Pa National

Real Property

Land, plus any appurtenances that benefit the land (belongs to or goes with, things that are transferred with the land when the land is transferred to another owner)

Includes tress, water, rights of ownership, anything attached

Personal property

everything that is not real property (also referred to as chattel)

Economic characteristics of real property : Scarcity

the supply of land is not limitless

Economic characteristics of real property : Improvements

an improvement built on a parcel of land affects the lands value and use, as well as the neighboring tracts of land

Economic characteristics of real property : Permanence of investment

because the capital and labor required to build an improvement may be a large investment, the return on an investment tends to be long and stable in comparison to other types of ivestments

Economic characteristics of real property : Location

the most important economic characteristic of land

Physical characteristics of real property : immobility

the geographic location of a tract of land is fixed

Physical characteristics of real property : indestructibility

the permanence of land tends to make investments in real property relatively stable compared to others investments

Physical characteristics of real property : Uniqueness

no two parcels of land are alike, each is geographically distinct

Mineral Rights

an owner of real estate is entitled to use the natural resources below the earth’s surface

Air rights

an owner of real estate may use the air above the land, provided the rights are not eliminated by law

Mineral and air rights are independent of the

surface rights of land ownership

Water rights

owners of land adjacent to rivers, lakes, or oceans have special common-law rights

Riparian Rights

granted to owners of land along the course of a stream

owner has unrestricted rights to use the water, provided the owner does not impede the flow of water

Littoral Rights

granted to owners that border a standing body of water, like a lake

owners have the right to use the available waters, but not at the expense or detriment of the other littoral owners

Personal Property

also referred to as chattel, and must be in the sale contract if the buyer wishes to recieve it

Personal property is

movable, any manufacture housing that is not permanently attached to the land, an emblement that is an annually growing crop

Fixture

personal property that has been affixed or attached to land or to an improvement so that it becomes a part of the real property (heating systems, kitchen cabinets), and transfers with the property unless the contract excludes them

What does intent depend on (the determining factor for what constitutes a fixture)

the method of annexation : how permanent is it?

Adaptation to real estate : is the item used as real or personal property?

Agreement : have the parties agreed to whether an item is real or personal property?

Trade fixtures

an article belonging to a commercial tenant, attached to a rental building, and used in conducting the business of a tenant

A tenant is responsible for removing trade fixtures

Attachement

an item of personal property can become real property when it is affixed to real property (lighting, plubming, construction materials)

Severance

removing something attached to the land or an improvement, resulting in the object becoming personal property (light fixtures sellers wish to take with them)

Bill of sale

an item of personal property is transferred through a bill of sale, not with a deed

Encumberance

a charge, claim, or liability attached to real property

It is a right or interest held by someone other than the fee owner of real estate

Clouds on title that may impair or lessen an owner’s rights or property value

Lien

a claim or interest in a property to secure payment of a debt

General lien

affects all of a debtor’s property - both personal and real property (Judgement lien, estate tax lien, IRS lien)

Specific lien

attaches to a particular property or type of property, making the owner responsible for payment (Mechanics lien, Mortgage lien)

The creation of a lien may be

voluntary (mortgage lien), statutory (created without permission of the owner),

The ____ of a lien determines the order in which claims will be paid off

Priority

Which liens are usually satisfied first

liens that are first legally recorded

What liens take priority over all other liens

real estate taxes and special assessments

Easement

the right to use another owner’s land for a particular purpose

not revocable after granted

always transfers with the land at closing unless it is released by the holder

May or may not be paid for, but must be in writing

Can apply for any portion of real property, including a right-of-way across the property

Appurtenant Easement

always involves two separate properties

Appurtenant Easement does what

allows the owner of one parcel of land to use another owner’s land for a specific purpose

Parcel over which the easement runs is called the servient tenement

Parcel that benefits from the easement is called the dominant tenement

An appurtenant easement runs with

the lands and will transfer with the deed of either parcel, and remains in effect until it is released

Easement in gross

Has only a servient tenement (an easement held by a utility, or a railroad’s right-of-way)

Easement by necessity

used to help a buyer purchasing a landlocked property

• arises when an owner sells part of their land that has no access except over the seller’s remaining land; this easement is created by a court order

• only available to private owners; not available to government, utility, cable, telephone, or gas companies

Easement by prescription

occurs when a party uses another person’s property continuously without property owner’s permission for a statutory period of time; state laws define the time period required to create this kind of an easement

How an easement is created

Always involves two separate parties

Must be in writing
A party wall easement is a commonly shared partition wall between two connected properties

Most common ways easements are terminated

When the parcels merge (owner owns both parcels)

When the easement is released

If the easement is abandoned

License does and does not do what

Does not establish a legal interest in the property

Revocable permission, granted by the owner, to enter the owner’s land for a specified purpose

Terminated by the owner, by the death of the owner, or the sale of property

Encroachment

Unauthorized use of another owners land

When does encroachment occur?

When all or part of a structure illegally extends beyond the land of its owner or beyond the legal boundary lines

What is an encroachment usually disclosed by

a physical inspection of the property, a spot survey, or an ILC (Improvement Location Certification)

Lis Pendens

A recorded document that gives constructive notice of a pending lawsuit regarding title to a property

Deed restrictions

Privately created controls on land use (aka restrictive covenants or CC&Rs)

imposed by developers to maintain subdivision standards

May not violate fair housing laws

Binding on all present and future owners

Homeowners Association Regulations

privately created controls

• Communities managed by an association are restricted by policies or procedures dictated by the association

• A developer transfers the right to enforce any CC&Rs

Legal Description of real estate

one that is sufficiently specific enough for a surveyor to locate the exact dimension of a particular property

Is a street address precise enough to be used on documents affecting the ownership of land

No

Metes and Bounds

the oldest method of legal description, and the most accurate when used with contemporary global postion system

What does Metes and Bounds use

Compass directions and distances (metes) to describe the perimeter of a property’s boundaries (bounds)

starts and ends at a point of beginning (POB)

Uses momentum (markers) to identify the POB and specific locations where boundaries change directions

Recorded Plat (lot, block, and subdivision)

used in urban residential areas to describe property in a subdivision

What does Recorded plat (lot, block, and subdivision) do

Divides a large parcel of land into blocks and lots on a plat map

Creates a subdivision, a developer must first create the plat map, then record the map

Government survey

The rectangular survey system

What does the government survey do (rectangular survey system)

divides land into squares and rectangles

measure from the intersections of principal meridians and base lines

describes townships relative to their positions east or west from a prime meridian, and north or south from a correlating base line

How big are townships

6 miles by 6 miles

contain 36 square miles, each of which is called a section

Each section is 640 acres

Units and measurements are used to determine the

size and square footage of both structures and parcels of land

Mile =

5,280 ft

Square Mile =

5,280 ft x 5,280, and contains 640 acres

Acre =

43,560 sq. ft.

Square Yard =

9 sq. ft.

Square foot =

144 sq. in.

Air lots

the airspace within specific boundaries located above a parcel of land, which show elevations of floors and ceilings and vertical boundaries of units referencing an official surface, line, or point from which elevations are measured

Subsurface rights

legally described in same manner as air lots (above) but are measure below an official surface, line, or point rather than above it

Livable area of a home

the total area that is heated or cooled

Usable area of the home

describes the area a tenant can use for ordinary, daily living

Rentable area of the home

is the usable area plus a percentage of any common areas

What can a licensed surveyor do

locate and confirm, as well as create the legal description of a parcel of land

What two documents does a surveyor prepare

A survey that states the property’s legal description

A survey sketch that shows the location and dimensions of the parcel

What is a spot survey

when a survey shows the location, size, and shape of buildings on the lot

Estate

an interest allowing for the right of possession

Freehold estates

last for an indefinite period of time

Fee Simple Absolute (type of freehold estate)

the most common freehold estate, and features the maximum rights of ownership and can last forever

The owner of a fee simple absolute holds

title to the property

may dispose of the property through a gift or sale, or inheritance

may impose restrictions or conditions on the future use of the property

Fee simple defeasible (type of freehold estate)

ownership is subject to certain conditions that are clearly defined in the deed (ownership can be defeated if the conditions as stated in the deed are not met)

Life estate (type of freehold estate)

lasts the lifetime of the owner, or the lifetime of some other person

the person who receives the estate is called the life tenant

What is pur autre vie

A life estate based on the lifetime of someone other than the life tenant

When a life estate ends it becomes a _____ and goes to _____

fee simple absolute estate

the party holding the reversionary interest (usually who created the life estate) or the remainderman (the party holding the remaining interest)

Bundle of rights

the legal rights of of ownership for real property

What do the bundle of rights include

possess the property

control the use of that property

enjoy using the property

exclude others from using the property

improve the property

encumber the property

sell the property

lease the property

transer ownership of the property

Leasehold estate

an interest in real estate that allows a tenant to possess the property for a fixed time period

How long does a leasehold estate last

a definite duration and can be terminated

In a leasehold estate who is the tenant and who is the landlord

the tenant is the lessee and the landlord is the lessor

Estate for years

a leasehold estate that lasts for a definite time period; may be years, months, weeks, or even days but has a definite beginning and end time

Periodic estate

has no specific expiration date, rent is payable at intervals define in the lease agreement

What does a periodic estate do

automatically renews upon receipt of payment

known as month-to-month in residential leases

sometimes holds a holdover tenancy (when a tenant with an estate for years remains in possession after the expiration date)

it ends upon notice from either the owner or the tenant

Estate at will

has no specific internal term, and it continues until terminated by either the landlord or the tenant with proper notice

Estate at sufferance

created when the tenant retains possession of the property after the termination of the lawful and permissive time period without the landlords consent

What can the landlord do about a tenant at sufference

Treat the tenant as a trespasser and begin eviction proceedings

If the landlord accepts any payments from a tenant at sufferance, a holdover tenancy is created

Tenants in common

co-ownership with no rights of survivorship among the co-owners

Tenants in common characteristics

each co-owner holds an undivided fractional interest in the property

the co-owners, each of which is a tenant in common, enjoy unity of possession (their right to occupy the entire property)

Each co-owner’s interest can be sold, conveyed, mortgaged, or transferred independent of the other co-owner’s

Each co-owners interest passes to their heirs or devisees when the co-owner dies

This allows for unequal shares of ownership

If no form of ownership is stated in the deed, the law presumes the owners are ____

tenants in common

Joint Tenancy

co-ownership with the rights of survivorship among the co-owners

What are the characteristics of joint tenancy

Co-owners enjoy four unities of title (PITT) in some states

Unity of possession : all joint tenants have an undivided right to possess the entire property

Unity of interest : all joint tenants have equal interests in the property

Unity of time : all joint tenants acquire their interests at the same time

Unity of Title : title is conveyed to all joint tenants by the same document

What is the right of survivorship in joint tenants

The interests of any deceased co-owner pass to the other co-owner upon death without going through probate

This overrides a will

How is a joint tenancy terminated

Upon the death of all but one co-owner, who then will become the sole owner of the property and have an estate in severalty

Can also be terminated as a result of a partition suit, a court action forcing the division or sale of the property

Tenancy by the entirety

A form of joint tenancy only applying to married couples

Tenancy by the entirety characteristics

The spouses own the entire property together as a unit and have the right of survivorship between them

This form of ownership protects the property from debts contracted outside the marriage

All condominiums and town houses comprise four basic components

The units are owned by individual owners holding fee simple title to the interior of a unit

The common elements include the remainder of the buildings and the land (pools, parking lots, elevators)

The limited common elements are common elements reserved for the exclusive use by one or more unit owners to the exclusion of all other unit owners (balcony, storage units)

An association that governs:

• may charge fees one each unit owner to pay for the maintenance of the common elements, and assessments to pay for extraordinary expenses

• may hire an outside property management firm to administer the property

What is the UCA (Uniform Condominium Act)

defines how condominiums are created and owned. It has been adopted by many states, however, each state creates its own condominium laws