Difference b/t Real and Personal Property, and How Real Property Rights are Regulated

Question 1

An item may be real or personal property depending on _

Answer 1

The “attachment” criterion

Question 2

List the 5 differentiation criteria of real and personal property

Answer 2

1. Intention
2. Adaptation
3. Functionality
4. Relationship of parties
5. Contract provisions

Question 3

What are fixtures?

Answer 3

Real property converted from personal property by attachment to real estate

Question 4

What are trade fixtures and what else do they go by?

Answer 4

Also called chattel fixtures: they are personal property items temporarily attached to real estate in order to conduct business (ex: meat locker for butchering store, cash register for retail store)

Question 5

What are emblements?

Answer 5

Plants or crops considered personal property since human intervention is necessary for planting and harvesting

Question 6

Define conversion

Answer 6

Transforming real to personal property through severance, or personal to real property through affixing

Question 7

List and detail the different levels of regulation of real property interests

Answer 7

Federal regulation: grants overall rights of ownership, controls broad usage standards, discrimination

State regulation: primary regulatory entities of the real estate business, establishes real estate license laws and qualifications and sets regional usage standards

Local regulation: levies real estate taxes, controls specific usage

Judicial regulation: applies case law and common law to disputes