Real Estate License Property and Ownership Laws 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When a person dies without a will and with no heirs, their property passes to the state through:
- Adverse possession
- Escheat (Correct answer)
- Eminent domain
- Foreclosure
Correct answer: Escheat
Escheat transfers property to the state when an owner dies intestate with no legal heirs.
Question 2: A life estate gives the holder the right to use property:
- Forever, with inheritance rights
- Only for the duration of a specified person's life (Correct answer)
- For a fixed 99-year term
- Only with the lender's permission
Correct answer: Only for the duration of a specified person's life
A life estate lasts only for the lifetime of a named person and cannot be inherited.
Question 3: A neighbor builds a fence two feet onto the adjoining owner's land. This is an example of:
- An easement
- An encroachment (Correct answer)
- A license
- A covenant
Correct answer: An encroachment
An encroachment is an unauthorized intrusion of an improvement onto another's property.
Question 4: Acquiring legal title by openly and continuously occupying another's land for a statutory period is:
- Adverse possession (Correct answer)
- Prescription
- Accretion
- Avulsion
Correct answer: Adverse possession
Adverse possession transfers title through open, notorious, continuous, and hostile occupation for the statutory period.
Question 5: A private agreement that restricts how property in a subdivision may be used is called a:
- Zoning ordinance
- Deed restriction or restrictive covenant (Correct answer)
- Variance
- Building code
Correct answer: Deed restriction or restrictive covenant
Deed restrictions, or restrictive covenants, are private limitations placed on property use by an owner or developer.
Question 6: Which estate gives an owner the most complete form of ownership with rights of inheritance?
- Fee simple absolute (Correct answer)
- Life estate
- Leasehold estate
- Fee simple defeasible
Correct answer: Fee simple absolute
Fee simple absolute is the highest and most complete form of ownership recognized by law.
Question 7: A married couple owning property as a single legal unit with survivorship in states that permit it hold title as:
- Tenancy in common
- Tenancy by the entirety (Correct answer)
- Joint tenancy
- Community property
Correct answer: Tenancy by the entirety
Tenancy by the entirety is a form of ownership available only to married couples with right of survivorship.
Real Estate License Property and Ownership Laws 3
When a person dies without a will and with no heirs, their property passes to the state through: