NJ Real Estate Unit 6: Estates and Interest

Construction lien

placed against real estate by a wonder who has not been paid

Convey

transfer by sale or gift

Curtesy

husband's rights in wife's property

Dominant estate

property that benefits from an easement

Dower

wife's rights in husbands property

Easement

permanent right to use another's land

Easement appurtenant

right that runs with the land

Easement by necessity

right to access to a landlocked parcel

Easement by prescription

right sometimes acquired through usage

Easement in gross

right used for utility lines on another's land

Encroachment

building intruding on another's land

Encumbrance

any easement, encroachment, etc

Estate in land

amount of ownership

Fee determinable

ownership "as long as"

Fee simple

most complete ownership of land possible

Freehold estate

ownership lasting indefinitely

General lien

claim against all property someone owns

Involuntary lien

property taxes are one

Leasehold estate

right to use and possess for limited time

License

temporary permission

Lien

financial claim against real estate

Life estate

complete ownership until someone's death

Lis pendens

notice that a lien may be filed

Mortgage lien

lender's claim against real estate

Party wall

structure owned by two adjoining landowners

Priority

the order in which liens are paid

Remainderman

third party who will gain eventual ownership

Reversionary interest

future interest of an owner

Servient estate

the tract over which an easement runs

Specific lien

claim against one parcel of real estate

Tacking

adding successive periods of usage

Voluntary lien

mortgage or equity loan, for example

The most complete ownership recognized by law is a(n)

A) life estate.

B) fee simple estate.

C) easehold estate.

D) estate at will.

B) fee simple estate.

A man devises a parcel of land to the local university "so long as it is used for an experimental farm." Two years after the man's death, the university begins to build a cafeteria on the land. In this case, the man's heirs

A) automatically become owners.

B) are joint tenants with the university.

C) own the land but the university owns the cafeteria.

D) have no claim on the land.

A) automatically become owners.

Which one of the following BEST describes a life estate?

A) An estate conveyed to A for the life of Z, and on Z's death to B

B) An estate held by A and B in joint tenancy with right of survivorship

C) An estate on condition

D) An estate given by law to a husband

A) An estate conveyed to A for the life of Z, and on Z's death to B

A woman inherited her cousin's house, but it is hers only as long as the dog is alive, well, and living in the house. When the dog dies, the house goes to her cousin's grandson. The cousin's grandson is a

A) beneficiary.

B) remainderman.

C) life tenant.

D) limited partner.

B) remainderman.

A woman owns a house and wants to sell it. Her husband must also sign the sales contract if

A) he furnished any of the money when she bought it.

B) he cosigned the mortgage.

C) she bought the property after May 28, 1980.

D) it is their family home.

D) it is their family home.

Encumbrances include all of the following EXCEPT

A) encroachments.

B) liens.

C) easements.

D) estates.

D) estates.

Deed restrictions are created by a

A) seller.

B) buyer.

C) neighborhood association.

D) governmental agency.

A) seller.

In certain circumstances, the owner of landlocked property can go to court and request a permanent right to go over a neighbors land for access in the form of an

A) easement in gross.

B) estate for life.

C) encroachment.

D) easement by necessity.

D) easement by necessity.

The buyer of a house automatically receives the same right the seller had to use a party wall. The buyer owns an

A) encumbrance.

B) emblement.

C) encroachment.

D) easement.

D) easement.

The right to run a power line across the back of someone's property is an example of an easement

A) in gross.

B) by prescription.

C) by necessity.

D) in common.

A) in gross.

The owner of a small country house and gives a neighboring farmer permission to plant crops on the two acres around his house. The owner changes his mind and decides to put in a lawn. He may withdraw the permission because the farmer had only a(n)

A) encroachment.

B) easement by necessity.

C) license.

D) life estate.

C) license.

A license is an example of a(n)

A) easement.

B) encroachment.

C) encumbrance.

D) restriction.

C) encumbrance.

Two adjacent buildings share a central wall. This wall is known as a(n)

A) encroachment.

B) necessity wall.

C) party wall.

D) easement right.

C) party wall.

Which of the following is considered a lien on real estate?

A) An easement running with the land

B) An unpaid mortgage loan

C) A public footpath

D) A license to erect a billboard

B) An unpaid mortgage loan

A lis pendens is

A) a voluntary lien on real estate, given as security in an ongoing legal action.

B) a decree issued by a court that becomes a lien against real property when docketed with the county clerk.

C) a type of federal tax lien.

D) a recorded notice of possible future legal action against a property.

D) a recorded notice of possible future legal action against a property.

Which of the following liens usually would be given highest priority?

A) A mortgage dated last year

B) The current real estate tax

C) A construction lien for work started before the mortgage was made

D) A judgment rendered yesterday

B) The current real estate tax

To acquire an easement by prescription in New Jersey, a person must use the land owned by another person

A) openly and without the owner's permission.

B) for a period of at least 15 years.

C) by permission of a lease.

D) for a right-of-way.

A) openly and without the owner's permission.

The neighbor mistakenly built a new garage two feet onto the neighboring lot. This mistake results in an

A) implied deed of partial conveyance.

B) incorporeal right.

C) easement.

D) encroachment.

D) encroachment.

A license differs from an easement in that it

A) runs with the land.

B) requires a court order.

C) may be withdrawn.

D) allows use of someone else's land.

C) may be withdrawn.

After a buyer had purchased his house and moved in, he discovered that his neighbor regularly used the owner's driveway to reach a garage located on the neighbor's property. The owner's attorney explained that ownership of the neighbor's real estate includes an easement over the driveway and this property is called

A) the dominant tenement.

B) a tenement.

C) a leasehold.

D) the servient tenement.

D) the servient tenement.

Which of the following is a freehold estate?

A) Estate for years

B) Life estate

C) Estate at will

D) Easement in gross

B) Life estate

An easement acquired by constant, open, and adverse use is called an easement by

A) appurtenance.

B) prescription.

C) necessity.

D) implication.

B) prescription.

Which of the following encumbrances affects the title to property and is considered a

general lien?

A) Unpaid real estate taxes

B) Mortgage

C) Judgment

D) Restrictive covenant

C) Judgment

A woman was given a life estate by her uncle. She then sold her interest to another man.

Which of the following is FALSE?

A) Since the woman has a life estate, she is forbidden from selling her interest.

B) When the woman dies, the man's interest would terminate.

C) The man has a life estate pur autre vie.

D) If the man were to die before the woman, his interest would pass on to his heirs.

A) Since the woman has a life estate, she is forbidden from selling her interest.

A person who has complete control over a parcel of real estate is said to own a

A) leasehold estate.

B) fee simple estate.

C) life estate.

D) defeasible fee estate.

B) fee simple estate.

A portion of a man's building was inadvertently built on a neighbor's land. This is called

an

A) accretion.

B) avulsion.

C) encroachment.

D) easement.

C) encroachment.

A woman owned the fee simple title to a vacant lot adjacent to a hospital and was

persuaded to make a gift of the lot. She had her attorney prepare a deed that conveyed the

ownership of the lot to the hospital "so long as it is used for medical purposes." After the

completion of the gift, the hospital will own a

A) life estate.

B) tenancy for years.

C) fee determinable.

D) periodic tenancy.

C) fee determinable.

Your neighbors use your driveway to reach their garage on their property. Your attorney

explains that the ownership of the neighbors' real estate includes an easement

appurtenant giving them the driveway right. Your property is the

A) leasehold interest.

B) dominant tenement.

C) servient estate.

D) license property.

C) servient estate.

A man and a woman are next-door neighbors. The woman tells the man that he can store

his bulldozer in her yard for a few weeks. The woman did not charge the man rent for the

use of her yard. The woman has given the man

A) an easement appurtenant.

B) an easement by necessity.

C) an estate in land.

D) a license.

D) a license.

A man conveys the ownership of his house to his mother and stipulates that upon her

death he will recapture the ownership. The interest the man has in the ownership is a

A) remainder estate.

B) curtesy estate.

C) legal life estate.

D) reversionary interest

D) reversionary interest