Chapter 25 Property Freeman v Barrs Property falls into 3 categories Real Personal and Intellectual Nature of Real Property o Land o Buildings o Plant life only if sold with the land o Fixtures goods that have become attached to real property an object is a fixture if a reasonable person would consider the item to be a permanent part of the property Mary Ann Barrs paid 3 5MM to Francis Freeman for 4 000 acres of ranch land including a covered pole barn which had open sides a large cattle scale and an enclosed veterinarian s office The parties used a form contract which stated that all fixtures were included with the sale But neither party stated whether the cattle scale is in or out of the deal After the agreement went through Barrs and Freeman got into a beef over who owned the scale The trial judgd grilled numerous witnesses and ultimately weighted in on the said of Barrs declaring the scale a fixture that belonged to the real estate Broiling Freeman appealed Was the cattle scale a fixture According to the president of the maker of the scale the scale was designed to be portable and 70 of the scales he sold were installed in the present manner The removal of the fence would take around one hour with the use of a cutting torch and thereafter the scale could be moved within 15 min Characterization of an item as a fixture depends upon the finding of 3 elements annexation to the realty adaption to the use to which the realty is devoted and intent of the annexor that the object become a permanent accession to the freehold The last two are more important Adaptation the scale was integral to a cattle working facility used to weigh cattle for sale and to determine required dosages of medicine administered to cattle according to the ranch manager who is permitted to continue to work on the ranch Intent the manufacturer sold peripheral items that permitted the scale to be moved Plaintiff did not buy that equipment so the scale was purchased to be stationary whether it was portable or not Affirmed Estates in Real Property o Free simple absolute full ownership privileges in a property o Estates Interests the different right that someone can hold in real property o Concurrent Estates two or more people owning property at the same time Tenancy in Common two or more people holding equal interest in a property but with no right of survivorship default setting A tenancy in common might have any number of owners The tenants in common do not own a particular section of the property they own an equal interest in the entire property Partition division of the property among the co tenants All co tenants have an absolute right to partition since any tenant in common has the power to convey her interest to transfer the deed A court will normally attempt a partition by kind meaning that it actually divides the land equally among the co tenants Joint Tenancy two or more people holding equal interest in a property with the right of survivorship This means that when one joint tenant dies his interest in the property passes to the surviving joint tenant Joint tenancy has one other feature although joint tenants may not convery their interests by will they may do so during their lifetime but as long as one tenant sells the property to another party the joint tenancy is severed broken the original and new tenants are now tenants in common instead and the right of survivorship is destroyed Tenancy by the Entire the husband and wife each own the entire property and they both have a right of survivorship So neither party has a right to convey his or her interest If they wish to sell they must do so together An advantage is that no creditor may seize the property based on a debt incurred by only one spouse eg If a husband goes bankrupt creditors may not take his house if his wife also owns it by the entirety Divorce terminates a tenancy by the entirety and leaves the two parties as tenants in common Nonpossessory Interests Land Use Regulation o Easements the right to enter land belonging to another and make limited use of o Profit the right to enter land belonging to another and take something from it eg Oil gold underground o License the right to enter land belonging to another temporarily eg Sporting it event o Mortgage a security interest in real property Mortgagor an owner who gives a security interest in property in order to obtain a loan Mortgagee the party acquiring a security interest in property The mortgagee in most cases obtains a lien on the house meaning the right to foreclose on the property if the mortgagor fails to pay back the money borrowed A mortgagee forecloses by taking legal possessions of the property auctioning it to the higher bidder and using the proceeds to pay off the loan o Nuisance Law a nuisance is an unprivileged interference with a person s use and enjoyment of her property Offensive noise odors or smoke often give rise to nuisance claims A court will probably issue an abatement that is an order requiring the homeowner to eliminate the nuisance o Zoning Zoning statutes are state laws that permit local communities to regulate building and land use An owner prohibited by an ordinance from erecting a certain kind of building or adding on to his present building may seek a variance from the zoning board meaning an exception granted for special reasons unique to the property The grant of a variance generally depends on the type of the proposed building the nature of the community the reason the owner claims he is harmed by the ordinance and the reaction of neighbors o Eminent Domain the power of the government to take the private property for public use Takings Clause although all levels of gov have the power to take property they must pay the owner a fair price Generally if the property owner refuses the gov s offer the gov will file suit seeking condemnation of the land that is a court order specifying what compensation is just and awarding title to the gov Landlord Tenant Law when an owner of a freehold estate allows another person temporary exclusive possession of the property the parties have created a landlord tenant relationship The freehold owner is the landlord and the person allowed to possess the property is the tenant The landlord has conveyed a leasehold interest to the tenant meaning the right to temporary possession tenancy o Three Legal Areas Combined property law reversionary interest the right of an owner or her heirs to property upon the death of a life tenant