Real Property and The Law

Question 1

Land

Answer 1

Surface, all natural things, subsurface, and air above the surface

Question 2

Real Estate

Answer 2

land + manmade permanent attachments

Question 3

Real Property

Answer 3

real estate + bundle of rights
land
fixtures
attachments

Question 4

Immobility

Answer 4

Land cannot be moved from one location to another, its location is forever fixed

Question 5

Indestructibility

Answer 5

Land is permanent and cannot be destroyed since by definition it extends below ground and into the sky.
Since land is permanent, it does not depreciate
Only improvements depreciate and are insurable

Question 6

Non-homogeneity

Answer 6

Land is non-homogeneous; no two parcels of land are exactly the same since they have a different location

Question 7

What is the bundle of rights?

Answer 7

"PUTEE"
Possession
Use
Transfer
Exclusion
Encumberable

Question 8

Legal Title

Answer 8

Full legal ownership of property and the bundle of rights as they apply to it
Contrasts with equitable title

Question 9

Equitable Title

Answer 9

An interest that gives a lienholder or buyer the right to acquire legal title to a property if certain contractual conditions occur

Question 10

Property is…

Answer 10

either real or personal

tangible or intangible

Question 11

Airspace

Answer 11

Air rights

Question 12

Surface (of the earth)

Answer 12

surface rights

Question 13

Subsurface

Answer 13

Subsurface or mineral rights

Question 14

Doctrine of Prior Appropriation

Answer 14

State controls water usage

State grants usage permits

Question 15

Riparian Rights

Answer 15

Applies to rivers and streams
If waterway is navigable: owners own land to water’s edge
If waterway is not navigable: owners own land to midpoint of waterway
Tip: River Riparian

Question 16

Littoral Rights

Answer 16

Applies to seas and lakes
Abutting property owners to own high water mark
State owns underlying land
Tip: Lake Littoral

Question 17

Personal Property

Answer 17

Chattels
Trade fixtures
Emblements

Question 18

Trade Fixutres

Answer 18

Personal property items temporarily attached to real estate in order to conduct business

Question 19

Emblement

Answer 19

Plants or crops that are considered personal property despite being attached to land

Question 20

Conversion

Answer 20

real to personal property referred to as severance

personal to real property referred to as affixing

Question 21

Factory-built housing - mobile homes and manufactured homes

Answer 21

units are real or personal property: real if permanently affixed to ground; otherwise personal

Question 22

Differentiation Criteria

Answer 22

Item is real or personal property depending on why, how item is attached to the real estate. Depends on the owners’

intention; adaptation; functionality; relationship of parties; contract provisions

Question 23

Federal Regualtions

Answer 23

grants rights of ownership
controls broad land usage standards
regulates anti-discrimination laws - ex. land grants; federal flood zones; fair housing laws; FHA; EPA

Question 24

State Regulations

Answer 24

Governs real estate business

Set regional usage standards - ex. license laws; water rights; development regulations

Question 25

Local Regulations

Answer 25

levies real estate taxes

controls specific usage- ex. property assessing; zoning; building permits; tax levies

Question 26

Judicial Regulations

Answer 26

Applies case law and common law disputes

contrasts with statutory law

Question 27

What are the 3 physical characteristics of real estate

Answer 27

Immobility
Indestructibility
Non-homogeneity

Question 28

What are the regulations of real property interests

Answer 28

Federal Regualtion
State Regulation
Local Regulation
Judicial Regulation