Chapter 48 Flashcards
The land itself, as well as buildings, trees, soil, minerals, timber, plants, crops, fixtures, and other things permanently affixed to the land or buildings
real property
type of property that is immovable
real property
type of property that is movable
personal property
most common form of real property.
land
right to occupy the land
surface rights
Rights to the earth located beneath the surface of the land
subsurface rights (mineral rights)
growing on the surface of land and are considered real property
plant life and vegetation
Goods that are affixed to real estate and thus become part thereof.
fixtures
The owners of land may sell or lease air space parcels above their land
air rights
the air space above the surface of the earth of an owner’s real property
air space parcel
Ownership rights in real property; the bundle of legal rights that the owner has to possess, use, and enjoy the property.
estate in land (estate)
An estate in which the owner has a present possessory interest in the real property.
freehold estate
A principle that states that an owner of real property may use and enjoy the property as he or she sees fit, subject to any applicable government regulation or private restraint.
present possessory interest
A type of ownership of real property that grants the owner the fullest bundle of legal rights that a person can hold in real property.
fee simple absolute (fee simple)
A type of ownership of real property that grants the owner all the incidents of a fee simple absolute except that it may be taken away if a specified condition occurs or does not occur.
fee simple defeasible (qualified fee)
The person who is given a life estate
life tenant
An interest in real property for a person’s lifetime; on that person’s death, the interest is transferred to another party.
life estate
A life estate that is measured by the life of a third party
estate pur autre vie
A situation in which two or more persons own a piece of real property.
concurrent ownership (co-ownership)
Two or more parties can own real estate as
joint tenants
A form of co-ownership that includes the right of survivorship
joint tenancy
A legal rule providing that on the death of one joint tenant, the deceased person’s interest in the real property automatically passes to the surviving joint tenant or joint tenants
right of survivorship of joint tenants
The parties to a tenancy in common are called
tenants in common
A form of co-ownership in which the interest of a surviving tenant in common passes to the deceased tenant’s estate and not to the co-tenants
tenancy in common
A form of co-ownership of real property that can be used only by married couples
tenancy by entirety
A form of ownership in which each spouse owns an equal one-half share of the income of both spouses and the assets acquired during the marriage
community property
Property owned by a spouse prior to marriage, as well as inheritances and gifts received by a spouse during the marriage
separate property
A common form of ownership in a multiple-dwelling building in which the purchaser has title to the individual unit and owns the common areas as a tenant in common with the other condominium owners
condominium
A form of co-ownership of a multiple-dwelling building in which a corporation owns the building and the residents own shares in the corporation
cooperative
The interest that a grantor retains for him- or herself or a third party.
future interest
A right of possession that returns to the grantor after the expiration of a limited or contingent estate.
reversion
A right of possession that returns to a third party on the expiration of a limited or contingent estate
remainder
A person who possesses the right of remainder to real property upon the expiration of a limited or contingent estate (e.g., life estate); A person or an entity who receives the trust corpus upon the termination of a trust.
remainder beneficiary
The passing of title from a seller to a buyer for a price.
sale (conveyance)
A contract for the sale of real property
real estate sales contract
The finalization of a real estate sales transaction that passes title to the property from the seller to the buyer.
closing (settlement)
An instrument that describes a person’s ownership interest in a piece of real property.
deed
The party who transfers an ownership interest in real property.
grantor
The party to whom an interest in real property is transferred.
grantee
A deed that protects a grantee of real property from defects in title caused by the grantor and prior owners of the property.
general warranty deed (grant deed)
A deed that protects a grantee of real property from defects in title caused by the grantor.
special warranty deed (limited warranty deed)
A deed in which the grantor of real property transfers whatever interest he or she has in the property to the grantee.
quitclaim deed
A state statute that requires a mortgage or deed of trust to be recorded in the county recorder’s office of the county in which the real property is located
recording statute
An office where deeds, mortgages, and other documents pertaining to real property located in the county are recorded and security interests in personal property are often recorded.
county recorder’s office
The correction of inaccurate information in a real estate deed by action of a court.
reformation of a deed
If the taxes remain unpaid for a statutory period of time, the government can sell the property at a ______ to satisfy the lien
tax sale
The period of time during which a mortgagor may redeem real property after default and before foreclosure.
period of redemption
Title to real property that is free from any encumbrances or other defects that are not disclosed but would affect the value of the property
marketable title (good title)
Insurance that purchasers of real estate, and lenders who make loans where real property is collateral for the loan, purchase to ensure that they will be paid for losses suffered by defects in the title to the property that occurred prior to the purchase or loan
title insurance
a chronological history of the chain of title affecting the property, including recorded documents and public records relating prior ownership of the property, encumbrances, recorded easements, public claims of adverse possession, and other information affecting title to the property in the past
abstract of title
An opinion given by an attorney concerning the status of title to real property that is arrived at after examining a chronological history of the chain of title and encumbrances affecting the property.
attorney’s opinion
A method of determining title to real property in a judicial proceeding at which everyone claiming an interest in the property can appear and be heard. After the evidence is heard, the court issues a certificate of title to the person who is determined to be the rightful owner
Torrens system
A certificate that is issued by a land court that determines the rightful owner of real property.
certificate of title
An action brought by a party, seeking an order of the court declaring who has title to disputed property
quiet title action
A situation in which a person who wrongfully possesses someone else’s real property obtains title to that property if certain statutory requirements are met
adverse possession
The required statutory period during which a person must wrongfully possess another party’s real property to obtain title to that property through adverse possession
statutorily prescribed period of time
A requirement that must be proven by a person to obtain real property by adverse possession. It requires that the adverse possessor has occupied the property so as to put the owner on notice of the possession.
open, visible, and notorious
A requirement that must be proven by a person to obtain real property by adverse possession. It requires that the adverse possessor has physically occupied the premises
actual and exclusive
A requirement that must be proven by a person to obtain real property by adverse possession. It requires that the adverse possessor has occupied the property continuously and uninterrupted for the required statutory period. Any break in normal occupancy terminates the adverse possession
continuous and peaceful
A requirement that must be proven by a person to obtain real property by adverse possession. It requires that the adverse possessor has occupied the property without the express or implied permission of the owner.
hostile and adverse
A situation in which a person holds an interest in another party’s real property without actually owning any part of the property.
nonpossessory interest
A given or required right to make limited use of someone else’s real property without owning or leasing it.
easement
Easements that are created by words and must be in writing. ______________ include the following: (1) easement appurtenant, (2) easement in gross, (3) easement by reservation, and (4) negative easement.
Express easements
An easement that is expressly created when the owner of one piece of real property purposefully grants an easement to the owner of an adjacent piece of real property to use his or her property in some specified way.
easement appurtenant
The real property over which an easement appurtenant is granted.
servient estate
The real property that benefits from an easement appurtenant.
dominant estate
An easement that expressly authorizes a person who does not own adjacent real property the right to use another party’s nonadjacent real property in some specified way
easement in gross
An express easement that is created when an owner sells real property that he or she owns to another party but expressly reserves an easement on the sold property.
easement by reservation
An express easement whereby the owner of real property makes a promise to another owner of real property that he or she will not do something with or on his or her real property.
negative easement
Easements that are implied from the situation and circumstances. ____________ include the following: (1) easement by necessity, (2) easement by implication, and (3) easement by prescription
Implied easements
An implied easement that is created if two parcels of real property are so situated that an easement over one parcel is strictly necessary for the use and enjoyment of the other parcel
easement by necessity
An implied easement that is created when an owner subdivides a parcel of real property that has a beneficial appurtenant on it (e.g., a road, path, well) that serves the entire parcel, and the purchasers of the subdivided pieces of property automatically acquire an easement to use the beneficial appurtenant.
easement by implication
An implied easement whereby one party obtains the right to use a portion of another party’s real property when the requirements for adverse possession are met.
easement by prescription
A document that grants a person the right to enter on another’s property for a specified and usually short period of time
license of real property
A document that grants a person the right to remove something from another’s real property.
profit-à-prendre (profit)
Liability that is imposed on landowners and tenants for breaching duties that they owe to visitors who are injured on their real property.
premises liability
A person who has been expressly or impliedly invited to a landowner’s or tenant’s premises for the economic benefit of the owner or tenant.
invitee
A duty that a landowner or tenant owes to invitees to make the premises safe from, or to warn of, dangerous conditions that pose an unreasonable risk of which the landowner or tenant has actual or constructive knowledge.
duty of ordinary care
A rule that states that when a business invitee is injured on a business’s premises, the injured party is entitled to an inference of the business’s negligence and is relived of the obligation of proving that the business owner had actual or constructive notice of the dangerous condition that caused the injury.
mode-of-operation rule
A person who is on someone’s real property legally and with the express or implied permission of the landowner or tenant and is not there to convey an economic benefit to the landowner or tenant.
licensee
A rule that states that a possessor of real property is not liable to invitees who are injured by a danger that a reasonable person would have been able to observe, recognize, and perceive through casual inspection
open and obvious danger
person who is on a landowner’s or tenant’s real property but has no invitation, permission, or legal right to be there.
trespasser
A special tort rule that imposes liability on a landowner or possessor of land to children who have trespassed onto the owner’s or possessor’s real property by an attractive nuisance with the intent to play and are injured or killed while doing so
attractive nuisance doctrine
Local laws that are adopted by municipalities and local governments to regulate land use within their boundaries.
zoning ordinances
Government regulation that establishes land use districts (i.e., areas are generally designated residential, commercial, or industrial); restricts the height, size, and location of buildings; and establishes aesthetic requirements or other limitations for the exterior of buildings
zoning
A local administrative body that formulates zoning ordinances, conducts public hearings, and makes recommendations to the city council.
zoning commission
An exception that permits a type of building or use in an area that would not otherwise be allowed by a zoning ordinance.
variance
Uses for real estate and buildings that already exist in a zoned area that are permitted to continue even though they do not fit within a new zoning use established for the area.
nonconforming uses
