Get Ready for Yet Another Cost When Buying a Home: Junk Fees

Study the questions and tasks

Work through the material below, or start the interactive practice above to complete an attempt. Try the exercises before opening any answer or transcript sections, then use them to review your work.

Practice level

C2. Try this level if you can follow the instructions and understand most of the language; choose an earlier level if you need more support.

Question formats

Single choice

How to approach this practice

Read the questions, then listen before opening the transcript. Notice names, numbers and any corrections the speaker makes.

1. Question 1 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the first paragraph identify as contributing to the final financial burden?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Property renovations alone
   2. Various additional charges
   3. Researchers’ published findings
   4. The advertised price itself
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Various additional charges

   It attributes the burden to the accumulation of additional transaction charges.

   Beyond the property itself, a transaction can involve various additional charges, each of which contributes to the final financial burden.

2. Question 2 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What must a directly charged person do, according to the narration?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Appeal to a housing regulator
   2. Absorb it as part of the transaction’s cost
   3. Transfer it automatically to the agent
   4. Exclude it from affordability calculations
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Absorb it as part of the transaction’s cost

   The narration states that the charged party must personally bear the transaction cost.

   If a charge is imposed directly on a buyer or seller, that person must absorb it as part of the transaction’s cost.

3. Question 3 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What comparison does the speaker make about the fee’s size?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. It is large compared with taxes
   2. It may seem small but still affect affordability
   3. It is always larger than the property price
   4. It is insignificant in every transaction
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   It may seem small but still affect affordability

   The narration contrasts its apparent smallness with its possible practical importance.

   The amount may seem relatively small beside the price of a home, yet even an apparently minor fee can matter when consumers are calculating whether they can manage a purchase or sale.

4. Question 4 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the criticism indicate about transaction-related costs?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Every connected cost is appropriate
   2. Connection alone may not justify assigning the cost
   3. Only sellers can question transaction costs
   4. Researchers oppose all real estate expenses
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Connection alone may not justify assigning the cost

   It suggests that connection to a transaction does not automatically justify consumer payment.

   Their criticism indicates that a cost connected with a real estate transaction may not necessarily be an appropriate expense for the people buying or selling the property.

5. Question 5 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What should consumers identify before completing the transaction?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. The property’s architectural style
   2. The party responsible for each fee
   3. The researcher who reported the dispute
   4. The seller’s previous mortgage rate
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   The party responsible for each fee

   The recommended review includes determining which party bears responsibility for each fee.

   Asking for an explanation of each fee, identifying the party responsible for it, and determining whether it is considered standard can clarify the arrangement before the transaction is completed.

6. Question 6 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What does the available coverage refrain from claiming?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. That housing costs can be confusing
   2. That every buyer or seller encounters the same charge
   3. That consumers should request explanations
   4. That agents and researchers disagree
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   That every buyer or seller encounters the same charge

   The speaker explicitly avoids claiming that all buyers and sellers face the same charge.

   The available coverage does not establish that every buyer or seller encounters the same charge, and it does not settle who should ultimately pay it.

7. Question 7 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What should consumers be able to do when asked to pay directly?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Ignore its purpose
   2. Understand its purpose and question its appropriateness
   3. Guarantee that it is legally prohibited
   4. Require the seller to pay every cost
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Understand its purpose and question its appropriateness

   The narration emphasizes understanding the fee and evaluating its appropriateness.

   When consumers are asked to pay a fee directly, they should be able to understand its purpose and question whether the charge is appropriate.

8. Question 8 · Single choice

   Choose one answer.

   What sequence of ideas structures the practical advice?

   Return to the passage, recording or visual
   1. Valuation, renovation, taxation
   2. Explanation, responsibility, customary status
   3. Advertising, negotiation, litigation
   4. Inspection, financing, relocation
   Check answers and explanations

   Answer

   Explanation, responsibility, customary status

   The narration progresses from explanation, to responsibility, to customary status.

   Asking for an explanation of each fee, identifying the party responsible for it, and determining whether it is considered standard can clarify the arrangement before the transaction is completed.

What to review next

Listen again to difficult sections, then open the transcript to check what you heard. Repeat a useful phrase aloud and try the recording once more without the text.

A focused practice result shows how you did on these tasks. Use several activities across skills to decide what to study next; one practice score does not certify an overall CEFR level.

Before you practise: a worked example

Listen for the final information, especially when a speaker corrects or changes an earlier statement.

Example transcript: “Let’s meet at five — actually, half past five would be better.” What is the final suggested time?

The final suggested time is 5:30. Actually signals a correction; the first time is replaced by the later suggestion.

This teaching example is separate from the scored questions. After your test, compare any mistakes with the explanation and revisit the topic before trying again.