Property Ownership and Transfer Flashcards

This set of flashcards covers the fundamental concepts of real estate including property types, ownership forms, land characteristics, legal descriptions, and water rights as derived from the lecture notes.

Real Property

Immovable land plus improvements (buildings, fences, fixtures) and the bundle of rights.

Bundle of Rights

The legal rights associated with real property ownership: Possession, Control, Enjoyment, Exclusion, and Disposition.

Personal Property (Chattel)

Movable items such as furniture, vehicles, and crops, which are transferred by a bill of sale rather than a deed.

Trade Fixtures

Items installed by a commercial tenant for business use that remain the personal property of the tenant unless abandoned.

MARIA Test

The method used to determine if an item is a fixture: Method of attachment, Adaptability, Relationship of parties, Intention, and Agreement (the most important).

Uniqueness (Non-homogeneity)

A physical characteristic of land stating that no two parcels are identical.

Location (Situs)

The most important economic characteristic of land, which drives value.

Fee Simple Absolute

The highest form of ownership with unlimited duration; it is both transferable and inheritable.

Fee Simple Determinable

A type of fee simple defeasible estate characterized by the phrase "So long as…"; violation of conditions leads to automatic reversion.

Life Estate

Ownership based on someone's lifetime where the life tenant cannot will the property, and it carries a reversion or remainder interest.

Estate for Years

A leasehold estate for a fixed period that requires no notice to terminate.

Periodic Tenancy

A leasehold estate that renews automatically, such as a month-to-month lease.

Estate at Sufferance

A situation where a tenant remains in possession of the property after the lease expires.

Tenancy in Common

The most common form of concurrent ownership featuring separate, undivided interests with no right of survivorship; shares can be sold or willed.

Joint Tenancy

Ownership by two or more people with the right of survivorship (ROS), requiring the four unities of Time, Title, Interest, and Possession (TTIP).

Tenancy by the Entirety

Concurrent ownership for married couples only, includes right of survivorship and protection from individual spouse's creditors.

Ownership in Severalty

Sole ownership of property by one person or one entity.

Metes and Bounds

The oldest method of legal description for irregular shapes, starting and ending at a Point of Beginning (POB).

Rectangular (Government) Survey

A system using townships ($6 \text{ miles} \times 6 \text{ miles}$) and sections ($1 \text{ mile} \times 1 \text{ mile}$ or $640 \text{ acres}$).

Easement Appurtenant

A right to use another's land that runs with the land.

Easement by Prescription

A right to use another's land gained through use without permission for a statutory period.

Encroachment

A physical intrusion onto a property, such as a fence, tree, or garage, which may require a survey to confirm.

Riparian Rights

Water rights for property bordering moving water like a river; ownership goes to the water's edge if navigable or the center of the stream if non-navigable.

Littoral Rights

Water rights for property bordering lakes or oceans, extending to the average high-water mark.

Appropriation

State-controlled water usage rights often found in Western states.