Free cheat sheet · Pennsylvania
The PA Consumer Notice & Agency Relationships, Decoded
Pennsylvania's five business relationships, what the Consumer Notice actually is, and the licensee duties the exam tests — including the transaction licensee everyone confuses.
Pennsylvania's state portion leans hardest on one area: agency and disclosure (10 of 40 scored questions). The Consumer Notice and the five business relationships are its backbone.
This cheat sheet decodes each relationship, when the Consumer Notice is due, and the duties owed in each role — with the exam's favorite confusions flagged.
The Consumer Notice
- A required written disclosure explaining the business relationships available to a consumer — provided at the INITIAL INTERVIEW (the first substantive discussion about a specific property).
- It is a disclosure, NOT a contract — signing it creates no agency relationship.
- TRAP: it is not the Texas 'IABS' form — different state, different document.
The five relationships under RELRA
- Seller agent — represents the seller; full fiduciary duties to the seller.
- Buyer agent — represents the buyer; full fiduciary duties to the buyer.
- Dual agent — represents BOTH with the informed WRITTEN consent of both; duties are limited (can't advocate one side over the other).
- Designated agent — the broker designates separate licensees within the firm for each party; the broker remains a dual agent.
- Transaction licensee — provides services WITHOUT agency: owes only honesty and disclosure of known material defects. No loyalty, no advocacy, no fiduciary duties.
What else is in this cheat sheet
- Duties: agent vs. transaction licensee
- Compensation ≠ agency
- Escrow & advertising basics that ride along
- The Real Estate Recovery Fund
Common questions
Is this cheat sheet really free?
Yes. Enter an email and the full sheet unlocks — there's no card, no trial, and no charge later. The email is how we send the occasional practice tip; unsubscribe whenever.
Can I print it?
It's laid out to print cleanly on standard paper once unlocked, so you can keep it beside you while you study rather than reading it on a screen.
Will memorising this pass the exam?
No, and we'd rather say so. A cheat sheet consolidates what you already half-know and exposes what you don't. Passing comes from working real questions until the reasoning is automatic — the sheet is a companion to that, not a substitute.
Are these facts verified?
They're written from each state's published statutes, commission rules and the testing vendor's content outline. Rules do change; where something is time-sensitive we say so, and you should confirm anything decisive with your state commission.
Use it, don't just read it
Work through free practice questions on the same topics, drill the exam vocabulary, check where you stand, or browse the other cheat sheets.