Brokerage Relationships and Disclosure
What the exam tests
This domain focuses on Pennsylvania’s required disclosures before and during representation: the Consumer Notice, agency disclosure, seller’s property disclosure, and material defect disclosure. Questions test timing, content, and who must sign.
Core rules
- The Consumer Notice explains agency relationships, transaction licensee status, and the consumer’s right to choose representation; it must be provided at the initial interview or first contact where services are discussed, and receipt acknowledged.
- A licensee must disclose which party the licensee represents before confidential information is elicited.
- Sellers of residential resale property must provide a Pennsylvania Seller’s Property Disclosure Statement covering known material defects; the form is not a warranty.
- Federal lead-based paint disclosure is required for pre-1978 housing.
- Material defects known to the licensee must be disclosed to all parties regardless of agency status.
Worked example
At an open house, a licensee answers a buyer’s questions about the roof and says, “I’m working for the seller.” The buyer then says, “The seller is desperate.” The licensee has not created buyer agency. Before further discussions, the licensee should provide the Consumer Notice, explain that the buyer is a customer unless a written buyer agency agreement is signed, and avoid soliciting confidential information. If the licensee later shows the buyer homes, a written buyer agency agreement should define representation and compensation.
Traps that cost marks
Do not treat the Consumer Notice as a contract or as agency consent. Do not backdate acknowledgment. Do not rely on the seller’s oral assurance instead of the required disclosure form. Do not assume the disclosure statement replaces the licensee’s duty to disclose known material defects.