Real Estate Law, Interests, and Ownership Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering core real estate concepts, estate interests, encumbrances, and ownership structures based on lecture quizzes.

Land

The earth's surface, subsurface, and airspace above it.

Right of Disposition

The right that allows a property owner to sell or transfer property.

Appurtenance

A right or privilege associated with real property.

Deed

The legal document that evidences ownership of real property.

Area Preference (Situs)

The economic characteristic of land that reflects its fixed location.

Fructus Industriales

Annual crops requiring cultivation.

MARIA

A legal test used to determine whether an item is a fixture.

Manufactured Housing

Housing that is built off-site and assembled on-site.

Surface Rights

Ownership rights in the surface of the land only.

Riparian Rights

Rights granted to landowners along flowing water.

Severance

The legal process of separating real property into personal property.

Immobility

The physical characteristic of real estate meaning it cannot be moved from one location to another.

Trade Fixture

An article owned by a tenant and attached to rented space for business use, which is removable by the tenant if done before the lease ends.

Subsurface Rights

Ownership rights to materials or minerals beneath the surface of the land.

Bill of Sale

A legal document used to transfer personal property.

Right of Enjoyment

In the bundle of rights, the right that allows a property owner to use property legally.

Emblements

Cultivated annual crops such as wheat or corn.

Freehold Estate

An estate that lasts for an indeterminable length of time.

Fee Simple Absolute

The highest interest in real estate recognized by law.

Fee Simple Determinable

An estate that automatically ends when a condition is violated.

Possibility of Reverter

The possibility of regaining ownership in a fee simple determinable estate.

Life Estate

A type of estate that ends upon the death of a specified individual.

Encumbrance

A claim or liability on a property.

Easement Appurtenant

An easement that benefits another parcel of land.

Easement by Necessity

An easement granted through litigation.

Easement by Prescription

An easement created when use was continuous, open, and without permission.

License

A personal privilege to use land for a specific purpose.

Encroachment

Occurs when a structure crosses over into neighboring property.

Lis Pendens

Notice of pending legal action affecting title.

PETE

The four government powers: Police power, Eminent domain, Taxation, Escheat.

Condemnation

The legal process by which the government takes private property for public use under the Fifth Amendment.

Escheat

The process by which property reverts to the state when an owner dies with no will and no heirs.

Inverse Condemnation

Occurs when an owner sues for compensation due to government actions.

Homestead Laws

Laws that typically protect a portion of home equity from certain creditors.

Dominant Tenement

The party or parcel that benefits from an easement appurtenant.

Right of Reentry

The owner's right to resume ownership upon breach of a condition in a defeasible estate.

Ownership in Severalty

Ownership of real property by one individual or entity.

Tenancy in Common

A form of co-ownership where co-owners may have unequal shares but equal rights of possession, without rights of survivorship.

Right of Survivorship

The principle where a deceased owner's interest in a property automatically passes to the surviving co-owners.

Four Unities of Joint Tenancy

Possession, Interest, Time, Title (PITT).

Tenancy by the Entirety

A form of ownership for married couples with rights of survivorship that can be terminated by death, divorce, or mutual agreement.

Community Property

Property acquired during marriage that is generally owned equally by both spouses.

Land Trust

A trust in which the beneficiary's identity is not made public.

Condominium Ownership

Fee simple ownership of an individual unit along with shared ownership of common areas.

Cooperative Ownership

Form of ownership where a shareholder owns shares in a corporation that owns the building and holds a proprietary lease to a unit.

Limited Liability Company (LLC)

A business ownership form that limits liability to the amount invested and avoids double taxation.

Time-Share Estate

Gives the owner ownership for a specific period of time each year.

Trustee

In a trust, the person who holds legal title for the benefit of another.

Living Trust

A trust created during the trustor's lifetime.