unit 10 Flashcards
The charge on real estate to raise funds to meet the public needs of a government is
taxation.
A Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) wage lien
attaches to all real and personal property, with the exception of homestead property, belonging to an employer who owes back wages.
Tax appraisals in Texas reflect which of the following?
One hundred percent of a property’s market value
A father sells a lakeside property to his daughter. He puts an easement in the deed that gives him the right to enter the property to fish. This is an easement by
express reservation.
Which provides for ownership of real estate to revert to the state when an owner dies and leaves no heirs and no will?
Escheat
After a tax foreclosure sale, a deed is given to the successful bidder. Which of the following is a condition of that deed?
The deed conveys all right, title, and interest of the defaulted taxpayer, including the right to use and possess the property.
A mortgage lien on a home is
a voluntary specific lien.
Texas law permits the taking of private property for all conditionsEXCEPT
economic development and enhancement of tax revenue.
A federal tax lien is
a statutory involuntary lien.
In most cases, the homestead is exempt from forced sale by creditors for payment of debts. However, how many lien rights have been determined to be foreclosable?
9
If a property owner claims that errors were made in the appraisal of a property, which doesNOToccur during the protest period phase?
A property owner must present an independent appraisal to the appraisal review board.
The purpose of which of the following is to provide water, sewer, drainage, and flood-control-protection facilities for properties located outside the boundaries of a town or city?
A utility district
The king owns the land and individuals are merely tenants under
the feudal system.
Texans may drill for and pump as much groundwater as they choose as long as they do not waste the water or damage a neighbor’s property. But what if pumping water leads to subsidence (sinking) of a neighboring property or even causes a sinkhole to open?
Landowners may be found liable for negligent pumping of ground water.
Ad valorem taxes become a lien on a property on
January 1 of the tax year.
Which of the following statements isTRUEregarding littoral rights?
They are attached to the land and cannot be retained when the property is sold.
They refer to water rights of owners of land that borders on lakes.
They refer to water rights of owners of land that borders on oceans.
The primary source of income from the land doesNOThave to be farming to qualify for which method of rural land valuation?
Open-space valuation
If a property owner doesNOTpay a carpenter for work or materials provided, the carpenter is protected through
a mechanic’s lien.
What are the primary ways that local governments can control the use of property?
Zoning and building codes
If homeowners loses their appeal to the appraisal review board, they
may further appeal the decision to the State Office of Administrative Hearings.
Owners with littoral rights own the land to
the mean vegetation line.
A vendor’s lien is a claim on real estate
by the seller of the property.
Which statement doesNOTapply to homestead property in Texas?
A family can have several homestead properties at one time.
If the defeasible fee estate doesNOTautomatically end on the occurrence or nonoccurrence of a stipulated condition, the type of estate is
a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent.
Freehold estates that cannot be left to the owner’s heirs are
not inheritable.
Which transfers with the title of the property?
Appurtenant easements
An income tax lien is what kind of lien?
General, involuntary
Is it possible for a delinquent taxpayer to recover any funds once a property is sold at auction?
Yes, money raised at auction pays off delinquent taxes and fees, but any excess may be returned to the delinquent owner.
Which of the following is a decree issued by a court to settle the rights and liabilities of parties to a lawsuit?
Judgment
If a homeowner does not pay the ad valorem taxes on his residence after they are billed, the tax collector
must take the delinquent taxpayer to court to foreclose on the tax lien.
A couple with three children owns an urban homestead in Texas. When will the homestead protections end?
When the youngest child reaches 18 years of age, if both parents are deceased
If a landowner grants a dog breeder a piece of property, but only on the condition that the breeder raise only farm dogs—but who is then found be raising toy poodles—can the grantor take back the property?
Yes, but the grantor would have to go to court to retrieve the title.
Are home equity loans foreclosable again Texas homesteads?
Home equity loans, regardless of purpose, are foreclosable.
A person with a large home and surrounding property creates a determinable fee estate so long as a specific church uses it for the church’s services. What happens to the property if the church goes out of business?
The house and surrounding property reverts to the original owner or heirs of the original owner.
Groundwater is a precious commodity in Texas, and even though landowners are allowed to pump as much as they’d like—as long as they don’t waste it—does that mean that there are no controls?
Groundwater conservation districts may require landowners to report how much water they pump and regulate the spacing of wells.
If a landowner grants an easement to a rancher for the purpose of grazing cattle, but the rancher then retires and sells off the herd, what happens to the easement?
The easement is abandoned when the rancher retires and no longer has cattle.
A claim against a seller’s property in the event that the seller fails to deliver title is which of the following?
Vendee’s lien
If gold is discovered on a rancher’s property and he decides to sell mineral rights to a mining company, can he later deny the miners access to the claim when he realizes its value unless they pay a toll to cross his property?
The mining company has a right to access through an easement by implication.
If a landowner has a navigable stream cutting across his property, does he own the stream?
No, land adjoining navigable streams usually is owned to the mean vegetation line, and the state owns the remaining land.
A homestead may suffer forced sale for nonpayment of loans from which the proceeds were used to settle property claims in cases of death or
divorce.
If a property has an involuntary lien against it, the lien
can remain and the purchaser will buy the property subject to the lien.
If Center City levies a special assessment against residents in a new subdivision for the extension of water lines into the new area, it is what kind of tax?
Specific, involuntary
If the owner of a lot in a new subdivision announces he is going to build a modern architecture home on the property while all the other homes in the division are Spanish style, can he be stopped?
Yes he can be stopped if the subdivision has a deed restriction requiring all homes to be of Spanish architecture.
Do homeowners always want the lowest possible appraisal?
No, if a homeowner is preparing to sell the property, a higher appraisal would help justify a higher listing price.
Taxes levied on real estate that require property owners to pay for improvements that benefit the real estate they own are which of the following?
Special assessments
Rights granted to owners of land located along the course of a river or stream and patented into private ownership before July 1, 1895, are which of the following?
Riparian rights
Proceeds from the sale of the homestead are exempt from creditors for six months. Why?
To provide the family time to purchase a new property
A mechanic’s lien placed on a property by a contractor is
a specific lien.
The contract for a valid lien for labor or material on a homestead improvement mustNOTbe signed until how many days after the loan application?
5
If a landowner has a nonnavigable stream cutting across his property, does he own the stream?
Yes, the legal theory is that the landowner owns to the middle of the stream, but because he owns the land on both sides, he essentially owns the stream.
Which isNOTa step in the adoption of a tax rate?
The tax rate is computed for all taxing units by adding together all monies needed by all taxing district entities and dividing that total by the total appraisal of all real and personal property in the appraisal district.
For a government or public entity to exercise the right of eminent domain, the proposed use must be declared by the court to be which of the following?
Public
A bank agrees to make a home loan but insists on a written agreement between the bank and other prior lienholders to grant first-lien position to the bank, lowering the priority of other liens. What does the bank require?
A subordination agreement
What kind of redemption rights allow the owner of a tax-delinquent property to redeem the property before the tax sale?
Equitable
Alice gives Betty a life estate. Betty is the life tenant of the property, and the life estate will continue as long as Betty is alive. What kind of life estate is this?
Ordinary
Which is a notice in the public records of a pending lawsuit involving real estate?
Lis pendens
By what legal procedure can a county or a municipality take control of privately owned land and deliver it to a private developer?
The use of eminent domain for private use is illegal in Texas.
Which kind of water is considered a public highway in which the public has an easement, or right, to travel?
Navigable
A rural property that is in a utility district is going under contract. Which of the following describes the utility district tax?
The seller must furnish a statutory notice about the utility district tax before final execution of the contract.
After paying the delinquent tax, interest, penalties, and attorney’s fees, the winner at a tax sale receives a deed from
the sheriff.
Mechanics’ and materialmen’s liens take priority from the date
the work was begun or first materials delivered.
Under what kind of interest does the property return to the heirs of the original owner who has died?
Reversionary
When a special assessment is calculated, each parcel of real estate that will benefit from the improvement is
not necessarily assessed the same amount.
What happens to delinquent properties if there are no bidders at the auction?
The property is “struck off” or sold to the taxing authority seeking delinquent taxes and may be used for whatever purpose it sees fit.
A homestead may suffer forced sale for payment of claims for the costs of improvements to the property filed by materialmen and
mechanics.
