Chapter 8 Flashcards
Real Estate includes
Land plus appurtenances (rights, privileges, and improvements that belong to and pass with the transfer of the property).
Air rights, gas rights, solar rights, light and sound rights, mineral rights, and surface rights
Water rights (littoral, riparian and prior appropriation).
Physical Component of Real Property, Water Rights inlcude
Riparian: Along a Navigable river, an owner owns to the water’s edge. Along a Non-Navigable stream, the owners own the land to the center of the stream and the government owns the water.
Littoral: Alonglarge navigable lakes or oceans, the owner owns to the average high water mark.
Littoral Rights: The body of real property law that defines an owner’s interest when the property abuts a navigable large body of water like an ocean, sea, or lake.
Both riparian and littoral rights are tied to land that is adjacent to water. Generally, the property line ends at the mean high water mark.
Natural Rights: land gain or loss due to water:
Accretion: is the increase of land created by deposits of soil by the natural action of water.
Erosion: is the decrease of land by the gradual wearing away that is caused by flowing water.
Avulsion: is the “sudden” loss of land by an act of nature such a hurricane or typhoon (like the loss of beach).
Reliction: is an increase in land due to the receding of water (such as the increase of land at the Great Salt Lake).
Alluvial plain: is the delta area where the soil deposits from the river. The soil deposited is called Alluvion.
Air rights can be
sold separately from the land
Emblements or fructus industriales
are annual crops such as wheat, corn and vegetables
Fructus naturales
are considered real property
are also trees, perennial bushes and grasses that do not require annual cultivation
Annexation:
changes personal property to real property.
Severance
changes the real property to personal property
Real Property versus Personal Property
Real property is all the land, appurtenances, rights and privileges connected together.
Personal property is anything that is not real property.
Personal property is the opposite of real property.
Personal property is readily movable from one location to another.
Personal property is sometimes referred to as
Chattel(also called personality). This word evolved from the word “cattle”, one of human’s earliest important possessions.
Chattels real are annexed to real estate, whereas chattels personal are movable.
Chattels are transferred by a bill of sale.
An appurtenance
is a right, privilege, or improvement that belongs to and passes with the transfer of property.
Tests for determining if something is a fixture
Method or Degree of Attachment: How is the item attached? If it is permanently attached such as a central air conditioning unit (fixture) as opposed to a temporarily attached window unit (personal), the item has become a fixture.
Adaptability: How does the item fit in its environment?
Intent or Agreement of the Parties:
Damage: How much damage will the removal of this item cause?
Personal Property
should always be transferred by a Bill of Sale
Trade Fixture
is defined as the property of a commercial tenant that is installed but is necessary for business
is personal property and can be removed by the tenant at any time before the end of the lease
The bundle of rights
includes Possession, Enjoyment, Disposition, Control, Exclusion
Estates in Land
contains two types of ownership land:
Feudal system of land ownership - the king owned all the land and the individuals who lived and worked the land were merely tenants who had the right to occupy and use the land
The allodial system of ownership came into being. Under the allodial system, individuals were entitled to own property without the proprietary control of the king/government.
There are two types of estates
Freehold: this term indicates ownership, and an indefinite period of time
or
Leasehold: this term indicates renting or leasing for a fixed term.
Type of freehold interests
Fee Simple Absolute - this form of ownership is always clearly stated on the transfer papers (the deed) to the property. It can be called any or all of the three words, but it means the highest and best form of ownership. It means that it has the largest bundle of rights possible.
Fee Simple Defeasible - this is sometimes called a “conditional fee” because it is based on an occurrence or a non-occurrence of a specified event. It states that it is an estate “on the condition that…” and an estate that provides the “right to re-enter…”
Conventional Life Estates
An Estate in Reversion:
The grantor (owner of the estate) gives his interest to another party called a life tenant. The life tenant is the person upon whose life the property relies
An Estate in Remainder:
The grantor (original owner) gives a life tenant possession of the property during the lifetime of the life tenant. The grantor names a third party (called the Remainderman) at the time the property possession is given.
Homestead
Therefore, the purposes of the state homestead laws are to protect the family against eviction by general creditors, and to protect each spouse individually by requiring that both husband and wife join in executing any deed conveying the homestead property.
How ownership can be held
Severalty: means to take title to real estate alone, as one person.
More than one person can take title to the property at one time.
An individual interest in group ownership. It is presumed by law unless otherwise stated.
Interests may be unequal or equal. One person can own a larger share of the property than another.
There is an undivided interest in the property.
Cooperative
is a form of ownership
Time Share
buys the right to occupy the premises
Time Share
Interval Ownership: consists of fee simple ownership and is recorded and conveyed by deed for a specific time period. The owner may sell, lease or rent the property for the time period he owns
Right to Use Ownership: is a temporary rental use with a lease of 20-40 years in duration. This is a leasehold interest rather than the freehold interest of interval ownership. After the lease expires, the interest goes back to the original owner.
