Intro to Real Estate Flashcards
What is the difference between real estate, real property, and personal property?
Real estate- land and its attachments
Real property- legal interest in the real estate
Personal property- not attached to the property
Why is real estate considered a commodity?
It has utility to most people and marketable in it’s own specialized area (location, location, location)
List the bundle of rights received with the land
1) Possession- to rent or live in
2) Disposal- to sell
3) Use- develop/build on
4) Exclude- Other people, except tax assessors
Improvements TO the land vs improvements ON the land
Improvements to the land- landscaping
Improvements on the land- building
How does personal property become a fixture?
Intent of the parties (in the contract), manner of attachment (removal=damage), adaptation/customization of the object, relation of the parties
Define riparian rights, littoral rights, and financial rights
Riparian (river)- inland water, streams, ponds; to midpoint
Littoral (lake)- boating/fishing in large lakes, oceans, seas
Financial- right to make money or borrow money against the property
What are the 2 distinguishing features of a freehold estate?
There must be actual ownership in the land/improvements, and the estate must be of unpredictable duration
Define fee simple estate (type of freehold)
Most complete form of ownership, put in the deed;
Still restricted by zoning of the government
Define life estate (type of freehold)
Ownership lasts as long as the owner is alive, then transfers back to the original owner through reversion;
(usually the child)
*Doesn’t include the disposal right
What are the 2 distinguishing features of a leasehold estate?
Although there is possession of land there is no ownership, and the estate is for a definite duration
What are the forms of co-ownership interests?
Tenancy in common, joint tenancy, and community property
Define tenancy in common
Individuals own a fractional interest in the property, and it gets passed to the heirs at death of an owner (not split between them)
Define joint tenancy
Right to survivorship, reverts to other owner (spouse)
Tenancy by entirety- marriage ownership; estate is called dower when husband dies, curtesy when wife dies
Define community property
Both the spouse and heirs get interest (if property was bought after marriage)
Other types of co-ownership
Condominium- own condo/common areas but not land
Cooperative- everyone owns building and you lease part
Timeshare- buy ownership for a limited time period
(Can get a mortgage on a condo, but not a cooperative)
