Unit 2: Real Property and the Law- 4%

Question 1

Accession

Answer 1

Acquiring title to additions or improvements to real property as a result of the annexation of fixtures or the accretion of alluvial deposits along the banks of streams.

Question 2

Accretion

Answer 2

The increase or addition of land by the deposit of sand or soil washed up naturally from a river, lake, or sea.

Question 3

Air Rights

Answer 3

The right to use the open space above a property, usually allowing the surface to be used for another purpose.

Question 4

Annexation

Answer 4

Process of converting personal property into real property.

Question 5

Appurtenance

Answer 5

A right, privilege, or improvement belonging to, and passing with, the land; “runs with the land.”

Question 6

Area Preference

Answer 6

People’s desire for one area over another, based on a number of factors such as history, reputation, convenience, scenic beauty, and location.

Question 7

Avulsion

Answer 7

The sudden tearing away of land, as by earthquake, flood, volcanic action, or the sudden change in the course of a stream.

Question 8

Bundle Of Legal Rights

Answer 8

The concept of land ownership that includes ownership of all legal rights to the land—possession, control within the law, enjoyment, exclusion, and disposition.

Question 9

Chattel

Answer 9

See personal property.

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

Question 10

Emblements

Answer 10

Growing crops, such as corn, that are produced annually through labor and industry; also called fructus industriales.

Question 11

Erosion

Answer 11

The gradual and sometimes imperceptible wearing away of the land by natural forces, such as wind, rain, and flowing water.

Question 12

Fixture

Answer 12

An item of personal property that has been converted to real property by being permanently affixed to the realty.

Question 13

Improvement

Answer 13

(1) Any structure, usually privately owned, erected on a site to enhance the value of the property (e.g., a building, fence, or driveway). (2) A publicly owned structure added to or benefiting land (e.g., a curb, sidewalk, street, or sewer).

Question 14

Land

Answer 14

The earth’s surface, extending downward to the center of the earth and upward infinitely into space, including things permanently attached by nature, such as trees.

Question 15

Littoral Rights

Answer 15

(1) A landowner’s claim to use water in large navigable lakes and oceans adjacent to her property. (2) The ownership rights to land bordering these bodies of water up to the high-water mark.

Question 16

Manufactured Housing

Answer 16

Dwellings that are built off site and trucked to a building lot where they are installed or assembled.

Question 17

Nonhomogeneity

Answer 17

A lack of uniformity; dissimilarity. Because no two parcels of land are exactly alike, real estate is said to be nonhomogeneous.

Question 18

Personal Property

Answer 18

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

Question 19

Prior Appropriation

Answer 19

A concept of water ownership in which the landowner’s right to use available water is based on a government-administered permit system.

Question 20

Real Estate

Answer 20

Land; a portion of the earth’s surface extending downward to the center of the earth and upward infinitely into space, including all things permanently attached to it, whether naturally or artificially.

Question 21

Real Property

Answer 21

The interests, benefits, and rights inherent in real estate ownership; often used as a synonym for real estate.

Question 22

Riparian Rights

Answer 22

An owner’s rights in land that borders on or includes a stream, river, or lake. These rights include access to and use of the water.

Question 23

Severance

Answer 23

Changing an item of real estate to personal property by detaching it from the land (e.g., cutting down a tree).

Question 24

Situs

Answer 24

The location of land for legal purposes; the jurisdiction in which land is located.

Question 25

Subsurface Rights

Answer 25

Ownership rights in a parcel of real estate to the water, minerals, gas, oil, and so forth that lie beneath the surface of the property.

Question 26

Surface Rights

Answer 26

Ownership rights in a parcel of real estate that are limited to the surface of the property and do not include the space above it (air rights) or the substances below the surface (subsurface rights).

Question 27

Trade Fixture

Answer 27

An article installed by a tenant under the terms of a lease that is removable by the tenant before the lease expires.

Question 28

Water Rights

Answer 28

Common law rights held by owners of land adjacent to rivers, lakes, or oceans; includes restrictions on those rights and land ownership.

Question 29

The Law of the Sea identifies national territorial waters as those extending from a baseline up to

Answer 29

12 nautical miles.

The Law of the Sea identifies territorial waters as those extending up to 12 nautical miles from a baseline that is the mean low-water line of a coastal country.

Question 30

An owner of land is entitled to all land created through an increase in the land resulting from the deposit of soil by the water’s action called

Answer 30

accretion.

An owner of land is entitled to all land created through an increase in the land resulting from the deposit of soil by the water’s action called accretion.

Question 31

The new owner of a condominium received the right to use a parking space in the multi-unit building. This right is an example of

Answer 31

an appurtenance.

An appurtenance is a right or privilege associated with the property, although not necessarily a part of it; typical appurtenances include parking spaces in multiunit buildings, easements, water rights, and other improvements.

Question 32

Another term for personal property is

Answer 32

chattels.

Fixtures, fructus naturales, and realty are all real property.

Question 33

The owners of littoral rights en

Answer 33

unrestricted use of available waters.

Littoral rights belong to owners of land that borders commercially navigable lakes, seas, and oceans, and the owners have unrestricted use of the available waters.

Question 34

Which of the following is a physical characteristic of land?

Answer 34

Indestructibility

The ability to make improvements, preference for the area, and relative scarcity of similar property are all economic matters. The land’s indestructibility is a physical matter, even though it is subject to both natural and human forces.

Question 35

A property owner wants to use water from a river that runs through the property to irrigate a potato field. To do so, the owner is required by state law to submit an application to the Department of Water Resources describing in detail the plan for beneficial use of the water. If the department approves the owner’s application, it will issue a permit allowing a limited amount of river water to be diverted onto the property. Based on these facts, it can be assumed that this property owner’s state relies on which rule of law?

Answer 35

Doctrine of prior appropriation

Many states whose water is in relatively short supply have passed statutes authorizing a system of prior appropriation in which owners downstream do not necessarily have to wait for “what’s left” after those upstream have drawn their fill. Priority—who is allowed to appropriate water first—is established, instead, by the date of approved filing and continued conformity with any rules and limitations on use imposed by the jurisdiction.

Question 36

The need for regulation of the activities of real estate brokers and salespeople has long been recognized because

Answer 36

their work involves other people’s real estate and money.

The need for regulation of the activities of real estate brokers and salespeople has long been recognized because their work involves other people’s real estate and money.

Question 37

Real estate brokers and sales associates may NOT act as attorneys unless they

Answer 37

are also licensed attorneys representing clients in that capacity.

Real estate brokers and sales associates may not act as attorneys unless they are also licensed attorneys representing clients in that capacity.

Question 38

The phrase bundle of legal rights is properly included in

Answer 38

the definition of real property.

Purchasing real property means buying rights of ownership, or a bundle of legal rights.

Question 39

A buyer purchased a parcel of land and immediately sold the mineral rights to an oil company. The buyer gave up which of the following?

Answer 39

Subsurface rights

Sub means under or beneath. Subsurface then, is below the surface—the place where most minerals are found.

Question 40

Manufactured housing is the term used for a factory-built home as of

Answer 40

1976.

With the passage of The National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Standards Act of 1976,manufactured homes became federally regulated.

Question 41

A landowner sells his property but retains the rights to any oil and gas found beneath the property. These rights are called

Answer 41

subsurface rights.

They are the rights to natural resources below the earth’s surface. An owner may transfer surface rights without transferring subsurface rights.

Question 42

Which of the following is considered an improvement?

Answer 42

Sewer

It is infrastructure added to the land. An improvement is anything that is added as a fixture to the land.

Question 43

A property owner’s land is located along the banks of a river. This owner’s water rights are called

Answer 43

riparian rights.

Riparian rights are common law rights granted owners of land along the course of a river.

Question 44

All of the following are economic characteristics of land EXCEPT

Answer 44

uniqueness.

Uniqueness is a physical characteristic of real estate, along with immobility and indestructibility.

Question 45

The characteristics of real property fall into which two broad categories?

Answer 45

Economic and physical

Real property possesses seven basic characteristics that define its nature and affect its use. These characteristics fall into two broad categories: economic and physical.

Question 46

The area preference or situs (place) of a property is commonly referred to as

Answer 46

“location, location, location.”

Area preference or situs (place) of property is commonly referred to as “location, location, location.” This economic characteristic refers not only to geography but also to people’s preference for a specific area. Area preference is based on several factors, such as convenience, reputation, and history.

Question 47

A right or privilege tied to real property, although not necessarily part of the property, is called

Answer 47

an appurtenance

An appurtenance is a right or privilege association with the property, although not necessarily a part of it. An emblement or trade fixture is a tangible item on the property. The deed is a document that transfers title.

Question 48

A truckload of lumber that a homeowner purchased has been left in the driveway for use in building a porch. The lumber is considered

Answer 48

personal property.

The lumber will become realty if and when it is later affixed in the course of construction. Until then, it is personal property—a chattel—of the landowner.

Question 49

Method of annexation, adaptation to real estate, and agreement between the parties are the legal tests for determining whether an item is

Answer 49

a fixture or personal property.

The overall test in determining whether an item is a fixture (real property) is the intention of the person installing it, how uniquely adapted the item is to the property in which it is installed, how item was installed and the damage its removal would cause, the relationship of the parties, and what the parties have agreed to.

Question 50

A rural property owner acquired ownership of land that was deposited by a river running through her property by

Answer 50

accretion.

Increases in land adjacent to a body of water resulting from the deposit of soil by the water’s action is known as accretion, and the owner is entitled to that land.

Question 51

Many states determine the order of water rights to which users of the water hold recorded beneficial use permits. This allocation of water rights is controlled by

Answer 51

the doctrine of prior appropriation.

The doctrine of prior appropriation usually applies in states where water is scarce. The landowner receives a permit to a specified amount of water, and priority of water rights is usually determined by the oldest recorded permit date.

Question 52

In the legal tests to determine whether an item is a fixture, the permanence of its installation is considered under

Answer 52

the method of annexation.

The permanence of an item’s installation is considered in determining whether the item can be removed without causing damage to the surrounding property or whether any damage caused by its removal can be repaired easily.

Question 53

The most important economic characteristic of land is

Answer 53

location.

Location is sometimes called area preference or situs.

Question 54

Which of the following describes the act by which real property can be converted into personal property?

Answer 54

Severance

When we sever something, we cut it loose. Severing (felling) a tree from its roots converts it from realty—real(proper)ty—to personalty—personal(proper)ty. The process is called severance.

Question 55

The purpose of real estate license laws is to protect the public in real estate transactions from fraud, dishonesty, and

Answer 55

incompetence.

The purpose of real estate license laws is to protect the public from fraud, dishonesty, and incompetence in real estate transactions.