MEE Rule Statements

Question 1

In order for a deed to be valid, a deed must:

Answer 1

identify the grantor and grantee, describe the property, contain words of transfer, and be signed by the grantor.

Question 2

The doctrine of adverse possession allows title to pass to a person who

Answer 2

exercises exclusive physical possession of a piece of property for a certain amount of time

Question 3

For adverse possession to occur, possession must be

Answer 3

continuous, open and notorious, actual, exclusive, and hostile.

Question 4

possession must be open and notorious such that a reasonable true owner

Answer 4

would become aware of the claim

Question 5

if a person acquires title by adverse possession, that title is as good as

Answer 5

a title traceable to a period record owner

Question 6

When a landlord substantially interferes with the tenant’s use and enjoyment of the property by breaching a duty to a tenant…

Answer 6

the tenant’s obligation to pay rent may be excused under the theory of constructive eviction

Question 7

In order to end a lease before the end of its term by constructive eviction, the landlord must have…

Answer 7

breached a duty which caused the loss of the substantial use and enjoyment of the premises, the tenant must give the landlord notice of the problem and reasonable opportunity to cure, and the tenant must vacate the property within a reasonable period of time

Question 8

temporary or de minimis acts do not amount to

Answer 8

constructive eviction

Question 9

under common law, there is no implied duty on the part of the landlord to

Answer 9

repair leased premises

Question 10

the majority of jurisdictions today enforce an implied duty upon the landlord to repair…

Answer 10

under a residential lease, even when the lease attempts to place the burden on the tenant, except for damages caused by the tenant.

Question 11

courts are reluctant to imply a landlord’s duty to repair in commercial leases because

Answer 11

the implied warranty of habitability does not apply in commercial leases.

Question 12

the covenant of quiet enjoyment is breached only when the landlord/someone claiming through landlord/someone with superior title…

Answer 12

disrupts the possession of the tenant

Question 13

termination of a lease occurs automatically upon

Answer 13

the expiration of the term

Question 14

Termination may also occur before the expiration of the term when

Answer 14

the tenant surrenders the leasehold, and the landlord accepts the return of the leasehold.

Question 15

when the tenant abandons the leasehold without justification, the landlord my treat the abandonment

Answer 15

as an offer of surrender and could accept that surrender by retaking the premises.

Question 16

when a tenant abandons the leasehold, the landlord may treat the abandonment as an

Answer 16

offer of surrender and accept such surrender, or the landlord may attempt to re-rent the premises on the tenant’s behalf and hold the tenant liable for any deficiency.

Question 17

a majority of jurisdictions require a landlord mitigate damages by

Answer 17

attempting to re-rent the premises in the event the tenant abandons the property and breaches the lease.

Question 18

the landlord has a responsibility to make a good faith attempt to

Answer 18

re-rent the property

Question 19

the doctrine of anticipatory breach does not apply to

Answer 19

leases

Question 20

a landlord may sue the tenant for rent as it becomes due, but a landlord may not sue for

Answer 20

future rent under the lease

Question 21

An easement is terminated if

Answer 21

the owner of the dominant or servient estate acquires fee title to the other estate. The easement is said to “merge” into the title.

Question 22

The merger of property interests results in

Answer 22

the extinguishment of the property right.

Question 23

If the owner of two parcels of land previously used one parcel to benefit the other, then the court may find that

Answer 23

upon the transfer of one parcel, the parties intended the use to continue if that use was continuous, apparent or known, and reasonably necessary to the dominant land’s use and enjoyment.

Question 24

Multiple interests must be paid out of the proceeds of a foreclosure sale, generally the

Answer 24

earliest mortgage placed on the property has priority over the other interests.

Question 25

Obligatory payments under a senior future advances mortgage paid out after a junior lender

Answer 25

remits its loan amount and records its lien have priority over amounts loaned by the junior lender

Question 26

A joint tenancy exists when

Answer 26

at least two people own the property with the right of survivorship

Question 27

In addition to the right of survivorship under a joint tenancy, each joint tenant must have the four unities:

Answer 27

1. the right to possess or use the property AND
2. equal interests which were created at the same time and in the same instrument

Question 28

A severance of joint tenancy may occur in several ways and converts it into a

Answer 28

tenancy in common

Question 29

A joint tenant _______ grant a mortgage in his joint tenancy interest

Answer 29

A joint tenant may grant a mortgage in his joint tenancy interest

Question 30

In title theory states, the granting of a mortgage constitutes a

Answer 30

transfer of title

Question 31

A transfer of title severs the

Answer 31

joint tenancy and converts it into a tenancy in common

Question 32

There is a split among jurisdictions with respect to joint tenancies when

Answer 32

one joint tenant leases his interest

Question 33

some jurisdictions hold a lease ________ under a joint tenancy

Answer 33

some jurisdictions hold the lease destroys the unity of interest and thus severs the joint tenancy, while other jurisdictions believe the lease merely temporarily suspends the joint tenancy, which resumes upon expiration of the lease

Question 34

A tenancy in common exists when

Answer 34

two or more co-owners have an equal right to possess property, but do not have a right of survivorship

Question 35

Each co-tenant under a tenancy in common holds an

Answer 35

undivided interest with unrestricted rights to possess the whole property, regardless of the size of the co-tenant’s interests.

Question 36

under a tenancy in common, each tenant can unilaterally…

Answer 36

transfer, devise, mortgage, or lease his interest to a third party without affecting the interest of the other tenants

Question 37

A co-tenant must account to other co-tenants for

Answer 37

rent received from third parties, but can deduct operating expenses, including necessary repairs, when calculating net proceeds.

Question 38

third party rents are divided based on the

Answer 38

ownership interest of each tenant

Question 39

at death, a joint tenant’s property passes automatically to

Answer 39

the remaining joint tenants due to the right of survivorship.