Rights; Interests and Estates; Ownership Flashcards
Which of the following would be defined as real estate as opposed to real property?
* Wells, driveways, and signs on a parcel of land.
* Mobile homes temporarily parked on a parcel of land.
* Timber that has been cut and is lying on a pacel of land.
* Business equipment an owner or tenant has placed on a pacel of land.
Wells, driveways, and signs on a parcel of land.
The legal concept of real estate encompasses land and all man-made structures that are “permanently” attached to the land. The phrase “permanently attached” refers primarily to one’s intention in attaching the item. Obviously, very few if any man-made structures can be permanently atttached to the land in the literal sense. But if a person constructs a house with the intention of creating a permanent dwelling, the house is considered real estate. By contrast, if a camper affixes a tent to the land with intentions to move it to another campsite in a week, the tent would not be considered real estate.
Which of the following would be considered a property improvement?
* An alteration to land to make a more useful
* An increase in the value of a property
* A chicken coop permanently attached to land
* A parcel of land that has passed a percolation test.
A chicken coop permanently attached to land.
Improvements to real estate include such things as fences commas streets, buildings, wells, sewers, sidewalks, and peers. Modifications to land or a developers preparations of a parcel of land can include such activities as grading and clearing, neither of which are considered to be “improvements” in this sense of the word.
Which of the following best describes the physical boundaries of land?
* The surface of the earth and infinite space above the surface.
* The center of the earth and infinite space above the earth.
* The surface of the earth and all water and Minerals on or below the surface to the center of the earth.
* The surface of the earth and the air rights above the surface to the point defined by local zoning.
The surface of the earth and infinite space above the earth.
The legal concept of land encompasses the surface area of the earth; Everything been beneath the surface of the earth extending downward to its center; all natural things permanently attached to the earth; and the air above the surface of the earth extending outward to Infinity. Land, therefore, includes minerals beneath the Earth’s surface, water on or below the earth surface, and the air above the surface.
The “bundle of rights” refers to a set of rights
* enjoyed by the owner of a property.
* that is synonymous with the Bill of Rights.
* guaranteed to citizens by the statute of rights.
* specified in a deed or land contract.
Enjoyed by the owner of a property.
This group of rights includes the right to possess, use, transfer, encumber, and exclude others from using the property. (Remember: “PUTEE”). Transfer rights include the right to sell, rent, donate, assign, or bequeath. The owner may also encumber the item by mortgaging it as collateral for debt.
Which of the following best describes the legal concept of personal property?
- Any item which is acquired in a fee simple sale transaction.
- Any item of property that is not definable as real Property.
- Any movable property owned by an individual, partnership, or corporation.
- Any item that is not a natural item affixed to the earth.
Any item of property that is not definable as real property.
Personal property is any owned item which is not real estate, and the rights associated with owning the personal property item. Items of personal property are also called chattel or personalty.
The right to encumber a property means that the owner can
* sell the property to an encumbered party.
* pledge the property as collateral for debt.
* lease the property.
* assign the bundle of rights to another.
Pledge of property as collateral for a debt. to this right, such as a spouse’s right to limit the degree to which a homestead may be mortgaged.
The right to encumber the property essentially means the right to mortgage the property as collateral for debt period there may be restrictions to this right comma such as a spouse….h a homestead may be mortgaged period
A property owner leases 60 acres of agricultural land for a renewable period of five years. In the context of real estate rights, this lease represents a(n)
* transfer of a portion of the bundle of rights.
* encroachment on the bundle of rights.
* conveyance of the complete bundle of rights.
* encumbrance of the tenants rights.
A transfer of a portion of the bundle of rights.
An ordinary lease is a common example of the transfer of a portion of one’s bundle of rights. The owner relinquishes the right to possess portions of the surface, perhaps a building, in return for rent. The tenant enjoys the rights to possess and use the building over the term of the lease, after which these rights revert to the landlord. During the lease term, the tenant has no rights to the properties subsurface or airspace other than what the building occupies. Further, the tenant does not enjoy any of the other rights in the bundle of rights: he or she cannot encumber the property or transfer it. To a limited degree, the tenant may exclude persons other than the legal owner from the property.
A homeowner is very upset over a drone that a neighbor flies over his house. He takes his case to court to end this possible violation of rights. Does he have a case and on what basis?
* No. The neighbor is not physically on his property.
* No. The drone is in the air, so he cannot exercise any surface rights.
* Yes. The owner has the right to stop the encroachment.
* Yes. The drone infringes on his air rights.
Yes. The drone infringes on his air rights.
Air rights applied to the space above the surface boundaries of the parcel, as delineated by Imaginary vertical lines extending to Infinity period since the advent of aviation, property owners rights have been curtailed to allow aircraft to fly over ones property provided the overflights do not interfere with the owners use and enjoyment of the property. The issue of violation of air rights for the benefit of air transportation is an ongoing battle between aircraft owners, airlines, airports, and nearby property owners.
Littoral rights apply to which of the following?
* Boatable ponds entirely contained within the boundaries of an owners property.
* Streams and rivers.
* Navigable lakes, seas, and oceans.
* Navigable streams and rivers.
Navigable lakes, seas, and oceans.
Littoral rights concern properties abutting bodies of water that are not moving, such as lakes and seas. Owners of properties abutting a navigable, non-moving body of water enjoy the littoral right of use, but do not own the water nor the land beneath the water. The legal premise underlying the definition of littoral rights is that a lake or sea is a navigable body of water, therefore, public property owned by the state. By contrast, a body of water entirely contained within the boundaries of an owner’s property is not navigable. In such a case, the owner would own the water as well as unrestricted rights of usage
A retired couple has just bought a retirement home with a pier on a large lake. In this case the retirees water rights extend to
* the high watermark of the body of water at the shoreline.
* the low water mark at the body of water at the shoreline.
* the center of the lake.
* the end of the pier.
The high watermark of the body of water at the shoreline.
Ownership extends to the high watermark of the body of water. The low watermark would imply that the owner owned the water itself at times of high water levels!
A waterfront homeowner has just died. What will become of the water rights the owner enjoyed while living in the home?
* They revert to the state when the property is sold.
* They are extinguished.
* They are a personal right belonging to an individual owner, not attached to the real property.
* They transfer with the property when the property is sold.
They transfer with the property when the property is sold.
Littoral rights attached to the property. When the property is sold, the littoral rights transfer with the property to the new owner.
Riparian rights concern which of the following bodies of water?
* Lakes.
* Seas and oceans.
* Streams and rivers.
* Navigable lakes.
Streams and rivers.
Riparian rights concern properties abutting moving water such as streams and rivers. If a property abuts a stream or river, the owner’s riparian rights are determined by whether the water is navigable or not navigable. If the property abuts a non-navigable stream, the owner enjoys unrestricted use of the water and owns the land beneath the stream to the streams midpoint. If the waterway is in question is navigable, the waterway is considered to be a public easement. In such a case, the owners property extends to the waters edge as opposed to the midpoint of the waterway.
Which of the following best describes a “fixture”?
Any item of personal property positioned within the boundaries of a parcel of real estate.
An item of personal property that has been converted to real property.
An item of real property temporarily placed on land for the purpose of conducting a business.
An item of personal property that has been left in one location for a period of six months.
An item of personal property that has been converted to real property.
A personal property item that has been converted to real property by attachment to real estate is called a fixture. Typical examples are chandeliers, toilets, water pumps, septic tanks, and window shutters. The owner of the real property inherently owns all fixtures belonging to the real estate. When the owner sells the real property, the buyer acquires rights to all fixtures.
An item may be considered personal property as opposed to real property provided that
* the owner intended to remove it after a period of time.
* it can be removed without altering the appearance of the structure.
* it is unnecessary to the physical integrity of the structure.
* the owner installed it at some time after acquiring the real property.
The owner intended to remove it after a period of time.
One’s original intention can override the test of mobility in determining whether an item is a fixture or not. If someone attached an item to real property, yet intended to remove it after a period of time, the item is easily removable, the article may be deemed a fixture. For example, an apartment renter installs an alarm system, fully intending on removing the system upon lease expiration. Here, the alarm system would be considered personal property.
Two people own a house, each having an undivided equal interest. Which of the following best describes what each party owns?
* 50% of the physical house in the land it rests on. 100% of the house and the land.
* 50% of the estate consisting of the indivisible whole of the real property.
* Each owns 100% of the estate represented by the real property in 50% of the physical house and the land it rests on.
50% of the estate consisting of the indivisible whole of the real property.
An undivided interest is an owners fractional interest in an entire undivided estate, but not in a physical portion of the real property itself. An owner who has an undivided equal interest with another cannot exercise exclusive rights over a portion of the real estate, which is an indivisible whole.
