Modern Real Estate Practice in Texas Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering fundamental real estate principles, legal property descriptions, ownership forms, contracts, deeds, financing, and closing procedures based on Modern Real Estate Practice in Texas.

Situs

An economic characteristic of land that refers to area preference.

Texas Rule 535.2(i)(5)

A state rule requiring that when a sales agent performs a type of brokerage activity for the first three times, the sponsoring broker must require the agent to receive coaching and assistance from an experienced license holder competent for that activity.

Real Property

Real estate plus the bundle of legal rights associated with its ownership, including possession, enjoyment, disposition, exclusion, and control.

Subsurface Rights

Mineral interests that are legally dominant over surface rights because the mineral owner must have access to the surface of the property to extract minerals.

Trade Fixture

Personal property attached to real estate by a tenant for the tenant's business that remains personal property if removed before the lease expires and without causing damage to the property.

Eminent Domain

A government power to take private land for public use, subject to a Texas provision allowing the original owner to buy back the land for the original price if it is not redeveloped or reused within $10\text{ years}$.

Determinable Fee Estate

A type of defeasible fee estate of inheritance granted with a special limitation, such as a grant of land to a church so long as the land is used only for religious purposes.

Pur Autre Vie

A legal life estate term meaning "for another's life," designating a life estate measured by the duration of the life of a person other than the life tenant.

Homestead

A legal life estate in Texas that protects a family or individual home from forced sale by creditors, subject to nine specific statutory exceptions.

Easement Appurtenant

An interest in real estate involving two separately owned tracts, wherein the benefited parcel is the dominant tenement and the burdened parcel is the servient tenement.

Easement in Gross

A personal right to use another's land, such as an easement granted to utility companies to maintain poles, wires, and pipelines.

Encroachment

A condition occurring when an improvement on one property illegally extends beyond the owner's boundary line and covers land belonging to an adjoining owner.

Littoral Rights

Water rights held by owners of land bordering large lakes and oceans, extending to water usage and land ownership up to the mean vegetation line.

Rule of Capture

The Texas common law doctrine governing groundwater ownership, establishing that a landowner owns the water beneath their property as real property, including the right to drill for and remove it.

Lis Pendens

A recorded legal notice indicating that a lawsuit is pending in court that may result in a judgment affecting title to a specific parcel of real estate.

TWC Wage Lien

A general lien against the property of an employer who owes back wages to an employee as determined by the Texas Workforce Commission, taking priority over all other liens except ad valorem tax liens.

Metes-and-Bounds Description

A method of land description that defines boundaries using distance and direction (metes) and landmarks or monuments (bounds), which must start and finish at the point of beginning.

Section

A measurement unit in the rectangular survey system comprising $640\text{ acres}$, more or less, containing $43,560\text{ square feet}$ per acre.

Tenancy in Common

A concurrent form of real estate ownership where each co-owner holds an undivided interest in severalty, and upon death, their interest passes to their heirs or by will.

Community Property

A statutory co-ownership form between spouses for property acquired by joint efforts during marriage, with each spouse owning an undivided one-half interest.

Pyramiding

An investment strategy of holding and refinancing real estate to substantially expand property holdings without investing additional equity capital.

Boot

Cash or other non-like-kind incentive received in a tax-deferred property exchange to balance the values, which is treated as taxable income.

Equitable Title

The beneficial interest in real property acquired by a buyer after both the buyer and seller execute a binding real estate sales contract.

Contract for Deed

A sales and financing agreement under which a buyer takes possession and assumes responsibility for real property while making payments, but does not receive the deed until all terms are completed.

Exclusive Agency Listing

A listing agreement giving a single broker the exclusive right to market a property, while preserving the seller's right to avoid paying a commission if the seller finds the buyer without the broker's help.

Covenant of Seisin

A deed warranty through which the grantor warrants that they legally own the property and possess the full right and authority to convey title.

Quitclaim Deed

A conveyance instrument that carries no covenants or warranties whatsoever, transferring only whatever right, title, or interest the grantor may hold in the property.

Abstract of Title

A condensed, chronological history of all recorded instruments and public records discovered during a title search that affect a specific parcel of land.

Hypothecation

The pledge of real property as collateral security for a debt without surrendering physical possession or occupancy of the property.

Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980 (FIRPTA)

A federal law mandating capital gains tax withholding on sales of U.S. real estate by foreign persons, requiring the buyer to transmit the withholding to the IRS within $20\text{ days}$ of closing.

Doctrine of Relation Back

A legal principle providing that when the conditions of an escrow agreement are fulfilled, the deed deposited into escrow transfers title to the buyer retroactively as of the date it was delivered to the escrow agent.

Closing Disclosure

A promulgated TRID form detailing the financial terms of a transaction, itemizing debits, credits, prorations, and expenses, which must be provided to the buyer at least $3\text{ days}$ prior to closing.