Module 2 Property Rights and Legal Descriptions

Personal Property

anything that isn’t real estate “chattel”

Real Estate

land and things attatched to it

Real Property

legal interests in real estate

Title

ownership of real estate

Deed

document used to transfer title to real property from grantor to grantee

Lease

agreement (usually a document) that transfers use and possession (but not title) from lessor to lessee

Fixture

a personal property item that has become part of the real property

Trade Fixtures

are personal property, not real property

Mineral Rights

the legal interests associated with oil, gas, coal, or other minerals located beneath the surface

Air Rights

legal interests associated with the space above the surface

Water Rights

legal interests associated with water that flows across, touches, or is located in or under a parcel of land

Littoral Proprietors

are owners of land adjacent to navigable bodies of water

High Tide Mark

where a property line extends

Freehold Estate

is an ownership interest in real property that lasts for an indefinite or unpredictable duration

Leasehold Estates

tenancy for a stated period, tenancy from a period to a period, tenancy at will, tenancy at sufferance, owner holds leased fee with a right of reentry

Tenancy in Common

two or more owners hold undivided interests in the whole property

Joint Tenancy

two or more owners hold equal undivided interests in the whole with right of survivorship

Tenancy by the Entirety

joint tenancy with right of survivorship between married persons

Community Property

property brought to the marriage is separate property, property acquired during marriage is community property belonging equally to both parties

Condominium

condo owner holds title to unit, usually as fee simple absolute estate, all owners own common areas as tenants in common

Cooperative

co-op owner owns share of stock in a corporation that owns the real property, sahre of stock gives co-op owner the right to a proprietary lease entitling owner to use and possession of a co-op unit

Fee Interests

owner has fee simple absolute estate for the property for specified time during each year

Right to Use

program participant has a leasehold estate for the property for a specified number of years during each year

Legal Descriptions

every parcel of real estate is unique so we need to be able to uniquely identify each parcel

3 Methods of Legal Descriptions

metes and bounds, rectangular survey, recorded plats

Metes & Bounds

start as a designated point of beginning and then, through specific distances and directions, located the boundary lines of the parcel

Rectangular Survey

standardized federal method used to divide, describe, and identify the legal boundaries of real estate using a grid of intersecting lines

Plat Mat

a scaled architectural drawing that shows the offical legal boundaries, dimensions, and layout of a specific piece of land

36

How may sections of land are in a township?

How long of each section?

1-mile square

5,280ft

How many feet is in a mile?

640 acres

How many acres are in a section of land?

43,560ft

How many square feet are in an acre?