Chapter 8 - Property Rights: Estates, Tenancies, and Multiple Ownership Interests Flashcards
In medieval times, kings and landlords owned the land, and the common people worked the land under the ___________________ of ownership.
Feudal system
In the United States today the ____________________ which grew out of the English feudal system, allocates full property ownership rights to private individuals.
Allodial system
What does land refer to?
The surface of the earth and everything attached to it by nature (trees and lakes)
Products of nature beneath the surface (oil and limestone)
What does real estate refer to?
The land and all improvements permanently attached to the land (human-made such as homes, factories, fences, streets, sewers, etc)
What does real property refer to?
All real estate plus the legal bundle of rights inherent in the ownership of real estate (legal interests, rights, and privileges associated with the ownership of real estate)
What are the physical components of land?
Surface rights
Subsurface rights
Air rights
What are surface rights?
Include land and water
What are the two types of water rights?
Riparian rights (land abutting the banks of a river, stream, or other watercourse) Littoral rights (land abutting tidal bodies of water such as an ocean, sea, or lake)
What are subsurface rights?
Owner’s rights to underground minerals, petroleum, natural gas, etc.
What are air rights?
Involve that space above a tract, extending up to a height established by law (e.g. building rights, easements, aerial navigation)
What are the two basic types of assets?
Real property
Personal property
What is personal property?
Anything that is not real property (a savings account, a car, jewelry, etc)
What are fixtures?
Objects that were personal property but have been permanently attached to or made part of real property and thus are now real property (ex. bathtub)
What is a trade fixture?
An article that is attached by a commercial tenant as a necessary part of the tenant’s trade or business and is personal property
What do the real property ownership rights (bundle of rights) include?
Right of disposition
Right of use (control)
Right of possession
Right of exclusion (quiet enjoyment)
What is the right of disposition?
Permits the owner to sell, mortgage, dedicate, give away, or otherwise dispose of all or any portion of the property
What is the right of use?
Entitles the owner to uninterrupted use and control of his land in any manner consistent with local laws
What is the right of possession?
Allows an owner to occupy the premises in privacy with maximum legal control over entry and use of that property
What is the right of exclusion?
Form recognition that “a man’s home is his castle”; an owner has the right to control entry onto his land without interference and to collect damages for certain forms of trespass
What is a freehold estate?
Ownership interest for an indefinite period
What is a fee simple estate?
The most comprehensive collection of real property freehold rights; absolute and complete ownership, subject only to governmental restrictions (taxation and police powers)
What is life estate?
Another type of freehold estate, but the owner has fewer rights; he owns the property for only the period of the lifetime of an individual; when the life estate ends, the property reverts to the original grantor or goes to a third party (remainderman)
What is a leasehold estate?
Interest in real property that is measured in calendar time; not freehold estates because they do not exist for an indefinite period of time
What is an estate for years?
A tenancy with a specific starting and ending date
What is a tenancy at will?
A lease agreement that has a beginning date but not fixed termination date
What is tenancy at sufferance?
Occurs when a tenant stays in possession of the property beyond the ending date of a legal tenancy without the consent of the landlord
What is sole ownership?
When title to property is held by one person (estate in severalty)
What is concurrent ownership?
Ownership by two or more persons at the same time
What are the three types of concurrent owners?
Tenancy in common
Joint tenancy
Tenancy by the entireties
What is tenancy in common?
When two or more persons wish to share the ownership of a single property
What is an undivided interest?
Interest in the entire property, rather than ownership of a particular part of the property
What is joint tenancy?
Characterized by the right of survivorship
What is right of survivorship?
When one co-owner dies, his share goes to the surviving co-owner and not to the deceased tenant’s heirs
What is tenancy by the entireties?
A joint tenancy between husband and wife
Four unities of a joint tenancy with right of survivorship must exist, and the two co-owners must be married to each other at the time they take the title
What are the four unities of a joint tenancy?
Possession (same rights of undivided possession)
Interest (have equal ownership interest)
Title (acquire title on same instrument [deed])
Time (acquire interests in the property at same time)
What is a homestead?
A homeowner’s primary residence that they own
What is separate property in terms of the distribution of assets resulting from divorce?
Nonmarital assets that include any property the husband or wife owned separately prior to the marriage and property acquired during the marriage by inheritance or gift
What is a cooperative?
Normally organized as a corporation
Holds title to land and improvements
What is a proprietary lease?
A written agreement between the owner-corporation and the tenant-stockholder in a cooperative apartment
What are condominiums?
Form of real property consisting of condominium units and common elements
The developer must include a disclosure in the sale contract stating that the buyer of a new residential unit may cancel the contract within _____ calendar days of signing the contract and of receipt by the buyer of the condominium documents.
15
The contract for resale of a residential condominium unit must include a clause that states that the buyer acknowledges receipt of the condominium documents and that the prospective buyer may cancel the contract within _________ after the date of execution of the contract and receipt by the buyer of the condominium documents.
Three business days
The Time-Share Act requires a developer disclosure that purchasers may cancel the contract within __________ of contract signing or receipt of the public offering statement, whichever is later.
Ten calendar days
What are the two types of timeshare ownership?
Interval ownership
Right-to-use
What is interval ownership?
Fee simple ownership and contains the same rights as any other property conveyed by deed
What is right-to-use?
A leasehold interest is long-term, usually 20-40 years. After a specified period (could be from 1-99 years), such rights revert back to the developer-seller
The most comprehensive interest in real property that an individual may possess is:
A fee simple estate
Physical components of real property do not include:
Equitable rights
Physical components of real property do include:
Surface
Air space
Subsurface
Fixtures are items that:
Are fixed, or attached, to real property
Were once personal property but are now real property
Have been incorporated as part of real property
Frank and Lucille decide to get a divorce. In addiction to their Florida homesteaded property, they own a vacant lot in the same subdivision acquired in both of their names during the marriage. How will the lot be distributed?
The lot is a marital asset and will be distributed equitably.
The bundle of rights associated with real property does not include:
Utility
The bundle of rights associated with real property includes:
Use
Possession
Disposition
Mary and John were recently wed. Mary owns a residential lot that was purchased before the marriage. The lot is considered to be:
Separate property
At the expiration of the lease period and before renegotiation of the lease, a tenant continued to occupy the apartment. The tenant’s position is called:
A tenancy at sufferance
Lucy received a new microwave for Christmas. The microwave was installed above her range by screwing the unit to the kitchen cabinets and venting it through the attic. The microwave would be considered:
A fixture
The homestead tax exemption is deducted from the:
Assessed value of a property
The real estate protected by homestead rights is limited to:
160 acres outside a city or town or one-half acre in town
A constitutional homestead is owned by Ralph, who is head of a family consisting of himself, his wife, and their three children. Ralph dies unexpectedly. After his death, the widow:
Owns a life estate in the homestead, and the children are vested remaindermen
Which estate features right of survivorship?
Estate by the entireties
Chapter 475, F.S., defines real property as any interest or estate in:
Land, business enterprises and business opportunities, including any assignment, leasehold, subleasehold, or mineral rights
In Florida, cooperatives and timeshares are regulated by the:
Division of Florida Land Sales, Condominiums, and Mobile Homes
A condominium unit buyer has how long to cancel the purchase contract following the signing of an agreement with a developer?
15 days
Developers of condominium projects MUST give buyers?
A copy of the prospectus
Which characteristic applies to condominium ownership?
The purchaser receives a deed to a particular unit
What does not apply to the constitutional homestead?
It automatically creates a tenancy by the entireties if the person filing for homestead is married
What does apply to the constitutional homestead?
Protection from forced sale for nonpayment of certain debts
Deduction of $25,000 from the assessed value of the homesteaded property, if claimed
Claimants must hold title to the property and use the home as their principal residence
Ms. Lee Dade paid cash for a 60-acre lemon grove in Citrus County. The estate is for an indefinite period of time. Ms. Dade does NOT own which type of estate in the property?
Leasehold estate
The term real estate does not include:
Personal property
The system of ownership of real property in the US is:
Allodial
What best describes a fixture?
It was at one time movable
Real property can be converted into personal property by:
Severance
What would not be an appurtenance?
A potted plant
What is an appurtenance?
Rights, privileges, and improvements that belong to and pass with the transfer of the property
Extreme winds and 15 foot waves washed away half of the water frontage of John’s bay front property. This violent tearing away of the soil is known as:
Avulsion
A river has deposited soil that had been carried downstream. The buildup soil on the bank is called:
Accretion
Joint tenancy:
Needs the four unities to be created
Which is not an economic characteristic of real estate?
Indestructibility
Joan and Suzie were co-owners in a property. They took title at the same time, had equal interest, had the same deed, and had undivided interest. Joan dies. What will happen to the property now?
The property is owned by Suzie in severalty
The right of an owner to own to the average high water mark is:
Littoral
Joe rents a building where he has an ice cream store. He wants to put an ice cream freezer that will hold 28 varieties of ice cream. He will need to affix the freezer in order to obtain water and electricity to power the freezer. Can he do this?
Yes, he is a commercial tenant and this is a trade fixture
The bundle of rights does not includes:
The right to abandon
What is the highest and best ownership?
Fee simple
The ownership presumed by law unless otherwise stated is:
Tenancy in common
How many days does a buyer have to cancel a purchase contract of a cooperative when purchasing from a seller who is not a developer?
3
A property owner owns a condominium. Her interests in the common grounds around her unit are owned by her in what manner?
Tenants in common
Trees and perennial bushes are considered to be:
Fructus naturales
Tom and Elaine are a married couple. They purchased a house together as a tenancy by the entireties. Will they still own the house together if they get a divorce?
Yes, but they will own the house as tenants in common
The purpose of the ________ is to give statutory recognition to the cooperative form of ownership of real property. It shall not be construed as repealing or amending any law now in effect, except any law in conflict herewith, and any such conflicting laws shall be affected only insofar as they apply to cooperatives.
Florida Cooperative Act
The purpose of the ____________ is to give statutory recognition to the condominium form of ownership of real property, and to establish procedures for the creation, sale, and operation of condominiums.
Florida Condominium Act
Three of the purposes of the ________ are to: 1. Give statutory recognition to real property timeshare plans and personal property timeshare plans in this state; 2. Establish procedures for the creation, sale, exchange, promotion, and operation of timeshare plans; 3. Provide full and fair disclosure to the purchasers and prospective purchasers of timeshare plans.
The Florida Vacation Plan and Timesharing Act
If the disclosure summary for a homeowner’s association is not provided to the buyer prior to signing the contract for sale, the status of the contract is:
Voidable at the buyer’s option prior to closing
The Homeowner’s Association disclosure summary language should be:
Contained in the purchase and sale agreement in conspicuous type
Community Development Districts are often _____ with mixed uses.
Planned Unit Developments (PUDS)
