Real Estate Chapter 2

Tenancy in common (concurrent estate)

Traditional ownership; each of the joint owners holds an undivided, proportional interest in the entire property Tenants who are unhappy with the joint relationship can demand a partition of the property

TDRS- transformal development rights

a method by which developers can purchase the development rights of certain parcels within a designated "sending district" and transfer the rights to another "receiving district" to increase the density of their new development. Sell un used air rights above building to someone across town

Condominium ownership

all owners typically have fee simple titles to their personal units, while common areas such as sidewalks, yards, entrances, hallways pools, tennis courts, and other recreational facilities are jointly owned in a tenancy in common

Remainder interest-

"to sarah for her life, then to robert" robert holds the remainder interest (remianderman)

Leases or tenancies can be divided into-

1. Tenancy for a stated period- enter an agreement for a specified term 2. Tenancy from period to period- landlord and tenant agree to continue their relationship form year to year or month to month or some other period length 3. tenacy at will- When parties enter into lease without specifying either a termination date or period length 4. Tenancy at sufferance- when a tenant is in possession of a landlord;s property against the wishes of landlord; BREACH

Proprietary lease

co-op ownership for a specific unit; lease is indefinite because it is tied to tenant's interest in the cooperative corporation

Estates in Land

collection or bundles of ownership interest in real property often are described as estates in land

Plats

common alternative and supplement to these methods of legally describing real estate is to refer to engineers drawings of parcels or real estate

Individual unit deed

deed for condo units are similar to other deeds conveying real property

Rectangular survey system-

description method

Fee interest time-share

divides the ownership of a unity, usually a condo, into 52 weeks

Riparian rights doctrine-

dominant in the eastern US; all owners whose land underlies or border the water have equal rights to the water

Estates in severalty

estates "standing along"; one person or legal entity owns each interest

Vested remainder-

exists when the remainderman is guaranteed ownership of the property at some time in the future

Cooperative Ownership

form of ownership, the land and building usually are owned by a nonprofit corporation specifically created for the purpose of owning the property. Residents own stock in the corporation that owns the property and thus have the right to occupy a particular unit in the property

Estates in land can be divided into....

freehold and leasehold estates

Condominium declaration

identifies the individual units and all common areas, assigns a specific share of the common areas to each unit, creates an association to govern the project and maintain the common areas

Test of attachment

if an item of personal property becomes attached to the real estate, it is usually considered a fixture, and the damage caused to the land or building by the item's removal is a crucial element in the test of attachment

Time Share

interval ownership, a type of concurrent estate that splits ownership by time; most of activity in the time-share is vacation oriented,

leased fee estate

landlord is the owner of the property but the property is currently leased to a tenant

right of reentry

landlord reversionary interest at the termination of leasehold estate

Right to use time-share-

lease agreement with a leasehold interest for a specific number of years

eviction=

legal process used by lessors to terminate leasehold estates when lessees failed to abide by the lease terms or refuse to return possession of the property

Metes and Bounds-

metes are the distances used in a description, and bounds are the directions of the boundaries;

Test of adaptability

method in determining whether an item is a fixture; items that have been specifically adapted to the real estate are generally considered fixtures. The issues considered in this test is whether removal of the item would substantially alter the usefulness of the remaining real estate.

Mineral rights-

minerals or other useful materials that exist below the surface

Test of intent of the parties

most crucial test used to determine whether something is a fixture or personal property

Grantee

party who receives the interest

Grantor

party who transfers a real property interest

Trade fixtures

personal property used in a trade or business such as machinery, office equipment, and office cubicles to the building without losing the right to remove these items at the termination of the lease (lease agreements can attach trade fixtures) *i must be able to keep when i move out

Air lots- property does not actually touch the ground

property does not actually touch the ground

Sections (township)

rectangular survey system divides each township into 36 equal sized sections

Bylaws

represent a private contract among property owners regarding the operation of the condo

Leasehold estates

right to use and possess but not own property owned by someone else... *include tenancy for a stated period, tenancy from period to period, tenancy at will, and tenancy at sufferance *Leasehold estates are transferred by a legal document called a lease

Base Lines- running east and west

running east and west

Principal Meridians - running north and south

running north and south

Estate pur autre vie

someone other than the person whose life the life estate is tied to

Prior appropriation doctrine -

states west of mississippi, the first person to use a body of water for some beneficial economic purpose has a right to use all the water desired, even if landowners who later find a use for the water may be preclude from using it

Fee simple absolute estates-

the fullest and most complete set of ownership rights one can possess in real property; has all the rights below Alienable- owner can transfer any interest in property while living Devisable- interests can be transferred by a will on the death of the owner Descendible- the interest passes to the owner's legal heirs if he or she dies without a valid will

Qualified fee estates-

the owner's right can be "defeated" or lost in the future should a stated event or condition come to pass *Reversions- future interests that follow qualified fee estates; you own this property unless something or some event happens

personal property

All moveable items

Littoral proprietors

the owners of land that joins a navigable body of water, such as an ocean, a sea or certain rivers, generally owns the land to the high water marker; the owners of such adjoining land

Real Estate

the physical land, structures, and resources attached to it. Divided into= surface rights, mineral rights, air rights and water rights

Real property

the physical property of the real estate, but it expands its definition of real estate Ito include a bundle of ownership and usage rights *can be divided into different bundles of property rights called estates in land *rights to real property can be divided among multiple owners include condominiums, cooperatives and time-shares.

Air rights

the space above the earth's surface; ownership of air space is limited to a reasonable distance above the earth's surface

Life estate

type of freehold estate that terminates automatically and immediately upon the death of a named person; cannot inherit this

Percolating water-

water in pockets not clearly located

Underground/Subterranean stream-

water that flows in a defined channel

Lease

when a tenant acquires property rights to leased property, the document used to convey the rights from the property owner to the tenant

concurrent ownership

when more than one owner has rights to the same real estate ie: tenancy in common, joint tenancy, and tenancy by the entirety

Deed

when ownership rights to real property are transferred, the document normally used to convey the rights from one party to another is called a deed

unity of title

when the owners have the same estate in the land, such a fee simple estate, life estate, or another estate talked about

Contingent remainder-

when there are conditions attached to the remainder interest that could prevent the remainderman from receiving a present interest in the property

Water rights

who has the right to withdraw water from the land Rights vary from state to state and depend primarily on what type of water the land touches. The government usually owns the land underneath the water Non Navigable bodies of water are more complex...two doctrines with an owners right to them

Life tenant-

whoever is given a property for the length of their own or someone else's life

Fixtures

Items that were once considered personal but are now real property Fixtures are regarded as part of the property, and it is a given that they will go to the buyer along with the rest of the property *whether an item of personal property has become a fixture can be critically important in determining (1) value of real property (2) whether a real estate transaction includes the item (3) whether the item is part of the security given to the mortgagee (lender) and (4) whether the item remains with the landlord or can be removed by the tenant when the lease terminates

Unity of possession

Join tenants have unity of possession only when each owner has the right to possess all of the real estate subject to the other owners' right of possession

Freehold estates

Ownership include the fee simple absolute estate, qualified fee estates, life estates, and reversion and remainder interests *generally transferred by a legal document called a deed

Chattel

Personal Property

Title

Real property

Joint tenancy (concurrent)

Similar to tenancy in common except it carries with it right of survivorship = If a co-owner should die, the other owner automatically divide the share owned by the dead *To satisfy unity of time, the joint tenants ownership had to be created at the same time by the same conveyance

Community property (concurrent)

Some states recognize a system of property rights between husbands and wives called community property "Martial community"; property ownership is divided equally between husband and wife

Tenancy by the entirety (concurrent)

Specialized type of joint tenancy that can be created only between husbands and wives Spouses share ownership equally, shares automatically pass to the surviving spouse, and individual interests cannot be sold without the consent of the other spouse or without decision by a court in the case of divorce