2 - Property Ownership & Interests (4 / 1) Flashcards
Accretion
land increases along a river or stream
Emblements
the right of the previous owner to harvest crops through the current growing season
Real Property
Land and all appurtenances (everything attached to it), “Bundle of Rights”
Annexation / Severance
act of permanently attaching personal property and transforming it into a fixture / act of turning real property into personal property
Draperies
Not considered a fixture, seller may remove (Blinds are considered a fixture)
Trade Fixtures
Considered personalty, not real property (e.g. large freezer in ice cream parlor, removed by tenant at termination of the lease)
Fee Simple Estate
Indefinite ownership period, highest and best form of ownership
Defeasible Fee
Property transferred subject to certain condition (e.g. use for medical purposes), if violated will return ownership to original grantor through a REVERSION
Riparian Water Rights
Rights along rivers and streams
Littoral Rights
Rights along large bodies of water that have tides; extends ownership to the mean high water mark
In NC, the foreshore between high and low tides is public land
Reversionary Estate
The original grantor’s right to regain the property if a condition is violated (the grantee holds a defeasible fee)
Reversionary Life Estate
interest in the property transferred back to the grantor (if e.g. the grantee dies); If transferred to anyone other than the grantor it is called a remainder interest (aka estate in remainder), a future interest a person will acquire
Right of Survivorship
In joint tenancy, if one property owner dies, the remaining joint tenant inherits the deceased’s interest
Four Unities of Joint Tenancy
Time, title, interest and possession
Total Circumstances Test (IRMA)
To detremine if an item is a fixture: intent, relationship, method and attachment (cost value and size are never factors in detremining if a fixture)