Texas Real Estate Sales Agent Cheat Sheet.

Memorize the OLD CAR fiduciary duties: Obedience, Loyalty, Disclosure, Confidentiality, Accounting, and Reasonable care and diligence. Lock in the key numbers, too: one discount point equals one percent of the loan amount, private mortgage insurance is typically required on conventional loans when the down payment is under twenty percent, and the Fair Housing Act's seven protected classes are race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability. Also know that the Statute of Frauds requires real estate sale contracts, and leases longer than one year, to be in writing and signed to be enforceable.

Look-alike terms cause the most missed points. Blockbusting is inducing sales by suggesting a protected group is moving in, steering is directing buyers toward or away from neighborhoods based on a protected class, and redlining is denying loans in certain areas. On deeds, remember a general warranty deed offers the greatest protection while a quitclaim deed carries no warranties and conveys only whatever interest the grantor may have. In contracts, any material change to an offer's terms is a counteroffer that rejects and extinguishes the original offer.

Start with the four essential elements of a valid contract: mutual assent, consideration, legally competent parties, and a lawful object. Know the status trio cold: a contract missing a required element is void, one a party may disaffirm, like a minor's contract, is voidable, and one that is valid but cannot be enforced in court is unenforceable. Also remember that an offer may be revoked any time before acceptance is communicated, and that liquidated damages clauses let the seller keep the earnest money as the agreed measure of the buyer's default.

Know that a mortgage loan pairs a promissory note evidencing the debt with a mortgage or deed of trust pledging the property as security, and that the acceleration clause lets the lender declare the entire balance due upon default. For federal law, RESPA Section 8 addresses prohibited settlement-service kickbacks and unearned fee splits; the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure are governed by TRID under Regulation Z, while TILA under Regulation Z requires APR disclosure and grants a three-day right of rescission on certain refinances of a principal residence. On valuation, memorize the three approaches to value: sales comparison, cost, and income.

Use it for light review, not new learning: run through the acronyms, number thresholds, and look-alike term pairs one last time, then put it away and get real sleep. The night before is for confirming what you know, so if a rule on the sheet feels shaky, flag it for a quick five-minute look in the morning rather than an anxious late-night deep dive. A rested brain recalls memorized rules far better than a crammed one.

A cheat sheet alone is not enough; it condenses the rules but cannot teach you to apply them to the scenario-style questions the exam favors. Use it alongside full practice questions: the questions build application skill and expose weak spots, and the sheet reinforces the exact wording of the rules you keep missing. Together they cover both halves of what the exam actually tests, recall and application.