If a real estate agent earns a personal payoff from a deal that is not disclosed, this is known as?

• A. Personal Commission
• B. Secret Profit
• C. Non-Disclosed Gain
• D. Hidden Dividend

Answer: (B)

In real estate ethics, licensees owe fiduciary duties to their clients, including loyalty and full disclosure. Accepting a personal payoff from a deal without telling the client breaches that duty because it creates a hidden benefit for the agent at the client’s expense.

This situation is described as a secret profit—the term captures the idea of an undisclosed, unjustified gain tied to the transaction. It’s considered unethical and typically prohibited, and can lead to disciplinary action.

Other phrases like a normal personal commission, a non-disclosed gain, or a hidden dividend aren’t the standard terms used to describe this breach. The established term that conveys both the improper nature and the lack of disclosure is secret profit.