NJ Bar Real Property 2 â Questions and Answers
Question 1: A joint tenant conveys her interest to a third party without the knowledge of the other joint tenant. What is the effect of this conveyance?
- It severs the joint tenancy as to the conveyed share (Correct answer)
- It is void because joint tenants cannot unilaterally convey
- It converts the entire tenancy to a tenancy in common
- It has no effect until the other joint tenant consents
Correct answer: It severs the joint tenancy as to the conveyed share
A joint tenant may unilaterally sever the joint tenancy by conveying her interest to a third party, destroying the unity of title and converting her share into a tenancy in common.
Question 2: Under New Jersey's Statute of Frauds, a contract for the sale of real property must be in writing and signed. Which doctrine may allow enforcement of an oral contract for sale despite the Statute of Frauds?
- Part performance (Correct answer)
- Promissory estoppel only
- Equitable conversion
- The parol evidence rule
Correct answer: Part performance
Part performanceâtypically payment of purchase price, possession, and/or improvementsâallows a court of equity to enforce an oral contract for the sale of real property despite the Statute of Frauds.
Question 3: A seller conveys property to a buyer by warranty deed. Six months later, a third party successfully asserts a valid easement that the seller had not disclosed. Which covenant in the warranty deed has been breached?
- Covenant of quiet enjoyment
- Covenant of seisin
- Covenant of right to convey
- Covenant against encumbrances (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Covenant against encumbrances
An undisclosed easement is an encumbrance, so its existence at the time of conveyance breaches the covenant against encumbrances, which warrants the property is free of encumbrances.
Question 4: Under New Jersey law, a residential landlord's implied warranty of habitability:
- Cannot be waived by the tenant in a lease agreement (Correct answer)
- May be waived in writing by commercial tenants only
- Applies only to tenants who pay market-rate rent
- Is satisfied once the landlord makes reasonable repair attempts
Correct answer: Cannot be waived by the tenant in a lease agreement
New Jersey courts hold that the implied warranty of habitability in residential leases is non-waivable as a matter of public policy, regardless of any lease provision to the contrary.
Question 5: A purchaser is under contract to buy land. Before closing, the building on the land is destroyed by fire without fault of either party. Under the majority rule (equitable conversion):
- The risk of loss falls on the buyer (Correct answer)
- The risk of loss falls on the seller
- The contract is automatically rescinded
- The risk of loss is shared equally between buyer and seller
Correct answer: The risk of loss falls on the buyer
Under the doctrine of equitable conversion, once a binding contract of sale is signed, the buyer holds equitable title and bears the risk of loss even before closing.
Question 6: A mortgage in New Jersey is best characterized under state law as:
- A lien on the property, not a transfer of title (Correct answer)
- A conveyance of legal title to the lender until repayment
- A conditional sale with right of redemption
- An assignment of rents and profits only
Correct answer: A lien on the property, not a transfer of title
New Jersey is a lien-theory state, meaning a mortgage creates only a lien on the property in favor of the lender; legal title remains with the borrower/mortgagor.
Question 7: Which of the following fixtures would most likely be treated as personal property removable by a departing tenant?
- A built-in commercial oven installed by a restaurant tenant (Correct answer)
- A central air conditioning system installed in a residential unit
- A fireplace mantle bolted to the wall by the landlord
- Custom cabinetry built into the kitchen walls by the landlord
Correct answer: A built-in commercial oven installed by a restaurant tenant
Trade fixturesâitems installed by a commercial tenant for business purposesâare removable by the tenant upon lease termination, even if physically attached to the building.
NJ Bar Real Property 2
A joint tenant conveys her interest to a third party without the knowledge of the other joint tenant.
What is the effect of this conveyance?