NJ Bar Real Property 2

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?

Accepted Answer

It severs the joint tenancy as to the conveyed share

Answer

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?

Accepted Answer

Part performance

Answer

Part performance—typically payment of purchase price, possession, and/or improvements—allows 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?

Accepted Answer

Covenant against encumbrances

Answer

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:

Accepted Answer

Cannot be waived by the tenant in a lease agreement

Answer

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):

Accepted Answer

The risk of loss falls on the buyer

Answer

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.

NJ Bar - New Jersey Bar Exam Practice Test

NJ Bar - New Jersey Bar Exam Practice Test

NJ Bar Real Property 2