Chapter 1: Real Property and the Law

Improvement

(1) Any structure, usually privately owned, erected on a site to enhance the vale of the property, for example: building a fence or driveway. (2) A publicly owned structure added to or benefiting land, such as a curb, sidewalk, street, or sewer

Title

(1) The right to or ownership of the land, including the owner's bundle of legal rights; and (2) evidence of that ownership by a deed. Refers to ownership of real property, not to a printed document

Bundle of Legal Rights

1. Possession 2. Control 3. Enjoyment 4. Exclusion 5. Disposition

Nonhomogeneity or Heterogeneity

A lack of uniformity; dissimilarity. Because no two parcels of land are exactly alike, real estate is said to be __________________

Appurtenance

A right, privilege, or improvement belonging to, and passing with, the land

Determining intent

A. Method of annexation - How permanent is the method of attachment? B. Adaptation to real estate - Is the item being used as real property or personal property? C. Agreement - Have the parties agreed to treat an item as though it is real or personal property?

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)

A. Nonremovable steel chassis B. At least 8 feet wide and 40 feet long C. At least 320 square feet of living space D. Capable of being lived in with or without a permanent foundation C. Contains a red label indicating that the home has been built in compliance with _____ construction and safety standards

Bundle of Legal Rights

A. Right of possession B. Right to control the property within the framework of the law C. Right of enjoyment (to use the property in any legal manner) D. Right of exclusion (to keep others from entering or using the property) E. Right of disposition (to sell, will, transfer, or otherwise dispose of or encumber the property)

Accession

Acquiring title to additions or improvements to real property as a result of the annexation of fixtures or the accretion of alluvial deposits along the banks of streams

Trade fixture

An article installed by a tenant under the terms of a lease and removable by the tenant before the lease expires

Fixture

An item of personal property that has been converted to real property by being permanently affixed to the realty

Improvement

Any artificial thing attached to land, such as building or fence, or streets, utilities, and sewers

Severance

Changing an item of real estate to personal property by detaching it from the land; for example: cutting down a tree

Water rights

Common law rights held by owners of land adjacent to rivers, lakes, or oceans' includes restrictions on those rights and land ownership

Manufactured housing

Dwellings built to U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) specifications that are at least 320 square feet and on a permanent chassis

Factory-Built Housing

Dwellings that are built off-site and trucked to a building lot where they are installed or assembled

What are the four characteristics that real estate is defined by nature?

Economic 1. Scarcity 2. Improvements 3. Permanence of investment 4. Location of area preference

What are the seven basic characteristics of real estate are defined by its nature and affect its use, characteristics fall into two general categories: economic and physical

Economic 1. Scarcity 2. Improvements 3. Permanence of investment 4. Location of area preference Physical 5. Immobility 6. Indestructibility 7. Uniqueness

Emblements or Fructus industriales

Growing crops, such as grapes and corn, which are produced annually through labor and industry

Real property

Includes both land and real estate. The interests, benefits, and rights inherent in real estate ownership. Conveyed by a deed

Chattel

Items of personal property that are movable

Personal property

Items, called chattels, that do not fit into the definition of real property; movable objects. Conveyed by a bill of sale or receipt

Real estate

Land; a portion of the earth's surface extending downward to the center of the earth and upward infinitely into space, including all things permanently attached to it, whether naturally or artificially

National Manufactured Housing Construction and Safety Act

Of 1976, when manufactured homes became federally regulated

Surface rights

Ownership rights in a parcel of real estate that are limited to the surface of the property and do not include the air above it (air rights) or the minerals below the surface (subsurface rights)

Subsurface rights

Ownership rights in a parcel of real estate to the water, minerals, gas, oil, and so forth that lie beneath the surface of the property

What are the three characteristics that real estate is defined by affect?

Physical 1. Immobility 2. Indestructibility 3. Uniqueness

Area Preference

Refers not only to geography but also to people's preference for a specific area

Bundle of Legal Rights

The concept of land ownership that includes ownership of all legal rights to the land, for example: possession, control within the law, enjoyment, exclusion, and disposition

Land

The earth's surface, extending downward to the center of the earth and upward infinitely into space, including things permanently attached by nature, such as trees and water

Situs

The personal preference of people for one area over another, not necessarily based on objective facts and knowledge

Annexation

The process of converting personal property into real property

Mine subsidence

The process of downward land shifts due to the collapse of underground mine shafts and groundwater flows, usually resulting in sinkholes and troughs. The damage to structures may be functional, cosmetic, or structural

Air Rights

The right to use the open space above a property, generally allowing the surface to be used for another purpose

Fructus naturales

Trees, perennial bushes, and grasses that do not require annual cultivation