Property Law Flashcards

O conveys "to A so long as the land is used as a farm, then to B." Under the common-law Rule Against Perpetuities, what is the state of title?

Answer: A has a fee simple determinable and O has a possibility of reverter, because B's executory interest is void

B's shifting executory interest could vest centuries later and is void under the Rule, leaving A with a fee simple determinable and O a possibility of reverter.

A buyer obtains a purchase-money mortgage from a bank on the same day two judgment liens attach to all of the buyer's after-acquired property. Which interest has priority in the new home?

Answer: The purchase-money mortgage, which takes priority over prior judgment liens in the property purchased

A purchase-money mortgage has special priority over earlier judgments against the buyer with respect to the property it financed.

A tenant's landlord repeatedly enters the apartment without notice and lets contractors block the only entrance for weeks, so the tenant moves out and stops paying rent. What defense does the tenant have to a rent claim?

Answer: Constructive eviction, because the landlord substantially interfered and the tenant vacated promptly

Substantial interference with use and enjoyment, notice, and prompt vacating establish constructive eviction and terminate the rent obligation.

A grantor conveys the same parcel twice: first to X, who does not record, then as a gift to Y, who records immediately without knowledge of X. Under Ohio's race-notice statute, who owns the parcel?

Answer: X, because Y is a donee and not a purchaser for value protected by the statute

Recording acts protect only subsequent purchasers for value, so a donee like Y cannot use the statute to defeat the prior unrecorded deed.

An Ohio landlocked parcel was created when a farmer sold his back acreage without reserving road access. Years later, the buyer of the back parcel seeks a way out across the front parcel. What is the strongest theory?

Answer: Easement implied by necessity arising at severance of common ownership

An easement by necessity arises when a conveyance severs commonly owned land and leaves one parcel without legal access.

A contract for the sale of land is oral, but the buyer has paid part of the price, taken possession, and built a garage. Can the buyer compel conveyance despite the Statute of Frauds?

Answer: Yes, under the part-performance doctrine in equity

Payment plus possession plus substantial improvements is classic part performance allowing specific enforcement of an oral land contract.

A fixture dispute arises when a commercial tenant removes built-in refrigeration units it installed, patching the walls afterward, before the lease ends. Was removal proper?

Answer: Yes, trade fixtures may be removed by the tenant before lease expiration if damage is repaired

The trade-fixture doctrine lets a business tenant remove fixtures it installed for its trade before the lease term ends, provided it repairs any damage.