Chapter 2

Littoral Rights

A set of water rights defined by state law relating to properties abutting navigable bodies of water such as lakes and bays. Generally, a property owner enjoys usage rights but owns land only to the high water mark. Concern properties abutting bodies of water that are not moving, such as lakes and seas. Owners of properties abutting a navigable, non-moving body of water enjoy the right of use, but do not own the water nor the land beneath the water. Ownership extends to the high-water mark of the body of water.

Affixing

Affixing, or attachment, is the act of converting personal property to real property by attaching it to the real estate, such as by assembling a pile of bricks into a barbecue pit, or constructing a boat dock from wood planks.

Improvement

Any man made structure or item affixed to land. This includes such things as: fences, streets, buildings, wells, sewers, sidewalks and piers.

Conversion

Changing real property to personal property, and vice versa. The classification of an item of property as real or personal is not necessarily fixed. The classification may be changed by the process of conversion.

Real Estate

Land and all man made structures permanently attached to it.

Intangible Property

Property that is abstract, having no physical existence in itself, other than as evidence of one's ownership interest. Examples include: stock certificate, contract, and patent.

Tangible Property

Property that is physical, visible, and material. Examples include: boat, car, jewelry

Air Rights

Rights in real property as they apply to the property's airspace, or all space above the surface within the parcel's legal boundaries. Applies to the space above the surface boundaries of the parcel, as delineated by imaginary vertical lines extended to infinity.

Water Rights

Rights of a property that abuts a body of water to own or use the water. Basically concern the rights to own and use water found in lakes, streams, rivers, and the ocean. In addition, they determine where parcel boundaries can be fixed with respect to adjoining bodies of water.

Severance

A conversion of real property to personal property through detachment of the item from the land. Severance is the conversion of real property to personal property by detaching it from the real estate, such as by cutting down a tree, detaching a door from a shed, or removing an antenna from a roof.

Bundle of Rights

A set of rights associated with ownership of property, including the rights to possess, use, transfer, encumber and exclude.

Personal Property

All property that is not considered real property; all property that is not land or permanently attached to land, excepting trade fixtures and emblements.

Fixture

An item permanently attached to land so as to be defined as real property. A personal property item that has been converted to real property by attachment to real estate is called a fixture. Typical examples are chandeliers, toilets, water pumps, septic tanks, and window shutters.

Real Property

Real estate and the bundle of rights associated with ownership of real estate.

Subsurface Rights

Rights and interests to whatever is beneath the surface of one's parcel of real property. Applies to land beneath the surface of the real estate parcel extending from its surface boundaries downward to the center of the earth. Includes the rights to extract mineral and gas deposits and subsurface water from the water table.

Surface Rights

Rights to the surface area of a parcel of real estate. Applies to the real estate contained within the surface boundaries of the parcel. This includes the ground, all natural things affixed to the ground, and all improvements. Also includes water rights.

Land

The surface area of the earth, all natural things permanently attached to the earth, and everything beneath the surface to the earth's center and above the surface extending upward to infinity.

Riparian Rights

Water rights of a property that abuts a watercourse (stream, river). Riparian rights concern properties abutting moving water such as streams and rivers. If a property abuts a stream or river, the owner's riparian rights are determined by whether the water is navigable or not navigable. If the property abuts a non-navigable stream, the owner enjoys unrestricted use of the water and owns the land beneath the stream to the stream's midpoint. If the waterway in question is navigable, the waterway is considered to be a public easement. In such a case, the owner's property extends to the water's edge as opposed to the midpoint of the waterway. The state owns the land beneath the water.