Property Flashcards
Are general disclaimers in the sale of real property enforceable?
An “as is” or “with all faults” clause will be enforced AS LONG AS there is no misrepresentation or fraudulent concealment.
A deed to A stated the following: “to A, her heirs and assigns, provided, however, that said grantee may not transfer any interest in the land for 10 years from the date of this instrument.” Is this a valid deed?
No, because this language is an absolute restraint on alienation. Restraints on alienation of a fee simple are void, even if they are for a limited amount of time.
What future interests does the RAP apply to?
The RAP applies to:
(1) contingent remainders,
(2) executory interests,
(3) class gifts,
(4) options and rights of first refusal, and
(5) powers of appointment.
X defaulted on the mortgage of his home. The bank foreclosed and repurchased the home at the judicial sale. Shortly thereafter, X tried to repurchase the property from the bank, which said no. If the man prevails in an action to recover title to the property, is it because of equitable redemption or statutory redemption?
If X wins it would be because the jurisdiction provides a statutory right of redemption. This is because the equitable right of redemption exists only until a foreclosure sale occurs.
By will, A left her farm to B, C, and D as tenants in common. At A’s death, the farm was encumbered by a mortgage given by A to X in exchange for a $20k loan. X properly foreclosed the mortgage. At the foreclosure sale, B purchased the property for $15k. What is B’s interest in the farm?
B owns the farm, but C and D may reacquire their interests by paying B $5k each. The acquisition by one co-tenant of any outstanding title or lien that might affect the estate held by all the co-tenants is deemed to be an acquisition on behalf of all the other co-tenants as well. Thus, B must give the other co-tenants a reasonable time to pay their share and acquire a proportionate interest.
How does a co-tenant adversely possess against other co-tenants?
A co-tenant can establish title by adverse possession if her possession is hostile to other co-tenants. To satisfy this requirement, she must either physically oust them from the property or constructively oust by informing them that she is asserting exclusive control over the property.
Who is responsible for paying property taxes, a life tenant or the holder of the future interest?
The life tenant must pay taxes.
O conveyed 400 acres of land to Y for life, with the remainder going to Z. The 400 acres had an operating gravel pit at the time of the conveyance as well as a vacant house in poor condition. Y wants to increase the gravel pit, tear down the trees, and tear down the house. Can Z prevent any of this from happening?
Z can stop the tree cutting, but not the gravel pit expansion or the destruction of the house.
Generally, a life tenant can only maintain the property and not sell off any of the natural resources, but there is an exception for existing exploitation of these resources. Because the gravel put was operating prior to Y’s taking of the life estate, that preexisting use is protected and the son is not liable for continuing the use of the gravel pit.
Further, a life tenant may not generally tear down improvements simply because he wants to make a more profitable use of the land. But an exception exists when changed conditions have made the destruction of the improvement reasonably necessary. Here, the house was on the edfe of the pit, vacant, and in poor condition. Changed conditions have made the house reasonably unsuitable, so Y can tear it down.
What are the 5 exceptions to the common law rule that a landlord is under no duty to make the premises safe?
CLAPS
(1) Common areas,
(2) Latent defects,
(3) Assumption of repairs,
(4) Public use rule, and
(5) Short-term lease of furnished dwelling.
When will a merger extinguish an easement?
For there to be a merger, the duration of the servient estate must be equal to or longer than the duration of the dominant estate. In other words, if X owns the dominant estate in fee simple and later acquires title to the servient estate as a life estate, there will be no merger because the duration of the servient estate is shorter.
If X purchases property from Y that is subject to a mortgage, is X responsible for the mortgage?
No. X will only be responsible for the mortgage if he “assumed” the mortgage. Accordingly, the bank can only sue Y on the underlying debt since he did not assume the mortgage.
X leased 150 acres from Y for farming. There was also a house on the land that was being used by one of X’s foreman. A few years into the lease, the state condemned a portion of the leased property to build a highway. X gave Y written notice that it considered the lease to have been terminated because of the condemnation. In a suit for breach of contract, will Y win?
Yes, because the condemnation did not affect the produce company’s obligation to pay the full rental price, although it is entitled to share in the condemnation award.
The day after a seller completed the sale of his house and moved out, one of the slates flew off the roof during a windstorm. The slate struck a pedestrian who was on the public sidewalk. The pedestrian was seriously injured.
The roof is old and has lost several slates in ordinary windstorms on other occasions when the seller was present. The pedestrian was also aware that past windstorms had blown slates off the roof.
If the pedestrian sues the seller to recover damages for his injuries, will the pedestrian prevail?
Yes, because the seller should have been aware of the condition of the roof and should have realized that it was dangerous to persons outside the premises.
A possessor of real property’s duties continue after the sale, until the buyer has had a reasonable opportunity to discover the nonobvious dangers on the property. Thus, the seller’s duty to pedestrians in this question remains because it is merely the day after the sale, and slates that blow off during windstorms are a dangerous, nonobvious condition that the seller knew about from prior windstorms.
