Where this fits on the exam
| Official syllabus topic | Real Estate Practice in Georgia: Listings and Agency |
|---|---|
| Official PSI group | Real Estate Practice in Georgia |
| Published group count | 21 of the 52 Georgia questions |
| Exam portion | Georgia salesperson supplement |
| Source edition | PSI Georgia Candidate Information Bulletin dated July 1, 2026 |
The Rule
PSI publishes 16, 21, and 15 items for the three Georgia groups. It does not publish a guaranteed subtopic count. The statute, current GREC rule, contract, or other cited primary authority controls each lesson.
The lesson
Written client status
The agreement creates the buyer or tenant client relationship with the broker and defines the broker's agreed services.
Scope and exclusivity
A clear area, property type, time period, and exclusivity term prevent the candidate from assuming authority beyond the contract.
Compensation disclosure
The agreement should explain the client's obligation and how compensation offered or paid by another source affects that obligation.
Conflicts and termination
Dual or designated agency, conflicts, expiration, termination rights, protection provisions, and post-termination confidentiality require careful reading.
Decision rule
Georgia rule and national contrast
Worked Georgia example
Scenario. A seller authorizes payment to the buyer's broker, but the buyer never signs a brokerage engagement.
Reason it through. Section 10-6A-11 separates compensation from relationship status. Payment from the seller side does not by itself create a buyer client.
Answer. Determine the role from the engagement and disclosures, not from who offers compensation.
Common exam traps
- Using payment as agency proof
- Ignoring geographic scope
- Assuming indefinite duration
- Failing to account for compensation credits
Original practice questions with detailed explanations
These are original instructional questions mapped to the July 1, 2026 PSI outline. They are not copied from PSI or a live examination. Choose an answer before opening the explanation.
Question 1A listing broker offers to pay any broker who brings a buyer. Another broker shows a buyer a home, the buyer buys it, and the listing side pays that broker. The buyer never signed a brokerage engagement. Whom did the buyer's-side broker represent as a client?
- A. The buyer, because the fee was earned by bringing that buyer.
- B. The seller, because the fee came from the seller's side.
- C. Neither party, because no engagement was signed with either.
- D. Both parties, as a dual agent created by the sale itself.
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: C. Neither party, because no engagement was signed with either.
Client status comes from a brokerage engagement, and BRRETA says who pays the broker does not decide the relationship. No one signed an engagement with this broker, so neither party was a client. Picking the seller because the seller's side paid is the classic payment-equals-agency error.
- A. Incorrect. Bringing the buyer and receiving compensation do not substitute for a buyer engagement.
- B. Incorrect. The source of compensation does not create a seller engagement with this broker.
- C. Correct. Neither party entered an engagement with this broker, so neither was the broker's client.
- D. Incorrect. Dual agency requires the applicable representation and consent arrangements, not merely payment at closing.
Question 2A buyer engagement covers single-family homes in Cobb County for 90 days. On day 40 the buyer asks the broker to also find a lake lot in Hall County. What should the broker do?
- A. Amend the engagement in writing to cover the new search.
- B. Proceed, since the engagement covers any property the buyer wants.
- C. Treat the buyer as a client there because the term is still running.
- D. Refuse, because a buyer may hold only one engagement at a time.
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: A. Amend the engagement in writing to cover the new search.
The engagement's scope sets the area and property type the broker is engaged to search. A lake lot in another county is outside that scope, so the written agreement should be amended before the broker acts as the buyer's broker there. The unexpired-term answer looks plausible, but time and scope are separate limits.
- A. Correct. A written amendment can extend the agreed location and property-type scope to the new search.
- B. Incorrect. The existing engagement specifies single-family homes in Cobb County, not every property the buyer might want.
- C. Incorrect. An unexpired term does not expand the geographical or property-type limits.
- D. Incorrect. The question concerns scope, not a rule limiting every buyer to one engagement.
Question 3A buyer engagement says the buyer owes the broker 3% of the price, and any amount the broker receives from the seller's side is credited against that. The buyer pays $400,000 and the seller's side pays the broker 2%. How much does the buyer owe the broker?
- A. $0
- B. $4,000
- C. $8,000
- D. $12,000
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: B. $4,000
The buyer's obligation is 3% of $400,000, or $12,000, and the $8,000 paid by the seller's side (2%) is credited against it. That leaves $12,000 minus $8,000, or $4,000. Answering $12,000 ignores the credit clause, and $0 assumes any seller payment wipes out the buyer's obligation.
- A. Incorrect. $8,000 from the seller's side leaves $4,000 of the agreed $12,000 fee unpaid.
- B. Correct. Three percent is $12,000; subtract the $8,000 seller-side credit to obtain $4,000.
- C. Incorrect. $8,000 is the seller-side payment, not the remaining buyer obligation.
- D. Incorrect. $12,000 is the total fee before applying the credit the agreement requires.
Ready to move on?
You are ready for the next lesson when all of these are true.
- Identify the written agreement that establishes the buyer or tenant client relationship.
- Apply the search scope, term, and exclusivity stated in the agreement.
- Explain how payment from another source affects compensation without deciding representation.
- Answer the practice questions without looking back, then explain why the other choices fail.
- Explain the worked example in your own words and identify the fact that decides the answer.
- Retest this topic on another day in a mixed question set.
Recommended next lesson
Continue with Georgia Offers, Counteroffers, Multiple Offers, and Presentation. Once a buyer engagement is in place, the offers lesson covers what the broker does with each offer and counteroffer, including presenting every one on time even after the client is already under contract.
Return to the Real Estate Practice in Georgia hub for the complete official branch and the full lesson list for this Georgia group.