Property Law Flashcards

Under Oregon law, the statutory period required for a successful adverse possession claim is:

Answer: 10 years

Oregon's adverse possession statute (ORS 105.620) requires continuous, hostile, open, notorious, and exclusive possession for 10 years before the claimant may bring a quiet title action.

A grantor conveys Blackacre 'to A so long as the land is used for agricultural purposes.' This language creates:

Answer: A fee simple determinable with a possibility of reverter in the grantor

The durational language 'so long as' creates a fee simple determinable, which automatically terminates and reverts to the grantor upon cessation of the stated use, without any need for re-entry.

Under the common law Rule Against Perpetuities, a contingent future interest is void unless it must vest or fail within:

Answer: A life in being at the creation of the interest plus 21 years

The classic Rule Against Perpetuities requires that any contingent interest must vest or fail within a life in being at the creation of the interest plus 21 years, or the interest is void ab initio.

Which factor is MOST determinative in deciding whether personal property has become a fixture?

Answer: The objective intent of the annexor, as evidenced by method of attachment and adaptation

Courts weigh method of annexation, adaptation to the realty, and — most critically — the objective intent of the person who attached the item, to determine whether personal property has become a fixture.

In a real estate contract, 'marketable title' means title that is:

Answer: Free from reasonable doubt that would cause a prudent buyer to refuse the purchase

Marketable title need not be perfect — it is title that a reasonably prudent buyer, fully advised of the facts, would accept as free from doubt that might expose them to litigation or make resale difficult.

A quitclaim deed differs from a general warranty deed in that a quitclaim deed:

Answer: Conveys only whatever interest the grantor holds, with no covenants of title whatsoever

A quitclaim deed transfers whatever interest the grantor has, if any, without any warranties, leaving the grantee no recourse against the grantor if the title fails.

The doctrine of after-acquired title (estoppel by deed) provides that if a grantor conveys property they do not yet own and later acquires title, then:

Answer: Title automatically inures to the benefit of the grantee when the grantor acquires it

Under the after-acquired title doctrine, when a grantor who lacked title at conveyance later acquires that title, it automatically passes to the prior grantee, estopping the grantor from asserting ownership.