Property ownership practice exam

General lien

lien that covers all properties of the debtor in that county where it is recorded

Fee simple estate

an estate of inheritance

An estate for years

a leasehold estate with a fixed, definite beginning and ending date and automatically terminates when the term expires.

Less than a freehold estate

a tenant’s interest in real property, also called a leasehold estate, where the tenant has possession but not ownership

Leasehold estate

an interest in real property that grants a tenant the right to possess and use property for a period of time, while ownership remains with the landlord

Fee simple determinable estate

an ownership interest that automatically ends if a specified condition is violated, and the property reverts back to the grantor

Estate in severalty

ownership of property by one individual or legal entity alone, with no co-owners.

Fee simple estate

the highest and most complete form of property ownership, with unlimited duration and full rights to possess, use, and dispose of the property

A situation in which the tenant's lease has expired, the tenant is no longer paying rent and is living on the property without permission is known as

estate at sufferance

Which of the following is an example of a less-than-freehold estate (renting)?

leasehold estate

ownership

Freehold and various forms of fee simple estates

Developer's Responsibilities

to make sure the streets, curbs, sidewalks, utilities, and gutters are completed and functional.

If five people own property as joint tenants, which of the following is true?

There is still only one title to the whole property

An appurtenant easement

an easement that is annexed to the ownership of one parcel and allows the owner the use of the neighbor's land. The buyer has the same rights as the seller.

The dominant tenement

the estate (ie property) which derives benefit from an easement over a servient tenement, as in a Right-of-way

Vendor

the seller of real property

Vendee

the buyer of real property

Serviant tenement

the property that is burdened by an easement for the benefit of another property.

Holdover tenancy

is a tenancy whereby a lessee retains possession of leased property after the lease has expired and the landlord, by continuing to accept rent, agrees to the tenant's continued occupancy as defined by state law.

Joint tenancy

co-ownership by two or more persons with the right of survivorship, meaning when one owner dies, their interest automatically passes to the surviving owners.

Tenancy in common

co-ownership where each owner holds an undivided interest, and there is no right of survivorship.

Concurrent tenancy

ownership by two or more persons at the same time, which includes joint tenancy, tenancy in common, and tenancy by the entirety

Holdover tendency

occurs when a tenant remains in possession after the lease expires and the landlord accepts rent, creating a periodic tenancy

servient tenement

the property that is burdened by an easement

An estate at will

an interest in a leased property that continues indefinitely, and may be

terminated by either party. It is governed by the interested parties' WILLS, or intentions

Life estate

an ownership interest that lasts only for the lifetime of a specified person (the life tenant), after which the property passes to another party.

Fee simple state

the highest and most complete form of property ownership, with unlimited duration and full rights of use, possession, and transfer

Estate at will

a leasehold estate with no definite term that continues as long as both landlord and tenant agree.

Estate from period to period

An estate from period to period is a tenancy that automatically renews for successive periods (month-to-month, year-to-year) until proper notice is given to terminate

quiet title action

a lawsuit filed to clear defects or disputes over property ownership

Lessee

The tenant — the person who leases or rents property from another

Lessor

The owner or landlord — the person who leases property to another

Beneficiary

A person who receives benefits from a legal arrangement, such as:

A deed of trust (the lender is the beneficiary)

A trust (the person receiving the trust benefits)

Landlord

The property owner or manager who rents property to a tenant; functionally the lessor in a lease.

The four unities of joint tenancy are

Time, Title, Interest, and Possession

Deed

a written instrument that conveys title to real estate and must be signed by the grantor and delivered to the grantee to be valid.

An estate for years

An estate for years is a leasehold estate with a fixed, definite beginning and ending date

legal life estate

an ownership interest that lasts for the lifetime of a person, created by operation of law (usually to protect surviving spouses), rather than by the grantor.

A lis pendens

a notice of a possible future lien and is filed because there is often

considerable delay between the time a lawsuit is filed and the time final judgment is rendered.

Tenancy for years

A leasehold estate with a fixed, definite beginning and ending date that automatically terminates at the end of the term

Periodic tenancy

A leasehold estate that automatically renews for successive periods (month-to-month, year-to-year) until proper notice is given to terminate

Fee simple defeasible estate

A fee simple estate subject to a condition or limitation, which can be lost if a condition is violated.

Life estate

An estate that lasts for the lifetime of a specific person (the life tenant), after which the property passes to another party (remainderman or back to grantor).

A seller lists her property with a local broker, and the listing agreement excludes the seller's prized Iris flowers planted in the garden. The broker lists the exclusion in the MLS and notes it on the property brochure. But when a buyer makes an offer on the property, the plants are not mentioned anywhere in the contract. The seller accepts the offer. At closing, who has possession of the Iris plants?

The buyer, since they are improvements to the land

A mortgage lien is

voluntarily by the borrower

IRS tax lien

A lien imposed by the Internal Revenue Service for unpaid federal income taxes.

Property tax lien

A lien placed on real estate by the local government for unpaid property taxes.

Holdover tenancy

Occurs when a tenant remains in possession of the property after the lease 

expires, often with the landlord’s consent, creating a periodic tenancy

Tenancy at sufferance

A tenancy that arises when a tenant remains on the property after lawful lease expiration without the landlord’s consent.

Tenancy at will

A tenant who holds possession of a landlord's property without a definite lease

term but with the consent of the landlord. 

In a cooperative

a corporation holds title to the land and building and offers shares of stock to inhabitants of the cooperative's units. Owners in a cooperative occupy their units through proprietary leases, and their interests are treated as personal property.

Tenancy with survivorship

tenancy interest will pass to the surviving tenants upon the death of a co-tenant.

A judgment

a general, involuntary, equitable lien on both real and personal property owned by the debtor.

A judgment lien filed in a county usually covers

the debtor's real and personal property located in that county.

The four unities of possession, interest, time, and title are associated with which of the following?

Joint tenancy

Severalty ownership

ownership of real property by one individual or legal entity alone, with no co-owners.

Community property

property acquired during marriage that is owned equally by both spouses, regardless of who earned the income.

When property is owned in severalty

property owner may sell, will, or lease the property to another person.

A property owner conveys the ownership of his house to his mother and

stipulates that on her death ownership will revert to him. The interest the owner has in the property is a

reversionary interest

Reversionary interest

the future interest that returns to the original grantor when a temporary estate (like a life estate) ends.

Remainder interest

the future interest that passes to someone other than the grantor after a temporary estate ends.

Homestead estate

a legal protection that allows a primary residence to be partially protected from creditors.

Qualified fee estate

an estate in which ownership may be lost if a condition or limitation is violated.

Under a nonconforming use permit, if an improvement is destroyed or torn down, then rebuilding an improvement to its former use is usually

prohibited

real estate property tax lien

always on a specific piece of real estate; it happens without permission of the property owner and so is involuntary. 

 maximum estate that a person may hold in land may be referred to as a(n)

fee simple estate.

remainder

 the future interest conveyed to the remainderman in the deed.

Estate

A possessory right or ownership interest in real estate.

A possessory right or ownership interest in real estate.

a type of easement that still applies to a property even if the owners change. Generally, easements are only terminated by expiration (effective time limit of an easement runs out), abandonment (dominant tenement takes or stops taking action, which indicates they no longer have an interest in the easement), release (dominant tenement expressly releases servient tenement from the easement) or merger of title (one owner takes title of both dominant and servient tenements).

 person who has complete control over a parcel of real estate is said to own a

fee simple estate

easement

a right that a property owner has over a part of the property of another

owner (usually the neighbor) for a certain purpose.

Cooperative ownership

an apartment ownership similar to a condominium. In a cooperative ownership, the buyer receives shares of stock in the building corporation and a lease or assignment of the seller's lease of the apartment being sold

Eminent domain

 a legal strategy that allows a federal or local government to seize private property for public use. The seizing authority must pay fair market value for the property seized.

The owner of a condominium and the lessee of an apartment have many

differences, but their legal relationship with their properties is the same in that they both hold

an estate in real property