Illinois real estate exam outline: topics and study checklist

Real property, personal property, fixtures, trade fixtures, conveyance, and the rights transferred with land.

Metes and bounds, lot and block, government survey, linear and square-foot structure measurement, and land measurement.

Liens; easements, rights of way, and licenses; encroachments; probate, leases, and adverse possession; mineral, subsurface, air, and water rights.

Severalty, tenants in common, joint tenancy, timeshares, condominiums, cooperatives, trusts, estates, business entities, and life estates.

Property taxes, special assessments, eminent domain, condemnation, and escheat.

Zoning, building and environmental controls, permits, nonconforming uses, variances, special uses, and subdivision regulation.

Deed conditions and restrictions, subdivision covenants and CC&Rs, and condominium or owners' association regulations and bylaws.

Real-property valuation, licensed or certified appraiser requirements, unauthorized appraisal practice, and the general appraisal process.

Economic principles and property characteristics, sales comparison, cost, and income approaches and their appropriate uses.

CMA, BPO, equivalent broker products, automated valuation methods, and their differences from an appraisal.

Points, LTV, PMI, interest, PITI, underwriting, debt ratios, credit scoring and history, mortgage or deed-of-trust clauses, and promissory notes.

Conventional, amortized, balloon, interest-only, ARM, FHA, VA, USDA, owner, reverse-mortgage, home-equity, construction, rehab, and bridge financing.

RESPA and kickbacks, Regulation Z and advertising, TRID timing, ECOA, the application-to-closing process, and risky loan features.

Principles and valid elements, Statute of Frauds, offers, enforceability, void or voidable status, bilateral and unilateral contracts, options, notice and acceptance, electronic signatures, party duties, remedies, and contract endings.

Addenda, amendments, purchase agreements, contingencies, leases, rental agreements, lease-purchase agreements, and lease types.

Proper presentation and handling of multiple offers, counteroffers, confidentiality, and client decision-making.

How agency is established, listing contracts, buyer and tenant representation, transaction brokers and facilitators, powers of attorney, assigned authority, and termination.

Fiduciary duties and duties to customers or nonclients, including honesty and good faith.

Disclosure of representation and disclosure of possible conflicts of interest or self-interest.

Seller disclosure requirements, conditions warranting inspection or survey, and public or private land-use red flags.

Environmental issues requiring disclosure and federal, state, or local property-disclosure requirements.

The difference between a material transaction fact, a property defect, knowledge, disclosure duty, and a broker's practice boundary.

Prospective-tenant procurement and qualification, property-management fair housing and ADA compliance, and rent or lease-rate market analysis. Instructor-only operations are excluded.

Possession, rent, habitability, repairs, access, notices, remedies, and lease-based duties within the broker exam scope.

Deed types, parties, operative language, warranties, delivery, acceptance, and the limits of each deed.

Title policies and searches, potential title problems and resolutions, and marketable versus insurable title.

When ownership transfer becomes effective, recordation, settlement procedures, closing parties, and home or new-construction warranties.

Special issues in foreclosed-property transfers, short-sale transactions, and probate transactions.

Federal Fair Housing Act principles and exemptions, protected classes, gender identity and sexual orientation, prohibited conduct, advertising, ADA accessibility, and reasonable accommodations.

Employee or independent-contractor status, antitrust violations and penalties, Do-Not-Call compliance, and social-media or internet communication and advertising.

Protection of confidential personal information, handling other people's funds, and licensee due diligence in transactions.

Seller net proceeds, buyer funds at closing, real-property tax and other prorations, transfer fees, and PITI estimates from loan rate and term.

Equity, rate of return, capitalization rate, loan-to-value ratio, discount points, and loan-origination fees.

Illinois activities that require a real estate license and the boundary between licensed and unlicensed conduct.

Statutory exemptions, limited capacities, and conduct that remains outside an exemption.

Broker, managing broker, residential leasing agent, and pre-license or continuing-education instructor licenses.

Broker eligibility, education, sponsorship, and the role of a sponsoring broker.

Eligibility, registration, examination portions, passing standards, attempts, and broker exam rules.

Renewal duties, timing, status, and the effect of missing a renewal requirement.

Post-license education, continuing education, timing, and the distinction between the two requirements.

Changes in a licensee's address, name, or business information and the related reporting duty.

Illinois agency relationships, stigmatized property, and material facts.

Brokerage identity, sponsored-licensee advertising, team advertising, media rules, and prohibited representations.

The sponsored relationship, registered sponsorship, responsibilities, compensation flow, and changes in sponsorship.

Exclusive and nonexclusive agreements, required terms, termination, and minimum services under an exclusive agreement.

Contractual entitlement, payment through the sponsoring broker, disclosure, and limits on compensation.

Existing exclusive relationships, lawful communication, protected client choice, and prohibited interference.

Which tasks require a license and which administrative tasks an unlicensed assistant may perform.

Team names, advertising identity, organization, and required supervision.

Special accounts, security deposits, receipts, deposits, records, disbursement, commingling, and conversion.

Document delivery, copies, signatures, retention, transaction records, and access to records.

Unprofessional conduct, prohibited acts, complaints, investigations, discipline, and consequences.

Who may prepare a CMA or BPO, permitted purposes, required content, compensation, and appraisal boundaries.

Licensee preparation of customary transaction documents and the Quinlan and Tyson practice boundary.

Public protection, minimum competence, professional conduct, regulation, and enforcement.

Trusts, homestead, government powers, co-ownership, condominiums, and cooperatives. Business entities and private restrictions are excluded here because PSI marks them managing-broker-only in this state section.

The boundaries between real estate practice, law, securities work, and activity governed by the Illinois Business Broker Act.

Illinois transfer-tax responsibility, declarations, exemptions, calculation, and transaction treatment.

Voluntary and involuntary title transfer. Advanced state title, closing, foreclosure, short-sale, and probate rows marked managing-broker-only are excluded here but remain covered where the national broker outline requires them.

Illinois legal-description application, recorded plats, subdivision requirements, and the Plat Act.

Illinois property taxation, assessment, exemptions, liens, collection, and exam distinctions.

Illinois protected classes, prohibited housing discrimination, enforcement, and fair-housing advertising.

Disability-related need, reliable documentation, housing-provider review, prohibited demands, and fraud provisions.

State landlord and tenant rules, possession, notices, duties, remedies, and local-law boundaries.

Qualifying commercial services, lien creation, notice, recording, enforcement, release, and priority.

Covered construction, required radon-resistant techniques, local enforcement, and the difference from transaction disclosure.

Seller or landlord designated agency, buyer or tenant designated agency, dual agency, no-agency notice, prohibited transactional-broker or facilitator relationships, and contemporaneous offers.

Written disclosure when a licensee has a direct or indirect interest in a purchase, sale, or other covered transaction.

Disclosure of compensation sources, multiple compensation, consent, and the distinction between payment and representation.

Residential Real Property Disclosure Act duties, delivery, exemptions, known material defects, and licensee responsibilities.

Radon, lead-based paint, mine subsidence, underground storage tanks, and landlord flooding disclosure.