Real Estate Sales Property Ownership and Rights Questions and Answers Flashcards

Which estate in land automatically reverts to the grantor upon the occurrence of a specified event?

Answer: Fee simple determinable

A fee simple determinable automatically terminates and reverts to the grantor when a specified condition occurs.

A life tenant who commits waste by failing to maintain the property and allowing it to deteriorate is committing which type of waste?

Answer: Permissive waste

Permissive waste occurs when a life tenant fails to maintain the property, allowing it to fall into disrepair through neglect.

In a tenancy by the entirety, what must occur for one spouse to convey their interest in the property without the other spouse's consent?

Answer: It is not possible; both spouses must consent to any conveyance

Tenancy by the entirety requires both spouses to act together; neither can unilaterally convey or encumber the property.

A property owner who holds mineral rights but not surface rights possesses which type of ownership interest?

Answer: Subsurface rights

Subsurface rights grant ownership of minerals, oil, gas, and other resources below the surface, separate from surface ownership.

Which legal concept allows a person who has openly and continuously used another's land for a statutory period to gain a legal right to continue that use?

Answer: Prescriptive easement

A prescriptive easement is acquired through open, continuous, and hostile use of another's property for the required statutory period.

When a government exercises its power of eminent domain, what requirement must be met under the Fifth Amendment?

Answer: The owner must receive just compensation

The Fifth Amendment requires that private property taken for public use must be accompanied by just compensation to the owner.