Chapter 4

What is the maximum urban homestead for a family in Texas?

The answer is 10 acres. A rural homestead can be up to 200 acres per family in Texas. A single person rural homestead is up to 100 acres. Urban homestead maximum acreage is 10 acres for single persons or families.

To secure water rights in prior appropriation states, a landowner must demonstrate that the owner's plans are for a

The answer is beneficial use, such as crop irrigation.

When an individual dies and leaves no will, any real property will transfer to the state through a process called

The answer is escheat. Escheat (revert) is the process where the state may acquire privately owned property when an owner dies and has no heirs or a will or living trust indicating how the real estate is to be distributed.

In order to prevent property from being ownerless or abandoned, the government acquires property through the process of

The answer is escheat. Whenever a property owner dies and leaves no will, the government has the power to acquire the property through a process called escheat.

A person owned the fee simple title to a vacant lot adjacent to a hospital and was persuaded to make a gift of the lot to the hospital. She wanted to have some control over its use, so her attorney prepared her a deed to convey ownership of the lot to the hospital "so long as it is used for hospital purposes." After completion of the gift, the hospital will own a

The answer is fee simple determinable. A fee simple determinable has a special limitation on what can, or cannot, be done with the property. If the limitation is violated, the property may revert back to the original owner.

Which of the following is NOT a legal life estate?T

he answer is fee simple. A legal life estate is a form of life estate established by state law. It becomes effective automatically when certain events occur. Dower, curtesy, and homestead are the legal life estates currently used in some states. Community property states (like Texas) do not use dower and curtesy.

What is the maximum rural homestead for a family in Texas?

The answer is 200 acres. A rural homestead can be up to 200 acres per family in Texas. A single person rural homestead is up to 100 acres. Urban homestead maximum acreage is 10 acres for single persons or families.

The increase in the amount of land owned due to the natural action of the water is called

The answer is accretion. The increase in land is the result of soil being deposited through the natural action of water.

General real estate taxes levied for the operation of the government are called

The answer is ad valorem taxes. Ad valorem is Latin for "according to value." Government agencies and municipalities charge real estate taxes based on an assessment of value of the property.

A voluntary lien given to a lender by a borrower as security for a real estate loan is a

The answer is mortgage lien. A mortgage lien is created by an owner of real estate who pledges the real estate as collateral for a loan. Usually, the lender will want the mortgage lien to be in first priority.

Which of the following is NOT a type of lien given to a lender by a borrower as security for a real estate loan?

The answer is involuntary lien. A mortgage lien or deed of trust lien in some states is a voluntary/specific lien given to a lender by a borrower as security for a real estate loan. Lenders generally require that the mortgage lien take first priority.

An individual who holds a remainder estate becomes the property owner at the conclusion of which type of estate?

The answer is life estate. The creator of the life estate may name a remainderman as the person to whom the property will pass when the life estate ends.

In order to raise funds to meet the public needs, our government is authorized to collect taxes on real estate. Which of the following statements is FALSE regarding taxes?

The answer is all real estate is taxed. Most state laws exempt from taxation properties such as schools, parks, houses of worship, hospitals, and government buildings.

A property owner has built a fence that extends onto a neighbor's land. This is called

The answer is an encroachment. The property owner would have the right to either recover damages or secure removal of the portion of the fence that encroaches.

The sudden removal of soil due to an act of nature is called

The answer is avulsion. An earthquake or a mudslide can cause a property to become much smaller very quickly.

An easement that is created when a landowner sells a tract of land with no street or public road access EXCEPT through the seller's property is an easement

The answer is by necessity. An easement by necessity is created by court order based on the principle that owners must have the right to enter and exit their land.

Where water is plentiful, states may rely on the simple parameters set by the

The answer is common-law doctrines of riparian and littoral rights. These are common-law rights granted to owners of land along the course of a river or a navigable lake.

The process whereby the government acquires privately owned property for public use is

The answer is condemnation. Condemnation is the process the government exercises when acquiring property. The process can be either judicial or administrative.

Which of the following is NOT a government power?

The answer is condemnation. Government powers are those of police power, escheat, eminent domain, and taxation. Condemnation is the process by which the government exercises the right of eminent domain, by either judicial or administrative proceedings.

Which of the following is NOT a governmental power?

The answer is dedication. Governmental powers are those of police power, escheat, eminent domain, and taxation.

An estate in land is an ownership interest and is transferred using a

The answer is deed. All interests in real estate are transferred by a deed while all interests in personal property are transferred by a bill of sale.

Where water is scarce, a state may control all but limited domestic use of water according to the

The answer is doctrine of prior appropriation. Under this doctrine, the right to use any water, with the exception of limited domestic use, is controlled by the state rather than by the landowner adjacent to the water.

A property owner wants to use water from a river that runs through the property to irrigate her potato field. To do so, the owner is required by state law to submit an application to the Department of Water Resources describing in detail the plan for beneficial use of the water. If the department approves the owner's application, it will issue a permit allowing a limited amount of river water to be diverted onto the property. Based on these facts, it can be assumed that this property owner's state relies on which rule of law?

The answer is doctrine of prior appropriation. Water rights are especially critical in drier western states where the doctrine of prior appropriation attempts to limit water for beneficial use by requiring a special permit for specific use.

The type of easement that is a right-of-way for a utility company's power lines is

The answer is easement in gross. An easement in gross gives an individual or a company the rights to an easement across a number of properties. A commercial easement in gross may be assigned, conveyed, or inherited. A personal easement in gross usually terminates upon the death of the easement owner.

The gradual and imperceptible wearing away of the land by natural forces is called

The answer is erosion. An owner may lose land through erosion, which is the gradual wearing away of the land. Erosion can be increased due to heavy rains or strong winds.

Which of the following estates represents the highest interest in real estate?

The answer is fee simple absolute. A fee simple estate, or fee simple absolute, is the highest interest in real estate recognized by law and is the maximum possible estate or right of ownership of real property, continuing forever; the holder is entitled to all rights to the property.

A purchaser of real estate learns that his ownership rights could continue forever and that no other person can claim to be the owner or have any ownership control over the property. This person's interest in real estate is a

The answer is fee simple estate. A fee simple interest provides an owner with total ownership and control over a property with the exception of certain governmental powers.

A homeowner may be allowed certain protection from judgments of creditors as a result of the state's

The answer is homestead rights. Protection from creditors is called homestead rights and varies from state to state.

The right of way a utility company has to cross over land is an easement

The answer is in gross. An easement in gross is an individual or company interest in, or right to use, someone else's land. A utility company's right-of-way to cross over another's land is an easement in gross.

A right given by law to certain creditors to have their debts paid out of the property of a defaulting debtor is a

The answer is lien. A lien is an encumbrance that is usually a monetary charge against property that provides security for a debt. If the obligation is not repaid, the lienholder is entitled to have the debt satisfied from the proceeds of a court-ordered sale of the debtor's property.

The rights granted to property owners whose land borders commercially navigable lakes, seas, and oceans are called

The answer is littoral rights. Owners with littoral rights have unrestricted use but own the land adjacent to the water only up to the average high-water mark. All land below this point is owned by the government.

An involuntary lien that provides security for a person or company that has not been fully paid for labor performed or material furnished to improve real property is a

The answer is mechanic's lien. A mechanic's lien is an involuntary lien that provides security for a person or company that has not been fully paid for labor performed or material furnished to improve real property.

The government's authority to appoint local citizens to serve on boards to set zoning standards and building codes for their communities is an example of

The answer is police power. Police power is the right of every state to enact legislation to preserve order, protect the public health and safety, and promote the general welfare of its citizens.

Local communities passing environmental protection laws is an example of

The answer is police power. The power to enact legislation to preserve order, protect the public health and safety, and promote the general welfare of citizens is police power.

An owner conveys ownership of her residence to her church but reserves for herself a life estate in the residence. The future interest held by the church is a

The answer is remainder. When an owner conveys property but retains a life estate, the party to whom the property will go upon the death of the owner has a remainder interest.

What type of interest goes back to the original owner upon the end of a life estate?

The answer is reversionary interest. The creator of a life estate may choose not to name a person to whom the property will pass when the life estate ends. In that case, ownership is said to revert to the original owner upon the end of the life estate.

A woman occasionally drives over an adjacent property owner's property to get to the back of her own property so she can avoid huge mud pits after heavy rain. She has been doing this for the past 25 years but without consistency. Which of the following statements about this situation is TRUE?

The answer is she doesn't have an easement by prescription. The neighbor does not have an easement by prescription because her use was not continuous.

Which of the following statements is FALSE concerning the rights granted to owners of properties along the course of a river or stream?

The answer is they include the unrestricted right to use the water. The rights granted to the property owners have some limitations, such as not to interrupt or alter the flow or contaminate it in any way.

An easement may be terminated through all of the following EXCEPT

The answer is through the continuous use of a prescriptive easement. Rather, an easement may be terminated by the non-use of a prescriptive easement. Note that an easement may not automatically terminate for these reasons; certain legal steps may be required.

Which of the following phrases means for the life of another?

The answer pur autre vie. A life estate may be based on the lifetime of a person other than the life tenant. This is called a life estate pur autre vie.