Chapter 3 Interests and Estates Flashcards
An interest in real estate is
Ownership of any combination of the bundle of rights to real property
Undivided interest is:
- an owner’s interest in a property in which two or more parties share ownership.
- “undivided” and “indivisible” signify that the owner’s interest is in a fractional part of the entire estate, not in a physical portion of the real property itself.
- If two co-owners have an undivided equal interest, one owner may not lay claim to the northern half of the property for his or her exclusive use.
Examples of interests include:
- Owner who enjoys the complete bundle of rights
- Tenant who temp enjoys the right to use and exclude
- Lender who enjoys the right to encumber the property over the life of a mortgage loan
- Repairman who encumbers the property when the owner fails to pay for services
- Buyer who prevents an owner from selling the property to another party under the terms of the sale contract
- Mining company which temporarily owns the right to extract minerals from the property
- Local municipality which has the right to control how an owner uses the property
- Utility company which clams access to the property in accordance with an easement
Interests Differ according to: (4)
- Length or how long a person may enjoy the interest
- What portion of the land, air, or subsurface the interest applies to
- Public or private
- If includes legal ownership of the property
What defines the Estate?
Right of Possession
Estates in land when not in possession and a private interest-holder?
Encumbrance
Estates in land when not in possession and a government entity interest-holder?
public interest.
What is a Freehold Estate (Ownership) (6)
- Duration of the owner’s rights cannot be determined
- Indefinite
- Lifetime
- Less than lifetime
- Generations
- Commonly equated with ownership of the property
What is a Leasehold Estate? (3)
- Specified Duration
- Lease Term
- Lease holder’s rights are temporary.
What type of Tenancies? (2)
- Freehold tenant
- Leasehold tenant
What type of estate is described:
- also “fee”; most common form of estate; not limited by one’s lifetime
- fee simple absolute: highest form of ownership interest
- defeasible: can revert to previous owner for violation of conditions
Fee Simple Estate
What type of estate is described:
- fee estate passes to another upon death of a named party
- remainder: interest of a named party to receive estate after holder’s death
- reversion: interest of previous owner to receive estate after holder’s death
Life estate
What type of estate is described:
- full ownership interest, limited to lifetime of life tenant or another named party
- created by agreements between parties
- ordinary: on death of life tenant, passes to remainderman or previous owner
- pur autre vie: on death of another; passes to remainderman or previous owner
Conventional life estate
What type of estate is described:
- automatic creation of estate through operation of law
- designed to protect family survivors
- homestead: rights to one’s principa-residence
- laws protect homestead from certain creditors
- dower and curtesy: a life estate interest of a widow(er) in the rea-property
- elective share: right to claim deceased spouse’s property in lieu of will
Legal life estate
What is a LEASEHOLD ESTATE?
non-ownership possessory estates of limited duration
