Real Estate 2-1- Nature of Property

Emblements

A crop that is planted & cultivated through someone's labor & industry. Emblements are considered to be personal property. Also known as fructus industriales

Bill of Sale

A document used to transfer title to personal property from one person to another

Manufactured home ("mobile home")

A factory-assembled, completely integrated structure designed for permanent residency that is built on a permanent chassis & can be moved on wheels that have been either permanently or temporarily attached. Must be installed & connected to utilities (habitable year-round) When in transit is at least 8 ft wide & 40 ft long When erected on a site, contains at least 320 sq ft From The Nat'l Manufactured Housing Construction & Safety Standards Act of 1974 **Most states adopted their own codes for safety - In Illinois: IL Manufactured Housing & Mobile Home Safety Act. A mobile home requires an affixed certification label in IL (red metal label attached to rear of unit) Mobile homes considered personal property unless supported by permanent perimeter foundation

Leasehold Improvement

A fixture attached to real property by a landlord for the use of a tenant. (EX: Landlord installs a wood-burning stove in living room for a single-fam home. It is considered real property of landlord).

Rule of Capture

A legal principle that grants a landowner the right to all oil & gas produced by wells on his land, even if it migrated from underneath land belonging to another

Fixture

A man-made attachment; an item of personal property that has been attached to or closely associated with real property (or its improvements) in such a way that it is now legally part of the real property (EX: ceiling fans, built-in bookshelves, chandeliers, custom-made window coverings, etc) through one of several methods: Physically attached aka actual annexation. Attachment conceptually, as opposed to physically, bc of close association with real property (EX: Keys to a house) aka constructive annexation. Attachment through the process of adoption (EX: Curtains that were custom-made for an unusual window or wall to wall carpeting). Becoming part of real property through agreement btw the parties involved (EX: btw landlord and tenant

Supporting Rights

A piece of land is supported by the land that surrounds it. A landowner has the right to the natural support provided by land beside & beneath it. Lateral support: Support from adjacent land. Neighbors excavations may make your land shift/settle. In some cases, neighbor can be held liable for damage if negligent. Subjacent support: Support from underlying earth. Generally, mining party is liable for surface damage caused by underground mining even if excavation was performed carefully.

Appurtenances

A right that goes along/transfers with ownership of real property; usually transferred with the property, but may be sold separately. EX: Access rights, limited air rights, water rights, mineral rights, etc. Example in reading. ***They "run with the land"

Mobile home park

A tract of land or 2 contiguous tracts of land that contain the necessary utilities for 5 or more mobile homes.

Navigable

Commercially viable waterway. Ownership rights of land under water are determined by if water navigable.

Bill of Sale

Drawn up by parties if buyer & seller come to a private agreement on personal items. Transfers title to personal property. The transfer of real property & its attachments is usually completed with a deed.

Determining if an object is a fixture and not personal property:

Intent of the annexation. Did annexer intend for it to become part of real property or to remain personal? To improve the real property or for personal use. Not enough to use as claim Physical attachment. Considered objective evidence of intent. EX: Statue in concrete shows intent to make permanent vs a statue set out on the lawn. Not enough to use as claim Written agreement. Regardless of other reasons, court will enforce. Refer to severance.

Percolating Water Rights

Involve underground water. EX: Landowners have right to install wells to access water for their own use

Trade Fixtures

Items of personal property that are annexed to leased property & are necessary to a trade or business & which are removable by the tenant prior to expiration of the lease (Any equipment or personal property a commercial tenant installs for business purposes). These remain personal property of tenant though attached. Tenant should remove trade fixtures before lease ends (EX: Pizza oven in a pizza shop even though it's attached to floor.) Tenant must repair any damage

Real Estate

Land & anything permanently affixed to the land. In some states the term "real estate" is interchangeable with "real property". Actual physical land (unimproved land or raw land) & everything, both natural and man-made.

Real Property

Land & everything attached to it or appurtenant to it, including the bundle of rights (natural attachments included). Minerals are considered real property until they are extracted from the earth (aka subsurface rights). Mineral rights may be sold or leased separately from the surface land. Most often conveyed by deed.

Improvements

Man-made attachments that are artificially attached to the land, for example, buildings, pipelines, pavements, sewers, roads, driveways, & fences

Constructive Annexation

Personal property associated with real property in such a way that the law treats it as a fixture, even though it is not physically attached to the real property

Chattel

Personal property that is tangible. Goods or other items of property, moveable or immovable, which are not real property

Doctrine of Emblements

Rule that allows an agricultural tenant to re-enter the land to harvest crops if the lease ends, through no fault of the tenant, before the crop can be harvested (applies only to the first crop).

Littoral Rights

Surface water rights of landowners whose land touches a navigable, "non-flowing" body of water such as a commercial lake, sea, or ocean. Property subject to ebb & flow of the tide. Owner only owns land up to the mean high water mark of the body of water

Personal Property

Tangible or Intangible items that are not permanently attached to or part of real estate; any property that is not real property; movable property not affixed to land. Also called Chattel or Personalty. Tangible: Can be touched or held. EX: Car, books, or cats or harvested crops Intangible: Cannot be held or touched. EX: Accounts receivables, stock rights, or intellectual property When someone sells personal property, its ownership is conveyed by bill of sale. When personal property is part of a will, it is conveyed by bequest, sometimes referred to as a legacy.

Land

The actual surface of the earth. From a legal standpoint, also refers to everything under the ground to the center of the earth, & everything over the land into the air (within limits to allow for air traffic). Also encompasses natural attachments, the plants growing on the land and therefore real property. EX: Apple tree planted next to your house is part of the real property aka "fructus naturales". However, pick an apple from the tree and it becomes personal property. Law implies subsurface & air rights thought they're not usually written down.

Severance

The process of detaching fixtures from the land & so reverting them back to personal property. (EX: When a chandelier is removed from the ceiling)

Actual Annexation

The process of physically attaching personal property to land, causing it to be a fixture. Annexer is the owner of the personal property.

Air Rights

The right to undisturbed use & control of airspace over a parcel of land (within reasonable limits for air travel); may be transferred separately from the land. Owners also have right not to be harmed above their property

Attachments

Things connected to the land, whether natural or man-made; generally considered to be real property. Man-made attachments that are artificially attached to land are known as improvements (see improvements)

Appropriative Rights

Water rights allocated by gov't permit according to an appropriation system. It is not necessary to own property beside the body of water in order to apply for an appropriation permit. Also called: Prior Appropriation

Riparian Rights

Water rights of landowners whose land touches a natural body of flowing water such as a stream, creek, or river. May be defined as the right of access to the water & the right to all useful purposes to which the body of water may be applied. If property is next to water which is non-navigable, owner owns land under the water to the exact middle or center of water. If water is navigable, owners owns land up to edge of water and no further.