Unit 2: Real Property and the Law Flashcards
Land
Earth’s surface extending downward to the center of the earth and the airspace above the land, including the trees and water
Real Estate
Land plus permanent human-made additions
Real Property
Real Estate plus bundle of legal rights, benefits, and interests
Land has 3 physical characteristics:
immobility, indestructibility, and uniqueness
Bundle of legal rights
- Right of possession
- Right to control the property within the framework of the law
- Right of enjoyment
- Right of exclusion (keep others from entering/using the property)
- Right of disposition (to sell, will, transfer)
The concept of bundle of rights comes from old English Law. In the Middle Ages, a seller transferred property by giving the purchaser a handful of earth or a bundle of bound sticks from a tree on the property.
True.
What are the two meanings to the work ‘Title’
- the right to or ownership of the property, including bundle of rights; and
- evidence of that ownership by a deed
The document by which the owner transfers title to the property
Deed
a right or privilage associated with the property, although not necessarily a physical part of it
Appurtenance
Examples of an appurtenance
parking spaces, water rights, easements, and other improvements
The rights to the natural resources below the earth’s surface. The owner may also transfer subsurface rights without trading surface rights.
Subsurface Rights
The rights to use the space above the earth may be sold or leased independently, provided it was not limited by law
Air rights
Government and airport authorities often purchase adjacent air rights to provide approach patterns for air traffic
True
Air and solar rights are regulated by state and local laws and regulations
True
common-law or statutory rights held by the owners of land adjacent to rivers, lakes, or oceans and are restrictions on the rights of land ownership
Water rights
Common law rights granted to owners of land along the course of a river, stream, or similar flowing body of water
Riparian rights
The only limitation on the owner’s use is that such cannot interrupt or alter the flow of water or contaminate it in any way
True
Navigable waters are considered public highways in which the public has an easement or right to travel
True
Owners whose land borders commercially navigable lakes, seas, and oceans. Owners with these rights can enjoy unrestricted use of available water but own the land adjacent to the water only up to the avg. high-water mark
Littoral Rights
In some states, riparian and littoral rights are appurtenant to (run with) the land and cannot be retained when the property is sold.
True
An owner is entitled to all land created through accretion:
increases in the land resulting from the deposit of soil by the water’s action
The gradual and sometimes imperceptible wearing away of the land by natural forces, such as wind, rain, and flowing water
Erosion
the sudden removal of soil by an act of nature. Ex: Earthquake or mudslide
Avulsion
Under this doctrine, the right to use any water, with the exception of limited domestic use, is controlled by the state rather than by the landowner adjacent to the water.
used where water is scarce
Doctrine of Prior Appropriation
How to secure water rights in prior appropriation states?
A landowner must demonstrate to the state’s agency that the plans are for beneficial use, such as crop irrigation. If requirements are met, the landowner received a permit to use a specified amount of water for the beneficial use
What law identifies territorial waters as those extending up to 12 nautical miles (13.8 land miles) from a base line that is the mean low-water line of a coastal country
The Law of the Sea (1982)
What are the 4 economic characteristics of real estate?
- Scarcity
- Improvements
- Permanence of investment
- Area preference
this economic characteristic refers not only to geography but also to the preference for a specific area
Area preference (location)
Area preference is based on?
Convenience, reputation, and history
All property that can be owned and that does not fit the definition of real property
Personal Property
Personal property is movable?
Yes.
Personal property is transferred by a bill of sale.
True
Items of personal property, include such tangibles as chairs, tables, clothing, money, bonds, and bank accounts
Chattels
_____ is that which is built specifically to the standards of the Department of Housing and Development (HUD)
Manufactured Housing
Any type of factory-built or manufactured housing may be considered real property IF it becomes permanently affixed to the land
True
Trees and crops fall into 2 classes
- Trees, perennial shrubbery, and grasses that do not require annual cultivation (fructus naturales) < Considered Real Estate
- Annually cultivated crops such as fruits, veggies, and grain are knows as emblements (fructus industrales) < considered personal property
An item of real property can become personal property by
Severance: the act of separating it from the land
It is possible to change personal property into real property through…
annexation
Personal property that has been so attached to land or a building that, by law, it becomes part of the real property
Fixture
What are the 5 legal tests of a fixture (MARIA)
- Method of Annexation
- Adaptability of the item for the land’s ordinary use
- Relationship of the parties
- Intention of the person in placing the item on the land
- Agreement of the parties
Method of annexation
How permanent is the method of attachment? Can it be removed without causing damages?
Adaptibility of the item for the land’s ordinary use
Is the item being used as real or personal property?
Relationship of the parties
a court will favor a tenant over a landlord, and a buyer over a seller
Intention of the person in placing the item on the land
The actions of the tenant may not be consistent with the tenant’s earlier intention
Agreement of the parties
Have the parties agreed on whether the item is real or personal property in the provisions of an offer to purchase or lease?
An article owned by a tenant, attached to a rented space or building, and used in conducting a business
Trade Fixture
Examples of trade fixtures
Hydraulics in an auto shop, pin-setting equip in a bowling alley, and dining booths in a restaurant
Trade fixtures that are not removed become the real property of the landlord
Accession
Trade fixtures differ from other fixtures in the following ways:
- Fixtures belong to the owner of the real estate, but trade fixtures are usally owned and installed by tenant for the tenant’s use
- Fixtures are considered a permanent part of a building, but trade fixtures are removable. May be attached to a building so they appear to be fixtures.
