Chapter 50
Real Property
Twomey, Business Law and the
Regulatory Environment (14th Ed.)
Easements [50-1]
A
Dominant
Tenement
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B
Servient
Tenement
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Creation of Easements [50-2]
1. Deed
Express grant
Express reservation
2. Implication
3. Necessity
4. Estoppel
5. Prescription
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Definition and Classification of Deeds [50-3]
Grantor
(current
owner)
Deed
Grantee
(new owner)
Instrument to transfer
interest in land
Quitclaim deed
transfers whatever interest the grantor may
have in the property without specifying
that interest
Warranty deed
transfers a specified interest, and makes
certain guarantees
Common law deed
sets forth the details of the transaction
Statutory deed
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recites that a named person is making
certain conveyance to a named grantee
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Mortgage [50-4]
Mortgagor
(Borrower/Owner)
Mortgagee
(Lender)
Assumption of Mortgage in Sale
Mortgagee
Personal
Liability
Property subject
to foreclosure
Original Mortgager
Personal Liability
Buyer Assumes
Subject to Sale
Mortgagee
Property subject
to foreclosure
Personal
Liability
Original Mortgager
Buyer Takes Subject to
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Chapter 50 Summary
Real property includes land, buildings and
fixtures, and rights in the land of another. The
interest held by a person in real property may be
defined in terms of the period of time for which
the person will remain the owner.
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Chapter 50 Summary
[2]
The interest may be a fee simple estate, which
lasts forever, or a life estate, which lasts for
the life of a person. These estates are known
as freehold estates. If the ownership interest
exists for a specified number of days, months,
or years, the interest is a leasehold estate.
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Chapter 50 Summary
[3]
Personal property may be attached to or
associated with real property in such a way
that it becomes real property. In such a case, it
is called a fixture. To determine whether
property has in fact become a fixture, the
courts look to the method of attachment, to
how the property is adapted to the realty, and
to the intent of the person originally owning
the personal property.
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Chapter 50 Summary
[4]
Under common law, the liability of an occupier
of land for injury to third persons on the
premises is dependent on the status of the third
persons as trespassers, licensees, or invitees.
Many jurisdictions, however, are ignoring these
common law distinctions in favor of an ordinary
negligence standard or are giving licensees the
same protection as invitees.
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Chapter 50 Summary
[5]
Recreational use statutes limit or eliminate
a landowner’s liability for personal injuries to a
person using the owner’s land for recreational
purposes.
Real property may be the subject of
multiple ownership. The forms of multiple
ownership are the same as those for personal
property. In addition, there are special forms of
co-ownership for real property, such as
condominiums and cooperatives.
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Chapter 50 Summary
[6]
A deed is an instrument by which a grantor
transfers an interest in land to a grantee. A
deed can be a quitclaim deed or a warranty
deed. To be effective, a deed must be signed
or sealed by the grantor and delivered to the
grantee. Recording the deed is not required to
make the deed effective to pass title, but
recording provides notice to the public that
the grantee is the present owner.
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Chapter 50 Summary
[7]
The warranties of the grantor relate to the title
transferred by the grantor and to the fitness of
the property for use. In the absence of any
express warranty in the deed, no warranty of
fitness arises under the common law in the sale
or the conveyance of real estate.
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Chapter 50 Summary
[8]
Most states today hold that when a builder or
real estate developer sells a new home to a
buyer, an implied warranty of habitability
arises. Eminent domain and adverse
possession may also acquire title to real
estate.
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Chapter 50 Summary
[9]
An agreement that creates an interest in real
property as security for an obligation and that
ends upon the performance of the obligation is
a mortgage. A mortgage must be in writing
under the statute of frauds. If the mortgage is
unrecorded, it is valid between the parties.
The mortgage should be recorded to put goodfaith purchasers on notice of the mortgage.
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Chapter 50 Summary
[10]
A purchaser of the mortgaged property does not
become liable for the mortgage debt unless the
purchaser assumes the mortgage. The mortgagor
still remains liable unless the mortgagee agrees
to a substitution of parties. If the mortgagor
defaults, the mortgagee may enforce the
mortgage by foreclosure. Such foreclosure may
be delayed because of undue hardship.
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