LEB320F Exam 2 Review Chapter 33 34 9 15 LEB 320F 1st Edition Exam 2 Study Guide Lectures 8 16 Chapter 33 Real Property The Nature of Real Property o Real Property land and things attached to land Most important element of real property is land itself Things affixed to land take form of vegetation or fixtures such as buildings Not owned by possession owned by registration Exploit to employ to the greatest possible advantage o Land includes not only the surface of the earth but also everything above and beneath it Ownership of land includes both air above it and soil from its surface to the center of the earth Air rights a landowner s rights with respect to the air space above the surface In densely populated metro areas air space is valuable Courts hold that a landowner s air rights aren t violated by airplanes flying at reasonable heights Subsurface rights landowner owns the minerals beneath the surface When land is sold the buyer acquires any existing minerals such as coal even if they re not expressly mentioned in the deed Minerals can also be owned separately Landowner may sell only mineral rights or the rest of the land and expressly retain mineral rights An owner who removes the minerals and sells them is making a sale of personal property Vegetation both natural vegetation trees and cultivated vegetation growing wheat crop are considered real property In sale of land vegetation passes to buyer of land unless expressly excluded from sale When vegetation sold by itself not with land the transaction is a sale of personal property Fixture an item that was originally personal property but has been attached to the land or to another fixture in a relatively permanent fashion Fixtures are viewed as real property Title of fixtures pass to buyers Items that aren t fixtures don t pass along with a sale of land unless expressly included in the terms of transaction When landowner removes a fixture from the soil or from the building it was attached then sale of the item is considered a sale of personal property Determining whether an item is a fixture o A court will hold that an item is a fixture if there was an intent that it become a permanent part of the real property o If owner hasn t clearly expressed intent it must be determined from circumstances o 1 Attachment item considered fixture if its attached to a building in a manner that it cannot be removed without damage to the building o 2 Specialized use item considered fixture if it was specially made or altered for installation in a particular building o 3 Custom sometimes local custom dictates whether item is a fixture Johnson v Hicks Hoy testified that the installation was to be permanent When Margaret and Hoy divorced the divorce awarded Margaret the family home and 1 3 of an acre on which it was located her personal property The irrigation system wasn t mentioned in the decree A portion of the irrigation system was on Margaret s land and she continued to use it Neil moved 140 feet of irrigation pipe from Margaret s land and placed it on his land on Hoy s Margaret plaintiff filed suit against Neil Hicks alleging the irrigation system was a fixture and that part of the system was passed onto her in the divorce decree She sought injunction requiring Neil to restore pipe to its original position on her land and prohibiting further interference with it damages Trial court held that part of system was not fixture and dismissed claims Reversed Interests in Real Property Estates o Estate the particular set of rights owned in a given situation o Possessory interests Freehold estates estate that can legally exist for an indefinite period of time Types of ownership 1 Fee Simple when a person has complete ownership of real property You own everything for all time o Most important type of freehold estate o Characteristics of a fee simple interest are o 1 Ownership of unlimited duration o 2 Owner is free to do whatever he she chooses with property as long as owner abides by the law and doesn t interfere with rights of adjoining landowners 2 Fee Simple Defeasible interests classified as fee simple interests despite the fact that ownership is not absolute o One of most common limitations of this type relates to use that is to be made of land o Possibility of termination 3 Life estate interest in real property the duration of which is measured by the life of some designated person o Leases o Owning a life estate is not equivalent of owning a fee simple for one s lifetime o Life tenant has right to normal use of the property but cannot do anything that will permanently damage the property and harm the owner of future interest o Example the right to cut timber on the land is restricted Timber can be cut if required for fuel fencing or agriculture operations Cannot be cut for purpose of sale unless specifically conveyed selling timber is only profitable use of land land was used for that at time person became life tenant or owner of future interest expressly permits o Life tenant responsible to owner of future interests for any permanent damage he causes to land but not responsible for damage caused by accidents third parties or without life tenant s fault o Life tenant under a duty to pay taxes on the property Nonfreehold Estates leasehold estates Created by a lease of real property in which owner grants another temporary right to possess property in return for payment of rent Owner called lessor landlord Occupier called lessee tenant o Nonpossessory Interests Easement right to make some limited use of another s real property without taking possession of it Right to do a specific thing on another s land Buying rights not to be a trespasser Referred to informally as a right of way Types of easements o Easement appurtenant created specifically for use in connection with another tract of land Adjacent boxed in land Servient estate Dominant estate land being benefited by easement Runs with the land if dominant estate sold easement goes with it but owner of easement appurtenant cannot sell or transfer it by itself o Easement in gross one not used in connection with another tract of and Owner of easement in gross generally allowed to transfer it to another party Utility easements When tract of land subject to easement is sold purchaser must continue to recognize easement Creation of Easements o Creation by express grant or reservation is most common method o Express grant when landowner expresses an intent to convey an easement to another party o