Encumbrances; Liens; Title and Transfer and Recording; Leases

Which of the following describes an encumbrance?

• A third party's right to encroach upon a property without the permission of the property owner.

• A third party's right to claim the sale proceeds of a property that has been mortgaged as collateral for a loan.

• A third party's interest in a real property that limits the interests of the freehold property owner.

• Another's right to acquire a freehold interest in a property against the property owner's wishes.

Which of the following is true of easements in general?

• They involve the property that contains the easement and a non-owning party.

• They apply to a whole property, not to any specific portion of the property.

• They only involve the legal owner of the property.

• They may require a specific use, but cannot prohibit one.

Answer explanation

Easement rights may apply to a property's surface, subsurface, or airspace, but the affected area must be defined. It could either allow use or not like prohibition.

Mr. King wants to offer 100 acres of his property for sale. Since the property is landlocked, he will have to put in a driveway to the road that will run across his remaining property. What kind of easement will he have to grant?

• An easement in gross.

• A commercial easement.

• A personal easement.

• An easement appurtenant.

Answer explanation

Gives a property owner a right of usage to portions of an adjoining property owned by another party. The property enjoying the usage is the dominant tenement (estate). The property containing the physical easement is the servient tenement.

If property Alpha has a court-ordered easement across property Beta in order for Alpha to have access to a public road, the easement is a(n)

• easement by prescription.

• personal easement.

• easement by necessity.

• easement in gross.

An encroachment is

• an easement that has not been recorded on the title of the burdened property.

• an unauthorized physical intrusion of one property into another.

• a right granted by a property owner to the owner of an adjoining property to build a structure that protrudes across the property boundary.

• a structure that does not comply with a zoning ordinance.

A court might grant an easement by prescription if

• a town needs to dig a trench across an owner's property to install a sewer line to a neighboring property, and the owner refuses permission.

• a property owner sells the front half of a lot and wants to continue using the driveway to access the rear of the lot.

• trespasser has been using an owner's property for a certain period with the owner's knowledge but without permission.

• a property owner wants to prevent the owner of an adjoining property from building an improvement that blocks her view.

Answer explanation

For a prescriptive easement order to be granted, the following circumstances must be true: the use has been occuring w/o permission or license; the owner knows or is presumed to have known of the use; and the use has been generally uninterrupted over the statutory perspective period.

The purpose of a deed restriction is to enable an owner to specify

• the form of ownership in which a property may be held.

• how long a property must be owned before it can be legally transferred.

• what groups of people are legally excluded from future ownership of a property.

• how a property may be used and what improvements may be built on it.

Melinda purchases a house and finances it. The lender in turn places a lien on Melinda's title. The lien in this mortgage transaction is

• evidence of debt incurred by a property owner.

• a promissory note granted by a property owner.

• the creditor's claim against a property owner as security for a debt.

• the document required to clear the property as collateral security for the loan.

Answer explanation

A lien is a creditors claim against personal property or real property as security for a debt of the property owner. If the owner defaults the lien gives the creditor the right to force sale of the property to satisfy the debt.

In a lien-theory state, what kind of interest does a mortgage lender have in the liened property?

• A possessory interest.

• A tenancy-by-mortgage interest.

• A legal interest in pro rata share of the property.

• An equitable interest.

How is a lien terminated?

• Payment of the debt that is the subject of the lien and recording of the satisfaction.

• Transfer of the property that has the lien.

• Recording another lien that is superior.

• Death of the lienor or lienee.