Before you read
Test yourself first: 5 questions
Question 1 of 5
A Virginia broker must retain transaction and brokerage records (such as contracts, agency agreements, and closing documents) so that they are available for:
Answer: B. Virginia requires brokers to keep complete transaction records for a regulatory retention period and to make them available for inspection by the Real Estate Board. Records cannot be destroyed at closing, and the firm, not the individual salesperson at home, is responsible for maintaining them.
Question 2 of 5
Under Virginia law, at what point must a licensee disclose to an actual or prospective buyer or seller which party the licensee represents in a residential real estate transaction?
Answer: C. Virginia's brokerage relationship statutes require a licensee to disclose, in writing, who the licensee represents at the earliest practical time during the first substantive discussion about a specific property, before any specific real estate assistance is rendered. Waiting until a contract, showing, or closing is too late.
Question 3 of 5
A Virginia buyer and seller want a defined window during which the buyer can inspect and back out. Which contractual device most directly accomplishes this in a Virginia transaction?
Answer: B. Virginia does not give a general statutory cooling-off right or a mandatory attorney-review period for ordinary home purchases. The inspection/option/due-diligence window is created by a contingency clause the parties negotiate and write into the contract. Virginia is not a community-property state.
Question 4 of 5
How must a Virginia broker handle earnest money and other client funds received in a transaction?
Answer: B. Virginia requires that escrow and client funds be held in a separate escrow/trust account and not commingled with the broker's own money.
Question 5 of 5
A Virginia salesperson may lawfully receive a commission for a closed sale from which source?
Answer: B. In Virginia a salesperson may be compensated only through their employing/supervising broker, not directly from a party to the transaction.
Keep the streak going with more questions like these, each with a full rationale.
What you need to know
Sellers typically provide a Residential Property Disclosure Statement that advises buyers to conduct their own due diligence, while licensees must still disclose known material adverse facts. Earnest money and other client funds tied to a transaction must be deposited into a separate escrow or trust account and never commingled with brokerage operating funds. Virginia is not a community-property state, so a married seller's property interests and signatures follow ordinary title and conveyance rules rather than community-property principles.
Virginia Contract & Transaction Specifics: FAQs
Is Virginia Contract & Transaction Specifics on the real estate exam?
Yes. State License Law is a scored domain on the Virginia real estate licensing exam, and this topic appears in the state license-law portion.
Is this cheat sheet free?
Yes — every page on Cinna RE's resource library is free to read, print and share. The app adds practice questions, mock exams and a readiness score.
Does Virginia test this differently?
Virginia applies its own license law on top of the national portion. This page covers the Virginia rules specifically, which is what the state section of your exam tests.
