal owner before deciding who acts or when the transaction is complete.
Lesson 159
Closing Statements, Debits, Credits, Prorations, and Funds
Do not memorize one party's entry in isolation. Ask who owes whom for what period and whether the item has already been paid.
Lesson 160
Georgia Transfer Tax and Intangible Recording Tax
Name the tax and its statutory base before applying the rate, fraction rule, exemption, or cap.
Lesson 161
Georgia Property Tax, 40% Assessment, Millage, and Proration
Move from fair market value to assessed value, exemptions, taxable value, millage, and then any contract proration.
Lesson 162
Georgia Power-of-Sale Foreclosure
Identify the security deed and power, default, 30-day notice, publication and sale procedure, deed under power, and any deficiency-confirmation issue.
Lesson 163
Georgia Deeds, Title, Recordation, and Constructive Notice
Ask first whether a valid conveyance occurred, then whether recording protects the grantee against later competing claims.
Lesson 164
Title Searches, Title Insurance, and Marketable Title in Georgia
Do not ask only whether insurance exists. Ask whose interest is insured, against which defect, from what date, and with what exception.
Lesson 165
Promissory Note, Security Deed, Satisfaction, and Cancellation
Follow the chain: note creates debt, security deed secures it, default may trigger remedies, payoff satisfies debt, and cancellation clears the record.
Lesson 166
Georgia Loan Closing, Good Funds, Payoffs, and Wire-Fraud Prevention
Stop when instructions change. Independently verify the person, account, amount, and authority before money moves.
Lesson 167
Georgia Finance and Closing Scenario Workshop
When two answers look plausible, ask which document, base, party, or moment each answer actually describes.
High-value distinctions and exam traps
Use these after the complete lesson sequence. Each comparison puts easily confused terms into the same decision table, then tests the controlling fact in a new scenario.
Comparison 225
Georgia Security Deed Versus Mortgage Versus Deed of Trust
Identify the debt instrument, collateral instrument, parties, title effect, trustee or no trustee, default remedy, payoff, and public cancellation.
Comparison 226
Georgia Transfer Tax Versus Intangible Recording Tax
Name the taxable event and base first: transfer consideration for transfer tax or qualifying secured note face amount for intangible recording tax.
Comparison 230
Georgia Attorney Closing Versus Title or Escrow Closing
Ask who controls conveyancing, legal documents, title work, explanations, funds, execution, and recording rather than who merely attends or provides settlement services.
Complete math lesson sequence
Every roadmap calculation has one canonical answer page. Each lesson maps the official topic, teaches the formula and variables, adds a Georgia distinction, works two examples, exposes common traps, and ends with explained questions and mastery tracking.
Math lesson 232
Georgia Property-Tax and Millage Calculations
Tax = (fair market value x 40% - stated exemptions) x millage / 1,000
Math lesson 242
Georgia Real Estate Transfer-Tax Calculation
For positive taxable consideration: $1 for the first $1,000 or fraction + $0.10 for each additional $100 or fraction
Math lesson 243
Georgia Intangible Recording-Tax Calculation
Tax = lesser of [ceiling(note face amount / $500) x $1.50] or $25,000
Georgia-specific distinction
Worked example: Trace one Georgia purchase from debt to recording
Scenario. A buyer signs a note for $320,000, gives a Georgia security deed, receives a warranty deed from the seller, and closes before a Georgia attorney.
Reason it through. The note is the debt promise. The security deed secures that debt. The seller's deed conveys ownership to the buyer. The attorney conducts the legal closing and coordinates title and recording. Transfer tax is tied to taxable consideration; intangible recording tax is tied to the $320,000 note. Each document and tax has a different job.
Common exam traps
- Calling the security deed the promise to repay
- Using sale price for intangible recording tax
- Using loan amount for transfer tax without a stated taxable-consideration adjustment
- Allowing a salesperson to conduct or explain the legal closing
- Treating deed delivery, recordation, and loan funding as one indistinguishable event
Original practice questions with explanations
Answer each question before opening the explanation. These are original instructional questions mapped to the official outline. They are not copied from PSI or a live exam.
Question 1Which Georgia document is the borrower's evidence of personal debt?
- A. Promissory note
- B. Security deed
- C. Warranty deed
- D. Title policy
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: A. Promissory note
The note contains the promise to repay. The security deed connects the debt to the real estate as security.
Question 2Which amount is the starting base for Georgia intangible recording tax?
- A. Broker commission
- B. Secured note amount
- C. Assessed value
- D. Seller's equity
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: B. Secured note amount
Intangible recording tax is based on the face amount of the note secured by Georgia real estate, with statutory rounding and a cap.
Question 3Who is responsible for conducting a Georgia real estate closing?
- A. The qualifying broker
- B. A Georgia-licensed attorney
- C. The lender's appraiser
- D. Any notary selected by the buyer
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: B. A Georgia-licensed attorney
Conveyancing is legal work in Georgia. A Georgia-licensed attorney must conduct the closing, not merely lend a signature to a process run by someone else.
Mastery tracking
Mark this area mastered only when every statement below is true.
- I can explain every official branch in plain English without notes.
- I can identify the Georgia distinction before reading the answer choices.
- I can solve a new scenario and state which fact controlled the answer.
- I can explain why each tempting distractor is wrong.
- I meet my accuracy target in mixed practice on at least two different days.
- I know which lesson to reopen when this area weakens.
Related lessons
Georgia security deeds
Separate debt evidence from the security instrument.
Georgia attorney-closing rule
Know who conducts closing and the licensee boundary.
Georgia closing taxes
Master the bases, rates, fractions, and cap.
Closing prorations
Work debit and credit scenarios.
Recommended next lesson
Continue with Mixed Georgia practice. Test all three state groups together, then return to the weakest hub.