Unit 1: Property Ownership Flashcards
Real Property is…
Land + appurtenances that benefit the land + above/below service
Appurtenant is…
Things that transfer with the land when the land is transferred to another owner (such as improvements, rights, privileges, and fixtures)
Appurtenant includes…
anything attached to the land with the intent of being permanent, like a building house and garage, and rights of ownership
Personal Property is…
Everything owned that is not real property (i.e., chattel)
Economic characteristics of real property include…
Scarcity (land is not limitless), improvements (increase value to land and neighbors), permanence of investment (return on investment tends to be long), and location (where people want to live)
Rights of real property include…
Mineral rights (natural resources below the surface), air rights (air above land), water rights (land adjacent to rivers, lakes, or oceans)
Physical characteristics of real property include…
Immobility (geographic location is fixed), indestructibility (permanence of land is stable), uniqueness (each is distinct)
Mineral and air rights are independent…
Of the surface rights of the land, an owner may transfer those w/o selling rights to the surface
Riparian vs littoral rights
Riparian rights are granted to owners of land along the course of a stream or river (and just can’t impede the flow of water) vs. littoral are the right to use available waters like lake, ocean, or sea
Water rights are…
Appurtenant to the land and are not retained when the land is sold (former owner does not enjoy once sold)
Doctor of prior appropriation states…
The first user diverting water for beneficial use (like irrigation) (arid states) has the first claim on the water
Personal property (chattels) must…
be included in the sale contract if the buyer wishes to receive it
Personal property is…
movable - any manufactured housing that is not permanently affixed to the land is personal property
Emblement is..
an annually growing corp and regarded as personal property
In the case of a tenant growing the crop on leased land…
Harvests are the tenant’s personal property
Personal property can become real property
If it becomes a fixture
A fixture is…
Personal property that has been affixed or attached to land or to improvement so that it becomes part of the real property
A fixture typically…
Transfers with the property unless the contract specifically excludes them
What is the determining factor in what constitutes a fixture
Intent - depends on (1) annexation - how permanent? (2) adaptation - used as personal? (3) agreement?
A trade fixture…
Is an article belonging to a commercial tenant and used in conducting the business of the tenant, and the tenant can remove it before termination (may lose if they don’t move before expiration)
Attachment
Attachment - an item of personal becomes real property when affixed
Severance
Removing something attached to land or an improvement resulting in an object becoming personal property
Difference between personal property and real…
An item of personal property is transferred through a bill of sale, not with a deed
Encumbrances is…
A right or interest held by someone other than the fee owner of the property (clouds on title that may impair rights or lessen value)
A Lien is…
A lien is a claim or interest in a property to secure payment of a debt and if not paid can be satisfied by forced sale
A general lien…
affects all of the debtor’s property - both personal and real property (i.e., judgment lien, inheritance lien, IRS lien)
A specific lien…
Attaches to a particular property (i.e., mechanic’s liens, mortgage liens, real estate tax liens, condo/townhome assoc. liens)
A creation of a lien is either…
Voluntary (created by action of owner) or statutory (involuntary- created without permission like taxes)
Priority of a lien…
Determines the order in which the claims will be paid off
Priority of a lien depends on…
first legally recorded are satisfied first, but real estate taxes and special assessments take priority over all other liens
Real estate tax liens include…
real estate taxes (based on assessed value) and special assessments
What is an easement?
The right to use another’s owners lands for a particular purpose
Easements are… (four things)
(1) not revocable once granted
(2) always transfers with the land at closing unless it’s released by the holder
(3) must be in writing
(4) can apply to any part or portion of real property, including a ROW across property or airspace above
Two different types of easements are…
Appurtentant easement alwys involves at least 2 separate property (servicent tenement is one run over, and dominant tenament is one using)
Easement in gross only has a servient tenmanent (i.e. utility, highway ROW)
An appurtenant easement…
runs with the land and will transfer with the deed of either parcel until it is released
An easement of necessity is…
Used to help a buyer purchase a landlocked property. Arises when they have no access and are only available to private owners
Easement by prescription
Occurs when another party uses continuously for statutory period of law
Easements are created..
between two separate parties, must be in writing
Party wall easement…
commonly share partition between two connected properties
The most common ways easements are terminated (3)
(1) When the parcels merge - they need to record/release in records
(2) Released
(3) Abandoned
A license…
Does not establish a legal interest in real property and is revocable permission
Encroachment is
Unauthorized use of another owner’s land
Encroachments are found
Either by physical inspection or a spot survey (or ILC improvement location certificate)
Lis Pendens
A recorded document that gives constructive notice of a pending lawsuit regarding title (i.e., quiet title, divorce)
Deed restrictions
Privately created controls (known as restrictive covenants or CC&Rs (covenants, conditions, and restrictions)) and maintain subdivision standard of living
Homeowners association regulations are…
privately created controls and restricted by policies or procedures
A developer transfers the right to enforce CC&Rs to the association…
When a certain % of lots or units have been sold
In the case of deeds, covenants, CC&Rs, regulations, and zoning…
The most strict rule is the one that will apply
Three types of legal descriptions:
(1): metes and bounds - most accurate if using GPS, oldest system, uses compass directions and starts and ends at POB (uses monuments to identify POB)
(2): recorded plat (lot, block, and subdivision) used in urban residential areas and divides parcel of land into blocks and lots on a plat map
(3) government survey (rectangular survey system) that divides land into squares and rectangles and measured from interactions of principal meridians and base lines
Street addresses are
not precise enough to be used on documents affecting document
To create a subdivision…
a developer must first create the plat map, then record the map
Township is
A 6-mile by 6-mile square that contains 36 sections and each section is 640 acres
List of legal description lengths:
Mile - 5280 feet
Square mile - 640 acres
Acre - 43,560 sq ft
Sq yard - 9 sq. feet
Sq foot - 144 sq in
Air lots are…
the airspace within specific boundaries located above a parcel of land
Subsurface rights are
measured below an official surfact line
Livable, usable, and rentable area
Livable area - the total area that is heated or cooled
Useable - area that a tenant can use for ordinary, daily living (commercial)
Rentable - usable area + % of common area
Surveys are authorized
To locate and confirm, as well as create the legal description of a parcel of land. A survey states the property’s legal description and a survey sketch that shows location and dimensions of the parcel (aka spot survey)
A survey may be necessary…
to discover any encroachments on a property
