United States
Hong KongHow to eliminate wrong answers
Remove options that answer a different transaction type, that reverse a known relationship, or that would require a rule you know does not apply. Two removals turn a one-in-four guess into a coin flip.
You will not know every answer. What decides the paper is what you do with the ones you do not.
Start with the transaction
Before looking at the options, establish what you are in. Purchase or refinance. First lien or subordinate. Conventional, FHA, VA or USDA. Application stage or closing.
Options that belong to a different transaction can go immediately, and there is usually at least one.
Then remove the reversals
Where a rule has a direction, one option will have it backwards. The greater of price and value instead of the lesser. Eighty percent automatic and seventy-eight on request.
If you know the relationship, its reversal is a free elimination.
Watch the absolutes
Options containing "always", "never" or "in all cases" are more often wrong than right in a syllabus this full of exceptions.
Not a rule, and not a substitute for knowing the material. A tie-breaker.
A felony involving fraud, dishonesty, breach of trust or money laundering bars licensure permanently, with no time limit. An absolute-sounding option is correct there, which is exactly why the question gets asked.
On calculations, work before you look
Compute your answer, then find it among the options. Reading them first invites you to work backwards from a plausible figure, and the plausible figures are the distractors.
Flag and move
Answer something, flag it, move on. Two minutes on a hard question costs you two easy ones later, and every question is worth the same.
Common questions
How do you eliminate wrong answers on the NMLS exam?
Establish the transaction type first, remove options belonging to a different one, then remove reversals of relationships you know.
Are absolute options usually wrong?
Usually, in a syllabus this full of exceptions. The permanent felony bar is the notable counter-example.
Should I read the options first on a calculation?
No. Compute first, then find your answer, because the plausible wrong figures are the distractors.
What should I do when stuck?
Answer something, flag it and move on. Two minutes on one question costs two easier ones later.
Is guessing penalized?
No. A wrong answer and a blank both score zero.