Land Descriptions and Real Property Practice Flashcards

Flashcards covering land section calculations, the hierarchy of property descriptions, and core vocabulary related to real property rights and characteristics.

Section

A unit of land area containing $640$ acres.

Quarter of a Section

A division of a section containing $160$ acres, also referred to as a quadrant, corner, or one fourth ($1/4$).

Breakdown of a Section Quarter

A process of dividing land by fourths: $160$ acres divided by $4$ is $40$ acres, divided by $4$ is $10$ acres, and divided by $4$ again is $2.5$ acres.

Quadrant, corner, and quarter

Synonymous terms used in land description to mean the fourth ($1/4$).

Identifying a Parcel Location

To identify a parcel from a written description (e.g., Northwest $1/4$ of the Southwest $1/4$…), one must start from the right side of the description and work backward to the left.

Real property

Land improvement and permanent attachments, also referred to as real estate.

Bundle of rights

The rights of possession, use, quiet enjoyment, exclusion, and disposition.

Personal property

Anything that is not attached or made part of the structure itself; also called chattel or personalty.

Chattel

Another name for personal property or personalty.

Fixture

Anything that is actually fastened to the real property; fixtures become part of the real property.

Emblement

Something that can be severed or removed from the property.

Affixed

Typically in reference to mineral, water, or surface rights; resources that go with the property.

Annexation

The process of personal property becoming real property, or the adding of water or mineral rights to the property.

Legal tests for Fixtures

Includes the method of annexation, adaptability, and the relationship of the parties.

Improvement

Anything that has been built on the real property.

Appurtenance

Something that comes with real property, such as water, a well, or an easement.

Situs

Another name for location.

Physical Characteristics of Real Property

Immobility, indestructibility, and uniqueness.

Economic Characteristics of Real Property

Scarcity, improvements, permanence of investment, and location (or situs).

Legal Description Types

Metes and bounds, rectangular or government survey, and lot and block or subdivision method.

Easement

The right to use or access another property.