Legal Issues - Estates and interests

Question 1

Real property is the…

Answer 1

land and improvements, and all legal rights, powers, and privileges of real estate ownership. Real property includes the bundle of rights.

Question 2

Everything that is not real property is…

Answer 2

personal property.

Question 3

Personal property is also known as…

Answer 3

chattel.

Question 4

A fixture is personal property that…

Answer 4

attaches permanently to the land or improvements and becomes part of the real property.

A few typical examples of a fixture include:

• chandelier
• custom book shelves
• wall-to-wall carpeting
• plumbing fixtures

Question 5

Trade fixtures are…

Answer 5

items of personal property that a business operator installs in rented building space.

Question 6

Unlike a typical fixture, a trade fixture is considered…

Answer 6

personal property of the business owner. It is assumed the business owner will take the trade fixtures with them when moving out of the rented space.

Question 7

A display case is a common example of a…

Answer 7

trade fixture.

Question 8

Fee simple absolute provides…

Answer 8

the most complete form of ownership.

Question 9

Absolute ownership of real property; a person has this type of estate where the person is entitled to the…

Answer 9

entire property with unconditional power of disposition during the person’s life and descending to the person’s heirs or distributees.

Most properties in New York have a Fee Simple Absolute deed, unless specified otherwise!

Question 10

When title to real estate is in the name of only one person or entity, it is an…

Answer 10

estate (ownership) in severalty.

Think of it as a single individual owns real estate, therefore, the ownership is ‘severed’ from all others.

Question 11

Joint tenancy is a form of…

Answer 11

co-ownership by two or more persons, each of whom has an undivided interest WITH the “right of survivorship”.

Question 12

Tenancy in common is a form of…

Answer 12

co-ownership by two or more persons, each of whom has an undivided interest, WITHOUT the “right of survivorship”.

Question 13

the difference between joint tenancy and tenancy in common is the…

Answer 13

“right of survivorship”.

A tenancy in common does NOT include the “right of survivorship”.

Question 14

Tenancy by the entirety: This form of co-ownership is…

Answer 14

limited to married couples.

Question 15

4 Unities of Co-ownership

The 4 possible unities include:

Answer 15

1) Time
2) Title
3) Interest
4) Possession

Question 16

A life estate is…

Answer 16

ownership, possession, and control of a property for someone’s lifetime.

For example:
Joe will grant ownership of his property to Sarah until the death of Nancy.
Once Nancy passes away, the ownership of the property will revert back to Joe (or Joe’s heirs).

Question 17

A life estate is a form of…

Answer 17

fee simple estate.

Question 18

A life estate may be formed when a couple owns property as a tenancy by the entirety. If one spouse dies,

Answer 18

the other spouse gains full ownership of the property.

When the remaining spouse dies, the property is transferred to the children.

Question 19

A leasehold estate is a…

Answer 19

non-freehold of limited duration, providing the right of possession and control but not title.

Question 20

An estate for years exists…

Answer 20

for a fixed period of time. It can be as short as a day and as long as many years. Once the term of the lease ends, the rental agreement is automatically terminated.
Most residential leases are an estate for years.

Question 21

A periodic lease automatically…

Answer 21

renews itself for another period at the end of each period unless one party gives notice to the other party at a time specified in the lease before the lease ends.

Question 22

The duration of an estate at will is for an …

Answer 22

unknown period of time. This is an open-ended estate.

Question 23

Littoral rights apply to property bordering a…

Answer 23

stationary body of water.

Littoral Rights = Lake

Question 24

Riparian rights belong to the owner of a property

bordering a…

Answer 24

flowing body of water.

Riparian Rights = River (stream)

Question 25

Real estate values are driven by the concept of…

Answer 25

supply and demand.

Question 26

When demand (the number of buyers in the market) is greater than supply (the amount of available homes to purchase), prices will…

Answer 26

increase.

Question 27

When supply is greater than demand, prices will…

Answer 27

decrease.