Unit 2: Real Property

Question 1

accession

Question 2

air rights

Answer 2

rights to use the air above the land

Question 3

attachment

Answer 3

example: a landowner buying concrete and materials (personal property) and building a driveway (real estate)

1. the act of taking a person’s property into legal custody by writ or other judicial order to hold it available for application to that person’s debt to a creditor.
2. a process of converting personal property to real estate

Question 4

bundle of legal rights

Answer 4

concept of land ownership that means ownership of all legal rights to the land—for example, possession, control within the law, and enjoyment—rather than ownership of the land itself.

can also include the right of exclusion or right of disposition

Question 5

chattel

Answer 5

personal property, personalty

Question 6

emblements

Answer 6

growing crops, such as grapes and corn, that are produced annually through labor and industry; deemed to be personal property.

Question 7

exception

Answer 7

in the context of real estate, the exclusion of some part of the property conveyed, such as a mineral interest held by a previous owner; a deficiency in the grantor’s title; contrast with reservation.

Question 8

fixture

Answer 8

item of personal property converted to real estate by attaching it to the real estate with the intention that it become permanently a part thereof (I.e. a mailbox)

once a fixture is attached, it becomes an appurtenance

Question 9

fructus industriales

Answer 9

fruits of industry; annual plantings or crops considered personal property.

Question 10

fructus naturales

Answer 10

fruits of nature; trees and perennial shrubbery and grasses considered real estate.

Question 11

improvement

Answer 11

1. ON land, is any structure, usually privately owned, erected on a site to enhance the value of the property, for example: buildings, fences, and driveways
2. TO land, is usually a publicly owned structure, such as a curb, sidewalk, street, or sewer

Question 12

land

Answer 12

Includes underlying soil and things that are attached permanently to the land by nature, such as trees and water.

From a legal standpoint, land ownership also includes possession and control of the minerals and substances below the earth’s surface, together with the airspace above the land.

Question 13

personal property

Answer 13

items, called chattels, that do not fit into the definition of real property; movable objects; personalty

Question 14

personalty

Answer 14

items of personal property, chattel

Question 15

real estate

Answer 15

land, plus permanent, human-made additions

Question 16

real property

Answer 16

real estate, plus “bundle of legal rights”

Question 17

reservation

Answer 17

something retained by the seller; for example, minerals, a life estate, or an access easement.

Question 18

severance

Answer 18

changing an item of real estate to personal property by detaching it from the land; for example, cutting down a tree

Question 19

subsurface rights

Answer 19

the rights to natural resources below the earth’s surface.

in Texas, underground water is considered part of the surface estate

Question 20

surface rights

Answer 20

the rights to use the surface of the earth

Question 21

trade fixture

Answer 21

item of tenant-owned personal property attached to real estate and used in a business; legally removable by tenant (I.e. bowling alleys, bar/restaurant equipment)

Question 22

three legal tests of a fixture

Answer 22

1. the intention of the parties
2. the adaptation of the article
3. the mode and permanence of the annexation