Georgia Real Estate Salesperson Cheat Sheet.
The night-before summary, built like the exam.

Georgia Real Estate Salesperson Exam — Cheat Sheet

Condensed facts, formulas, and must-remember rules. Georgia uses federal fair-housing standards and standard national real-estate law tested on the salesperson exam.

Agency & Fiduciary Duties

• Agency = a principal authorizes an agent to act on their behalf with third parties.
• OLD CAR = the core fiduciary duties: Obedience, Loyalty, Disclosure, Confidentiality, Accounting, Reasonable care.
• Loyalty: principal's interests above the agent's; avoid conflicts of interest.
• Confidentiality survives termination — never reveal the seller's lowest acceptable price.
• Accounting: safeguard entrusted funds; no commingling of client money with the agent's own.
• Client vs. customer: customers get only honesty, fair dealing, and disclosure of known material defects — no fiduciary duties.
• Dual agency: legal only with informed written consent of both parties; the dual agent cannot advocate for one against the other.
• Termination: completion, expiration, mutual agreement, revocation, renunciation, or operation of law (death/incapacity).

Listing Agreements

• Listing = employment contract authorizing a broker to market the property and find a ready, willing, and able buyer.
• Exclusive-right-to-sell: broker paid if it sells during the term — regardless of who finds the buyer (even the seller).
• Exclusive-agency: no commission if the seller personally finds the buyer.
• Open listing: non-exclusive; only the broker who procures the buyer is paid; seller may list with multiple brokers.

Contracts

• Valid contract needs: competent parties, mutual assent, consideration, lawful object, and a writing under the Statute of Frauds.
• Counteroffer: any change to the terms rejects and terminates the original offer.
• Earnest money: good-faith deposit held in the broker's trust account.
• Contingencies (financing, inspection, appraisal): buyer may cancel and recover the deposit if a condition isn't met.
• Time is of the essence: deadlines are strictly enforceable; missing the date is a breach.

Deeds & Title Transfer

• Deed = written instrument conveying title from grantor to grantee.
• Valid deed: competent parties, words of conveyance, adequate legal description, grantor's signature — and must be delivered to and accepted by the grantee.
• General warranty deed: greatest protection — warrants against all defects arising at any time, even before the grantor owned it.
• Special warranty deed: warrants only against defects arising during the grantor's ownership.
• Quitclaim deed: conveys only whatever interest the grantor has, no warranties; used to clear clouds on title.
• Recording: gives constructive notice to the world; generally protects the first to record.
• Title insurance: covers losses from covered defects that existed but were unknown when the policy issued.
• Marketable title: free from reasonable doubt or serious defects a prudent buyer would accept.

Financing Basics

• Mortgage / deed of trust: pledges the property as security for a promissory note.
• Lien vs. title theory: lien-theory → borrower keeps title, lender holds a lien; title-theory → lender/trustee holds title until the debt is repaid.
• Loan types: Conventional = not government-backed; FHA insured by the FHA; VA guaranteed by the VA for eligible veterans.
• PMI: generally required on conventional loans when the down payment is less than 20% of the purchase price.
• Fixed vs. ARM: fixed keeps one rate for the term; ARM adjusts periodically (index + margin).
• Amortization: early payments mostly interest, later payments mostly principal.
• Due-on-sale clause: lender can demand full repayment on sale — blocks loan assumption without lender approval.
• Discount points: prepaid interest to lower the note rate; 1 point = 1% of the loan amount.

Fair Housing (heavily tested)

• Fair Housing Act: part of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, amended 1988; bans discrimination in sale, rental, and financing of housing.
• 7 protected classes: race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, disability.
• Familial status: protects households with children under 18 and pregnant persons.
• Steering: channeling buyers toward/away from neighborhoods by protected class.
• Blockbusting: inducing owners to sell by claiming protected-class people are moving in.
• Redlining: denying loans/insurance in areas based on protected characteristics.
• Discriminatory advertising is illegal even if the transaction itself is exempt.
• Mrs. Murphy exemption (owner-occupied, ≤4 units): never applies to race, and can't be used with discriminatory advertising or a licensee.
• Civil Rights Act of 1866: bars all racial discrimination in property — no exemptions.

Math & Formulas

• Commission = Sale Price × Rate. Ex: $300,000 × 6% = $18,000.
• LTV = Loan ÷ lesser of appraised value or price. Ex: $240,000 loan on $300,000 = 80% LTV (20% down).
• Proration: splits shared expenses (taxes, rent, interest) between buyer and seller by ownership portion, using the closing date as the divider.
• Banker's year: many exams use a 360-day year with 30-day months → daily rate = annual ÷ 360.
• Prepaid vs. arrears: prepaid → buyer reimburses seller for the unused portion; arrears → seller credits buyer for the seller's share.
• GRM = Sale Price ÷ Monthly Gross Rent.
• Value = NOI ÷ Cap Rate (income capitalization).

Quick Traps to Remember

• A counteroffer kills the original offer — you can't later accept it.
• Confidentiality doesn't end when the deal does.
• Fair-housing exemptions never cover race or advertising.
• Quitclaim = no warranties; general warranty = the most.