Real Estate - Chapter 1: Ownership

An appurtenant easement would best be described as an easement that: A.) is used primarily by utility companies B.) Runs with the land C.) terminates upon the death of the dominant tenement D.) is created by long-term use

B.) Runs with the land

instrument used to transfer personal property

Bill of Sale

What do liens and easements have in common? - Both are encumbrances - Both must be on public record to be valid - both cannot be done without the consent of the owner - both occur following the establishment of a debt

Both are encumbrances [ a lien is a "money" encumbrance where an easement is a "use" encumbrance]

an owner of a life estate dies and the land passed to the remainder man. what interest would the remainder man receive? A) Estate in Reversion B) Life estate C) Estate at Will D) Estate in Fee Simple

D) Estate in Fee Simple [Life estates can only be based on the life of one person in the chain. upon death, the estate reverts back to fee simple and goes either to a third party (remainder) or back to the original grantor (reversion)

Baird and Carr both used a shared driveway located on the boundary line between their two properties. Baird died. Which statement best describes this situation? A.) This is an appurtenant easement and the right of use continues regardless of any change in ownership B.) This is a gross easement and the right of use continues regardless of any change in ownership C.) This is a license and would terminate upon the death of either party D.) This is an appurtenant easement where the death of either party terminates the easement

A. ) This is an appurtenant easement and the right of use continues regardless of any change in ownership

a visiting dignity who rented a place to live for two months (June 5th-August 5th) has what property rights?

Estate for Years

which item would most likely be considered a fixture? - Pasture - Pond - Fence around a pasture - Tractor

Fence around a pasture

4 persons owned a property as tenants in common. one wanted to sell the property but the others did not. What action would the one that wanted to sell most likely take?

File a suit to partition, in order to force the sale of the property

a private agreement contained in a deed that restricts the use of a property; "deed restrictions", e.g. certain types of fences or roofs

Restrictive covenants

going from real estate to personal property

Severance

Signing over rights in a claim to a title insurance company in return for getting paid off

Subrogation

An encroachment would usually be discovered during which of the following? - Title Search - Survey - Lien Search - Appraisal

Survey

total of all the assessed values in an area that are subject to tax

Tax Base

joint tenancy is most similar to what?

Tenancy by the entireties [both require right of survivorship and TTIP (time, title, interest, possession) - same time, same title, equal interest, and undivided possession]

Howe's property was assessed at $30,000. Rand's property was assessed at $35,000. Which is true? a) the ad valorem tax on Rand's property is higher than Howes b) the improvement tax on rand's property is higher than Howe's c)The special assessments on Rand's property are higher than howe's d) the special assessments on Howe's property are higher than Rand's

The ad valorem tax on Rand's property is higher than Howe's (ad valorem means to tax based on value. since rand's property is higher than Howe's the ad valorem taxes would be higher)

a man and wife rented a condominium for one year. The lease agreement signed by the landlord and tenant made no mention of a notice to terminate. At the end of the year, the man and wife moved out. The landlord notified the man and wife that they owed one extra months rent as they had not given the landlord a notice to terminate one month before the expiration of the lease. What is a true statement in this situation?

The tenants do not owe one extra months rent as no notice was required due to the lease being a set one year time period

Can protect against encroachments and title issues

Title Insurance Policy

Which of the following items would not be considered real property? A. House B. Mineral Rights C. Air Rights D. Trade Fixtures

Trade Fixtures

Ann Carr planted a rose garden on the corner of Mrs. Baird's property. Mrs. Baird was home-bound and never left her house. Mrs. Baird never knew that Ann Carr planted a rose garden on her property. The statutory period had elapsed and Ann Carr claimed the rose garden. Would Ann Carr have a good chance of getting rights to an easement by prescription?

Yes, because she had made open use of the property

severalty

a cooperative would take title to property under what category? A. Tenants in Common B. Joint tenancy C. Severalty D. Tenancy in the entireties

it was at one time personal property

a fixture

A person sold their property and then reserved the right to stay on that same property as long as the person remained alive. This would be referred to as: - pur autre vie - remainder - a life estate - reversion

a life estate

which best characterizes the difference between zoning laws and building codes? a) zoning laws deal with use; building codes deal with building materials b) building codes deal with use; zoning laws deal with building materials c) building codes deal with construction materials; zoning laws do not d) zoning laws deal with construction materials; building codes do not

a) zoning laws deal with use; building codes deal with building materials

appurtenance [a new furnace and air conditioning unit would be considered fixtures (real estate) which therefore would be an appurtenance (right, privilege or improvement that belong to and pass with the sale of property) ].

an owner buys a house and puts in a new furnace and air conditioning unit. these items would be considered a(n)___.

a right, privilege or improvement that is permanently attached to the land

appurtenance

a situation whereby a person loses land but the boundary lines remain the same

avulsion

the word "riparian" best refers to which of the following properties? Ocean-front Properties Property next to a lake cabin next to a stream landlocked property

cabin next to a stream (Riparian refers to land that borders a "flowing" waterway)

purpose of a percolation test

determine the water absorption rate in the soil

gives someone else the right to use part of your property while you still retain the ownership rights

easement

The right of the government to take private property when an owner dies intestate and has no heirs; also applies if owner abandons the property

escheat

a farmer leases a property for 10 years and refuses to return the property to the landlord at the end of the lease

example of a tenant at sufferance

two building lots were for sale. one was zoned multi-family and the other for commercial. a builder wanted to buy the lots and have them rezoned for single family homes.

example of down zoning

an heirloom chandelier in a house would be considered a(n)___.

fixture

right of survivorship

found in joint tenancy, when one owner dies, the ownership interest passes to the surviving owners

lessor

giver of lease (landlord)

a minor can legally act as a: grantor grantee testator guardian

grantee

a cooperative was having problems meeting its obligations because a few of the individual members were in arrears with their lease payments. the lender who holds the mortgage has threatened foreclosure. what could happen as a result of this foreclosure action?

if the lender forecloses, the cooperative would be dissolved and each stockholder would lose their interest

which of the following statements is correct about a judgement lien? a) it can only cover personal property b) it can only cover real property c) it can only be enforced on property in the county where the judgement was filed d) it has an indefinite period of time in which it can be enforced

it can only be enforced on property in the county where the judgement was filed

when a valid deed is recorded, what does this actually do? - gives constructive notice - effectively transfers the title - it bars any future claims - it gives actual notice

it gives constructive notice

Seller Carr gave buyer Dole a quitclaim deed. what does this effectively do? - terminates a fee simple title -promises that car at one time had an interest in the property - terminates any claims of ownership that Car might have had it sets a time limit that car can use any easement rights

it terminates any claims of ownership that Carr might have had

a deed would be presumed to have been delivered upon the happening of what event?

it was recorded

Personal Permission to use someone else's property; does not encumber title as an easement does

license

a father deeded some land to his son. there was a deed restriction on the property restricting the use of the land to agricultural only. years later, the city rezoned the property to light industrial use. can the property now be used for light industrial?

no because the deed restriction is still valid

a construction company built a hangar for an airplane which was kept on an owner's property. the owner did not pay for the hangar so the company filed a mechanic's lien on the airplane. was the construction company justified in doing this?

no, because a mechanic's lien can only be placed on the improvement itself

a property had recently been re-zoned commercial and the owner wanted to start a small business there. the deed restrictions prohibited commercial use of the property. would the owner be allowed to operate a small business from this property?

no, the most restrictive of the zoning or deed restrictions would take precedence and the commercial use would be prohibited in the deed

which of the following is true regarding a condominium? A. maintenance fee is set by each individual owner B. owner cannot pass fee simple title C. Owner does not have to take care of the Lawn D. The owner receives a share of stock

owner does not have to take care of the lawn

a farmer leased a property on an annual basis whereby the farmer or the owner could terminate the lease by giving the other party 90 days notice. one half of the crop value would be the annual rent. this type of lease would be best described as: - tenancy in common - periodic estate - tenancy for years - tenancy at will

periodic estate

a lease that runs from period to period; e.g. a month-to-month lease

periodic tenancy

when a city changes the zoning of a particular area to encourage the city to go in that direction, the city is exercising the right of: - police power - eminent domain - escheat subrogation

police power

a deed covenant in a subdivision would relate to which of the following terms? - private deed restrictions - police power - eminent domain - escheat

private deed restriction

(for another's life) A life estate where the grantee owns a property based on someone else's life

pur autre vie

lessee

receiver of lease (tenant)

each of the following covenants would be found in a general warranty deed except: - seizin - restrictive ownership - further assurance - quiet enjoyment

restrictive ownership

a person bought 5 acres of ground. the 5 acres as well as the surrounding area was zoned low density residential. the buyer was able to change the zoning on the 5 acres to light industrial. this is best referred to as: - non-conforming use - a dedication - down zoning - spot zoning

spot zoning

a lessee stays past a five year lease but continues to pay the rent. this is best described as a(n)__.

tenancy at sufferance

an individual interest in group ownership; the ownership interest can be unequal, the parties all share possession, and the heirs of the deceased receive the property upon the death of one of the owners (ownership does not transfer to the other co-owners)

tenancy in common

What form of ownership do individual condominium owners have in the common elements?

tenants in common

Describe the removal of trade fixtures upon the termination of a lease

they could be removed, even if it substantially damaged the property as long as the tenant agrees to be responsible for the damage

a manager of a real estate company must keep all of the following records except: - listing contracts - title insurance policies - list of company expenses - list of sales contracts

title insurance policies (title insurance policies are for the individuals who purchase properties, not for the real estate company)

Why would a survey be important to a buyer in purchasing a property?

to let the buyer be aware of the property lines (such as for putting up a fence)

tenancy in common

two people wanted to purchase property but did not want the right of survivorship. which of the following forms of ownership should they most likely choose?

a city took property through eminent domain so they could build a sports complex and then lease it to four private sports franchises. would this be allowed?

yes, as long as homeowners were paid compensation for the properties

a woman took over an abandoned farm. she tilled and planted crops on the land she then notified the owner by certified mail that she was using the property. would she ever have a good chance of gaining title to the property?

yes, if she continued to maintain possession of the farm

a person bought a house and wanted to bring along a pet cougar to keep in the backyard. which of the following governmental rights would most likely prohibit this?

zoning ordinances because sometimes these contain what animals may be kept

1. deed is signed by grantor 2. deed is delivered to grantee 3. grantee then records it 4. if recorded, courts presume it must have been delivered or it would have not been recorded

Recording a Deed

When one is granted the right to cross over someone else's land in order to be able to bale hay, this would be an: A. Appurtenance B. Easement C. Rescission D. Reversion

B) Easement

going from personal to real property; item that was once personal property but is now attached

Fixture

a lender tried to force a homeowner to sell her home to pay the lender for personal debts incurred by the homeowner. What could the homeowner claim to stop the sale of her home?

Homestead

what type of ownership would provide for a surviving owner to obtain complete title?

Joint Tenancy

a judgement would most likely result from which of the following items? - foreclosure - special assessment - law suit - mechanics lien

Law Suit

which of the following terms best describes one or more persons' right to use a property to the exclusion of all others? - Easement - Ownership (Fee Simple) - Leasehold - License

Ownership (Fee Simple)

when emerging patterns of urban land use are occurring that would allow for the elimination of residential side yards but require the density to remain the same, we see an example of a(n) - horizontal land development - integrated land development - planned unit development - exceptional land use

Planned Unit Development - a PUD is where there are diverse uses of the land all in one area. therefore everything is more dense, hence the term density zoning is quite often used for PUDS or overlay zoning or cluster zoning

a husband and wife filed for divorce. the wife then tried to sell the property but the ex-husband's name was still on the deed. which of the following actions would be best in trying to remedy the situation? - suit to partition - quiet title suit - lis pendens - notice of lien

Quiet Title Suit