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Elements of Real Property

The document defines key terms related to real property, including land, real estate, fixtures, and personal property. It discusses the physical and economic characteristics of land and the rights that are included with real property ownership, such as the bundle of rights. Various methods for legally describing real property are also outlined, like metes and bounds, rectangular survey systems, and lot and block references.

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94 views

Elements of Real Property

The document defines key terms related to real property, including land, real estate, fixtures, and personal property. It discusses the physical and economic characteristics of land and the rights that are included with real property ownership, such as the bundle of rights. Various methods for legally describing real property are also outlined, like metes and bounds, rectangular survey systems, and lot and block references.

Uploaded by

Gene's
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Land The earth's surface extending downward to the center of the earth and upward to infinity,

including permanently attached natural objects

Real estate Land plus all things permanently attached to it naturally or artificially

Real property Real estate, plus the interests, benefits, and rights included with real estate
ownership

Personal property Everything that's not real property

Improvements Artificial attachments to land that include things such as fencing, buildings, and
walkways

Ownership rights included in ownership of real property Rights of enjoyment, disposition,


possession, control, and exclusion, along with other rights

Fixture Anything permanently attached to the land or to permanent structures on the land) are
part of real property, and are included with a sale of real property unless the parties negotiate
differently

Chattel Another word for personal property

Legal tests to determine real property vs. personal property Method of annexation, intentions of
the annexing party, agreement of the parties, and adaptability

Emblements Cultivated crops (considered personal property even though they're attached to the
soil)

Severance An item that was real property becomes personal property through detaching it
from the land

Annexation Personal property is attached to real property, making it a fixture

Economic characteristics of land Scarcity, improvements, permanence of investment, and


situs (location)

Physical characteristics of land Immobility, indestructibility, and uniqueness (non-


homogeneity)

"Sticks" (rights) in the bundle of rights Air, water, mineral, profit, mortgage, fixtures,
crops, possession and enjoyment, exclusion, and disposition

Legal description A method of identifying a property in written words that allows for an
unambiguous interpretation of a property's boundaries and location
Metes and bounds A survey system using points of reference and directional indicators to
identify and locate a property for legal purposes

Monument A natural or man-made permanent landmark that serves as a point of reference in


a metes and bounds description

Rectangular government survey system A survey system that describes land in reference to
principal meridians and baselines.

Plat map A map that shows the location of a piece of property in context to its adjoining
lots, roads, and landmarks. It includes lot, street, and block identifiers

Lot and block A legal description that refers to lot and block number within a subdivision as
indicated on a recorded subdivision plat

Section In a government survey system, a township is divided into 36 sections, so each


section is 1/36th of a township

Township A square that is six miles by six miles (36 square miles) and makes up the
principal unit of the rectangular government survey system

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