Chapter 02: Property Ownership & Interests Flashcards
The concept by which land would increase automatically along a river or stream is known as:
A. accretion
b. littoral rights
C. avulsion
D. reliction
A. accretion
(Accretion is the gradual buildup of land along a river a stream. It increases automatically because the land owner does not have to do anything to gain the increase. It is the opposite of erosion)
Which of the following is generally considered real property?
A. emblements
B. trade fixtures
C. a shrub planted in a decorative pot
D. a perennial shrub planted in the backyard
D. a perennial shrub planted in the backyard
(Real property includes the land and all of the appurtenances that go with it. Emblements, the right of the previous owner to harvest crops through the current growing season is not considered part of the land. Both trade fixtures and the shrub in a separate container or pot are considered personal property and not part of the land)
The phrase “bundle of legal rights”:
A. is part of the definition of real property
B. is another name for a legal description
C. refers to the legal documents used in real estate transactions
D. refers to the tenant’s rights in a lease
A. is part of the definition of real property
(The transfer of real property includes the transfer of a bundle of rights, including all of the rights, interests and appurtenances that are part of the property. These are referenced by the acronym DEEPC, disposition enjoyment, exclusion, possession and control.)
A trade fixture is considered:
A. a fixture
B. an easement
C. personality
D. a license
C. personality
(Typically fixtures are part of the real property and get transferred with the property. Trade fixtures are those items used in a trade and business and they remain personalty. This means the tenant may remove these items so long as they do so before the expiration of the lease)
Real property can become personal property by:
A. severance
B. purchase
C. hypothecation
D. attachment
A. severance
(The act of permanently attaching personal property and transforming it into a fixture is called annexation. The act of turning real property into personal property is called severance. A good example would be the trees growing on the property which are considered real property. Severance occurs when they are cut down and severed from the property and they become firewood which is personal property)
A seller is under contract to sell a property using the standard offer to purchase and contract. The elegantly decorated master bedroom has vertical window blinds, hand-painted light switches and electrical outlet covers and draperies fashioned from fabric coordinated with the wallpaper. Which of the following items may the seller legally remove before the close of the transaction?
A. none of the items
B. the draperies and blinds
C. the hand-painted light switches and electrical outlet covers
D. the draperies
D. the draperies
(Parties to a transaction are able to specifically contract for certain items to either transfer or remain with the property. The standard NCBA/NCAR purchase contract considers and lists all of the other items as fixtures which are to remain with the property. The draperies are not considered a fixture and the seller may remove them)
A business owner rents an empty building to use an ice cream parlor. The tenant subsequently installs large freezer units and several service counters. These additions:
A. are considered permanent improvements to the property
B. become the landlord’s property once attached to the building
C. can be legally removed by the tenant at the termination of the lease
D. can only be removed by the tenant with the landlord’s permission
C. can be legally removed by the tenant at the termination of the lease
(These items are considered trade fixtures and as such remain personalty)
The owner of a house wants to fence the yard for a dog. When the fence is erected, the fencing materials are converted to real estate by:
A. severance
B. annexation
C. immobility
D. indestructibility
B. annexation
(This is the process of taking items of personal property and converting them to real estate. The fence materials were personal property. Once the fence was incorporated into the real estate the fence became part of the real property through the process of annexation)
Which of the following has an indefinite ownership period?
A. fee simple estate
B. life estate
C. estate for years
D. estate at will
A. fee simple estate
(A fee simple estate, also known as a “fee” is the highest and best form of ownership. The owner possesses all of the rights or interests and the ownership lasts forever, therefore it is considered indefinite.)
Oil, gas, and other subsurface rights are generally considered to be:
A. separate and apart from the rights or interest in the real estate
B. an item which can never be separated from the real estate and must transfer with the property
C. items of personality which the owner can either include or exclude from the transfer
D. be part of the real estate and its bundle of rights and automatically transfer to a subsequent owner unless specifically reserved or excepted in the deed
D. be part of the real estate and its bundle of rights and automatically transfer to a subsequent owner unless specifically reserved or excepted in the deed
A woman wishes to donate a vacant lot that she owns in fee simple absolute to a hospital that is located next to her lot. An attorney prepares a deed that conveys the ownership of the lot to the hospital “so long as it is used for medical purposes.” After the completion of the gift, the hospital will hold a:
A. pur autre vie estate
B. fee simple absolute estate
C. defeasible fee
D. fee simple to a condition subsequent estate
C. defeasible fee
(The property was transferred subject to a condition that the property only be used for medical purposes. Such a condition creates a defeasible fee which if violated will return ownership to the original grantor through a reversion.)
The rights of the owner of a property located along the banks of a small stream are called:
A. littoral rights
B. subjacent rights
C. riparian rights
D. hereditaments
C. riparian rights
(Riparian water rights exist along rivers and streams. The rights along large bodies of water that are subject to tides are littoral rights.)
A deed conveyed ownership to a grantee “so long as the existing building on the property is not destroyed.” Following the transfer, the original grantor has what type of interest?
A. life estate
B. ongoing ownership in the property that lasts as long as the condition
C. fee simple estate
D. reversionary estate
D. reversionary estate
(The original grantor no longer has an ownership interest. All ownership is with the grantee who holds a defeasible fee subject to the condition. The original grantor does have a right to regain the property if the condition is violated. That future right or interest of the grantor is called a reversionary interest, an estate in reversion or a reversionary estate.)
A woman conveys a life estate to her son-in-law and stipulated that upon his death the estate will pass to her grandson. The grandson has an:
A. estate in reversion
B. estate in remainder
C. estate pur autre vie
D. estate for the life of another
B. estate in remainder
(At the termination of a life estate the interest in the property can be transferred back to the grantor in which case it is a reversionary life estate. If the interest is transferred to anyone other than the grantor it is called a remainder interest. Here the property is not returning to the original grantor (woman), but instead is passing to her grandson who has a remainder interest.)
A person who acquired ownership that can be inherited, with the provision “that the land must always be used for recreational purposes,” has:
A. a fee simple absolute estate
B. a defeasible fee
C. a fee simple to a condition subsequent estate
D. an estate that cannot be sold
B. a defeasible fee
(A defeasible fee is a transfer of real property that is subject to a condition.)
A brother and sister bought a commercial building and took title as joint tenants with right of survivorship. The brother died. The sister now owns the building:
A. as a joint tenant with right of survivorship with her brother’s heirs
B. in severalty
C. as a tenant in common with her brother’s heirs
D. as a life tenant with her brother’s heirs having remainder interests
B. in severalty
(A right of survivorship means that at the death of one of the property owners, the remaining joint tenants will inherit the deceased persons interest in the real estate. Since the sister would not be the only surviving owner she will hold title to the property in severalty)
