MBE Strategies and Tactics Flashcards
BFP’s does not matter between…
…the original parties to the transaction.
Only comes up when there are subsequent buyers.
Marketable title is implied in…
land sale contracts. But under doctrine of merger, once deed takes effect, its terms control. Therefore, quitclaim deed would mean no covenants associated with the deed.
Key distinction between race-notice and notice statutes?
whether or not a subsequent BFP is protected before he records his own interest.
Under BOTH the purchaser must have no actual knowledge of a prior conveyance at the moment he takes the conveyance. If he does, he won’t be a BFP and the conveyance won’t be valid against the prior purchaser.
To identify race-notice statutes, watch for language such as…
“No unrecorded conveyance or mortgage of real property shall be good against subsequent purchasers for value without notice, who shall first record.”
When there’s a mortgage on a property in possession of a life estate holder…
Traditional rule: When there’s a mortgage on property that is possessed by a life estate holder, the life estate holder is responsible for the INTEREST payments, and the remainderman is liable for the PRINCIPAL.
Not enough to know a conveyance violates RAP, also need to know what happens..
Do this by looking at what the grantor/testator intended to create.
Only the offending part fails.
EG: A landowner conveyed Twinoaks Farm “to my niece, her heirs and assigns, so long as the premises are used for residential and farm purposes, then to my nephew and his heirs and assigns.” The jurisdiction in which Twinoaks Farm is located has adopted the common law Rule Against Perpetuities unmodified by statute. As a consequence of the conveyance, the landowner’s interest in Twinoaks Farm is
strike the invalid part “to my nephew and his heirs” and because a fee simple determinable (“so long as”), possibility of reverter for grantor.
note: if was “but if used for..” then nephew part still would be invalid and deleted, and niece would have a fee simple absolute, leaving landowner with nothing.
Method for eliminating wrong answers.
- Eliminate the answers that are wrong on the facts.
- Eliminate the answers that are wrong on the law. Sometimes, you
can do that without even referring to the fact pattern (as in the
example below). - Eliminate the answers that are irrelevant. As you look through the
responses, think to yourself, “Does this address — and overcome — a major obstacle to prevailing in this case?” Alternatively, ask, “Even if this were true — so what?”
Watch out for constructive notice…
Constructive notice is based on circumstances that appear in the grantee’s “chain of title.” Most likely to trip you up is a fact pattern containing evidence that something’s amiss in a previously recorded deed when the deed itself doesn’t appear in the chain of title. If there isn’t any indication of a problem in the chain of title, then the grantee doesn’t have notice of it.
(Watch out for inquiry notice, though.)
How to address questions asking for the argument that’s “most likely to succeed.”
determine which answer choice most closely addresses the greatest obstacle to success in the case.
In questions asking for the most important point…
…determine the fact that’s pivotal.
How do you organize long fact patterns?
by charting the facts on scrap paper.
Keep in mind that, in order for a zoning ordinance or covenant to violate the Constitution, it must be…
… far outside the realm of standard restrictions; therefore, if you encounter a question containing a garden-variety restriction, it’s unlikely to be repugnant to the Constitution, so any answer choice voiding the restriction on constitutional grounds is likely to be wrong.
On questions asking which of the following statements are relevant…
remember you are only looking for something to be relevant. Does not have to be the dispositive issue. So be more liberal than you’d be otherwise.
For instance, if there is no issue of statute of frauds, but that is one of the statements in a land deal question, then it is still relevant, as it is always relevant in land deals, even though not a major issue bc writing does exist.
