MT Real Estate study guide
MT Real Estate · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Montana real estate salesperson license is the entry-level credential that allows a person to be employed by a licensed Montana real estate broker to list, market, and sell real property, and to perform related activities under that broker's supervision. It is for career-changers and new entrants who want to work in residential resale, commercial brokerage, land and ranch sales, property management, or referral and leasing work - Montana's market spans small-town residential, agricultural acreage, and resort and recreational property, so the exam tests general principles applied to a wide variety of property types. The MT Real Estate study guide has 10 sections and about 3,341 words.
01Montana Real Estate License Law, Board Rules, and Commission Regulation
Montana licenses brokers, salespersons, property managers, and appraisers through the Board of Realty Regulation , housed in the Department of Labor and Industry's Business Standards Division. The license law lives in Title 37, chapter 51, MCA, and the Board's administrative rules (ARM Title 24, chapter 210) fill in the operational detail.
356 words, about 2 min02Agency Relationships, Fiduciary Duties, and Representation Disclosures
Montana requires licensees to disclose whom they represent early in the conversation and to put agency agreements in writing. A licensee may serve as the seller's agent, the buyer's agent, or a dual agent only with the written informed consent of both parties.
335 words, about 2 min03Real Property Ownership, Estates, Encumbrances, and Land Use Controls
Freehold estates are fee simple absolute (the fullest bundle, inheritable), defeasible fees (determinable, condition subsequent), and the life estate , whose holder pays taxes and interest but must not commit waste, and holds nothing left to convey at death. Leaseholds are estates for years, periodic tenancies, tenancy at will, and tenancy at sufferance.
354 words, about 2 min04Contract Law and Real Estate Contracts
Offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, and lawful purpose. Real property contracts must satisfy the statute of frauds : written, signed by the party to be charged, with the essential terms (parties, property description, price, financing).
305 words, about 2 min05Real Estate Finance and Mortgage Lending
Separate the note (the promise to pay) from the security instrument (mortgage or deed of trust). Montana uses both: a deed of trust names a trustor, beneficiary, and trustee and permits nonjudicial foreclosure by trustee's sale after the required default and notice steps, while a mortgage is typically foreclosed judicially.
313 words, about 2 min06Valuation, Pricing, and Market Analysis
Sales comparison for most residential property, cost (replacement or reproduction cost minus depreciation, plus site value) for new or special-purpose property, and income (direct capitalization and gross rent multipliers) for investment property. Reconciliation weights the approaches by relevance, not by averaging.
329 words, about 2 min07Transfer of Title, Deeds, Recording, and Closing
Every deed needs a grantor, a grantee, words of grant, a legal description, and the grantor's signature; recording requires proper acknowledgment. General warranty deeds carry the six covenants (seisin, right to convey, against encumbrances, quiet enjoyment, warranty, and further assurances); special warranty limits the warranty period to the grantor's ownership; quitclaim conveys whatever interest the grantor has, with no warranty at all.
311 words, about 2 min08Practice of Real Estate: Disclosures, Fair Housing, Antitrust, and Environmental Issues
Montana requires a written property disclosure statement for most residential transfers, with limited statutory exemptions; late or inaccurate delivery can give the buyer a rescission right, so read the contract's timing clauses. Licensees must disclose known material adverse facts and latent defects they are aware of, while avoiding speculation about stigma, neighborhood demographics, or off-site conditions they cannot verify.
300 words, about 2 min09Property Management, Leasing, and Landlord-Tenant Matters
Montana's Residential Landlord and Tenant Act (MCA Title 70, chapter 24) sets the default rules for rental agreements, habitability, repairs, access, security deposits, and termination. Written and oral leases are both possible, but leases longer than one year must be in writing to satisfy the statute of frauds.
355 words, about 2 min10Real Estate Calculations and Closing Statement Math
A debit is money charged to a party; a credit is money owed to a party. The seller is debited for items the seller owes and credited for the sales price and for buyer-paid prorations.
383 words, about 2 min