Real Property Flashcards
What are the elements of a valid deed? What is required for a signature?
Written
Grantor Identity (and Signature)
Grantee Identity
Words of Transfer
Description
Grantor signature mark is not invalid if it can be shown who made the mark.
Does an Easment Appurtenant need to be identified in deeds that accompany later conveyances?
No.
Can one Tenant in Common bind the other Tenant in Common in an agreement?
No, with regard to agreements regarding their ownership rights.
For Statute of Frauds purposes, does an agreement need to be in one writing?
No.
For example, it can be a letter with a signature and an email response with a signature as long as the other elements are met.
What is a lender in possession?
When a Mortgagor enters an abandoned property to prevent waste, they are a lender in possession.
They are in the “position” of the owner.
What are the grantor’s Covenant of Warranty obligations for a wrongful title claim?
The Covenant of Warranty is not breached by grantor’s refusal to defend a wrongful title claim by a third party.
What is the Doctrine of Equitable Conversion?
Once a contract is signed and each party is entitled to specific performance, equity regards the purchaser as the owner of the real property.
The seller’s interest (the rights to proceeds of the sale) are personal property.
This also affects the passage of title when a party to the contract dies.
What is estoppel by deed?
Applies to validate a deed, typically a warranty deed, that was executed and delivered by a Grantor who had no title at that time, but who represented that he or she had such title and who thereafter would aquire such title.
What is the test for HOA rules adopted by an association later and not contained in the governing documents?
A “reasonableness” standard.
Requires the balancing of utility of the purpose served by the restraint, against the harm that is likely to flow from it’s enforcement.
When does an owner title insurance policy end? Does an owner’s policy run with the land?
When the mortgage is paid off.
No, an owner’s title policy does not run with the land.
May the requirement in a land sale contract of “marketable title” be waived? If so, by who?
Yes, the buyer holds the right to either back out of a contract or waive the right to have marketable title.
Can a debtor and a mortgagor be different people?
Yes.
When does the window for challenging the marketability of title close?
Once the deed has been accepted (at conveyance/closing, the merger doctrine).
Does a life tenant hold the responsibility of paying real estate taxes on a property?
Yes. Failure to keep the property in repair, pay real estate taxes, or pay interest on any mortgage on the property all constitue permissive waste, and a life tenant cannot voluntarily commit permissive waste.
What may the landlord do when a tenant uses a premise for an illegal purpose?
Terminate the lease OR seek damages and injunctive relief.
