Unit 1: Nature, Description, and Use of Real Estate Flashcards
Improvements
Attached to the land with the intent of being permanent
Appurtenances
Attached to and run with the land
Real estate rights
1) rights in land -air, water, and mineral rights
2) rights of ownership- right to process, transfer, and control property
3) governmental rights- give gov right to determine land use, set taxes, and take back property thru eminent domain or escheat
Rights in land : Air Rights
- extend as high as can be reasonably reached
- government controls air space
Water rights
- government controls and grants permits
- right of access not included. Can not cross another owner’s property and would need to obtain an easement
- attached to the land and can not be retained when property is sold
Boundary shifts
Accretion: additions of land, gradual accumulation thru natural causes
Reliction: land acquired from receding water
Erosion: gradual wearing away of land, may cause owner loss of land
Avulsion
Sudden loss of land through being washed away or other violent acts. (Flooding)
*Property line is maintained even if land is no longer there
Rights to support
Right to have property supported.
Owners of adjacent property can not excavate in a manner that will cause loss of support of owner’s property
Lateral Support
Support to the property sides by neighboring property. (Rock wall or sea wall)
Subjacent support
Support of surface from below
Riparian
Flowing Water: river,streams, tides
Property line is edge of water if navigable. Property line is center of river or stream if non-navigable
Littoral
Standing Water: Lakes
Property line is average high water mark
Mineral rights
Natural gas, oil, coal, gold, water
May be transferred or reserved by original owner when property is sold
Often held by a 3rd party
Chattel
Personal property Movable Not permanently attached to the land Typically does not transfer with real estate Transferred with a bill of sale
Fixture
An object that was once personal property which has been attached to an improvement so as to become real estate.
Once attached it becomes an appurtenance and transfers in the deed.
IRMA (total circumstance test)
Intent: installed with intent of improving the land?
Relationship: owner=fixture , tenant=personal property
Method of attachment: built in (nailed,screwed or glued)=fixture
Free standing=personal property
Adaptation: specific to individual property. (AC unit in window is personal, AC Unit in wall is real property)
Fixture Exceptions (transferred with a bill of sale)
Trade fixtures- May be removed before lease termination
Emblements (fructus industrials)- annually cultivated crops. Previous owner can come back to harvest.
Manufactured Housing
To be converted to real property:
1) must be on land owned by person placing home
2) must be attached to a permanent foundation
3) must have the hitch and axels removed
4) must have a cancelled DMV title
5) must meet the HUD building requirements
Modular homes
Real property once assembled and attached to foundation
Physical characteristics of land
1) immobile
2) indestructible
3) unique -all parcels differ geographically
Economic characteristics of land
Scarcity- supply in a given location can be limited
Improvements- placement on land affects value and use of neighboring parcels
Permanence of investment- sale may take considerable time. Land is not liquid
Area preference- people’s choices and desires
Legal/formal methods of land description
1) Metes and bounds
2) Rectangular government survey
3) Recorded plat
- legal descriptions do not describe improvements, only land
- improvements and appurtenances are automatically included
- street addresses not adequate legal description but can be used in a lease
- real estate is bought/sold on basis of legal description
Metes and Bounds
- Most accurate method of land description in NC
- Monuments serve as reference points for surveyor
- Must begin and end at point of beginning. If not it is ‘incomplete’ or ‘imperfect’
Metes= measures in feet, commas degrees
Bounds= shape or boundaries or directions
Rectangular Government Survey
System developed by US gov that locates parcel of land within a grid system based on its location with reference to meridians and ranges (north to south) and baselines and tiers (east to west)
Used in states west of the Mississippi
Township
Square formed by the meeting of ranges and tiers (6x6 miles)
36 square miles
36 sections per
1 section in a Township
1 mile x 1 mile = 640 acres
Square footage in 1 acre
43,560 square feet
Recorded Map Plat
Also called ‘lot, block, subdivision system, or lot and block system’
Common in urban residential areas
Recording a subdivision plat is the common way for streets in developments to become dedicated for public use
Plat
Map showing the location and boundaries of individual lots in a land subdivision
Reference to prior deed
Metes and bounds description would appear in prior recorded deed
Survey and Improvement Certificate (ILC)
- Measurement of property lines, location of houses, easements, encroachments etc
- Uses monuments
- Locates improvements
- Not used to legally set property boundaries
- reveals encroachments and zoning violations
Survey
- More detailed then ILC
- Uses monuments
- Used to create or confirm legal description, legally sets boundaries
- reveals encroachments
- does NOT reveal illegal zoning use
Government Land a Use Controls
1) Master development plan
2) Land-use classifications
3) Land-use restrictions tied to police power
4) Zoning changes/deviations
5) Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act
6) Disclosure
Master Development Plan
- Land Survey- shows present and future use of property
- Economic Survey- shows present and future economic base of the area
- Used to control growth
Land Use Classifications
1) Residential
2) Commercial
3) Industrial/manufacturing
4) Agriculture
5) Mixed
Land Use Restrictions- tied to police power
- Purpose is to protect against uncontrolled growth, protect public health, and preserve compatibility
- Building permit- ensures property owners are in compliance with building codes (concerned w/ structural integrity and public safety)
- Poposed building must comply with zoning ordinance
Certificate of Occupancy (C.O.)
Shows that building is fit for occupancy and provides evidence of compliance with building codes
Setback/side yard/ rear yard restrictions
Specify the location of improvements in relation to boundaries
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
Administers flood insurance and provides flood maps that determine where flood insurance is required
Zoning Changes/Deviations
Zoning laws: set at local level.
- Specifies types of construction allowed.
- Establishes setbacks for placement of improvements
Spot Zoning
Gives special zoning treatment to one or a group of properties that is inconsistent with the master plan
Amendment
Zoning change for an entire area.
Could cause non-conforming use
Non confirming use
Allows owner to continue present use that no longer complies with current zoning
Variances
Allows individual owners to vary or deviate from struct compliance with zoning in order to relieve or prevent economic hardship .
Does not change regulation
Conditional or special use permits
Allows a particular property to be used for special purposes that are in the public’s best interest. (Daycare center)
Cluster zoning
Typical in a planned unit development (PUD).
Uses flexible zoning to maximize open space
Overlay zoning
In addition to underlying zoning (residential or commercial).
Created at the city,county, or regional level
- school, tax or utility districts
- airport or flight paths
- aesthetic or historical preservation
Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act
Federal law that regulates sale or lease of 25 or more lots of unimproved land across state lines
Developer required to provide property report to buyers 3 days prior to accepting offer
Disclosure
Brokers explain to buyers their responsibility to verify:
- current zoning meets needs
- property not in flood plain
- proper access to highways and streets
- proper building permits
- public or private streets
- proper access to public roads , or if access is changing
Square Footage - square or rectangle
Length x Width
Square Footage- triangle
1/2 (base x height)
Volume or cubic feet
Length x width x height
27 cubic feet
Is 1 cubic yard (used in concrete)
One mile (in linear feet)
5280 linear feet
Frontage
First number used in W x L description
The side of the property that most improves property value
Front Foot
Refers to water frontage such as oceanfront or lakefront
Real estate consists of 3 things:
1) Land
2) Improvements
3) Rights
Prior Appropriation
Water rights principal states whoever first makes beneficial use of the water has priority
