Chapter 4 Mastering Real Estate: Encumbrances Flashcards
What is an encumbrance?
A charge, claim or liability on real estate.
What are the two kinds of encumbrances?
Only affect title - liens and judgments
Affect both title and physical condition- easements, encroachments, and deed restrictions
What is an easement?
The RIGHT to use someone else’s land.
What is an appurtenant easement?
They belong to the land and transfer with the title.
What is an easement in gross?
They are held by individuals and end on the death of either party.
What is a positive easement?
It allows a person to use another’s property for some stated purpose.
What is a negative easement?
It prevents an owner from using the property in some manner.
What six ways can an easement be created?
By written agreement By express grant in a deed By express reservation in a deed By condemnation By Prescription By necessity
What five ways can an easement be terminated?
Expiration Merger Agreement Abandonment Court Action
What is a license?
The privilege to use the land of another for a specific purpose.
What is an encroachment?
the unauthorized physical intrusion of a building or other form of property onto an adjoining property.
What is a spot survey?
Also called an improvement location certificate, it shows the location of property improvements and lot lines.
What are deed restrictions?
They are conditions/limits placed in a deed when property is transferred to a third party.
What are CC&Rs?
Placed in the deeds by developers, they affect a whole subdivision.
What is an appurtenant easement?
It allows the owner of a parcel of land to use the land next to it.
What is a dominant tenant?
The parcel of land that benefits from the easement.
What is the servient tenement?
The parcel of land over which the easement runs.
If an owner is landlocked, what easement should they seek?
An easement by necessity.
What is a party wall?
When something straddles two separate properties.
Does an easement in gross have a dominant tenement?
No, easements in gross may not be assigned to someone else and terminate on the death of the owner. There is only a servient tenement.
What are commercial easements in gross?
Used by companies to maintain their interests.
What is an easement by prescription?
When a claimant uses another’s land for a period of time as defined by state law. (Shared driveway)
What is tacking?
Successive periods of use by different parties to establish a prescriptive easement.
