Unit 2 - Real Property & The Law Flashcards
Accession
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.
Pg. 27
Accretion
The increase or addition of land by the deposit of sand or soil washed up naturally from a river.
Air rights
The right to use the open space above a property, usually allowing the surface to be used for another purpose.
Pg. 21
Annexation
Process of converting personal property to real property.
Pg. 25
Appurtenance
A right, privilege, or improvement belonging to, and passing with, the land; “runs with the land”.
Area preference
People’s desire for one area over another, based on a number of factors such as history, reputation, convenience, scenic beauty, and location.
Pg. 24
Avulsion
The sudden tearing away of land, as by earthquake, flood, volcanic action, or the sudden change in the course of a stream.
Pg. 23
Bundle of legal rights
The concept of land ownership that includes ownership of all legal rights to land — possession, control within the law, enjoyment, exclusion, and disposition.
Pg. 19
Chattel
Personal property; items that do not fit into the definition of real property; movable objects.
Pg. 24
Emblements
Growing crops, such as corn, that are produced annually through labor and industry; also called fractus industriales.
Pg. 25
Erosion
The gradual and sometimes imperceptible wearing away of the land by natural forces, such as wind, rain, and flowing water.
Pg. 23
Fixture
An item of personal property that has been converted to real property by being permanently affixed to the realty.
Pg. 26
Improvement
(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).
Pg. 24
Land
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.
Pg. 18
Littoral rights
(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.
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Manufactured housing
Dwellings that are built off site and trucked to a building lot where they are installed or assembled.
Pg. 25
Nonhomogeneity
A lack of uniformity; dissimilarity. Because no two parcels of land are exactly alike, real estate is said to be nonhomogeneous.
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Personal property
Items, called chattels, that do not fit into the definition of real property; movable objects.
Pg. 24
Prior appropriation
A concept of water ownership in which the landowner’s right to use available water is based on a government-administered permit system.
Pg. 23
Real estate
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.
Pg. 19
Real property
The interests, benefits, and rights inherent in real estate ownership; often used as a synonym for real estate.
Pg. 19
Riparian rights
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.
Pg. 22
Severance
Changing an item of real estate to personal property by detaching it from the land (e.g., cutting down a tree).
Pg. 25
Situs
The location of land for legal purposes; the jurisdiction in which land is located.
Pg. 24
Subsurface rights
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.
Pg. 20
Trade fixtures
An article installed by a tenant under the terms of a lease that is removable by the tenant before the lease expires.
Pg. 27
Water rights
Common law rights held by owners of land adjacent to rivers, lakes, or oceans; includes restrictions on those rights and land ownership.
Pg. 22
Surface rights
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).
Pg. 20
True or false
The words land, real estate, and real property are often used interchangeably.
True
Three physical characteristics of land
- Immobility - the geographic location of any given parcel of land can never be changed.
- Indestructibility - the geographic location will remain the same regardless of its condition.
- Uniqueness - nonhomogeneity; no two parcels of property are exactly the same or in the same location.
____ includes air rights, surface rights, and subsurface rights.
Land
____ includes land plus permanent human-made additions called physical improvements.
Real estate
____ includes real estate plus bundle of legal rights.
Real property
An ____ to land can be any artificial thing attached on or below ground, such as a building, fence, water line or sewer pipe, as well as growing things that are made part of the landscaping.
Improvement
Traditionally, ownership rights of real property are described as a bundle of legal rights. These rights include:
- Right of possession,
- Right to control the property within the framework of the law,
- Right of enjoyment (use of property in any legal manner),
- Right of exclusion (keeping others from entering or using the property),
- Right of disposition (to sell, will, transfer, or otherwise dispose of or encumber the property).
____ refers to ownership of the property, not to a printed document.
Title
Title, relating to real estate, refers to ____ and ____.
- The right to or ownership of the property, including the owner’s bundle of legal rights.
- Evidence of ownership by a deed.
An appurtenance is connected to the property (“runs with the land”), and ownership of the appurtenance normally transfers to the new owner when the property is sold.
Examples of appurtenances are…
Parking spaces, multi-unit buildings, easements, water rights, and other improvements.
- Ownership rights in a parcel of real estate that are limited to the surface of the earth are called ____.
- Ownership rights to natural resources below the earth’s surface are called ____.
- Ownership rights to use the space above the earth are called ____.
- Surface rights (farmhouse or shed)
- Subsurface rights (oil, gas, or coal)
- Air rights (solar power)
____ rights are common-law or statutory rights held by owners of land adjacent to rivers, lakes, or oceans and are restrictions on the rights on 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 are called ____.
Riparian rights
Owners with ____ enjoy the unrestricted use of available waters but own the land adjacent to the water only up to the average high-water mark.
Littoral rights
____ are awarded to land owners whose property is located along a river, stream, or lake.
____ pertain to landowners whose land borders large, navigable lakes and oceans.
- Riparian rights (land borders the water)
2. Littoral rights (land is adjacent; next to the water)
True or false
The right to use the water belongs to whoever owns the bordering land and that right can be retained by a former owner after the land is sold.
False.
Riparian and littoral right run with the land and cannot be retained when the property is sold.
Fill in the blank: avulsion, accretion, erosion
- An owner is entitled to all land created through ____ — increases in land resulting from the deposit of soil by the waters action.
- An owner may lose land to ____ — gradual wearing away of the land by natural forces such as wind, rain, and flowing water.
- The sudden removal of soil by an act of nature such as an earthquake or mudslide is called ____.
- Accretion - adds land
- Erosion - slowly removes land
- Avulsion - removes land quickly
In states where water is scarce, ownership and use of water are often determined by the doctrine of ____ ____. 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.
Prior appropriation
Four economic characteristics of real estate
- Scarcity
- Improvements
- Permanence of investment
- Area preference or situs
____ is all the property that can be owned and does not fit the definition of real property.
Personal property
Real property vs. personal property
Real property is real estate; land.
Personal property is movable.
____ is built specifically to the standards of the department of housing and urban development (HUD) - also referred to as mobile home.
Manufactured housing
True or false
Any type of manufactured housing may be considered real property is it becomes permanently affixed to the land.
True.
True or false
Emblements are generally considered personal property.
True.
The legal term for plants that do not require annual cultivation (such as trees and shrubbery) is ____ (fruits of nature).
Plant or crops that require annual cultivation are legally known as emblements or ____ (fruits of labor).
- Fructus naturales
2. Fructus industriales
An item of real property can become personal property by ____, which is the act of separating it from the land.
Severance
To change personal property into real property through ____, a landowner might mix cement, stones, and sand to construct a sidewalk across the land.
Annexation
A ____ is personal property that has been attached to land or a building that, by law, it becomes part of the real property.
Fixture
Examples of fixtures include…
Heating systems, elevator equipment in high-rise buildings, radiators, kitchen cabinets, light fixtures, and plumbing.
Legal tests of a fixture (MARIA):
- Method of annexation - how permanent is the attachment? Can the item be removed without causing damage?
- Ability of the item for the land’s ordinary use - is the item being used as real or personal property? (If the refrigerator matches kitchen cabinetry)
- Relationship of the parties - court will favor tenant over landlord
- Intention of the person in placing the item in the land - if intended to be temporary, should not be attached to appear permanent
- Agreement of the parties - have both parties agreed on whether item is real or personal?
A ____ is an article owned by a tenant, attached to a rented space or building, and used in conducting a business.
Some examples include hydraulic lifts in an auto repair shop, lanes and pin-setting equipment in a bowling alley, and dining booths in a restaurant.
Trade fixture
Trade fixtures that are not removed by a tenant on the last day a property is rented become real property of the landlord. Acquiring property in this way is known as ____.
Accession (constructive annexation)
- ____ belong to the owner of the real estate, but ____ are usually owned and installed by a tenant for the tenant’s use.
- ____ may be attached but are removable, while ____ are considered a permanent part of a building.
- Fixtures, trade fixtures
2. Trade fixtures, fixtures
Five laws affecting real estate
- Contract law
- General property law
- Agency law
- Real estate license law
- Federal, state, and local laws and regulations (e.g., consumer protection, environmental, tax, land use, and zoning)
Only ____ are trained and licensed to prepare documents defining or transferring rights in property and to give advice on matters of law.
A. Attorneys
B. Brokers
C. Consumers
D. Real estate professionals
A. Attorneys
True or false
Real estate professionals must have a clear and accurate understanding of the laws that affect real estate.
True
- Fixtures = real or personal property?
2. Trade fixtures = real or personal property?
- Fixtures = real property
2. Trade fixtures = personal property
True or false
Under no circumstances may a real estate professional act as an attorney unless they are also a licensed attorney representing clients in that capacity.
True
Land included the earth’s ____, it’s ____ extending downward to the center of the earth, and the ____ above the surface.
Surface
Subsurface
Air space
____ characteristics of land include immobility, indestructibility, and nonhomogeneity (uniqueness).
Physical
- ____ rights include mineral rights and other natural resources that can be leased or sold separately from surface rights.
- ____ rights can be sold separately from surface rights and have limitations to enable air travel.
- ____ rights can be held by owners of land adjacent to rivers, lakes, or oceans.
- Subsurface rights
- Air rights
- Water rights
Land includes things naturally attached to it, such as trees and crops that do not need cultivation (____), and perennial crops, orchards, and vineyards (____).
- Fructus naturales
2. Fructus industriales
____ includes the land as well as all things permanently attached or annexed to the land, both by nature and by humans.
Real estate
____ includes the interests, benefits, and rights that are automatically included in the ownership of unimproved land and real estate.
Real property
The ____ includes the rights of possession, control, enjoyment, exclusion, and disposition.
Bundle of legal rights
____ is the right to ownership of real property and the evidence of ownership provided by a written document, called a deed, by which title is transferred.
Title
A(n) ____ is a right or privilege associated with real property in some way, such as a parking space in a multi-unit building, an easement, or water rights, and is normally conveyed to the new owner when the property is sold.
Appurtenance
____ rights are determined by common law and statute and include ____, which belong to owners of land along a flowing body of water, and ____, which belong to the owners of land that borders a commercially navigable lake, sea, or ocean.
Water rights
Riparian rights
Littoral rights
The doctrine of ____ is followed in some states and provides that water use, aside from limited domestic use, is controlled by the state rather than the landowner adjacent to the water; to use the water, the landowner must demonstrate a beneficial use of the water, such as for irrigation of crops.
Prior appropriation
____ characteristics of land include scarcity, improvements, permanence if the investment, and area preference (situs).
Economic
____ includes
- movable items such as a chair or sofa, - emblements,
- items of real property that become personal property by severance,
- items of personal property that become real property by annexation, and
- factory-built homes, including manufactured homes unless permanently affixed to the land.
Personal property (chattel)
A ____ is personal property that has been affixed to the land or building so that by law it becomes part of the real property.
Fixture
The legal tests for a fixture include MARIA:
Method of annexation Adaptability Relationship Intent Agreement
- ____ include property attached to the structure but used in the course of business, and can be personal property, if removed by the tenant and the premises are returned to the original condition before the lease expires; or real property if left behind by the tenant.
- If left by the tenant, the landlord can acquire this type of property by ____.
- Trade fixtures
2. Accession
True or false
There are state and local land-use laws, as well as federal and state laws concerning consumer protection, the environment, and taxation.
True
Converting personal property into real property is called ____.
Annexation
Typical ____ include parking spaces, in multi-unit buildings, easements, water rights, and other improvements.
Appurtenances - “runs with the land” associated with the property but not necessarily part of it
Possession Control Enjoyment Exclusion Disposition
The bundle of legal rights
A right or privileged associated with the property but not necessarily a physical part of it; transferred with or “runs with the land”.
Appurtenance
Which of the following is a physical characteristic of land?
A. Indestructibility
B. Improvements
C. Area preference
D. Scarcity
A. Indestructibility
Which of the following describes the act by which real property can be converted into personal property?
A. Severance
B. Accession
C. Conversion
D. Attachment
A. Severance
Which of the following describes the act by which personal property can be converted into real property?
A. Accession
B. Annexation
C. Conversion
D. Attachment
B. Annexation
Parking spaces in multi-unit buildings, water right, and similar things of value that convey with property are classified as
A. Covenants
B. Emblements
C. Chattels
D. Appurtenances
D. Appurtenances
Real estate generally includes all of the following except
A. Trees
B. Air rights
C. Annual crops
D. Mineral rights
C. Annual crops
The term nonhomogeneity refers to
A. Scarcity
B. Immobility
C. Uniqueness
D. Indestructibility
C. Uniqueness
Another term for personal property is
A. Realty
B. Fixtures
C. Chattels
D. Fructus naturales
C. Chattels
Method of annexation, adaptation to real estate, and agreement between the parties are the legal test for determining whether an item is
A. A trade fixture or personal property
B. Real property or real estate
C. A fixture or personal property
D. An improvement
C. A fixture or personal property
According to law, a trade fixture is usually treated as
A. Realty
B. An easement
C. Personalty
D. A license
C. Personalty
A property owner’s land is located along the banks of a river. This owner’s water rights are called
A. Littoral rights
B. Prior appropriation rights
C. Riparian rights
D. Hereditaments
C. Riparian rights
A property owner’s bundle of legal rights entitled the owner to do all of the following except
A. Sell the property to a neighbor
B. Exclude utility meter readers
C. Erect no trespassing signs
D. Enjoy profits from ownership
B. Exclude utility meter readers
The owner of a piece of vacant land removed and sold all the topsoil, limestone, and gravel. At the owner’s death, which is true?
A. The property no longer exists
B. The heir of the deceased inherits property as is
C. The heir of the deceased owns the gravel, limestone, and topsoil, no matter where it is
D. The estate of the deceased must restore the property to its original condition
B. The heir of the deceased inherits the property as is
A resort purchases a large tract of scenic forest land and puts several prefabricated steel buildings there to store landscaping equipment, fuel oil, and propane canisters. Which statement is true regarding this situation?
A. The resort’s actions constitutes improvement of the property.
B. The chemicals are considered appurtenances.
C. The buildings are considered trade fixtures.
D. Storing fuel oil, which is highly flammable, is not included in the bundle of legal rights.
A. The resort’s actions constitutes improvement of the property.
