Property Law Memory palace and Mnemonics

Question 1

Adverse Possession: CHANGE

Answer 1

Continuous (like a true owner would use it),
Hostile (without permission, also known as adverse), Actual (you only gain rights to the land you are in actual possession of),
Notorious (also known as open and notorious, must be visible),
Goes on for the statutory period (20 years on the MBE), and
Exclusive (without the true owner or the public).

Question 2

The 3 types of fee simple estates are SAD. You’ll recognize these S interests when the BOP you on the head.
The D interests can be recognized by SUD(s) language

Answer 2

S – Fee Simple SUBJECT to a Condition Subsequent or Precedent
- You’ll recognize these interests when they BOP you on the head
o B – “BUT”, if liquor is ever sold on the land, then to G
o O – “ON condition that” the land is used only for residential purposes o P – “PROVIDED” the land is not used for commercial purposes

A – Fee Simple ABSOLUTE

D – Fee Simple DETERMINABLE
- These interests can be recognized by SUD language
o S – “SO long as” liquor is not sold on the land
o U – “UNTIL” the land is not used for religious purposes
o D – “DURING” this period, the land is used only for residential
purposes

Question 3

Joint Tenancies are created in the PITT, and require unity of:

Answer 3

P – POSSESSION
I – INTEREST
T – TIME
T – TITLE

Question 4

the 4 Ds beat Tenancy by Entirety

Answer 4

D – DEATH of one spouse automatically vests title in surviving spouse
D – If one spouse becomes a DEBTOR in bankruptcy, Fed law allows the trustee in bankruptcy to sell TE & divide proceeds
D – DUAL transfer of TE, in which both H & W take part
D – DIVORCE, annulment,

Question 5

A COW partitions realty:

Answer 5

C – COURT decree
O – ORAL agreement between all (100%) of the co-tenants provided they all (100%) go
into possession
W – Signed WRITING voluntarily partitioning property by exchange of deeds signed by all co-
tenants

Question 6

A PIP may enforce an oral real property contract:

Answer 6

P – Buyer who has PAID the purchase price, in whole or in part
I – Buyer making valuable IMPROVEMENTS on realty
P – Buyer taking POSSESSION

Question 7

A donative transfer requires AID:

Answer 7

A – ACCEPTANCE by donee
I – INTENT to make immediate gift
D –Proper DELIVERY of a signed & acknowledged deed

Question 8

SEC FEW are in warranty deeds:

Answer 8

S – Covenant of SEISIN
E – Covenant against ENCUMBERANCES
 C – Covenant of the right to CONVEY
F – Covenant of FURTHER Assurances
E – Covenant of Quiet ENJOYMENT
W – Covenant of WARRANTY

Question 9

The CIA gives notice to a real property buyer:

Answer 9

C – CONSTRUCTIVE notice
I – INQUIRY notice
A – ACTUAL notice

Question 10

PINTS for real covenants, but TINS for equitable servitudes:

Answer 10

P – PRIVITY of estate
I – INTENT by original contracting parties that covenant attach to land & run to future assignees (Horizontal Privity)
N – CIA NOTICE of Restrictive Covenant 
T – Must TOUCH & concern the land
S – Must satisfy the SOF

Touch and concern the land
Intent to bind successors
Notice
Satisfy SOF - must be in writing

Question 11

PINTS for real covenants come in CANS

Answer 11

C – Imposed by COMMON owner to protect lands retained
A – Covenants agreed to by ADJOINING landowners/neighbors
N – Imposed for the benefit of NEIGHBORING lands
S – To carry out common plan or SCHEME

Question 12

In granting or denying an area variance, the court considers ACES2:

Answer 12

A – are there ALTERNATIVES available that don’t violate zoning law?
C – would the proposed variance alter the CHARACTER of the neighborhood?
E – would it adversely affect the ENVIRONMENT?
S – is the problem the owner is attempting to resolve SELF-CREATED, or did he buy w/ notice
of the problem, or create the problem & build w/o a permit?
S – was the variance insubstantial or SUBSTANTIAL?

Question 13

The hostility prong of AP is negated if, during 10 yr period, AP calls the owner OPA:

Answer 13

O – OFFERS to buy land from true owner
P – Asks PERMISSION of true owner to use land
A – ACKNOWLEDGES title in true owner

Question 14

Negative easements are limited to LAWS:

Answer 14

L – LIGHT easements
A – Easements of AIR
W – Easements regarding WATER use
S – Easements of SUPPORT

Question 15

PIGS create easements:

but A FRAME will extinguish an easement

Answer 15

P – Easements by PRESCRIPTION
I – Easements by IMPLICATION (a.k.a., quasi-easements)
G – Easements by GRANT
S – Easements by STRICT Necessity

A – ABANDONMENT

F – FORECLOSURE of a mortgage that was recorded prior to the easement
R – Signed writing, RELEASING the easement
A – ADVERSE Possession of a servient estate in a hostile manner, preventing use of the
easement
*M – MERGER by common ownership of all (100%) of dominant & servient estates,
because one can’t possess an easement, covenant, or profit on her own property
E – EMINENT DOMAIN

Question 16

You get an implied easement if you find a CRAB:

Answer 16

C – Both dominant & servient estates were formerly held by a COMMON owner
R – Use of an implied easement is REASONABLY necessary for reasonable use of the dominant estate
A – Use of the easement was plainly & physically APPARENT from reasonable inspection of the
land (exception: implied easement for underground water pipes)
B – Former use of the land subordinated one part of the land for the BENEFIT of another part

Question 17

TIP a Chattel and it becomes a fixture

Answer 17

T – TYPE of chattel that generally becomes part of real estate
I – INTENT of person installing chattel (whether it was intended to be permanently
installed, or the person intended to subsequently remove it)
P – The PARTIES’ relationship

Question 18

Even if a lease is silent on these topics, a landlord HEARS these implied covenant

Answer 18

H – HABITABILITY
E – Quiet ENJOYMENT
A – ASSIGNABILITY of the lease
R – Good REPAIR (this covenant is made by commercial tenants) S – Minimal SECURITY precautions

Question 19

An out-of-possession landlord is liable in tort to the POLICE for injuries:

Answer 19

P – Where the property was leased for a PUBLIC purpose, and LL failed to inspect and
repair dangerous conditions before turning over the land to tenant
O – Arising OUTSIDE the premises, proximately caused by a dangerous condition on the premises,
which LL should have known about when he turned over the land
L – Caused by LATENT defects that LL should have known about, where tenant has not had
reasonable time to discover and repair that condition
I – Where tenant’s INTENDED use of the premises created an unreasonable risk of harm to others,
and LL was aware of this intended use
C – Where LL has multiple leases in the same building, and the injury occurred in a
COMMON passageway
E – Where LL EXPRESSLY covenants to make repairs, and fails to do so, causing injury

Question 20

Vesting is as easy as ABC:

Answer 20

A – X must definitely be ASCERTAINABLE w/in RAP period.
B – X must be a life in BEING at the time of conveyance, or in being w/in RAP period C – X’s future interest must be
CERTAIN to happen

Question 21

RAP doesn’t apply to a future interest w/ a C2ROUP:

Answer 21

C – COVENANTS running with the land (PINTS & CANS)
C – A remainder interest passing from one CHARITY to another charity, but RAP may be
violated if the future charitable interest is preceded or followed by a non-charity
R – a REVISIONARY interest retained by the grantor (a Possibility of Reverter, Right of
Entry, or a reversionary interest on a long term lease (99 year lease))
O – A tenant’s OPTION to buy or to renew contained in a long term lease
U – A future interest in trust benefiting the U.S. government
P – In MBE, PREEMPTIVE rights of first refusal to buy,

Question 22

RAP applies to CORE future interests:

Answer 22

C – CONTINGENT Remainders
O – OPTIONS to Purchase retained in a deed by a grantor that possibly could be exercisable
beyond the RAP period
R – REMAINDER Interests that either follow a life estate or follow some event
E – EXECUTORY Interests (remainders that follow a conditional fee i.e., fee simple
determinable or fee simple subject to a condition subsequent)

Question 23

A FURS cures a Perpetuities violation:

Answer 23

A – ADMINISTRATION of the estate Contingency
F – FERTILE Octogenarian exception
U – UNBORN Widow exception
R – REDUCING an age contingency to 21 years
S – The perpetuities SAVINGS Clause
*Note, in MBE, A FURS converts to SAW FUR by adding the wait-and-see doctrine.