Types of Real Estate Ownership Flashcards
____ means ownership or interest in a property
Estate
Home ownership for an undetermined length of time.
Freehold
The right of possession without ownership
leasehold estate
Leasehold estate is also known as
leased fee
Types of Freehold Estates
Fee Simple and Life Estates
This estate is an inheritable freehold estate. refers to a form of ownership, not tenancy, so the owner of a fee simple estate can will the property and/or successor can inherit the property.
Fee simple
This estate provides the most complete form of ownership and includes the bundle of rights.
Fee simple absolute
Rights of ownership are conditional
fee simple defeasible
The grantor (seller) has placed a limitation on the deed.
Defeasible
Conveyed to heirs by will
Fee simple
Ownership conveyed by deed
Life Estate
Fee simple defeasible is also known as
Qualified fee
A type of fee simple defeasible estate, and an inheritable freehold estate, where the title remains with the new owner as long as the conditions of ownership are being met. “So as long”
fee simple determinable
The estate is another type of fee simple defeasible estate that is also an inheritable, defeasible freehold estate, but it is recognized by the words “but if” in the deed. The estate continues unless a specific even occurs, in which case ownership may revert to the owner or the owner’s successors. termination and recovery of ownership must be achieved through a court order.
Fee on Condition
An estate that includes ownership, possession, and control for someone’s lifetime.
Life Estate
Abuse of a property by a person who holds interest through a life estate
act of waste
A life estate with remainder interests refers to a situation in which a ______ named by the owner when forming the estate receives title to the property upon the death of the life tenant.
remainderman
refers to the remainderman’s right to fee simple title upon the death of the life tenant.
Remainder interests
a life estate in which property title reverts to the owner upon the death of the life tenant.
reversionary interest
life estate is created by a property owner who grants an estate to someone for the duration of another individual’s life.
pur autrie vie
an estate for a specified period of time; e.g., a one-year lease or a six-month lease.
estate for years
one that renews itself automatically at the end of each lease period unless one of the parties to the lease terminates it. This type of lease often results when an estate for years ends. If the landlord and tenant agree that the tenant may remain but no new estate for years is established, an estate from period to period may result. A month-to-month lease is a periodic estate.
periodic estate aka estate from period to period
Tenancy for an unknown period of time. Either party can terminate the lease by giving notice to the other party.
estate at will
Estate at will is also known as
tenancy at will
a form of legal life estate and refers to a wife’s interest in the real estate owned by her deceased husband. Dower isn’t recognized in all states.
Dower
a form of legal life estate and refers to a husband’s interest in the real estate owned by his deceased wife. Curtesy isn’t recognized in all states.
Curtesy
The state’s power to claim property when an owner dies without a will and without heirs or creditors.
Escheat
A type of estate that gives the owner special protections in property used as a family home. Not all states recognize the homestead concept.
Homestead
Refusing to leave the property when the lease terminates
Estate at Sufferance
One person owns the property, and all other interests are severed.
Estate in severalty
Property with ownership by more than one person, also called concurrent ownership.
Co-ownership
Types of co-ownership
Tenancy in common, Joint tenancy and Tenancy by the entirety
Each person is entitled to possession of the whole. If one dies, that person’s ownership is inheritable, and doesn’t necessarily pass to the other owner(s)
Tenancy in common
equal ownership with undivided rights of possession and requires unity of four separate conditions: All owners must have the same type of interest in the property, all must receive their title at the same time from the same source, all must have the same percentage of ownership, and all must have the right to undivided possession in the property. Joint tenancy includes the right of survivorship, meaning when one joint tenant dies, that person’s share automatically goes to the other surviving joint tenant(s).
Joint tenancy
as the right of survivorship. Only available to married couples, this form of ownership also includes unity of time, title, interest, possession, and marriage. Key to this form of ownership is that creditors of one spouse can’t attach liens to or sell the interest of the debtor spouse. Only creditors with claims against the couple may attach and sell the interest of the property owned in this manner. Also, one spouse can’t transfer interest in the property without the consent of the other spouse. Tenancy by the entirety can’t be reduced to tenancy in common or joint tenancy. Such a change of ownership would require divorce, an annulment, or for the couple to amend the title.
Tenancy by the entirety
Types of ownership termination are:
Termination of joint tenancies and Termination of co-ownership by partition
Joint tenants may sell their personal share of ownership; however, the buyer of that share does not become a joint tenant, because the required four unities do not exist. The new buyer didn’t receive a title at the same time as the other tenants, so the unity of time is destroyed. Therefore, the new owner is a tenant in common. The remaining tenants continue as joint tenants, with the right of survivorship shared between them. The new buyer, as a tenant in common, has an inheritable share.
Termination of joint tenancies
Remember that in a tenancy in common, each person is entitled to possession of the whole. But what if you hate your co-tenant(s)? In that case, you may want to bring legal action to have the property partitioned, which would allow each tenant to have a specific, divided portion (partition) of the property exclusively. In the case of an equitably divided piece of land, each tenant would receive title to a separate tract according to that person’s share of interest. In cases where it’s impossible to do an equitable split, a court may order the sale of the property and determine the appropriate share of proceeds to be distributed to the tenants in common.
Termination of co-ownership by partition
when two or more people who aren’t married to one another buy a property through a deed and don’t state an ownership type
Tenants in common
May be created by a will; otherwise deed must identify each owner as a joint tenant
Joint Tenancy
Possession only co-ownership
Tenants in common
Time, Title, Interest, Possession Co-Ownership
Joint Tenancy
Time, Title, Interest, Possession Co-Ownership, Person
Tenancy by the entirety
All property acquired by either spouse during their marriage (with the exceptions of property that was gifted, inherited, and in some cases the result of personal injury recovery, which are all considered “separate property”) is considered community property regardless of which spouse’s name is on the title.
Community property rights
Nine states have community property rights:
Arizona, California, Idaho, Louisiana, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin.
