NM Bar Real Property & Land Use 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: O conveys Blackacre 'to A so long as no alcohol is sold on the premises.' A sells alcohol. What estate did A have and what is the result?
- Fee simple determinable; title automatically reverts to O (Correct answer)
- Fee simple subject to condition subsequent; O must re-enter
- Fee tail; the conveyance is void
- Life estate; A forfeits all rights
Correct answer: Fee simple determinable; title automatically reverts to O
The durational language 'so long as' creates a fee simple determinable that automatically ends upon violation.
Question 2: Under New Mexico recording law, which type of recording act does New Mexico follow?
- Race statute
- Notice statute
- Race-notice statute (Correct answer)
- Pure common law priority rules
Correct answer: Race-notice statute
New Mexico is a race-notice jurisdiction; a subsequent purchaser prevails only if they take without notice AND record first.
Question 3: A landlord in New Mexico fails to repair a broken heating system in winter after proper notice. Under the implied warranty of habitability, the tenant's remedy includes:
- Immediate termination only with court order
- Rent withholding, repair-and-deduct, or termination after notice (Correct answer)
- Filing a criminal complaint against the landlord
- Only seeking damages after vacating the premises
Correct answer: Rent withholding, repair-and-deduct, or termination after notice
New Mexico recognizes the implied warranty of habitability and allows rent withholding, repair-and-deduct, or lease termination after notice.
Question 4: Two co-tenants hold property as joint tenants. One secretly conveys her interest to a third party. What is the result?
- The conveyance is void because joint tenancy cannot be severed unilaterally
- The joint tenancy is severed and a tenancy in common is created between the remaining joint tenant and the third party (Correct answer)
- The third party takes the entire property by right of survivorship
- The remaining joint tenant can void the conveyance within one year
Correct answer: The joint tenancy is severed and a tenancy in common is created between the remaining joint tenant and the third party
A voluntary conveyance by one joint tenant severs the joint tenancy and converts it to a tenancy in common as to that share.
Question 5: Under the New Mexico Marketable Title Act, what is the look-back period a purchaser must search to establish marketable title?
- 10 years
- 30 years
- 50 years (Correct answer)
- 75 years
Correct answer: 50 years
New Mexico's Marketable Title Act provides that a 50-year chain of title is sufficient to establish marketable title.
Question 6: A New Mexico municipality denies a variance request. The property owner believes the denial is arbitrary. The proper legal challenge is:
- Petition for a writ of mandamus to force approval
- Appeal to the district court via certiorari or statutory appeal within the prescribed period (Correct answer)
- Filing a takings claim in federal court only
- Requesting a rezoning from the city council
Correct answer: Appeal to the district court via certiorari or statutory appeal within the prescribed period
Zoning decisions are reviewed by the district court, typically via certiorari or statutory appeal within the deadline set by the municipality's ordinance.
Question 7: What is the primary distinction between an easement appurtenant and an easement in gross?
- Only easements appurtenant can be negative easements
- An easement appurtenant benefits a dominant estate; an easement in gross benefits a person without a dominant estate (Correct answer)
- Easements in gross are always commercial; appurtenant easements are always personal
- Easements appurtenant cannot be transferred; easements in gross run with the land
Correct answer: An easement appurtenant benefits a dominant estate; an easement in gross benefits a person without a dominant estate
An easement appurtenant is tied to and benefits a parcel of land (dominant estate), while an easement in gross benefits a person or entity with no dominant estate.
NM Bar Real Property & Land Use 3
O conveys Blackacre 'to A so long as no alcohol is sold on the premises.' A sells alcohol.
What estate did A have and what is the result?