PSI Exam Flashcards
to pass the PSI
The land and anything permanently affixed to it
real property
movable objects (chattels) that do not fit into the definition of real property
personal property
an item of personal property that has been converted to real property be being permanently affixed to the land or building
fixture
A fixture that is permitted to be and is detached from the land or the building would revert to personal property and can also be called
severance
geographic location of a parcel of land is fixed and can never change is called
immobile
the long term nature of improvements plus permanence of the land tends to create stability in land development is its quality of being
indestructible
all parcels differ geographically and each parcel has its own location
unique or nonhomogeneous
supply in given location or of a specific quality can be limited would be
scarcity
placement of an improvement on a parcel of land affects value and use of neighboring parcels of land.
improvements
improvements represent a large fixed investment; some such as drainage and sewerage cannot be dismantled or removed economically.
permanence of investment
refers to peoples choices and desires for a given area
area preference or situs
to locate a property bound requires two permanent reference markers, has a POB, uses reference to linear measurements, may be established on distance between monuments (fixed objects), and returns to POB to be fully enclosed is what type of legal property description
metes and bounds
based on measurements from base lines and principal meridians, where base lines run east to west and meridian lines north to south, and forms townships and township lines.
rectangular survey
all parallel base lines that run 6 miles apart divide land into strips east and west of the principal meridian that are referred to as _____ and meridian lines that run 6 miles apart divide the land into strips north and south of the baseline are referred to as _____
ranges; tiers
a township is __ miles square, which is ___ square miles.
6; 36
a square mile contains ___ acres and one acre is equal to ______ square feet.
640; 43,560
to determine the number of acres in a rectangular survey description, multiply all the denominators and divide the result of this mulitplication into 640 acres. NW 1/4 of the SW 1/4 =
4x4= 16 divided into 640 acres = 40 acres
____ rights may be owned by the owner of the surface rights or by separate third party owners of subsurface rights, such as natural gas or oil companies, as well as by developers or the homebuilder.
mineral rights
if the subsurface rights are owned by an oil company, the landowner could find an oil well on his property over which he or she would
have little or no control.
the right to occupy, use, or control the space above a property, frequently utilized in larger cities
air rights
ownership is determined by state law
water rights
rights granted to owners along a non-navigable river or stream.
reparian rights
rights granted to owners along an ocean or a large lake
littoral rights
right to use water is controlled by the state rather than the adjacent landowner.
prior appropriation
charge, claim, or liability that attaches to real estate
encumbrance
affects the title, and is a charge against a property that provides security for a debt or obligation of the property owner.
liens
type of lien that refers to specific real or personal property, and include real estate taxes, mortgages, and mechanics liens
specific liens
type of liens that usually take priority over all other liens
real estate property taxes and special assessments
private limitation on the use of property.
deed restriction or restrictive covenant
an _____ is a right acquired by one party to use the land of another party for a specific purpose
easement
gives the easement beneficiary the right to use another’s property
appurtenant easement
the tract over which the easement runs is known as the _____ ; the tract that benefits from the easement is known as the ________
servient tenement; dominant tenement
personal interest in or right to use the land of another, such as the right of way for a utility company
easement in gross
arises when there is no other access to a property by a street or public way, and the easement is required by necessity rather than convenience
easement by necessity
permission to enter the land of another for a specific purpose, such as permission to park in a neighbors driveway or to go hunting on another’s property.
license
illegal extension of a building or some other improvement
encroachment
all owners have equal right of possession. May hold equal or unequal shares. each owner can sell, convey, mortgage, or transfer his or her interest without the consent of the other co-owners, upon the death of the co-owner, the individual interest of the deceased passes to heirs or devisees according to the will and there is no right of survivorship
tenants in common
all owners have equal shares, if one owner or tenant dies, this share is automatically transferred to the other owners without going through probate, must have time, title, interest and possession.
joint tenancy
owners must be husband and wife, have the right of survivorship, title may be conveyed only by deed signed by both parties.
tenancy by the entirety
the owner of a life estate in property
is entitled to possession of the property.
three individuals own a motel as tenants in common. one of the individuals decides to sell all of her assets. she may legally
sell, because a tenant in common has an undivided interest in real property that is transferable.
when a landowner tears down a fence, with the intention that it be permanently removed, and piles the material on the land, such material is real property. T/F
False
specific liens would not include
judgements
a farmer purchased land with no access to a street or public way. after an unsuccessful attempt to gain access through negotiation, he was able to gain access through an
easement by necessity.
a woman built a fence that extended beyond the boundary of her property onto her neighbors property. this is an example of
an encroachment.
a grandmother owned a life estate measured by her own life in residence. she leased the property for five years using a standard lease contract. shortly thereafter, she died. the lease was
valid only as long as she was alive.
an electrician did some rewiring in a home for which he has not yet been paid. one month after the work was completed, the electrician drove by the home to discover a for sale sign on the property. the electrician should
file a mechanics lien.
included among the legal requirements of taking title to real property as tenants in common is that
each co-owner may have unequal shares in the property.
a homeowner employed a contractor to build a swimming pool on his property. upon completion, the contractor filed a lien to receive payment of the contract fee. such filing could be considered any of the following except
a general lien
a family buys a 40 year old house, and the broker tells them the garage was built 30 years ago. because the buildings are located on a “postage stamp sized” lot, the family hires a surveyor who tells them the garage extends six inches onto the neighbors lot. because the husband has taken a real estate course, he realizes that this might be a prescriptive easement and through court proceedings could become
adverse possession.
a man has an unrecorded claim affecting the title to another mans property. the owner has been trying to sell the property and the man with the claim is concerned about the possibility of it selling before a judgement of some kind is obtained. to protect himself, the man with the claim should
file a lis pendens, which means litigation pending.
Garcia and Johnson own adjoining parcels of real estate. Garcia has granted Johnson an easement over his property for ingress and egress. if Johnson decided to sell his land to Davis,
the status of the dominant and servient tenements will not change.
legal seizure of property to be held for payment of money pending the outcome of a suit to enforce collection is
an attachment
two individuals bought a building and took title as joint tenants. one of the owners died testate. the remaining owner now owns the building
in severalty.
a husband and wife own property as tenants by the entireties. the husband dies and his will names their son as inheritor of the property. which of the following statements is correct?
the son has no interest in the property.
two brothers may take title to income property in unequal shares under which of the following?
tenants in common
legal description may not be based on
a street address.
a land description that begins at a specific point and proceeds around the boundaries of a parcel by reference to linear measurements and directions is based on
metes and bound
in the government survey system
base lines run east and west.
you and your sister own a house. your sister would like to sell her interest in the house to a cousin. you and your sister own the house under which of the following?
tenancy in common
a plumber sells his home, in which he has installed washerless faucets. after the contract has been executed, he decides to replace the faucets with standard faucets. which of the following is true?
the plumber can be held liable for removing the faucets, because they are fixtures that were in place before the contract was signed.
which of the following forms of ownership may only be held by a wife and a husband?
tenancy by the entirety
johnson sold his house; it included a water softener, which he had bought the previous year. johnson’s water softener would be classifed as
a fixture.
you bought a property that measure 1/2 mile by 1/2 mile. how many acres did you purchase?
160 acres.
you are traveling directly from section 6 to section 36 of the same township. you are traveling what direction?
southeast.
charles holds a life estate in a house measured against his life. charles’ life estate is
limited in duration to the life estate owners’ life.
a man and a woman own their house as tenants by the entirety. which of the following statements would not correctly describe the status of their ownership?
either owner may convey a one-half interest in the house to a third party.
the county zoo holds title to its land with the condition that if it charges admission fees, the title will revert to the original grantor of the estate. this is an example of
defeasible fee estate.
a farmer purchased a parcel of land described as the N 1/2 of the SW 1/4 and the S 1/2 of the NW 1/4. How many acres are in this legal description?
160 acres.
which of the following would not generally be included in the definition of real estate?
chattels
you purchased the right to live in an apartment in a resort for the 32nd week of each calendar year for the next 30 years. the type of interest you have is called
time-share estate.
When the county board acquires land for a freeway, it is exercising the power of
eminent domain
one example of the use of police power by a city is
environmental protection laws.
a building housing an insurance agency existed before the property was rezoned residential. the insurance agency building has now been grandfathered in. this is an example of
a nonconforming use
radon generally enters a house through the
basement floor.
a mineral used for many years as insulation on heat ducts is
asbestos
which of the following was an insulating material pumped between the walls of a house and banned from use in the 1970s?
urea-formaldehyde foam
all of the following may be sources of goundwater contamination except: underground storage tanks, waste-disposal sites, pesticides on farms, or cement.
cement
all of the following requirements generally are covered by building codes except
minimum number of square feet of land area per apartment unit
strict liability means that
an owner is responsible to an injured party without excuse.
which of the following terms refers to a dangerous health hazard that can occur when asbestos ages and starts to disintegrate and become airborne?
friable
which of the following best describes a buffer zone?
a recreational area located between a residential area and an office park
police power controls include all of the following except
deed restrictions.
a tire company has a manufacturing plant located in an area that recently has been zoned residential. the company is allowed to operate under the new zoning ordinance. however, if the plant is completely destroyed by a fire, the company may
not construct another tire plant in the neighborhood without being granted a zoning variance.
which of the following provides for monetary compensation to an owner in the event that the owner’s property is taken to build a new freeway?
condemnation
a property is assessed at $300,000 the taxing body uses a 52% assessment ratio and 40 mills is the tax rate. what is the monthly property tax?
$520
a buyer made an offer on a building subject to an inspection. during the due diligence period, disintegrating airborne asbestos fibers were discovered. this condition is called
friable
a potential homeowner should have a certified inspector check around toilets, showers, sinks, and basement walls to detect what kind of problem?
mold
which statement correctly describes mold as an environmental concern?
stachybotrys chartarum in sufficient amounts has been associated with severe health problems
The characteristics required for a property to have value include all of the following except
depreciation
you own land worth $40,000 and your building has a replacement cost of $160,000. what would be the value if the appraiser used a depreciation rate of 30%?
$152,000
Which of the following does NOT apply to the definition of market value?
Market value is the average price that a property will bring.
The annual net income for an office building is $20,000. If an owner realized a 9% return on her investment, the value of the building would be
$222,222
you look at four similar houses for sale in the same area and choose the house with the lowest asking price. you probably are basing your decision on the principle of
substitution
a builder developed a subdivision in which the demand for homes was great. he sold the last lot in his subdivision for a much higher price than that for which he had sold the first lot in the area. this example illustrates the principle of
supply and demand
in appraising a special-purpose building such as a post office, the most reliable approach to an indication of its value would generally be the
cost approach
which of the following is an example of locational obsolescence?
a zoning ordinance allowing a decrease in minimum lot size
economic obsolescence results from all of the following except
outdated kitchens
depreciation generally applies to
the building only
a principal factor for which adjustments must be made in using the market/data approach is
the date of sale
an appraiser is estimating the value of a building that has net income of $5,000 per quarter and a capitalization rate of 8%. what is the value of this property?
$250,000
an appraiser is using the gross-rent-multiplier (GRM) method to estimate the market value of a single family home. the home has an annual gross income of $7,200, with quarterly expenses of $900. the recognized GRM for the neighborhood is 110. the appraiser’s estimate of value is likely to be
$66,000
the GRM is used in the
income approach for single family homes
in determining the value of a 20 unit apartment building, the appraiser has established the gross income from rents. after deducting the loss for vacancies and collection losses from this gross income, the appraiser would have established the
effective gross income
what is the first step an appraiser would take to arrive at an estimated value using the income approach?
determine annual potential gross income.
an airport routing was changed, with the result that airplanes flew over a residential area. the subsequent loss in value caused by the airplane noise would be best described as
external or economic obsolescence.
which of the following factors would be considered in the market/data or sales comparison approach to value?
conditions under which property was sold
out-modeled plumbing fixtures are an example of
curable functional obsolescence
