Level 1

Question 2

What is the definition of real estate?

Answer 2

Land plus improvements

Improvements include structures and fixtures attached to the land.

Question 3

What does real property include?

Answer 3

Land and all attachments, plus the bundle of legal rights of ownership

This encompasses rights associated with the ownership of land.

Question 4

Define improvement in the context of real estate.

Answer 4

Any non-natural structure built on or affixed to land

Improvements can include buildings, fences, and other fixtures.

Question 5

What is meant by the term land?

Answer 5

The surface of the earth, including all permanently attached natural features, extending downwards to the center of the earth and upwards to infinity.

Question 6

What is property?

Answer 6

Any item which may be owned, including the rights associated with ownership.

Question 7

What does the bundle of rights refer to?

Answer 7

Ownership of land with all of the legal rights of possession, control, quiet enjoyment, exclusion, disposition, and control.

Question 8

What is title in real estate?

Answer 8

The actual ownership of a real property that includes the bundle of rights; not an actual document.

Question 9

Define tangible property.

Answer 9

Property that physically exists.

Question 10

Define intangible property.

Answer 10

Property that doesn’t exist in a physical form, such as stocks, intellectual property, or patents.

Question 11

What is personal property?

Answer 11

Any unattached, movable asset on the property not considered real estate

Also known as chattel or personalty.

Question 12

What is the commonly used term for personal property in real estate?

Answer 12

Chattela

This term is frequently used in the context of real estate.

Question 13

What is a fixture?

Answer 13

An object that was once personal property but is now firmly attached to the land in such a way that it is considered to be real property.

Question 14

What is a trade fixture?

Answer 14

Personal property that is owned by and needed for a tenant’s business.

Question 15

What is severance in real estate?

Answer 15

The act of converting real property into personal property.

Question 16

What are emblements?

Answer 16

Crops (or the profit from crops) grown by a farmer that are considered personal property.

Question 17

What is the process that results in the gradual increase in land area through deposits of soil by natural forces?

Answer 17

accretion

Accretion is a natural process that contributes to land formation.

Question 18

What is the right to all that one’s own property produces, including that which is added to the property?

Answer 18

accession

Accession includes both natural and human-made additions to property.

Question 19

What is the term for the gradual loss of land over time?

Answer 19

erosion

Erosion can be caused by natural forces such as water and wind.

Question 20

What is the term for a gradual increase in land area when water gradually withdraws?

Answer 20

reliction

Reliction occurs when bodies of water recede, exposing new land.

Question 21

What is the sudden loss of land by flood or when a stream or river changes course called?

Answer 21

avulsion

Avulsion is typically abrupt and can significantly alter property boundaries.

Question 22

What economic characteristic informs the economic principle of supply and demand?

Answer 22

scarcity

Scarcity affects the value and availability of resources.

Question 23

What is the economic significance of a property’s location referred to as?

Answer 23

situs

Situs plays a critical role in real estate valuation.

Question 24

What is the economic principle that states real estate exists in a fixed location and cannot be moved?

Answer 24

fixity

Fixity is a fundamental concept in real estate economics.

Question 25

What term describes the relative difficulty of converting an asset to cash without loss of value?

Answer 25

illiquidity ## Footnote Illiquidity can affect investment strategies and asset management.

Question 26

What are the rights to access the surface area of a parcel of real property called?

Answer 26

surface rights ## Footnote Surface rights can be distinct from subsurface rights.

Question 27

What are subsurface rights?

Answer 27

Ownership rights to all that is found beneath the surface of the tract of land owned, extending downward to the center of the earth; a.k.a. mineral rights. ## Footnote Subsurface rights include the right to extract minerals, oil, and gas from beneath the land.

Question 28

What are air rights?

Answer 28

The right to use the airspace above the surface of land. ## Footnote Air rights can be sold or leased separately from the land itself.

Question 29

Define air space in relation to property.

Answer 29

The area above ground that is owned along with a property; could include space above a piece of land, or the space owned inside a condominium unit. ## Footnote Air space rights can affect building height regulations.

Question 30

What are water rights?

Answer 30

The right of a property owner on a waterfront to access and use that water. ## Footnote Water rights are crucial for agricultural and residential uses.

Question 31

What are riparian rights?

Answer 31

Rights that govern the use of flowing water, such as rivers and streams that pass through or border a property. ## Footnote Riparian rights typically allow property owners to make reasonable use of the water.

Question 32

What are littoral rights?

Answer 32

Rights that govern lakefront or oceanfront property and usually allow the property owner to use the water bordering their property. ## Footnote Littoral rights are generally associated with non-flowing bodies of water.

Question 33

What is the doctrine of prior appropriation?

Answer 33

Doctrine granting a state the power to control and regulate all water resources within its borders. ## Footnote This doctrine is often applied in western states where water is scarce.