Property

Question 1

What non-possessory interest in land gives the holder the right to use another party’s land?

Answer 1

An easement.

Question 2

Does a covenant NOT to sublease prohibit an assignment?

Answer 2

No.

Question 3

Does a covenant prohibiting assignment also prohibit subleasing?

Answer 3

No.

Question 4

Do licenses need to be in writing?

Answer 4

No. They are not subject to the statute of frauds, so they do not need to be in writing.

Question 5

What does Eminent Domain allow the government to do under the 5th Amendment?

Answer 5

Take private property for public use with just compensation.

Question 6

What must the government give you when using Eminent Domain to take private property for public use?

Answer 6

Just compensation (measured by the fmv of property at the time of the taking).

Question 7

What is Marketable Title?

Answer 7

Title reasonably free from doubt (i.e. title that a reasonably prudent buyer would be willing to accept).

Question 8

Is title acquired by adverse possession considered marketable title?

Answer 8

No.

Because the purchaser might be later forced to defend in court against the record owner to quiet title.

Question 9

Who wins a property dispute in a (pure) race jurisdiction?

Answer 9

Whoever records first wins.

Actual notice is irrelevant.

Question 10

When is a regulatory taking considered a per se taking?

Answer 10

If it deprives the owner of 100% of all economic viable use of the owner’s property.

Question 11

What is it called when a government regulation affects some economic use of the land, but a sufficient amount of economic use remains?

Answer 11

A partial regulatory taking.

Question 12

Who wins a property dispute in a notice jurisdiction?

Answer 12

Depends on if subsequent bona fide purchaser has notice (actual or constructive) of the prior interest.

If subsequent BFP did not have notice of prior interest, they win.

If subsequent BFP DID have notice of prior interest, they lose.

Question 13

Who wins a property dispute in a race-notice jurisdiction?

Answer 13

Subsequent bona fide purchaser wins if
(1) they record before the prior grantee AND
(2) have no actual or constructive notice of the prior grantee’s interest.

Question 14

What is a bona fide purchaser?

Answer 14

An innocent party who purchases property without notice of any other claims to the property’s title and who pays valuable consideration for the land.

Alt: purchaser who takes without notice and pays valuable consideration for the land.

Question 15

What is constructive notice?

Answer 15

Notice that exists when it is presumed a person is aware of certain facts because they are publicly available and accessible, even if they do not have actual knowledge of them.

Includes both record and inquiry notice.

Question 16

Do recording statutes (race, notice, race-notice) apply to easements?

Answer 16

Yes.

Question 17

What is a mortgage?

Answer 17

A conveyance of a security interest in land that is intended by the parties to serve as collateral for repayment of a monetary obligation (usually a loan).

Question 18

What is a purchase money mortgage?

Answer 18

Mortgage where buyer (mortgagor/borrower) borrows money directly from seller (mortgagee/lender) to cover part of the purchase price.

Buyer takes title to encumbered land (because it now has a claim on it by the seller acting as a lender) and gives the seller a priority interest on the property.

Question 19

What does a quitclaim deed transfer?

Answer 19

Transfers (basically a release of) whatever interest, if any, the grantor has in the property. No covenants (promises) of title are included or implied.

essentially transfers the grantor’s interest “as is”, with any benefits and any problems. Grantor is quitting any claim they have to the property. Complete exit.

Question 20

What is the defense of Changed Neighborhood Conditions?

Answer 20

A party may argue that changed neighborhood conditions justify ending an equitable servitude.

Question 21

What is an equitable servitude?

Answer 21

A non-possessory interest in land that, regardless of whether it runs with the land, imposes certain restrictions or obligations enforceable in equity on property owners for the benefit of other properties.

Enforceable by equitable relief (injunction, etc.) against any owners/assignees of the burdened property that have notice of the interest.

Question 22

Does the Rule Against Perpetuities apply to a grantor’s interest?

Answer 22

No.

Question 23

When does the period of adverse possession begin to run against an infant owner of property?

Answer 23

When the infant owner reaches the age of majority.

Question 24

When does the period of adverse possession begin running against a remainderman?

Answer 24

When the remainderman’s preceding estate terminates.

Question 25

When does the period of adverse possession begin to run?

Answer 25

Begins to run when a cause of action by the record owner accrues.

Question 26

Does a subsequent assumption of a mortgage release the original mortgagor or one who previously assumed the mortgage from personal liability?

Answer 26

No. Original mortgagor or one who previously assumed the mortgage can still be held personally liable for the mortgage.

Question 27

Does a subsequent taking subject to a mortgage release the original mortgagor or one who previously assumed the mortgage from personal liability?

Answer 27

No. Original mortgagor or one who previously assumed the mortgage can still be held personally liable for the mortgage.

Question 28

When does title pass when a deed is deposited with a commercial escrow agent with instructions to deliver it to the grantee upon the happening of a condition outside the grantor’s control?

Answer 28

Once the condition is satisfied, title passes automatically.

Question 29

When does the risk of loss from causes other than the fault of the seller (ex: freak fire/weather) pass to the buyer?

Answer 29

When the buyer takes possession of the property prior to closing.

Question 30

Can the holder of an easement use it in a way that goes beyond the scope of use contemplated at the time of its creation?

Answer 30

No.

Question 31

What is the name of a tenancy with no fixed duration?

Answer 31

A tenancy at will.

Question 32

Who can terminate a tenancy at will?

Answer 32

Either party.

Question 33

What does the Rule Against Perpetuities do?

Answer 33

The Rule Against Perpetuities prevents property from being tied up by dead-hand control, ensuring future interests vest no later than 21 years after a "life in being" (person alive) at the time of the grant's creation. If there is any possibility the interest might not vest within this timeframe, it is void.

Question 34

When does a class close if a gift is made to that class of persons, and some members are in being and ascertained at the time the gift was made?

Answer 34

At the time the gift is made, the class opens and closes immediately. But only if some members of the class are in being and ascertained at time gift was made.

Question 35

An easement by express grant does not usually terminate by non-use. When is the one time it does?

Answer 35

When there is a clearly manifested intent to abandon the easement.

Question 36

What kind of present possessory interest is conveyed by the language “To A” or “To A and her heirs”?

Answer 36

A fee simple / fee simple absolute

Question 37

What kind of present possessory interest is conveyed by the language “To A so long as…” or “while” or “during”?

Answer 37

A Fee Simple Determinable

Question 38

What kind of present possessory interest is conveyed by the language “To A, but if…” OR “provided that” OR “however, on condition that…”?

Answer 38

A Fee Simple Subject to Condition Subsequent.

Question 39

What kind of present possessory interest is conveyed by the language of a Fee Simple Determinable or Fee Simple Subject to a Condition Subsequent, followed by “then to B”?

Answer 39

A Fee Simple Subject to an Executory Interest.

Question 40

What kind of present possessory interest is conveyed by the language “To A so long as…” or “while” or “during”?

Answer 40

A Fee Simple Determinable

Question 41

What kind of present possessory interest is conveyed by the language “To A for life” or “for as long as she shall live”?

Answer 41

A Life Estate.

Question 42

What kind of present possessory interest is conveyed by the language “To A for the life of B”, or when a life estate is sold?

Answer 42

A Life Estate Pur Autre Vie.

Question 43

What is the remedy for a grantor if a condition subsequent occurs with a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent?

Answer 43

If a condition subsequent occurs, the remedy of the grantor is a right of re-entry. The fee Simple is terminated and the property goes back to the grantor.