FBBE Real Property Principles Questions and Answers — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A married couple purchases a home in Florida, taking title as 'husband and wife.' Several years later, the husband, facing a personal financial crisis, attempts to convey his one-half interest in the property to his brother via a quitclaim deed to shield it from his individual creditors. The husband signs the deed, but the wife does not. What is the status of the title after this attempted conveyance?
- The husband and wife still own the property as tenants by the entirety, and the brother has no interest. (Correct answer)
- The conveyance severs the tenancy by the entirety, and the wife and the brother now own the property as tenants in common.
- The conveyance is valid, and the husband's brother now owns a one-half interest, holding the property as a tenant in common with the wife.
- The conveyance creates a joint tenancy with right of survivorship between the wife and the husband's brother.
Correct answer: The husband and wife still own the property as tenants by the entirety, and the brother has no interest.
In Florida, a conveyance to a husband and wife is presumed to create a tenancy by the entirety. A key feature of a tenancy by the entirety is that neither spouse can unilaterally convey or encumber their interest in the property without the other's consent. The property is owned by the marital unit, not by the individuals. Therefore, the husband's attempt to convey his interest without his wife's joinder on the deed is void and has no legal effect. The title remains with the husband and wife as tenants by the entirety.
Question 2: A landlord of a multi-unit apartment building in Florida fails to repair a broken central air conditioning system during a heatwave, rendering a tenant's apartment uninhabitable. The tenant provides proper written notice to the landlord detailing the issue. The landlord fails to take any action within 7 days. Under the Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act, what is the tenant's most appropriate remedy?
- Immediately hire a contractor to fix the entire building's system and deduct the full cost from future rent.
- File a lawsuit for specific performance to compel the landlord to make the repair.
- Terminate the rental agreement due to the landlord's material noncompliance. (Correct answer)
- Change the locks to the apartment to prevent the landlord from entering until the repair is made.
Correct answer: Terminate the rental agreement due to the landlord's material noncompliance.
Florida Statute § 83.51(1) requires a landlord to comply with housing codes and maintain the premises in a habitable condition, which includes functioning facilities for heat and, by extension, air conditioning in many parts of Florida. A failure to do so is a material noncompliance. According to Florida Statute § 83.56(1), if the landlord materially fails to comply within 7 days after receiving a written notice from the tenant specifying the noncompliance, the tenant may terminate the rental agreement. While withholding rent is a possibility, termination is a direct remedy provided by statute for such a material breach. Hiring a contractor for a building-wide system is unreasonable, and self-help like changing locks is not a permitted remedy.
Question 3: Which of the following is an essential requirement for a valid deed conveying an interest in real property in Florida?
- The deed must be signed by the grantor in the presence of a notary public.
- The deed must state the specific amount of consideration paid for the property.
- The deed must be recorded in the public records of the county where the property is located.
- The deed must be signed by the grantor in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. (Correct answer)
Correct answer: The deed must be signed by the grantor in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.
Florida Statute § 689.01 explicitly requires that any conveyance of an interest in real property for a term of more than one year must be made by a written instrument signed in the presence of two subscribing witnesses. While notarization (acknowledgment) is required for a deed to be recorded, it is the witnessing that is fundamental to the deed's validity. Stating the exact consideration is not required, and while recording is crucial for providing notice to third parties and establishing priority, it is not required for the deed to be valid as between the grantor and grantee.
Question 4: A developer owned a large 50-acre tract of land. She sold a 5-acre parcel located in the center of the tract to a buyer. The deed for the 5-acre parcel did not contain any language granting the buyer the right to cross the developer's remaining land to reach a public road. The 5-acre parcel has no other access. What is the buyer's best legal argument to gain access to the public road?
- An easement by prescription has been created.
- A common law easement by necessity has been created. (Correct answer)
- An easement in gross exists for the benefit of the buyer.
- The buyer can claim title to an access strip by adverse possession.
Correct answer: A common law easement by necessity has been created.
A common law easement by necessity is created in Florida when there is a severance of title to land held by a common grantor that creates a landlocked parcel, making access over the grantor's remaining land strictly necessary. The law presumes the parties intended to create an easement for access. An easement by prescription requires long-term adverse use, which has not occurred. An easement in gross benefits a person, not a parcel of land, and is not applicable here. Adverse possession concerns ownership, not a right of access.
Question 5: A Florida resident, who solely owns his home, dies leaving a will that devises his homestead property to his best friend. The resident is survived by his spouse and one 15-year-old minor child. What is the legal effect of the devise in the will?
- The devise is valid, and the best friend takes the homestead property in fee simple.
- The devise is void, and the surviving spouse receives a life estate in the homestead, with a vested remainder to the minor child. (Correct answer)
- The devise is valid, but the spouse and minor child can elect to take a one-half interest as tenants in common with the best friend.
- The devise is void, and the property passes to the spouse and minor child as joint tenants with right of survivorship.
Correct answer: The devise is void, and the surviving spouse receives a life estate in the homestead, with a vested remainder to the minor child.
Article X, Section 4(c) of the Florida Constitution prohibits the devise of homestead property if the owner is survived by a spouse or a minor child. Since the resident was survived by both a spouse and a minor child, the attempted devise to his best friend is void. Under Florida's intestacy statutes governing the descent of homestead, when a devise is improper and the decedent is survived by a spouse and one or more descendants, the surviving spouse takes a life estate, and the descendants (in this case, the minor child) receive a vested remainder.
Question 6: A property owner conveys a parcel of land in Florida to Grantee A by deed on March 1st. Grantee A does not record the deed. On March 15th, the same property owner conveys the same parcel of land to Grantee B, who pays fair market value and has no knowledge of the prior conveyance to Grantee A. On March 20th, Grantee A records her deed. On March 25th, Grantee B records his deed. Who has superior title to the property?
- Grantee A, because she recorded her deed first.
- Grantee B, because he was a subsequent bona fide purchaser for value without notice. (Correct answer)
- Grantee A, because her conveyance was first in time.
- The property owner, because the conflicting conveyances render both deeds void.
Correct answer: Grantee B, because he was a subsequent bona fide purchaser for value without notice.
Florida is a "notice" jurisdiction. Florida Statute § 695.01 provides that an unrecorded conveyance is invalid against a subsequent purchaser for a valuable consideration and without notice. Grantee B is a bona fide purchaser (BFP) because he paid value and had no notice of the prior deed to Grantee A at the time of his conveyance. In a notice jurisdiction, a subsequent BFP prevails over a prior unrecorded interest, regardless of who records first. Since Grantee B had no notice when he purchased the property, he has superior title.
FBBE Real Property Principles Questions and Answers
A married couple purchases a home in Florida, taking title as 'husband and wife.' Several years later, the husband, facing a personal financial crisis, attempts to convey his one-half interest in the property to his brother via a quitclaim deed to shield it from his individual creditors.
The husband signs the deed, but the wife does not.
What is the status of the title after this attempted conveyance?