Property Flashcards
All land-sales contracts have an implied warranty that requires the seller to convey marketable title, which is violated if
there is a future interest that does not agree to the transfer
An easement holder may increase the manner, frequency, or intensity of an easement’s use so long as
that increase does not unreasonably damage or interfere with the use or enjoyment of the servient estate
The doctrine of ademption by extinction causes
a devise of a specific asset to fail if a testator does not own it at the time of death
The doctrine of anticipatory breach does not apply to leases, meaning that while the landlord may sue the tenant for rent as it becomes due, a landlord may not
sue for future rent under the lease
The benefit of enforcing an equitable servitude is held only by
the original parties and their successors in interest
If only one party in an at-will lease is expressly given the right to terminate the leasehold, the lease
may be deemed unconscionable and both parties will have the ability to terminate it (generally used against landlords)
Vertical privity required for the passing of a covenant
Burdensome covenant: transfer of entire interest
Beneficial covenant: Any transfer of interest (includes lease)
A covenant touches and concerns the land when it
Affects the land’s use or value
Exceptions to a due-on-sale-clause include
Devises, descents, transfers to JT upon death; transfers to spouse or child; transfer to ex-spouse during divorce; transfers to borrower’s living trust; granting leasehold interest for less than 3 years without an option to purchase
Under the common law exoneration-of-liens doctrine, the recipient of a specific devise of real property can
use remaining assets in the testator’s estate to pay off ANY encumbrances on that property (NOTE: abolished in most jurisdictions)
Equitable servitudes differ from covenants in that
they are enforceable by injunction (rather than damages), and they do not require any form of privity to be formed
BUT like burdensome covenants, notice is required for burdensome servitudes
A non-recourse loan is
secured by collateral, without the borrower being personally liable
An easement by necessity is created when
(1) the dominant estate is virtually useless (e.g. landlocked) without the benefit of the easement
(2) the two estates were once a single tract of land, and
(3) the necessity arose when the land was severed and the two estates were created
An equitable servitude can be implied from a common scheme if
(1) the owner intended to create a common scheme
(2) the intended servitude was restrictive, and
(3) persons to be bound had notice of the servitude
NOTE: cannot be enforced against lots sold before the common scheme arose
Writing is NOT required
A person who acquires property by adverse possession can only transfer ownership of the property
by deed
Under the doctrine of estoppel by deed, a grantor who conveys an interest in land by warranty deed before owning it
Is estopped from later denying the effectiveness of that deed
For a BENEFICIAL covenant to run with the land there must be
(1) writing, (2) intent, (3) touch & concern, and (4) vertical privity
Due to the doctrine of equitable conversion, a judgement obtained against a seller after the execution of a land-sale contract
is not enforceable against the real property - even if the claim arouse before the contract was executed (e.g. sale closed)
Easements are terminated by
END CRAMPS
Estoppel, Necessity ends, Destruction, Condemnation, Release, Abandonment, Merger, Prescription, State conditions
A life tenant has the obligation to pay ordinary taxes on the real property, but only to the extent that
the life tenant receives financial benefit from the property.
When the life tenant occupies the land, the financial benefit is measured by its fair rental value
Horizontal privity requires
An interest other than the covenant promise (e.g. grantor-grantee)
A deed conveying a mortgage’s interest in the mortgaged property to a mortgagee in lieu of foreclosure allows the mortgagee to
Take immediate possession of the property without the formalities of a foreclosure
(HOWEVER - any junior interests remain attached to the property and the mortgagee’s interest is extinguished unless it was reversed)
Termination may occur before the expiration of the term when the tenant surrenders the leasehold and
the landlord accepts the return of the leasehold
A mortgagor in possession of the mortgaged property has a duty to
Not commit waste that would impair the mortgagee’s security interest in the property