What is the exam-ready answer?
| Official syllabus topic | Real Estate Practice in Georgia: Community Association Management |
|---|---|
| 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
Georgia questions reward the Georgia rule. A national rule that sounds right can still be the wrong answer when the question names a Georgia statute, document, role or procedure.
Association, not rental owner
Community association management serves a homeowners, condominium, or similar association and is not identical to managing one owner's rental property.
CAM category
The CAM license authorizes defined association-management activity on behalf of the broker and does not create independent brokerage authority.
Agreement and board
The written agreement allocates authority among the association, board, broker, and manager for vendors, records, assessments, meetings, and operations.
Association funds
Assessments and reserves are association trust funds. Bills may be paid only when enough money is credited and deposited to that association's account.
Current 2026 attorney-fee notice rule
For actions filed on or after July 1, 2026, Section 7 of SB 406 requires specified written notice, 30 days to pay covered outstanding fines or delinquent fees, and an itemized list before certain association attorney fees may be collected or awarded. Most other provisions of the act begin January 1, 2027.
Decision rule
Georgia rule and national contrast
Worked Georgia example
Scenario. A CAM signs a major vendor contract outside the authority given by the association's agreement and board resolution.
Reason it through. The CAM license does not create unlimited authority. The board's governance power, management agreement, and broker supervision determine what the manager may execute.
Answer. The CAM should obtain proper authorization rather than rely on the license alone.
Common exam traps
- Confusing CAM with rental property management
- Treating a license as contract authority
- Mixing association ledgers
- Ignoring broker supervision
- Treating every provision of SB 406 as effective in 2026
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 condominium association's manager holds a community association manager (CAM) license. The board has not approved an $80,000 paving contract, and the management agreement does not let the manager sign it. What should the manager do?
- A. Sign it, because a CAM license covers association contracts.
- B. Sign it if the supervising broker approves the work by phone.
- C. Get the board's authorization before signing the contract.
- D. Sign it now and ask the board to ratify the contract later.
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: C. Get the board's authorization before signing the contract.
A CAM license allows supervised association-management work, but it does not give authority the association has not granted. The board and the management agreement decide what the manager may sign. The broker-approval answer looks plausible, but the broker cannot hand out authority that belongs to the association.
Question 2A manager handles two homeowners associations for the same broker. Association A owes a $6,000 landscaping bill but has only $2,000 in its account. Association B has $50,000 in reserves. What may the manager do?
- A. Pay the bill from B's reserves and repay them later.
- B. Use only A's own deposited funds and wait for A to deposit enough to cover the bill.
- C. Borrow from B if B's board president agrees by phone.
- D. Pay the whole bill now, because vendors must be paid on time.
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: B. Use only A's own deposited funds and wait for A to deposit enough to cover the bill.
Each association's money is trust money that belongs to that association. Under GREC Rule 520-1-.08(4)(a), a bill may be paid from the trust account only when that association has enough money credited and deposited to cover it. Using B's reserves, even briefly, mixes association ledgers, and a plan to repay does not make the borrowing lawful.
Question 3An association files suit on August 3, 2026, to collect an owner's delinquent fees and wants its attorney fees awarded. Under the 2026 Georgia act, what must the association have given the owner first?
- A. Written notice, 30 days to pay, and an itemized list of amounts owed.
- B. A written notice to pay or leave within three business days.
- C. Nothing new, since the act's provisions all begin January 1, 2027.
- D. Sixty days' written notice, the same as ending a tenancy at will.
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: A. Written notice, 30 days to pay, and an itemized list of amounts owed.
For actions filed on or after July 1, 2026, Section 7 of SB 406 requires specified written notice, 30 days to pay covered fines or fees, and an itemized list before certain association attorney fees can be collected or awarded. Most of the act's other provisions start January 1, 2027, which makes the third choice plausible, but this part is already in effect. The three-business-day notice belongs to landlord-tenant law.
Ready to move on?
You are ready for the next lesson when all of these are true.
- Explain the limits of a community association manager's authority without notes.
- Separate association authority, broker supervision, and the manager's license in a fresh example.
- Apply the trust-fund rule when two associations have different account balances.
- State the July 1, 2026 notice rule and distinguish it from provisions that begin January 1, 2027.
- Answer every practice question and explain the rule each rejected option misapplies.
- Revisit this topic later in mixed Georgia practice without category labels.
Recommended next lesson
Continue with Georgia Compensation, Referrals, Rebates, and Unlicensed Persons. The compensation lesson follows from the point that a CAM works on behalf of a broker, explaining why every affiliated licensee is paid through that broker and when referral fees and rebates are allowed.
Return to the Real Estate Practice in Georgia hub for the complete official branch and the full lesson list for this Georgia group.