CHAPTER 3- LEGAL ISSUES

executor

A person or institution appointed by a testator to carry out the terms of their will.

easement for light and air

A type of negative easement. This easement prevents an adjoining land owner from building any structure that would obstruct the passage of light or air from reaching the dominant land.

fee simple estate

Absolute ownership of real property; a person has this type of estate where the person is entitled to the entire property with unconditional power of disposition during the person's life and descending to the person's heirs or distributees.

consideration

Anything given to induce another to enter into a contract such as money or personal services.

description

Consists of the written words which delineate a specific piece of real property.

act of waste

Describes a cause of action that can be brought in court to address a change in condition of a property brought about by a current tenant that damages or destroys the value of that property.

severalty

Ownership by only a single individual.

air rights

Rights in real property to use the space above the surface of the land.

easement by grant

The creation of an easement by one party expressly transferring the easement to another party.

riparian rights

he right of a property owner whose land borders a natural water course, such as a river, to reasonable use and enjoyment of the water that flows past the property. Riparian literally means "riverbank".

bargain and sale deed

A deed conveying real property without covenants.

servant tenement

A parcel of real property that is encumbered by an easement of a dominant estate.

parcel

A piece of land under one ownership.

easement

A right that may be exercised by the public or individuals on, over or through the lands of others.

reference to a plat

A section of a deed that may refer to a plat map, which includes the block and lot number of a particular piece of property.

public grant

A term that is used for a gift of land that is from the government.

metes and bounds

A term used in describing the boundary lines of land, seeing forth all the boundary lines together with their terminal points and angles.

party wall

A wall built along the line separating two properties, partly on each, which wall either owner, the owner's heirs and assigns has the right to use; such right constituting an easement over so much of the adjoining owner's land as is covered by the wall.

mortgage

An instrument in writing, duly executed and delivered, that creates a lien upon real estate as security for the payment of a specified debt, which is usually in the form of a bond.

encumbrance

Any right to or interest in the land interfering with its use or transfer, or subjecting it to an obligation.

lot and block

Method of identifying legal description of property.

easement by necessity

Parcels without access to a public way may have an easement of access over adjacent land if crossing that land is absolutely necessary to reach the landlocked parcel and there has been some original intent to provide the lot with access.

license

Permission granted by a party to another party as an element of an agreement between both parties.

fixture/ trade fixture

Personal property so attached to the land or improvements as to become part of the real property.

chattel

Personal property, such as household goods.

appurtenances

Something which is outside property itself but belongs to the land and adds to its greater enjoyment such as a right-of-way or a barn or a dwelling.

accretion

The addition of land through processes of nature, as by water or wind.

illiquidity

The concept that property is an illiquid asset because it cannot easily be sold or exchanged for cash.

partition

The division which is made of real property between those who own it in undivided shares.

homestead

The home which is owned by and is the usual residence of the client along with all the surrounding land and any building on that land, provided the land is not separated from the home by an property owned by others.

undivided interest

The interest in property owned by tenants whereby each tenant has an equal right to enjoy the entire property.

beneficiary

The person who receives or is to receive the benefits resulting from certain acts.

escheat

The reversion to the State of property in event the owner thereof abandons it or dies, without leaving a will and has no distributees to whom the property may pass by lawful descent.

littoral rights

The right of a property owner whose land borders on a body of water, such as a lake, ocean or sea, to reasonable use and enjoyment of the shore and water the property borders on.

right of way

The right to pass over another's land pursuant to an easement or license.

conveyance

The transfer of the title of land from one to another. The means or medium by which title of real estate is transferred.

encroachment

A building, part of a building, or obstruction which intrudes upon or invades a highway or sidewalk or trespasses upon the property of another.

subordination agreement

A legal document used to make the claim of one party junior to (or inferior to) a claim in favor of another.

tax lien

A lien imposed by law upon a property to secure the payment of taxes.

dominant tenement

A parcel of real property that has an easement over another piece of property (the servient estate).

mechanic's lien

A security interest in the title to property for the benefit of those who have supplied labor or materials that improve the property.

avulsion

A sudden and perceptible loss or addition to land by the action of water, or a sudden change in the bed or course of a stream.

land patent

A supreme title to land which was originally acquired within the United States of America by a treaty. It grants the rights to the described land under the treaty to the individual person named on the patent and to their heirs and their assigns forever.

personal property

Any property which is not real property.

easement by prescription

Implied easements granted after the dominant estate has used the property in a hostile, continuous, and open manner for a statutorily prescribed number of years.

alluvion

The increase in the area of land due to sediment deposited by a river. This changes the size of a piece of land (a process called accession) and thus it value over time.

referees deed

Used to convey real property sold pursuant to a judicial order in an action for the foreclosure of a mortgage or for partition.

joint venture

A business agreement in which the parties agree to develop, for a finite time, a new entity and new assets by contributing equity.

habendum clause

A clause in a deed or lease that defines the type of interest and rights to be enjoyed by the grantee or lessee. Also known as the "to have and to hold'" clause.

quitclaim deed

A deed which conveys simply the grantor's rights or interest in real estate, without any agreement or covenant as to the nature or extent of that interest, or any other covenants; usually used to remove a cloud from the title.

acknowledgement

A formal declaration before a duly authorized officer by a person who has executed an instrument that such execution is the person's act and deed.

curtesy/ dower

A husband's interest upon the death of his wife in the real property of an estate that she either solely owned or inherited provided they bore a child capable of inheriting the estate.

estate for years

A leasehold estate for any specific period of time. An estate for years is not automatically renewed.

lis pendens

A legal document, filed in the office of the county clerk giving notice that an auction or proceeding is pending in the courts affecting the title to the property. (Not applicable in commission disputes.)

adverse possession

A means of acquiring title where an occupant has been in actual, open, notorious, exclusive, and continuous occupancy of property under a claim of right for the required statutory period.

accession

A mode of acquiring property that involves the addition of value to property through labor or the addition of new materials. For example, a person who owns a property on a river delta also takes ownership of any additional land that builds up along that riverbank due to natural deposits or man made deposits.

easement by condemnation

An easement created by the government or government agency that has exercised its right under eminent domain.

easement in gross

An easement that benefits an individual or a legal entity, rather than a dominant estate.

easement appurtenant

An easement that benefits the dominant estate and "runs with the land". In other words, an easement appurtenant generally transfers automatically when the dominant estate is transferred.

easement by implication

An easement that is not created by express statements between the parties; but as a result of surrounding circumstances that dictate that an easement must have been intended by the parties.

tenancy in common

An ownership of realty by two or more persons, each of whom has an undivided interest, without the "right of survivorship".

trustee/ trustor

Any person who holds property, authority, or a position of trust and responsibility for the benefit of another. A person who conveys title to a trustee.

unities of interest, possession, time and title

Describes the conditions that must exist in order for certain kinds of property interests to be created. In order for two or more people to own property as joint tenants with right of survivorship, or for a married couple to own property as tenants by the entirety, they must have the four unities (Interest, Possession, Time, and Time)

general lien/ specific lien

G-A lien that attaches to all personal and real property of a person or firm., S-A lien that only binds to a specific asset or property.

real estate/ real property

Land, and generally whatever is erected upon or affixed thereto.

joint tenancy

Ownership of realty by two or more persons, each of whom has an undivided interest with the "right of survivorship".

special purpose real estate

Property that is appropriate for one type of use or limited use. This type of property has unique design or layout, uses special construction materials, or other features that limit the property's utility for purposes other than the one for which it was built. For example, a church, theater, or school.

right of survivorship

Right of the surviving joint owner to succeed to the interests of the deceased joint owner, distinguishing feature of a joint tenancy or tenancy by entirety.

life estate

The conveyance of title property for the duration of the life of the grantee.

reversionary interest

The interest which a grantor has in lands or other property upon the termination of the preceding estate.

remainder interests/ remainderman

The person who is to receive the property after the termination of the prior estate.

bundle of rights

The premise that the ownership of real estate consists of the ownership of various rights associated with it. These rights include the right to use and/or occupy, the right to sell in whole or in part, the right to lease, the right to bequeath and the right to do none of the foregoing.

survey

The process by which a parcel of land is measured and its area ascertained; also the blueprint showing the measurements, boundaries and area.