Your FREE Virginia Real Estate Flashcards 2026 – 200+ Cards

The Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation — the umbrella Virginia agency that houses the Real Estate Board and handles licensing administration and enforcement.

The board within DPOR that licenses and regulates real estate salespersons and brokers under Code of Virginia Title 54.1, Chapter 21.

Virginia's real estate licensing statute — the source of the Board's authority over licensees, brokerage relationships, escrow, and the Recovery Fund.

The VREB regulations that implement the statute — education, advertising, escrow, recordkeeping, and standards of conduct.

Nine members: seven licensed brokers or salespersons and two citizen members.

A 60-hour Board-approved Principles of Real Estate course, completed before sitting for the PSI exam.

PSI, the Board's contracted testing vendor.

Two portions: a national portion (80 questions, 56 to pass) and a Virginia state portion (40 questions, 30 to pass), scored separately.

56 of 80 correct (70%).

30 of 40 correct (75%).

The license must be placed with and supervised by a principal or supervising broker before the salesperson can practice.

A 30-hour course a new salesperson must complete within one year of licensure, in place of standard CE for the first license term.

The salesperson's license is automatically placed on inactive status.

Within one year from the last day of the month in which the license was issued.

Every two years.

16 hours of continuing education each two-year renewal cycle.

Fair Housing (among the mandated CE subjects).

Active practice as a salesperson for 36 of the 48 months immediately preceding application.

The licensed broker who supervises a Virginia salesperson; the salesperson cannot operate independently and is paid through the broker.

A licensee who provides the full set of statutory agency duties to a client — the default representation.

A licensee who provides fewer than the full statutory duties; the limited services are specified in writing in the brokerage agreement.

A licensee acting under an agreement stating they are an independent contractor and not an agent of the client.

A licensee a broker assigns to represent one client to the exclusion of all other licensees in the firm — avoids firm-wide dual agency.

Represents both parties in one transaction; allowed only with the written consent of all parties after written disclosure.

Required in writing to an unrepresented party at the earliest practical time, no later than when specific assistance is first provided.

Conspicuously — in bold lettering, all capitals, underlined, or set apart in a separate box.

May not disclose to one client the confidential information given by the other in the trust of the brokerage relationship.

Designation keeps each side separately represented by different licensees; dual representation has one licensee representing both.

Caveat emptor (buyer beware): the seller gives a statement advising the buyer to exercise due diligence, not a list of defects.

The statement advises the buyer to obtain a home inspection and investigate conditions affecting the property.

Required when a Virginia home is in a Property Owners' Association; the seller obtains and provides it to the purchaser.

Required for a Virginia condo resale; provided by the unit owners' association.

Within 14 days after a written request.

Generally within three days of receipt (extendable up to seven days by the ratified contract).

By the end of the fifth business banking day following ratification, unless the principals agree otherwise in writing.

By the end of the fifth business banking day following receipt of the deposit, unless otherwise agreed in writing.

The broker may notify the parties that the deposit will be released unless a written protest is received within 15 calendar days of the notice.

Improperly mixing client escrow funds with the broker's own or operating funds — a Board violation.

Records must be retained, separately identified, reconciled, and available for inspection by the Board.

Compensates consumers who hold an unsatisfied court judgment for a licensee's improper or dishonest conduct in a transaction.

Obtain a court judgment against the licensee that remains unsatisfied.

$20,000 (Code of Virginia § 54.1-2116).

$50,000.

$100,000.

The license is automatically revoked and cannot be reinstated until the Fund is repaid in full with interest.

Interest and punitive damages.

Beyond the federal classes, Virginia protects elderliness and source of funds (among others).

Protects an individual who has reached age 55.

Prohibits refusing housing based on how a person lawfully pays — e.g., a housing voucher.

The Virginia Fair Housing Office within DPOR.

Customarily the seller (grantor).

50 cents per $500 (or fraction) of the value conveyed.

Customarily the buyer (grantee).

25 cents per $100 (or fraction) of the value conveyed.

Impose monetary penalties and suspend or revoke a license for violations of Title 54.1, Chapter 21 or Board regulations.

The Board's escrow and trust-account rules under 18VAC135-20 and Code of Virginia §§ 54.1-2108/2108.2.

In the circuit court clerk's office of the city or county where the property lies.

A neutral agent (often an attorney or title company) who conducts a closing under the Consumer Real Estate Settlement Protection Act.

Non-judicial — a trustee's sale under a deed of trust, without a court action.

No — the Real Estate Board is a board within DPOR; there is no standalone department.

Race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability — seven classes.

Advertising must not be misleading and must identify the brokerage firm; the principal broker is responsible for the firm's advertising.

An inactive licensee may not practice; the license is reactivated by meeting education requirements and placing it with a broker.

The principal broker of the firm.

Even to a customer, a licensee owes honesty and fair dealing and must not misrepresent material facts.

Governs most Virginia residential leases — rights and duties of landlords and tenants.

A Virginia licensee buying or selling for their own account must disclose their license status to the other party.

Performance of the brokerage agreement, loyalty, confidentiality, accounting, disclosure of material facts, and reasonable care.

Applicants submit fingerprints for a state and FBI criminal history records check.

Only a licensed broker; an unlicensed person or a salesperson acting outside the broker cannot enforce a commission.

A legally enforceable agreement between competent parties to do or refrain from a lawful act.

Mutual agreement (offer and acceptance), consideration, legal purpose, and competent parties.

Requires real estate sale contracts (and most leases over a year) to be in writing to be enforceable.

Void = missing an essential element (no legal effect); voidable = a party may rescind (e.g., a minor's contract).

Bilateral = a promise for a promise; unilateral = a promise in exchange for an act (e.g., an open listing).

A buyer's good-faith deposit, held in escrow and usually applied to the price at closing.

A condition that must be met for the contract to become binding — financing, inspection, or appraisal.

A court order making a defaulting party complete the sale — available because land is unique.

A pre-agreed amount (often the earnest money) the parties accept as the remedy for a buyer's default.

A contract employing a broker to find a buyer for the owner's property for compensation.

The listing broker earns the commission no matter who finds the buyer.

The broker earns the commission unless the owner finds the buyer themselves.

Only the broker who actually finds the buyer earns the commission.

The broker keeps any amount above the seller's set price — a conflict of interest (discouraged).

A fiduciary relationship in which an agent represents a principal in dealings with third parties.

Obedience, Loyalty, Disclosure, Confidentiality, Accounting, Reasonable care.

The duty of confidentiality survives termination of the agency relationship.

Principal = the client represented; agent = the licensee; customer = the unrepresented third party.

Express = created by a written or oral agreement; implied = created by the parties' conduct.

The agent whose efforts mainly resulted in the sale — relevant to who earns the commission.

A rejection of the original offer and a new offer back — terminates the prior offer.

Gives a buyer the right to purchase within a set time for consideration; the seller cannot withdraw.

Possession, use (enjoyment), exclusion, disposition (transfer), and control — the rights of ownership.

Land, everything permanently attached (improvements and fixtures), and the bundle of legal rights.

Movable items not permanently attached to land; transferred by a bill of sale, not a deed.

Personal property attached so as to become real property and transfer with the land.

Method of attachment, Adaptability, Relationship of parties, Intention, Agreement.

The most complete ownership — absolute, of unlimited duration, freely transferable.

An estate measured by someone's life; the life tenant cannot commit waste and the estate ends at death.

Police power, Eminent domain, Taxation, Escheat — only eminent domain pays the owner.

Regulation of land for public health, safety, and welfare — zoning and building codes, with no payment to the owner.

Government taking of property for public use through condemnation, paying just compensation.

Property reverts to the state when an owner dies with no will and no legal heirs.

A nonpossessory right to use another's land for a specific purpose, such as a driveway or utility line.

Benefits an adjoining parcel (the dominant tenement) and runs with the land.

An unauthorized intrusion of an improvement onto another's land, revealed by a survey.

Any claim, lien, charge, or right that limits an owner's title.

A legal description using distances (metes) and compass directions (bounds) from a point of beginning.

Describes land by townships, ranges, and sections from principal meridians and base lines.

One square mile = 640 acres; one thirty-sixth of a township.

43,560 square feet.

Describes land by lot and block numbers on a recorded subdivision plat.

Sole ownership by one person or entity.

Co-ownership with no survivorship; each owner holds an undivided, willable share.

Co-ownership with right of survivorship; requires the four unities of time, title, interest, and possession.

Possession, Interest, Time, Title — required to create a joint tenancy.

Co-ownership for married couples with survivorship plus protection from one spouse's individual creditors.

A deceased co-owner's share passes automatically to the surviving co-owners, bypassing probate.

The written instrument that conveys title from grantor to grantee.

Gives the most protection — the grantor warrants clear title against all defects, even pre-ownership ones.

Warrants title only against defects arising during the grantor's own ownership.

Conveys only whatever interest the grantor has, with no warranties; used to clear a cloud on title.

Title passes when the deed is delivered by the grantor and accepted by the grantee — not on recording.

Recording a deed gives the public legal notice of ownership and sets priority.

Protects the insured against loss from title defects existing before the policy date, such as liens or recording errors.

The recorded history of ownership of a parcel, traced through successive deeds.

A claim or encumbrance that may impair title; often cleared with a quitclaim deed or a quiet-title action.

Acquiring title by open, notorious, continuous, hostile, and exclusive possession for the statutory period.

A will directs how property passes at death; intestate (no will) passes by state descent-and-distribution law.

The most probable price under fair, open-market conditions — an opinion of value.

Value is an opinion of worth; price is what was actually paid; cost is what was spent to build.

The legal, physically possible, financially feasible, and most profitable use of a site — the basis of value.

A buyer will pay no more than the cost of an equally desirable substitute property.

Compares the subject to recent comparable sales, adjusting for differences. Best for homes.

Land value + cost to rebuild new − depreciation. Best for new or special-use property.

Value = net operating income ÷ capitalization rate. Best for income-producing property.

Effective gross income minus operating expenses, before any mortgage payment.

NOI ÷ value; a higher cap rate signals more risk and a lower value.

The appraiser weighs the three value indications into one final opinion — weighting, not averaging.

An impartial, supported opinion of value by a licensed appraiser as of a date, under USPAP.

A licensee's value estimate from comparable sales to help price a listing — not a formal appraisal.

Loss in value from physical deterioration, functional obsolescence, or external obsolescence.

Bans discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability.

Illegally guiding buyers toward or away from areas based on a protected class.

Inducing panic selling by claiming a protected class is moving into a neighborhood.

A lender refusing to lend or insure in an area based on its makeup — a fair-housing violation.

A policy change a housing provider must allow for a person with a disability (e.g., a service animal).

A physical change to a unit a disabled tenant may make (often at their own cost in private housing).

Brokers agreeing to set commission rates is illegal; rates are always negotiable.

Conveys the right to use property for a term in exchange for rent; landlord = lessor, tenant = lessee.

The tenant pays a flat rent and the landlord pays the operating expenses.

The tenant pays rent plus some or all of the property's operating expenses (taxes, insurance, maintenance).

Employs a broker to manage an owner's property; the manager owes the owner fiduciary duties.

A separate account where a broker holds client funds; commingling with operating funds is prohibited.

Using a client's escrow funds for the broker's own purposes — a serious license-law violation.

Anything that would affect a buyer's decision or price; a licensee may not actively conceal or misrepresent it.

A hidden physical defect not discoverable by ordinary inspection; a licensee cannot misrepresent a known one.

An obvious defect a reasonable buyer could discover by ordinary inspection.

Buyer beware — the Virginia seller advises due diligence rather than listing known defects.

For pre-1978 housing: disclose known lead paint, give the EPA pamphlet, and allow a 10-day test window for sales.

Applies to most housing built before 1978; the parties may agree in writing to a different inspection period.

An odorless radioactive gas from soil that can accumulate indoors; common in parts of Virginia.

A fibrous mineral in old insulation and flooring; remove or encapsulate to control fibers.

Grows in damp areas; may require disclosure and remediation.

Can leak and contaminate soil and groundwater, creating cleanup liability.

Federal law imposing liability for cleanup of hazardous-substance contamination on current and past owners.

Federally and state-regulated areas where development may require a permit.

Property with a non-physical condition (e.g., a past event) that may affect desirability; disclosure rules vary by state.

Provides access to sex-offender registry information; licensees typically direct buyers to the registry.

The borrower's written promise to repay the loan; the evidence of the debt.

Virginia's security instrument: title goes to a neutral trustee until the loan is repaid, enabling a trustee's sale.

A mortgage has two parties and usually judicial foreclosure; Virginia's deed of trust adds a trustee and allows non-judicial sale.

Virginia's non-judicial foreclosure conducted by the trustee, typically faster than judicial foreclosure.

Not government-insured; usually requires PMI when the LTV exceeds 80%.

Insured by the Federal Housing Administration; allows a lower down payment with mortgage insurance.

Guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs for eligible veterans; often 0% down.

Loan amount ÷ value (or price); a higher LTV means more lender risk.

Insurance protecting the lender on a conventional loan, usually when the LTV is above 80%.

Prepaid interest to lower the rate; one point = 1% of the loan amount.

Requires settlement-cost disclosures (Loan Estimate, Closing Disclosure) and bans kickbacks on federally related loans.

The Truth in Lending Act — requires disclosing the cost of credit, including the APR.

Must be provided within three business days of a loan application.

Must reach the borrower at least three business days before closing.

The neutral party who conducts a Virginia closing, disburses funds, and records the deed.

Charging interest above the legal maximum rate.

Commission = sale price × commission rate.

Price = net ÷ (1 − commission rate). A $282,000 net at 6% needs $300,000.

LTV = loan amount ÷ value (or price). An 80% LTV on a $300,000 home is a $240,000 loan.

Divide square feet by 43,560.

Assessed value × tax rate (mills × 0.001), e.g., 18 mills = 0.018.

Value = net operating income ÷ capitalization rate.

Length × width.

Value ÷ 500 × $0.50. On $300,000: 600 × $0.50 = $300.

Value ÷ 100 × $0.25. On $300,000: 3,000 × $0.25 = $750.

Splitting taxes, rent, and interest by the days each party owns the property as of closing.

5,280 feet.

Profit ÷ original cost = percent gain; sale price = cost × (1 + percent gain).

Each point = 1% of the loan; 1.5 points on $425,000 = $6,375.

43,560 ÷ 2 = 21,780 square feet.

Apply each percentage in turn: total commission, then the brokerage split, then the agent's share.