Chapter 4 Flashcards
What are the main areas of real property regulation?
1) The bundle of rights (possession, usage, transfer, encumbering, and exclusion), 2) legal descriptions, 3) financing, 4) insurance, 5) inheritance, 6) taxation
Who does the bundle of rights belong to?
The owner listed on the title of the property
True or False: a property deed must include a written legal description of the property.
True
What do Financing regulations address?
Lending requirements and provides standards for lending, underwriting, and loan management practices.
What do insurance regulations provide?
Insurance requirements, policies, and the process of filing claims associated with real property.
What do inheritance laws address?
The logistics of transferring ownership of real property through an inheritance and the amount of tax due.
What do taxation regulations deal with?
All aspects of taxing real property. Real property taxation occurs at the local levels, so amounts differ throughout the same state, city, and county.
Which federal agency promotes and regulates home ownership?
Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
Which agency establishes protective usage restrictions and guidelines for dealing with hazardous materials and other environmental concerns?
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Which type of legislation requires certain homeowners to obtain flood insurance policies?
Federal flood insurance legislation
Which federal legislation prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, religion, color, or national origin?
The Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968
Which federal legislation created design and accessibility standards?
The Americans with Disabilities Act
True or false: The federal government does not levy real estate taxes.
True
True or false: State governments are the primary regulatory entities of the real estate business.
True
What are three characteristics of state government regulation?
1) They establish real estate license laws and qualifications and have established real estate commissions to administer license laws and oversee activities of licensees 2) They exert regional influence in the usage and environmental control of real estate within the state (flood zones, waste disposal, drainage control, shore preservation, and pollution standards) 3) They play a role in defining how real property may be owned, transferred, encumbered, and inherited 4) They have the power to level real estate taxes but generally pass this power to local government.
What do county and local government regulation focus on?
Land use control, control of improvements, and taxation
What do land use regulations and ordinances control?
How all property within the jurisdiction may be developed, improved, demolished, and managed.
What powers do county and local governments have?
The power to zone land, take over land for the public good, issue building permits, and establish the rules for all development projects.
Who has the power to levy real estate taxes?
County and local governments, along with school districts and other local jurisdictions.
Define case law.
Consists of decisions based on judicial precedent.
Define “common law”.
The collective body of law deriving from custom and generally accepted practice in society.
How does judicial regulation differ from federal, state, and local regulations?
Judicial regulations use case and common law rulings to influence regulations. Federal, state, and local regulations are created through statutory law.
What is the simple definition of real estate?
The air, water, land, and everything affixed to the land.
What does the legal concept of land encompass?
1) the surface area of the earth, 2) everything beneath the surface of the earth extending downward to it’s center, 3) all natural things permanently attached to the earth, 4) the air above the surface of the earth extending outward to infinity.
Define “parcel” or “tract”.
A portion of land delineated by boundaries.
What does the legal concept of real estate encompass?
1) land, 2) all man-made structures that are “permanently” attached to the land (fences, streets, buildings, wells, sewers, sidewalks, and piers called “improvements”
Define “property”.
The item that is owned and also a set of rights (bundle of rights) to the item enjoyed by the owner.
What does the “right to use” property mean?
The owner has the right to use the property in certain ways such as mining, cultivating, landscaping, razing, and building on the property. This right may not infringe on the rights of others to use and enjoy their property.
What does “the right to transfer” mean?
It includes the right to sell, bequeath, lease, donate, or assign ownership interests. An owner may transfer certain individual rights to the property without transferring total ownership. One may also transfer ownership while retaining individual interests. (Ex. A person may sell mineral rights without selling the right of possession. The owner may also convey all rights to the property except the mineral rights.)