Property ownership and estates
The exam opens with what real property is and who can hold which rights in it. Pearson VUE puts 11 questions on property characteristics, legal descriptions and land use and 9 on forms of ownership and transfer; PSI states give property ownership 10% of the exam.
80 questions in 2 hours 30 minutes, 56 to pass. 9 of the 80 questions come from property ownership and estates, and every answer is explained.
Or try the free property ownership and estates drillTom lets his cousin live in a rental house he owns with no set term and no written agreement, on the understanding that either may end the arrangement at any time. Tom dies. What happens to the cousin's right to occupy?
What to know about property ownership and estates
- Real property is land, what is permanently attached to it and the bundle of rights (possession, control, enjoyment, exclusion, disposition). Personal property (chattel) is everything else and moves by bill of sale, not deed.
- A fixture is personal property that became real property by attachment. Courts weigh the method of attachment, adaptation to the property, the parties’ agreement and intention. Trade fixtures installed by a business tenant stay personal property and may be removed before the lease ends.
- Emblements are annual crops produced by labor; a tenant who planted them keeps the right to harvest after the tenancy ends.
- Physical characteristics of land: immobility, indestructibility and uniqueness (non-homogeneity). Economic characteristics: scarcity, improvements (modification), permanence of investment and area preference (situs).
- Freehold estates last an indeterminate time. Fee simple absolute is the fullest estate; fee simple defeasible can end on a condition (determinable with "so long as" and automatic reversion; condition subsequent with "but if" and a right of re-entry). A life estate ends with a life and passes to a remainderman or reverts to the grantor; pur autre vie is measured by another person’s life.
- Leasehold estates: estate for years (fixed end date, no notice needed), periodic estate (renews until notice), estate at will (either party may end it) and estate at sufferance (holdover without permission).
- Co-ownership: tenancy in common has undivided interests that may be unequal and pass by will; joint tenancy needs the four unities (time, title, interest, possession) and carries the right of survivorship; tenancy by the entirety is for spouses in states that recognize it.
- A condominium owner holds fee title to the unit and an undivided interest in the common elements; a cooperative owner holds shares in a corporation and a proprietary lease.
- A lien is a charge against property as security for a debt. Specific liens (mortgage, property tax, mechanic’s lien) attach to one property; general liens (judgments, federal tax liens) attach to all of the debtor’s property. Real estate tax liens take priority over earlier-recorded liens.
Pearson VUE outline area I and II.A: 9 of the 80 scored national questions in our mock come from this topic. The notes state principles that hold in every state; state-specific rules are in the California, Texas and Florida guides.
Drill property ownership and estates, then sit the full exam
80 questions in 2 hours 30 minutes, 56 to pass. 9 of the 80 questions come from property ownership and estates, and every answer is explained.
Or try the free property ownership and estates drillCommon questions
What is the difference between a fixture and a trade fixture?
A fixture is personal property attached so that it became part of the real estate and transfers with it. A trade fixture is installed by a business tenant for the trade and remains the tenant’s personal property, removable before the lease ends, with damage repaired.
What are the four unities of joint tenancy?
Time, title, interest and possession: the joint tenants acquired their interests at the same time, by the same document, in equal shares, with the same right to possess the whole.
80 questions in 2 hours 30 minutes, 56 to pass. 9 of the 80 questions come from property ownership and estates, and every answer is explained.
Or try the free property ownership and estates drillMore real estate exam topics
- Legal descriptions and land use controls · 6 of 80
- Valuation and appraisal · 11 of 80
- Contracts · 9 of 80
- Agency · 7 of 80
- Practice of real estate and fair housing · 10 of 80
- Property disclosures and environmental issues · 9 of 80
- Financing and settlement · 7 of 80
- Transfer of title · 5 of 80
- Real estate math · 7 of 80
Free property ownership and estates drill · National mock exam · California exam · Texas exam · Florida exam
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