FINC 3250 Tomlinson - Study Materials on Joint Tenancy and Property Law Concepts

4 Types of Real Estate

1. Residential

2. Commercial

3. Agricultural

4. Public

residential

single-family and multi-family

commercial

real estate where you run a business

Agricultural

Any natural resource is cultivated

Public

government, city parks, schools, military bases

Physical Characteristics of Land

immobility

indestructibility

nonhomogeneity

Immobility

property cannot be moved (can affect value of land)

Indestructibility

property cannot be destroyed

Nonhomogeneity

no 2 pieces of property are exactly alike

Economic Characteristics of Land

Scarcity

Fixity

Situs

Modification

Scarcity

Real estate is scarce, there may not be enough property to satisfy everyone who wants property in that area

ex) beach front, new york, mountains

Fixity

land is expensive and takes a long time to pay for itself

-Nature of real estate is fixed, doesnt change or only changes over a long period of time.

Situs

locational preference, either due to natural (e.g. the coast) or manmade (e.g. good schools) phenomena.

Modification

Improvements to the land can change the value of the property

ex) Buildings, adding a pond

Real Estate Agent

A person who assists others in buying or selling real estate.

-can specialize but mostly happens in bigger markets

Appraiser

They evaluate a piece of property and tell you how much it is worth

Mortgage broker

They broker the deal (middle man)

Mortgage Lender

The person/business who loans the money

Surveyor

helps determine the boundaries and the topography of the property

Consultant

someone who has specialized knowledge and provides expert advice, services, or information

Fixtures----> Improvements---> Land/dirt = Real estate

Fixtures----> Improvements---> Land/dirt = Real estate

Real Property

Land and anything intended to be permanently attached to the land

Improvements

Something that is intended to be permanently attached (fence, driveway)

Personal Property

Tangible, moveable property (boats, cars, furniture)

Fixtures

an item of personal property that becomes part of real property (projector)

Rule of thumb

Once it becomes a fixture it becomes a part of the property and can't be removed

Manner of attachment

-How is that object attached or fixed(fixture) to the dirt or improvement

-the higher level of attachment the more likely is a fixture

Adaptation of the property to the object

-How has the property been adapted to encompass that object

-the higher level of adaptation than the more likely it is a fixture

Appurtances

-Anything that becomes part of the real property

(playing golf at a club where the house is)

-a right that is associated with ownership of the property, if ownership is transferred, than the right follows the ownership

Riparian Rights

Right to flowing water, can't stop or change flow rate (owning property next to a river)

Littoral Rights

Right to standing water and can't affect water level(owning property next to a lake, pond)

Doctrine of Prior Appropriation

water rights are determined by priority of beneficial use. This means that the first person to use water or divert water for a beneficial use or purpose can acquire individual rights to the water

T or F, If someone is already using water for a beneficial purpose, than that person can acquire a higher level of rights to that water?

True

Fee Simple Ownership

100% ownership. Every right that is not reserved to the government.

Qualified Fee

Ownership with a qualification to it(I own the property, but...)

Fee Simple Determinable

the length of ownership can be determined by a granting document (fee ownership but only for a determined amount of time)

Fee Simple Subject to Condition Subsequent

ownership is granted as long as some condition(s) are met. If the condition is no longer being met, the property either reverts back to the owner (a reversionary interest) or goes to some third party (a remainder interest).

Life Estate

ownership is conditioned to someone's life (as soon as they die ownership is transferred)

Future Interest

An ownership interest in property that comes after the end of life estate or qualified fee ends

Reversion

property reverts back to the original grantor(life estate)

Remainder

Property goes to a third person

Concurrent Estates (co-ownership of property not joint ownership)

Ownership of property by 2 or more people at the same time

-Each has undivided interest in the entire property

Tenants in Common

Default type of Coownership

-All owners has an undivided interest in property.

-The co-owners can own different proportions of the property

-Each owner can sell/giveaway their interest in the property without the other owners permission

-NO RIGHT OF SURVIVORSHIP

What are the 4 utilities of Joint tenants with right of survivorship

1) Time

2) Title

3) Interest

4) Posession

Time

each co owner must receive their co ownership at exactly the same time

Title

each co owner must receive their ownership from the same granting document (deed) and same interest

Interest

Each co owner must own equal share of property

Possession

each owner has an undivided interest in the property

Right of Survivorship

When one coowner dies, his/her ownership interest immediately passes in equal shares to the remaining coowners without going to court

Protection from Creditors at Death

the right of surviorship feature that provides this protection only if the debtor dies before his or her interest is seized

T or F, Joint Tenants need consent to convey their interest from the other joint tenants

False, Joint tenants can convey their interest without consent of the other joint tenants.

If one of the joint tenants does decide to sell his or her interest, does the new owner become a tenant in common or stay a joint tenant with the old joint tenants?

Tenant in Common

T or F, Corporations can own property as a joint tenant

False, reasoning: companies never die

Tenancy by the Entirety

Joint tenancy with right of survivorship between 2 married persons

-only available for married couples

-Neither person can convey the property without the consent of the other.

-complete protection from individual creditors during life and upon death

-If the couple divorces, then it becomes tenants in common

Metes and Bounds

-Using compass direction and distance to trace the bounds of the property.

-most common used type of property description

Government Survey description

Section, township, range

Meridans

Longitude Lines

Base Lines

Latitude Lines

Range Line

line 6 miles east and west of meridians

Township Line

line 6 miles north and south of base lines

Township

the 6 square miles marked off by intersecting range and township lines

Section

36 squares of a mile on each side within a township

Acre

640 acres in a section

Existence of Agreement

-controls the situation and overrules any other test

-If there is an agreement between two parties than it is a fixture

Trade Fixture

It is a fixture that can be removed if the property can still function

T or F, Can Trade Fixtures be removed?

T