Property

Question 1

Equitable conversion

Answer 1

as soon as the contract is signed (but before closing)the

buyer’s interest is → equitable title/real property (the land he contracted to buy)

seller’s interest is → legal title/personal property (money he will get from the sale).

Question 2

Risk of Loss under equitable conversion,

Answer 2

The risk of loss remains on the buyer even if the seller remains in possession and control of the land the

Question 3

A deed must be

Answer 3

LEAD: lawfully executed and delivered.

Question 4

To be valid execution, a deed must:

Answer 4

1. identify the buyer and the seller,
2. describe the land,
3. contain words denoting a present intent to convey, and
4. be signed by the grantor.

Question 5

Delivery of Deed

Answer 5

is a question of intent to pass title presently.

Question 6

Quitclaim Deed

Answer 6

The grantor gives no covenants (promises nothing) and the grantee gets whatever the grantor has. The grantee takes the land subject to a defect in the title, an undisclosed easement, or other problem, and has no recourse.

Question 7

Warranty Deed

Answer 7

The grantor gives six covenants—three present covenants and three future covenants.

Question 8

Future Covenants in a Warranty Deed

Answer 8

1. Future Assurances
2. Quiet Enjoyment
3. Warranty Deed

Question 9

Present Covenants in a Warranty Deed

Answer 9

1. Seisen: I own
2. Right to Convey
3. No encumbrances: (i.e., there are no existing easements, liens, or encumbrances that are not stated in the deed)

Question 10

Under common law, remote grantees can sue under only:

Answer 10

future (not present) covenants. However, note in your answer that some jurisdictions do not follow the common law rule.

Question 11

Merger

Answer 11

on the closing date, the contract for sale merges into the deed, so at that point, the buyer can only sue on the deed.

Question 12

Breach of the implied warranty of fitness and habitability:

Answer 12

A builder of new homes impliedly warrants to the buyer that the home is habitable and fit for its intended purposes. This warranty applies to defects that are discovered within a reasonable time and are due to the builder’s negligence or failure to do work in a workmanlike manner.

Question 13

Common Law Rule before Notice Statutes

Answer 13

Under common law, a grantor can convey only those rights that the grantor had at the time of the conveyance. Thus, common law follows the first-in-time first-in-right principle.

Question 14

Notice Statute

Answer 14

protect subsequent bona fide purchasers for value who take without notice of the earlier transaction. (E.g., “A conveyance of interest in land is not valid against any subsequent purchaser for value without notice unless it is recorded.”)

Last BFP takes!

Question 15

Race Notice Statute

Answer 15

protect subsequent bona fide purchasers for value who take without notice and are the first to record. (E.g., “No conveyance of an interest in land is valid against any subsequent purchaser for value without notice unless it is first recorded.”)

First BFP takes!

Question 16

Race Statue

Answer 16

protect subsequent purchasers who are first to record. (These are rare!)

Question 17

Actual notice:

Answer 17

the grantee actually knows about the conveyance.

Question 18

Inquiry notice:

Answer 18

examination of the land or reference in an instrument would lead a reasonable person to inquire.

Question 19

Record Notice

Answer 19

The interest is recorded in the chain of title. Deeds that are recorded too late or too early are wild deeds. Wild deeds do not give notice.

Question 20

Mortgagor’s Right to Transfer

Answer 20

A mortgagor (homeowner) can transfer title to the property. However, the mortgage will remain on the property and the mortgagor is still personally liable on the note.

Question 21

Transferee who takes the land “subject to” the mortgage

Answer 21

not personally liable, the mortgagor is liable.

Question 22

Transferee “assumes” the mortgage:

Answer 22

he is personally liable along with the original mortgagor

Question 23

Novation

Answer 23

occurs if the initial mortgagor, the new transferee, and the mortgagee all agree that the mortgagor is no longer liable and the transferee assumes all of the mortgagor’s duties

Question 24

Term for years lease:

Answer 24

a term for years lease specifies both a beginning date and an end date.

Question 25

Periodic tenancy:

Answer 25

A periodic tenancy has no fixed end date (e.g., month-to-month lease = periodic tenancy).

• It simply repeats until one party gives valid notice to the other. It can be created by an express agreement, implication (where the lease contains no end date), or operation of law (e.g., an oral leasethat violates the Statute of Frauds because the term is more than one year).
• Valid notice (i.e., notice equal to the rent payment term) is required to terminate a periodic tenancy.

Question 26

Assignment

Answer 26

if the lease does not prohibit an assignment or sublease, a tenant can assign or sublease her interest in the lease.

Question 27

Constructive eviction

Answer 27

A tenant can sue for constructive eviction (commercial or residential) if the tenant can prove that:

1. the landlord breached a duty to the tenant (e.g., the duty to repair) and
2. this breach caused a loss of substantial use and enjoyment of the premises, and
3. the tenant vacated the premises within a reasonable time after giving the landlord adequate notice.

Question 28

Implied Warranty of Habitability

Answer 28

breached only in a residential lease if the premises are uninhabitable.

If this occurs, the tenant has several remedies including vacating the premises, suing for damages, offsetting damages, etc.

Question 29

Duty of a Tenant

Answer 29

The tenant must pay rent. If the tenant does not pay rent but has abandoned the property, the landlord can sue the tenant for damages or treat it as a surrender (the latter excuses future rent obligations). (Sept 2020, Feb 2017, Feb 2013)

Question 30

Duty to mitigate:

Answer 30

Under common law, the landlord has no duty to mitigate damages. Many states have abandoned this approach and require that the landlord make a reasonable effort to mitigate damages (e.g., by attempting to re-rent the premises if the tenant leaves).

Question 31

The Fair Housing Act:

Answer 31

This act disallows discrimination in housing sales or rentals on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, familial status, or national origin (but not occupation). This does not apply if the owner occupies one of the units in a multiple-unit dwelling containing no more than four units occupied by persons “living independently of each other.” However, an owner may not place a discriminatory advertisement. If such advertisement is made, the owner and publisher will have violated the act

Question 32

Creation of Easement

Answer 32

easements can be created expressly, impliedly (by prior use or necessity), or by prescription.

Question 33

Termination of Easement

Answer 33

Easements may be terminated in a variety of ways such as by their

1. express terms,
2. written release,
3. merger of the dominant and servient tenements,
4. prescription,
5. estoppel,
6. condemnation, or
7. abandonment.: mere nonuse of the easement is not sufficient to abandon it. There must be an act of abandonment

Question 34

Creation of a Joint Tenancy

Answer 34

TTIP

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

Most states also require using the language “joint tenancy” and adding an express reference to “survivorship” or “survivors” to create a joint tenancy.

Question 35

Severance of a Joint Tenancy

Answer 35

(mnemonic=G SAM):

1. by giving it away during life,
2. by signing a contract for sale,
3. by an actual judicial sale by a judgment lien creditor, or
4. by granting a mortgage in a title theory state.

Question 36

Adverse Possession

Answer 36

Requirements for adverse possession include possession that’s (mnemonic=COAH)

1. continuous for the statutory period
2. open and notorious,
3. actual and exclusive
4. Hostile

One only acquires title to the area one actually possesses (unless there is color of title, a unitary tract, and possession of an amount that is reasonable in relation to the hole—in which case, the adverse possessor can acquire the whole tract).

Question 37

Taking Under Adverse Possession

Answer 37

in some circumstances, an adverse possessor may tack on the time that a prior adverse possessor had possessed the land to his own time to reach the statutory period.

Question 38

Failure to record an interest acquired by adverse possession:

Answer 38

the adverse possessor will prevail over a subsequent bona fide purchaser who complies with the recording act because there is no document that the interest holder could record.