AL Real Estate study guide
AL Real Estate · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Alabama Real Estate Salesperson license is the entry-level credential that allows a person to act on behalf of a licensed brokerage in Alabama real estate transactions. It is issued by the Alabama Real Estate Commission and is the credential most people mean when they say they are "getting their real estate license." Candidates typically complete a prelicense course, apply to the Commission, and then pass both a national and an Alabama-specific portion of the licensing examination. The AL Real Estate study guide has 11 sections and about 3,735 words.
01Real Property Characteristics, Legal Descriptions, and Property Use
The fixture test is remembered as MARIA: Method of attachment, Adaptability to the property's use, Relationship of the parties, Intention, and Agreement. Intention usually controls when the facts conflict.
349 words, about 2 min02Forms of Ownership, Transfer, and Recording of Title
Tenancy in common gives co-owners undivided but unequal shares with no survivorship; each interest is freely inheritable and conveyable. Joint tenancy requires the four unities of time, title, interest, and possession and produces survivorship.
361 words, about 2 min03Property Valuation and Appraisal
Candidates must distinguish market value, assessed value, insurable value, use value, investment value, and liquidation value. Key valuation principles include highest and best use, substitution, contribution, conformity, anticipation, progression and regression, competition, and plottage or assemblage.
328 words, about 2 min04Real Estate Contracts
A valid contract needs offer, acceptance, consideration, capable parties, and a lawful purpose, and it must satisfy the Statute of Frauds when it concerns land. Alabama requires land sale contracts to be in writing and signed by the party to be charged; leases for more than one year also fall within the Statute of Frauds.
341 words, about 2 min05Agency Relationships and the Practice of Real Estate
Agency duties are remembered as OLDCAR plus reasonable care: obedience, loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality, accounting, and reasonable care. Confidentiality survives termination of the agency relationship, along with the duty to account for money and property.
322 words, about 2 min06Real Estate Financing
A promissory note is the borrower's promise to pay; a mortgage or deed of trust pledges the property as security. Both are hypothecation rather than transfer of title, but a deed of trust places bare legal title with a trustee.
333 words, about 2 min07Leasing and Property Management
Leasehold estates include the estate for years (definite term, no notice needed to end), the periodic tenancy (renews automatically, notice required), tenancy at will, and tenancy at sufferance (a holdover). Lease structures include gross, net (single, double, or triple net, shifting expenses to the tenant), percentage, graduated, index, ground, and sale-leaseback arrangements.
335 words, about 2 min08Transfer of Title and Settlement
A general warranty deed contains six covenants: seisin, right to convey, against encumbrances, quiet enjoyment, warranty, and further assurance. A special warranty deed limits the guarantee to defects arising during the grantor's ownership, a bargain and sale deed implies no warranties, and a quitclaim deed conveys only whatever interest the grantor may hold.
348 words, about 2 min09Real Estate Calculations
Expect commission splits, percentage-of-price problems, acreage and area conversions, prorations, loan-to-value, qualifying ratios, points, net operating income, capitalization, gross rent multiplier, seller's net proceeds, and equity. Memorize 43,560 square feet per acre and 640 acres per square mile, and always compute the smaller steps before combining them.
331 words, about 2 min10Alabama License Law, Commission Rules, and Recovery Fund
Alabama regulates brokerage through the Alabama Real Estate Commission under Title 34, Chapter 27 of the Alabama Code. The Commission licenses salespersons and brokers, sets education and examination requirements, adopts rules, and disciplines licensees.
353 words, about 2 min11Alabama-Specific Practice: Landlord-Tenant, Fair Housing, Agency Disclosure, and State Contract Forms
Alabama's Uniform Residential Landlord and Tenant Act applies only in counties above a statutory population threshold, so many Alabama rentals are governed by common law instead, a frequent exam trap. Where the Act applies, the landlord owes habitability duties and must return the security deposit with an itemized accounting within the statutory period after the tenant provides a forwarding address.
334 words, about 2 min