Real Property

real

The law of ___ property concerns the ownership, acquisition, and use of land.

embedded

Real property includes not only the land but also things firmly attached to or ___ in the land.

airspace

The scope of real property extends to buildings, trees, crops, and the ___ above the land.

fixture

A(n) ___ is personal property attached to or connected to real property in such a way that it becomes part of the real property.

attachment

The factor of _________ asks whether an item can be removed without damaging the property.

• Can you pick up at move it around?

adaption

The factor of ________ evaluates how an item benefits the real property.

• Does it serve a purpose? Does it decrease value without it?

  • water heater

intent

In evaluating fixtures, courts look at attachment, adaptation, and ___.

• Based on circumstances; would a reasonable person think it’s a fixture?

trade

A(n) ___ fixture involves personal property attached to leased premises by a tenant for business purposes.

tenant

Unlike standard fixtures, trade fixtures remain the ______’s personal property and may be removed at the end of the lease.

• When a commercial operator utilizes a warehouse, they bring in what they need and can take it back after, unlike a house

damages

Tenants have the right to remove trade fixtures, however they have to pay ________ should they cause any upon removal

• $22,000 in damage caused by the removal of the cooling system and the presence of installed underground lines which would not have affected the usability of the building for other purposes.

security interest

A ________ _________ may exist if personal property is subject to a lien at the time it is attached to real property.

• Appliance store takes a security interest in the dishwasher installed in the home and perfects its interest by filing a financing statement in the appropriate real estate records office.

lien

When someone else has an interest (legal claim) in your property; entitles them to repossess fixtures (superior entitlement)

• Appliance store takes a security interest in the dishwasher installed in the home

financing

To perfect a security interest in a fixture, a creditor must file a(n) ________ statement in the real estate records office.

estate

The term ______ is used to describe a person's ownership interest in real property; everything someone owns

Ownership

__________ interests are classified as either freehold or nonfreehold.

freehold

________ estates are ownership interests of uncertain duration; no expiration date

nonfreehold

________ estates are commonly referred to as leases or leaseholds, where a tenant has the right to possess and use the property for a designated period of time; we have interest until time is up

Fee simple absolute

The concept of "full ownership" of land is technically known as a(n) ___ ______ ________.

life estate

A ____ ______ gives a person the right to possess and use property for a time measured by a lifetime.

Co-ownership

__-________ exists when two or more persons share the same ownership interest in a property.

• Each have the total right to do what they want

Tenancy in common

_______ __ _________ involves undivided interests in the same property without rights of survivorship.

• Anyone can do anything to the house without permission

• If one owner dies, their share goes to their beneficiaries (will/heirs), not the other co-owners.

joint; survivorship

In a _____ tenancy with rights of ________, the deceased tenant's interest automatically passes to the surviving tenants.

sale

If property cannot be divided without loss to the parties, a court may decree a(n) ___ and equitable division of the money.

easement

An affirmative ________ is the right to make certain use of another person’s property.

• may be acquired by grant (give it to someone), reservation, prescription, or implication (by necessity, no other way to get it; crossing your driveway to get out of the neighborhood)

negative

A ________ easement is the right to prevent another from making certain uses of their own property.

Frauds

An express grant of an easement must be in writing to be enforceable under the Statute of ______.

necessity

In Francini v. Goodspeed Airport, LLC, the court ruled that an easement by ________ includes access to commercial utilities for landlocked property.

profit

A _____ is a right to enter another’s land and remove some product or part of the land.

license

A _______ is a temporary right to enter another's land for a specific purpose.

• The tenant who planted the cotton crop has a profit, and the combine crew has a license to pick cotton.

restrictive covenants

Agreements that restrict the use of real property and bind subsequent owners are called ________ ________; HOA

bind

Restrictive covenants are said to "run with the land" and ____ future owners of the property.

• Attached to the land; once you buy a house you agree with the terms

Adverse

______ possession occurs when a person wrongfully occupies land and acts in an open and hostile manner as if they were the owner; squatters

neighbor; care

Adverse possession does not usually involve a house, but rather something like you built a fence on the _______’s property, but you took ___ of the land for many years

tacking

The legal principle of _______ allows an adverse possessor to add their years of possession to those of a previous possessor.

delivery

A valid conveyance of real property occurs through the execution and ______ of a deed.

deed

A ___ is a written instrument that transfers title from a grantor to a grantee; title for real property

quitclaim

A __________ deed conveys whatever title the grantor has at the time but contains no warranty of title; often useful for giving your children the property

warranty

A ________ deed contains covenants of warranty about the title; we promise the title is good

bargain; grant

A(n) deed of ______ and sale, or ____ deed, is one where the grantor makes no covenants about the title.

race

Under a ____ statute, the first grantee who records a deed has superior title.

notice

Under a ______ statute, a later grantee has superior title if they acquired the interest without knowledge of earlier unrecorded claims.

race-notice

Under a(n) ____-______ statute, the grantee with priority is the one who takes without notice and records first.

title opinion

A _____ _______ is an attorney’s examination of the abstract of title to determine if title is marketable.

marketable

A _________ title refers to a title that is free from defects or reasonable doubt about its validity; not a guarantee, but an opinion

abstract

A(n) ________ of title is a history of what public records show about the passage of title to a parcel of land.

Torrens

Under the ________ system, a fee simple owner of land obtains a certificate of title.

insurance

A title ________ policy obligates the insurer to reimburse the insured for loss if the title proves defective; preferred and most common means of protecting title to real property

habitability

The implied warranty of ________ guarantees that a house is free of hidden defects rendering it unsuitable for human habitation; if something’s wrong, the seller has to disclose

disclose

A seller of residential property has an affirmative duty to _______ hidden defects and may be liable for damages if they breach the implied warranty.

Premises

________ liability refers to negligence cases where property owners are held liable for injuries to persons on their property.

negligence

In premises liability, _______ is the failure to exercise reasonable care to keep property safe.

public

Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act focuses on eliminating discrimination in places of _____ accommodation

• requires property owners and possessors to take reasonable steps to make property accessible to disabled persons.

nuisance

A(n) _______ is a lawsuit filed if a property use unreasonably interferes with another's ability to enjoy their own property.

Fifth

The ____ Amendment to the Constitution guarantees that private property shall not be taken for public use without just compensation.

eminent domain

The government’s power to take private property for public use is called ________ ________.

Zoning

______ ordinances divide a city or town into districts and specify or limit the uses of property in those districts.

nonconforming

A zoning ordinance may require the gradual phasing out of __________ uses that do not fit the plan.

variance

Property owners may seek a _______ to allow a deviation from zoning laws.

taking

conditioning a permit on an easement is an unconstitutional ______.

useless

zoning that rendered property ________ is considered an unconstitutional taking.

Fixture

A dog kennel and run built with wood posts and wire fencing is considered a(n) ___ when the house is sold.

trade fixtures

Ovens and refrigerators installed by a restaurant tenant in a leased space are examples of ____ _______.

premises

If a customer slips on a banana peel in a grocery store, the case will be governed by ______ liability law.

profit

A person who leases land to farm beans and has the right to take the crop acts as a licensee with a(n) ___.

gift

Acquisition by ___ requires intent and a properly executed deed, without the exchange of purchase price.

title

Title insurance is the preferred and most common means of protecting ___ to real property

reasonable

Property owners have a duty to take _______ security precautions to protect persons from foreseeable criminal acts by third parties.

prospective

Zoning ordinances are generally ________, meaning they apply to future uses rather than past ones.

just

The right of the government to take property for public use is limited by the requirement of ___ compensation.

notorious

The open and _________ requirement of adverse possession can be met if the defendant has actual knowledge of the plaintiff's claim.

groundwater

Real property includes minerals and the __________ beneath the surface.

writing

The requirement that a deed must be in _______ to be enforceable is established by the Statute of Frauds.

warranty

A _______ deed provides the highest level of protection to the grantee by including covenants about the title's validity.

community

In co-ownership, _________ property is a type recognized in some U.S. states for married couples.