Illinois real estate exam traps: find the fact that changes the answer

Page 1 is the cover. Page 2 compares real and personal property, fixtures and trade fixtures, easements and licenses, encroachments, co-ownership, contract status, assignment and novation. Classification depends on the facts rather than one word in isolation.

Attachment alone does not settle every fixture question. Check adaptation, intent, relationship and agreement. For a business trade fixture, also check the lease, removal deadline and damage obligations. A license is generally revocable permission; read the grant and any exception before treating that summary as absolute.

An encroachment describes a physical intrusion; an easement concerns a legal use right. Investigate whether a right permits the use. Equal ownership percentages do not prove joint tenancy. Assignment does not by itself discharge the original obligor; novation needs the required substitution, agreement and release.

General warranty and special warranty differ in the scope of title claims covered by the covenants. A quitclaim conveys the interest the grantor has, if any, without title covenants. Its label alone does not prove bad title or the absence of an interest. Read the actual covenants and facts.

A CMA is a brokerage analysis within lawful scope. An appraisal is a regulated valuation service. Calling a service a CMA does not automatically remove an appraisal restriction. The California DRE references linked below support general concepts; Illinois law controls Illinois practice.

Points use the loan amount, commission uses the agreed base and rate, and LTV divides the loan by the stated value. In standard capitalization, NOI is before debt service and owner income taxes. For prorations, calculate under the stated convention, then assign the amount using who paid and who owes.

Broker is the Illinois license path this sheet addresses; other categories have different requirements. Passing the exam or receiving a firm welcome email does not replace the license and registered sponsorship requirements. New reciprocal applications stopped January 1, 2026; current endorsement has its own course, exam and eligibility conditions, and existing reciprocal licenses are treated separately.

Covered new brokers have a 45-hour post-license requirement with timing conditions. Ordinary later-cycle CE is 12 hours subject to its own conditions. One does not replace the other. In agency questions, identify the designated individual rather than inferring individual dual agency from a shared firm name.

A seller-form exemption does not erase every licensee duty. Advertising still needs the required sponsor identity, size and medium-specific fields. Supervision does not authorize an unlicensed assistant to negotiate or give licensed advice.

EXCEPT or NOT asks for the choice outside the rule. BEST asks you to compare each choice with the full facts. FIRST asks for the next required step rather than a later remedy. MOST LIKELY calls for a supported inference, not an invented fact.

The points example uses a $240,000 loan at 2 points: $4,800. The LTV example uses that loan against a $300,000 value: 80 percent. If the price is also $300,000 and there is no other financing, the down payment is $60,000 before closing costs.

The NOI example uses $48,000 for capitalization. Subtracting $30,000 debt service gives $18,000 before other cash-flow adjustments; it does not change the cap-rate NOI. Finish by checking the actor, timing, exception, base, units and rounding.