Real Estate New Jersey Real Estate New-Jersey-Real-Estate-Salesperson Question # 34 Topic 4 Discussion

According to the New Jersey Real Estate Commission (NJREC) Rules and Regulations, a salesperson is not permitted to accept funds in their own name under any circumstances. All earnest money deposits, whether in cash or check form, must be made payable directly to the broker or the broker’s trust (escrow) account, never to the salesperson.

The law is very clear that a salesperson works on behalf of and under the supervision of their broker. This means that the salesperson cannot hold or control escrow funds personally. The proper handling of escrow deposits is a strict trust account requirement under N.J.A.C. 11:5-5.1.

Key points from the New Jersey Salesperson study guide:

Salespersons cannot maintain escrow accounts.

All deposit checks must be made payable to the broker’s escrow or trust account.

Accepting a check payable to the salesperson, even with the intent to transfer it, is a violation of NJREC trust account rules.

Therefore, the correct answer is C, because any deposit intended for escrow may only be payable to the broker’s escrow account.