DE Bar Property Law 3

Question 1

A grantor conveys "to the school board so long as the land is used for a school." What interest does the grantor retain?

Accepted Answer

A possibility of reverter

Answer

Durational language such as "so long as" creates a fee simple determinable, leaving the grantor a possibility of reverter that vests automatically on breach.

Question 2

A squatter fences and farms a two-acre corner of a fifty-acre parcel for the full statutory period, claiming no deed. How much land can the squatter acquire by adverse possession?

Accepted Answer

Only the two acres actually possessed

Answer

Without color of title, an adverse possessor acquires only the land actually occupied, since constructive adverse possession requires a defective instrument describing the whole tract.

Question 3

A landlord fails to fix a broken heating system in winter despite repeated notice, making a Delaware residential apartment unlivable. The tenant vacates and stops paying rent. What doctrine best supports the tenant?

Accepted Answer

Constructive eviction

Answer

A landlord's failure to remedy conditions that substantially deprive the tenant of use and enjoyment, followed by the tenant vacating within a reasonable time, constitutes constructive eviction.

Question 4

An owner of two adjacent lots sells the rear lot, which has no street access except over the retained front lot. The deed says nothing about access. What right does the buyer most likely have?

Accepted Answer

An easement implied by necessity over the front lot

Answer

When a conveyance landlocks a parcel previously held in common ownership, courts imply an easement by necessity over the grantor's retained land.

Question 5

A mortgagor defaults, and the lender forecloses. The property sells for less than the outstanding loan balance. What is the lender's typical remedy for the shortfall?

Accepted Answer

A deficiency judgment against the borrower personally

Answer

When foreclosure proceeds fail to satisfy the debt, the lender may generally pursue a personal deficiency judgment against the borrower unless a statute bars it.

(DE Bar) Delaware Bar Exam Practice Test

(DE Bar) Delaware Bar Exam Practice Test

DE Bar Property Law 3