Where this fits on the exam
| Official syllabus topic | Property-Manager Duties, Maintenance, Risk, Reporting, and Contracts |
|---|---|
| Official PSI area | Property Management |
| Published area weight | 3% 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
Management agreement
The agreement defines property, term, services, authority, fees, funds, reserves, leasing power, maintenance limits, reporting, insurance, indemnity, and termination.
Maintenance and vendors
Preventive maintenance protects value and reduces emergencies. Work orders should track priority, authorization, access, completion, invoices, warranties, and vendor insurance or qualifications.
Risk and insurance
Managers identify hazards, document incidents, preserve evidence, follow emergency plans, and coordinate with owners and insurers without practicing outside licensed expertise.
Budgets and reports
Operating budgets forecast income, expenses, capital needs, and reserves. Reports reconcile rent rolls, receivables, payables, bank activity, vacancies, maintenance, and variance from budget.
Decision rule
Georgia-specific distinction
Worked example
Scenario. A burst pipe is causing active damage, but the owner cannot be reached and the agreement authorizes emergency work without a dollar cap.
Reason it through. The manager has written emergency authority and a duty to mitigate immediate property damage while documenting the response.
Answer. Arrange reasonable emergency mitigation, record actions and costs, and notify the owner and broker promptly.
Common exam traps
- Exceeding written authority
- Deferring life-safety emergencies
- Using uninsured vendors without review
- Confusing salesperson tasks with broker trust-account responsibility
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 1A management agreement lets the manager approve repairs up to $1,000 without the owner's consent. A contractor quotes $4,500 to replace an aging but working water heater. What should the manager do?
- A. Get the owner's approval before authorizing the work
- B. Approve it, since maintenance is the manager's job
- C. Split the job into several invoices under $1,000
- D. Approve it and report the cost in the next statement
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: A. Get the owner's approval before authorizing the work
The management agreement sets the manager's spending authority, and a nonemergency expense above the limit needs the owner's approval. Splitting the invoices is a plausible workaround, but it defeats the limit the owner set.
- A. Correct. This nonemergency $4,500 expense exceeds the $1,000 authority limit, so the owner must approve it.
- B. Incorrect. A duty to arrange maintenance does not override the agreement's spending limit.
- C. Incorrect. Splitting one repair into smaller invoices evades rather than satisfies the approval requirement.
- D. Incorrect. A later report does not supply the prior authorization required by the agreement.
Question 2An owner asks why the manager budgets for scheduled HVAC servicing when nothing is broken. What is the best answer?
- A. It shifts repair costs from the owner to tenants
- B. It reduces breakdowns and extends equipment life
- C. It is required before the owner can insure the property
- D. It is needed only when the building is newly built
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: B. It reduces breakdowns and extends equipment life
Preventive maintenance cuts emergency repairs, extends the life of building systems and protects the owner's income. It does not move costs onto tenants, and it matters for older buildings as much as new ones. The insurance answer is the plausible one, but insurers asking about upkeep is not why a manager schedules service.
- A. Incorrect. Routine servicing does not transfer the owner's repair obligations to tenants.
- B. Correct. Scheduled maintenance can reduce unexpected failures, extend equipment life, and protect rental income.
- C. Incorrect. The question states no insurance condition requiring this service before coverage can be obtained.
- D. Incorrect. Preventive maintenance benefits older equipment as well as newly installed systems.
Question 3A Georgia salesperson wants to manage rental homes for several owners for a fee. How must that work be done?
- A. Independently, since management needs no license
- B. Through the salesperson's own trust account
- C. Independently, if the salesperson signs each agreement
- D. Through the affiliated broker, under brokerage agreements
Show answer and explanation →
Answer: D. Through the affiliated broker, under brokerage agreements
In Georgia, managing property for others for compensation is licensed brokerage activity, so a salesperson does it only through the affiliated broker. Signing agreements personally is the mistake, because the management agreements and trust funds belong within the brokerage.
- A. Incorrect. Managing others' property for a fee is generally licensed brokerage activity in Georgia.
- B. Incorrect. A salesperson cannot replace the affiliated broker's trust-fund responsibility with an independent personal account.
- C. Incorrect. A signed agreement does not authorize the salesperson to operate outside the affiliated brokerage.
- D. Correct. The paid management work belongs through the affiliated broker with the appropriate brokerage agreements.
Ready to move on?
You are ready for the next lesson when all of these are true.
- Explain Property-Manager Duties, Maintenance, Risk, Reporting, and Contracts in one clear answer without notes.
- Separate Management agreement from Maintenance and vendors 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 Landlord-Tenant Rights, Funds, Trust Accounts, and Disbursements. Landlord-Tenant Rights, Funds, Trust Accounts, and Disbursements follows the money these duties generate, covering security deposits, property ledgers and reconciliation, and why a lockout is never a lawful answer to unpaid rent.
Return to the Property Management hub to see every official branch and the complete lesson sequence for this content area.