Vocabulary tricks that make terms stick

Whether something is a fixture (real property) or personal property is one of the most tested topics on the real estate exam. MARIA gives you the 5 tests courts use. Intent is the most important — what did the person intend when they installed it? Agreement of the parties controls if there is one.

The bundle of rights is the concept that property ownership is actually a collection of individual rights. You can hold all of them or transfer some while keeping others — for example a landlord transfers the right to Possess and Use but keeps the right to Transfer and Encumber. Government can limit rights through PETE (police power, eminent domain, taxation, escheat).

Dwelling: a place to live (house, condo). Unit: an apartment or condo unit. Structure: a building or improvement. Tract: a parcel of raw land. Real property = land plus anything permanently attached to it.

Real property: land and everything permanently attached (buildings, fixtures, trees). Personal property (chattel): movable items not permanently attached. The test: is it a fixture? MARIA — Method of attachment, Adaptability, Relationship of parties, Intention, Agreement.

Grant deed: grantor guarantees they own the property and haven't sold it to anyone else. Implied warranties of title. Quitclaim deed: grantor transfers whatever interest they have — could be full ownership or nothing. No warranties. Used to clear title defects, between family members, in divorce.

Financial encumbrances: mortgages, deeds of trust, judgments. Easements: right of others to use the property. Liens: financial claims against the property (tax lien, mechanic's lien). Title restrictions: CC&Rs, deed restrictions, zoning.

Easement appurtenant: attached to the land, transfers with the property. Dominant tenement (benefits) and servient tenement (burdened). Example: right-of-way across a neighbor's land. Easement in gross: personal right, not attached to land. Utility company right-of-way, billboard rights.

General rule: liens are paid in order of recording date. EXCEPTIONS: Property tax liens always have first priority regardless of recording date. Special assessment liens (street improvements) also super-priority. Then recorded mortgages in order. Mechanic's liens may relate back to start of construction.

Lender's (mortgagee) policy: required by almost all lenders, protects lender's interest up to loan amount. Owner's policy: optional but strongly recommended, protects buyer's full equity. Both protect against defects in title that existed BEFORE the policy date — not future events.

Escrow agent (title company, attorney, or escrow company depending on state) holds: earnest money deposit, loan documents, deed, closing funds. Releases everything simultaneously when all conditions met. Protects both parties — seller knows funds are secured, buyer knows deed won't transfer until paid.

Riparian rights (rivers and streams): landowner has the right to use water flowing past their land but cannot unreasonably diminish flow for downstream users. Littoral rights (lakes and oceans): landowner owns to the high-water mark. Prior appropriation states: water rights based on 'first in time, first in right.'

A person can gain title to land by occupying it openly and continuously for the statutory period (varies by state, typically 5-21 years). OCEAN: Open (visible, not hidden), Continuous (uninterrupted), Exclusive (not shared with owner), Actual (physical use), Notorious/Hostile (without owner's permission).

5th Amendment: government can take private property for public use but must pay 'just compensation' (fair market value). Condemnation: the legal process. Inverse condemnation: when government action damages property without formal taking. Escheat: property reverts to state when owner dies with no heirs.

Residential (R): housing — single family (R-1), multi-family (R-2, R-3). Commercial (C): retail, offices, restaurants. Industrial (I): manufacturing, warehouses. Agricultural (A): farming, ranching. Variance: exception to zoning rules. Non-conforming use: legal use that predates the zoning change.

Easement = permanent right that runs with the land and survives sale. License = revocable temporary permission. Easements are recorded; licenses are not.

Deeds transfer ownership but offer very different buyer protections.

General rule: first recorded = first priority. Exception: Property tax liens ALWAYS have first priority regardless of recording date.

Escheat is a government power: property of someone who dies intestate with no heirs reverts to the state. One of the four government powers — remember PETE (Police, Eminent Domain, Taxation, Escheat).