Real Property

Question 1

To obtain title to real property by adverse possession in Virginia, the party seeking title must prove this his possession was:

Answer 1

(1) actual and visible; (2) exclusive; (3) hostile to the owners rights; and (4) continuous for the statutory period of 15 years.

Question 2

Where members of a condo association have misused common areas of the property in violation of association rules and to the detriment of other members, who has standing to sue?

Answer 2

Only the condominium unit owners’ association has standing to sue for claims related to common areas and limited common areas.

Question 3

Where all the requirements of adverse possession are met except that the possessor actually had the owner’s permission to possess & use the real property, the possessor is presumed to have:

Answer 3

A revocable license

Question 4

A license to use real property may be granted

Answer 4

orally, and is freely revocable. It will defeat a claim of title by adverse possession because the possession was not adverse or hostile to the rights of the owner.

Question 5

Private nuisance requires

Answer 5

an action that unreasonably interferes with the use and enjoyment of plaintiff’s land in a way unique to the plaintiff

Question 6

To obtain injunctive relief, a plaintiff not only has to prove the existence of a nuisance, but also

Answer 6

the inadequacy of a remedy at law

Question 7

A non-breaching party may seek specific performance when

Answer 7

legal remedies (such as money damages) are inadequate.

Question 8

Specific performance is always available for

Answer 8

land sale contracts because all land is considered unique.

Question 9

For there to be a valid land sale contract, the _______ __ ______ must be satisfied.

Answer 9

statute of frauds

Question 10

The statute of frauds requires

Answer 10

the purchase and sale of real property to be memorialized by a writing that is signed by the party to be charged.

Question 11

The statute of frauds does not require that the writing be

Answer 11

formal. Instead, any writing satisfies the statute of frauds if it contains every essential term of the oral agreement that it memorializes.

Question 12

The three essential terms of a land sale contract include:

Answer 12

(1) the name of the parties, (2) the price and manner of payment (if agreed upon), and (3) a description of the property sufficient to render it capable of identification.

Question 13

The holder of an easement has the right to

Answer 13

use another’s tract of land for a special purpose (such as accessing a road) but has no right to possess that land.

Question 14

An easement is appurtenant when it

Answer 14

benefits the holder in their physical use or enjoyment of another tract.

Question 15

So, for an easement to be appurtenant, there must

Answer 15

be two tracts: a dominant tenement and a servient tenement.

Question 16

The dominant tenement is the estate

Answer 16

benefited by the easement.

Question 17

The servient tenement is the estate that is

Answer 17

burdened by the easement.

Question 18

The benefit of an easement passes automatically

Answer 18

with the dominant estate, even if it is not mentioned in the deed.

Question 19

An easement can be created by

Answer 19

express grant or reservation, implication, or prescription.

Question 20

When the owner of a tract of land sells a part of the tract and by this division deprives one lot of access to a public road,

Answer 20

a right-of-way by absolute necessity is created by implied grant or reservation over the lot with access to the public road.

Question 21

To create the easement by necessity, the plaintiff must prove that

Answer 21

at one time in the past the same person owned both the dominant and servient tenements .

Question 22

An easement by necessity is not allowed when

Answer 22

there is available another means of ingress and egress to and from the claimant’s land, even though it may be less convenient and will involve some labor or expenses to repair and maintain.

Question 23

Scope of Easements by Necessity

Answer 23

With easement by necessity, the extent of the necessity determines the scope of the easement and the court will look to the circumstances giving rise to such an easement.

Question 24

Who do the recording acts protect?

Answer 24

Bona fide purchasers and mortgagees (i.e. creditors)

Question 25

A bona fide purchaser is one who:

Answer 25

buys for value AND without notice that someone else got their first at the time of closing

Question 26

VA’s Recording Statute

Answer 26

Virginia has a race-notice recording system. The statute reads like a notice statute but the Virginia Supreme Court has added the requirement (i.e. it has so determined) that to prevail the bona fide purchaser (BFP) must also win the race to record.

Question 27

Under a race-notice recording system, the subsequent purchaser must be

Answer 27

a bona fide purchaser and must record their interest first (i.e. win the race to record).

Question 28

Types of Notice

Answer 28

Actual notice - Prior to B’s closing B learns of A

NO INQUIRY NOTICE IN VIRGINIA - whether he examines Blackacre prior to closing or not, B is on inquiry notice of whatever an examination of Blackacre would have revealed

Record Notice - B is on record notice of A’s deed if at the time B takes, A’s deed was properly recorded within the chain of title

Question 29

Doctrine of Merger AND collateral agreements

Answer 29

Under the doctrine of merger, provisions in a contract for sale are extinguished and merged into the deed.
Therefore, if a buyer has a claim against a seller, then the basis of the claim must be based on the covenants in the deed, if any, and not
on the contract itself.

However, provisions which are collateral to the passage of title and not covered by the deed are not
merged into the deed and survive its execution. Not all agreements between the parties regarding the purchase and sale of
the property are contained in the deed. Such agreements are considered collateral to the sale if they are distinct agreements
made in connection with the sale of the property, if they do not affect the title to the property, if they are not addressed in the deed, and if they do not conflict with the deed. See Woodson v. Smith, 128 Va. 652 (1920); Beck v. Smith, 260 Va. 452, 538
S.E.2d 312 (2000); Winn v. Aleda Construction, 227 Va. 304 (1984). If an agreement meets these criteria, it is a collateral agreement, is not merged into the deed, and survives the execution of the deed.

Question 30

To establish fraud,

Answer 30

P must prove a false representation of a material fact made knowingly by D, with the intent to mislead and be relied upon by P to his detriment.

The element of misrepresentation can also be established by proving
a concealment of a material fact.

Reliance may not be justified, however, when a potential buyer undertakes investigation
regarding a matter at issue because the buyer is charged with knowledge that the investigation reveals or knowledge that would
have been revealed had the investigation been pursued diligently.

Question 31

A deed may validly convey real property by inter vivos gift so long as there is

Answer 31

[1] donative intent, [2] delivery, and [3]

acceptance.

Question 32

The deed must

Answer 32

[1] be in writing, [2] signed by the grantor; and reasonably identifies [3] the parties and [4] the land.

Question 33

With respect to the identification of the parties in the dep, the parties’ names need

Answer 33

only to be reasonably identifiable.

Question 34

Delivery of the deed can occur

by various methods, including

Answer 34

manual delivery.

Question 35

The grantee becomes bound by the terms of the deed by

Answer 35

his acceptance of a
deed delivered by the grantor, even though a deed is signed only by the grantor. Acceptance on the part of the grantee can
be implied since the conveyance is presumed to be beneficial.

Question 36

The suretyship provision of the Statute of Frauds provides that

Answer 36

no action concerning an agreement shall be brought
against any person upon a promise to answer for the debt, default, or misdoings of another, unless that agreement is in writing
and signed by the party to be charged or his agent. VA Code §11-2.

Question 37

A collateral undertaking applies when the promisor is

Answer 37

merely a surety or guarantor, receives no direct benefit, and is liable only if the debtor defaults.

Question 38

Is a grantee who assumes an

existing mortgage a surety?

Answer 38

No. A grantee who assumes an
existing mortgage is not a surety. The grantee makes no promise to the mortgagee to pay the debt of another, but promises the grantor to pay the mortgagee the debt the grantee owes to the grantor. Thus, a valid deed containing an assumption clause,
when accepted by the grantee, is an enforceable agreement to assume the mortgage debt

Question 39

The parol evidence rule applies to written instruments. Does it also apply to deeds?

Answer 39

Yes.

Question 40

Parole evidence is inadmissible to

Answer 40

vary or contradict a complete and
unambiguous written instrument. Where the language of a deed is explicit, the intention is clear, and the result is not repugnant, the court should look no further than the four corners of the instrument.

Question 41

A contract may be reformed or rescinded in equity on the ground of

Answer 41

mutual mistake. A unilateral mistake of fact, on the other hand, will not invalidate a contract.

Question 42

With a general warranty deed, the grantor

Answer 42

covenants against title defects that either he or his predecessors created.

Question 43

The English Covenants of Title include

Answer 43

seisin, the right to convey, quiet possession, further assurances, and no encumbrances.

Question 44

Seisin is a covenant that

Answer 44

the grantor has the interest that he purported to convey.

Question 45

Right to convey assures that

Answer 45

the grantor has the right, power and authority to convey the property.

Question 46

Quiet possession covenants that

Answer 46

the grantee can peaceably and quietly hold and possess the property without demand or claim to the property from a third party.

Question 47

Further assurances is a

Answer 47

covenant to execute deeds or otherwise take action to perfect title if necessary.

Question 48

No encumbrances assures that there

Answer 48

are no encumbrances against title or interest in the property.

Question 49

A general warranty deed and the English Covenants of Title guarantee against

Answer 49

defects in title, not defects in the condition of the property.