A deposit check is made payable to Sally Jones, a salesperson for Sunshine Realty. Sally must?

• A. Deposit into the broker's trust account.
• B. Return the check to the buyer.
• C. Refuse to accept the check.
• D. Deposit to the salesperson's personal account.

Answer: (C)

In real estate practice, funds related to a transaction, like earnest money, must be deposited into the broker’s trust account and handled by the brokerage, not by an individual licensee. If a check is written payable to the salesperson, the salesperson should not accept it or deposit it into a personal or broker’s trust account. The correct action is to refuse the check and ask the buyer to issue the funds to Sunshine Realty (the broker) so the broker can deposit them properly into the trust account. This protects the integrity of trust funds and ensures proper accounting.