Real Estate Chapter 3

27 January 2023
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competent grantee
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Which of these is not a requirement of a valid deed?
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Habendum clause
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The interest being conveyed by a deed is specified in the:
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General warrantee deed
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The "highest quality" form of deed
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Quitclaim deed
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A deed used mainly to clear up possible "clouds" or encumbrances to title (conflicting interests) is the:
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Implied easement by prior use
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If a landowner sells the front part of a parcel of land, retaining the back portion as a "land-locked" parcel, and if there is an existing informal path across the front parcel to the back one, the seller is likely to retain the path as a (an):
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Prescription
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If a neighboring land owner drives across a person's land openly and consistently for a number of years the neighbor may acquire an easement by:
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Doctrine of constructive notice
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If documents conveying interests in real property are properly recorded in the public records, then they are binding or enforceable on all persons, regardless of whether those persons are aware of the documents, by the:
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title insurance commitment
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a widely used form of "evidence of title"
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Plat lot and block number
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The most common form of legal description for urban residential property
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Length of ownership in real estate
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Factors that make it uniquely difficult to establish clear title in real estate as compared to property items include
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Explain how title insurance works. What risks does it cover? Who pays, and when? What common exceptions does it make?
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Title insurance protects an owner (or lender) from legal challenges or complications with title. Title insurance protects a grantee (or mortgagee) against the legal costs of defending title, and against loss of the property in case of an unsuccessful defense. It cannot save a title that is genuinely false. However, it indemnifies the policyholder against litigation costs, and compensation for loss of the property, should that occur. In many localities it is customary for the seller to pay for title insurance, though this is negotiable. For a mortgage policy protecting a lender, the borrower pays. There are important limits or exceptions to title insurance. First, it is not hazard insurance; that is, it does not protect the owner from the threat of physical damage to the property. It only protects against legal attack on the owner's title. Second, title insurance typically excepts any facts that would be revealed by an inspection and survey of the property.
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If a grantee obtains title insurance, what value, if any, is there in the covenant of seizen in a warranty deed?
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If a grantee has title insurance, the covenant of seizing remains an indication that the grantor really believes that they hold good title. The title insurer can still bring action against the grantor of a false title, even though the grantee has been indemnified for loss of title and property.
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The use of Torrens certificates, never large in the U.S., has diminished in recent years. Explain how marketable title laws, recently adopted in many states, might have made Torrens certificates less interesting and useful.
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The idea of a Torrens certificate was to eliminate the need for a search of historical public records to affirm chain of title. Marketable title laws may have accomplished this objective in that they usually establish a "root" transaction that generally is taken for face value as the status of title at that time (say, 30 years earlier). Unless there is evidence to the contrary, title search need not reach back earlier than the "root" transaction. Thus, much of the value of the Torrens certificate is accomplished without the administrative costs of maintaining an elaborate certificate updating process.
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Why might it be advisable to require a survey in purchasing a 20-year-old home in an urban subdivision?
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A survey can be useful, even in a fairly recent subdivision, to affirm that fences are not encroaching, or that an addition to a structure does not violate a setback. In addition, it is generally good for a purchaser to know the boundaries of the acquired property because often fences and shrubs can create false impressions of boundary locations.
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Some real estate industry persons have suggested that it is good to require a title Insurance commitment as evidence of title for rural property, but that it satisfactory to use the less costly abstract and attorney's opinion as evidence of title for a residence in an urban subdivision. Discuss the merits or risks of this policy.
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A platted urban subdivision effectively has a relatively short history in which title could become "clouded." The creation of the subdivision, by implication, represents a point in time where there was very little question about the status of title. Thus, only what has happened to the property subsequently may put marketable title at risk. This greatly shortens the portion of the title history that may contain threats to title. Thus, title insurance may not be as valuable as with unplatted land.
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statute of frauds
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requires every conveyance of real property to be in writing
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doctrine of constructive notice
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all persons must honor any valid deed or other conveyance thus recorded and available for examination
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3 methods of legal description accepted for public records
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metes and bounds, subdivision plat and block number, and government rectangular survey
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3 reasons the conveyance of real estate is uniquely complicated
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1. real estate is a complex bundle of rights 2.land and rights to land are enduring, so transactions long ago affect the bundle of rights conveyable to a buyer today 3. methods of describing land must be very accurate since all land parcels adjoin other parcels (any error represents a loss to some owner)
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deed
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a special form of written contract used to convey a permanent interest in real property
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covenants
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legally binding promises for which the grantor becomes liable
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covenant of seizen
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a promise that the grantor truly has good title and the right to convey it
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covenant against encumbrances
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a promise that the property is not encumbered by liens, easements, or other such limitations except as noted in the deed
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covenant of quiet enjoyment
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a promise that the property will not be claimed by someone with a better claim to title
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acknowledgement
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having the grantor's signature notarized
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encroachments
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intrusions on the property by structures from adjacent land
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deed of bargain and sale
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a deed that conveys the land itself rather than ownership interests through warranties
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quitclaim deed
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deed that conveys an individuals property rights to another but has none of the covenants of the warranty deed
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patent
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voluntary conveyance of public property by a government to a private citizen
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at the death of a property owner, the property will convey in one of two modes
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testate- in accordance with a will intestate-without a will
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devised
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a will dictates the distribution of a decedent's real property
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dedication
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developer conveys street right-of-way and parks, ponds, etc.
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easement by presciption
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adverse possession
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meets and bounds
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measurements and the identifiable boundaries of surrounding parcels of land
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subdivision plat lot and block number
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surveyed map of subdivision is placed in the public records when subdivision is created