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Definition
| Ownership by two or more people with automatic transer on death to the surviving joint owners. Ex: Jeff and his wife Anne own property as joint tenants. When Jeff dies, interest passes to Anne, the surviving joint tenant (regardless of will). |
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Term
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Definition
| Ownership by two or more people that contains no provisions for transfer on death. Ex: Jeff owns 50% of a shopping center. The other 50% of split among 5 different people. When Jeff dies, his interest in the property will pass by his will, and not to the other owners of the shopping center. |
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Definition
| Equal ownership of property by husband and wife as a kind of special marital partnership. Ex: Jeff and Anne are married and own a house. Although Anne does not work and contributes no money towards the purchase of the house, they each one half of the property as community property. |
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| Community Property with right of survivorship |
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Definition
| A method of holding property between spouses that has both the attributes of joint tenancy (where property automatically passes on death) and of community property (which has tax advantages). Ex: Anne and Jeff hold title to their home as community property with right of survivorship. Anne dies, so Jeff simply records a document that he is the survivor. He recieves the full tax benefit and it is held in his name. |
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Term
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Definition
| Ownership of property by husband and wife that is similar to joint tenancy but with certain martial restrictions on transfer (in states that don't use community property). Ex: Jeff and Anne are married and live in a non-community property state. Jeff can't transfer the property without Anne's consent, and if he dies, the property passes to Anne automatically. |
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Term
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Definition
| A degree of ownership in real estate. Ex: Jeff has a one year lease on property. His estate is a lease, and as long as he pays the rent and meets all the terms of the lease, he has the right of exclusive possession. |
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Definition
| The name of the greatest estate in land that can be owned, and the type of estate most commonly used in the United States. There are no limitations on the duration of the ownership, use or property, or transferability. Ex: Jeff buys a new home. Like most property purchased today, the ownership is fee simple absolute. |
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Definition
| The person's ownership only lasts as long as that person is alive. Ex: Jeff specifies in a deed that when he dies, his property will pass to his wife, and upon her death, it will pass to their children. |
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Definition
| A person owns property which can be lost if that owner violates a condition in the deed. Ex: When Mr. Stanford created Stanford Univeristy, he specified that no alcohol ever b sold on campus. If that is ever violated, the property will pass to Mr. Stanford's heir(s). |
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| A written instrument used to transfer title to property. Ex: Jeff sells his property to Anne, and issues her a deed which grants Anne title to the property, which is described. |
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Definition
| A deed which contains certain limited warranties that are implied in every conveyance of property. Ex: Jeff sells his home to Anne and issues a deed. In CA this is a grant deed, which gurantees that the owner has not placed any liens or interest that were no disclosed originally. Anne can sue if Jeff has violated the specifications. |
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Term
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Definition
| A deed which contains strong and complete warranties that are implied with the conveyance of property. Ex: Jeff sells his home to Anne in a warranty deed state. Years later, a third person suddenly cliams that she owns title, and Jeff must defend his title. |
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Definition
| A deed which merely conveys title and contains no warranties at all. Ex: A wife purchases an apartment with her separate property funds, so the husband has no legal interest in the house. He executes a quitcliam deed which doesn't convey anything, it just says that he has no interest in the property. |
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Term
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Definition
| A neutral third party who will impartially follow the directions of all the parties to a contract. Ex: When someone is purchasing a house, escrow holds the deed, money and other things of value for the parties and exchanges them when all the conditions of the contract are completed. |
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Term
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Definition
| A policy insuring that a person, who acquires an interest in property, truly owns that interest. Ex: Jeff purchases a house for $300,000 and purchases a title insurance policy with a premium of $1,000. He is insured as long as he owns the house. |
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Term
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Definition
| A written history of the title to property. Ex: Jeff is purchasing a home. Before doing so, he reviews the abstract of title which lists the history of previous owners and current owner. If a problem with the title comes up later, Jeff can sue for a negligent title search. |
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Definition
| The process of placing on public record something that concerns title to real estate. Ex: A recorder will take down someone's interest in property so that the person has certain priorities over anyone else who might try to claim an interest on the property. |
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Definition
| The right of the government to take private property for the public good upon payment of fair compensation. Ex: The government wants to put a freeway through a neighborhood, so its acquires title to all the private property needed for the freeway through the power of eminent domain. |
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Term
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Definition
| The actual procedure by which the government acquires title to private property for public good. Ex: The exercise of power of eminent domain-- the actual claiming of private property to put in a freeway, for example. |
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Definition
| The method by which an individual can acquire title to someone else's property through prolonged occupation. Ex: Like "old squatter's rights." Jeff lives on a stranger's property openly and for five years-- he pays all property taxes. He has met the requirements of adverse posession and is the new owner of the property. |
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Definition
| The process by which unclaimed property automatically passes to the state. Ex: After seven years of nonuse and notice in the newspaper, Jeff's old bank account with $1,000 in it automatically passes to the state and the state takes the money and puts it in a general fund. |
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Term
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Definition
| A tax assessed on each parcel of property according to its value. Ex: If Jeff owns property worth $100,000, and the ad valorem tax rate is $1 per $100 of value, he would owe $1,000. |
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Definition
| A right to use another's property. Ex: Jeff and Anne own property right next to each other, but Jeff needs to drive through Anne's driveway to get to the street. Jeff has an easement across Anne's land. |
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Term
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Definition
| The right to travel into and out of someone's property. Ex: Jeff and Anne own property right next to each other, but Jeff needs to drive through Anne's driveway to get to the street. Jeff has the rights of ingres and egress across Anne's land. |
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Term
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Definition
| An unlawful intrusion onto another's property. Ex: Jeff's walls comes within a foot of his property line, and the balcony extends three feet over his property line. This is an encroachment onto his neighbor's land. |
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Definition
| A special exemption available to qualified homeowners that protects part of the equity in their house from creditors. Ex: Creditors can normally seize any assets of the debtor to pay a debt, but if Jeff has a homestead exemption, his equity is exempt and a creditor can't take his house. |
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Definition
| A method whereby the local government divides a city or other region into districts and regulates the uses within each district. Ex: Jeff's home is in a zone marked R-A meaning only single family residential dwellings may be built in that area. |
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Term
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Definition
| An instrument that grants a security interest in designated real property by transferring title to a neutral third party. Ex: Jeff purchases a home by obtaining a bank loan. The bank has a lien on Jeff's home through its deed of trust. |
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Term
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Definition
| An instrument that grants a security interest in designated real property by pledging or transferring that security interest to the lender. Ex: Jeff purchases a home by obtaining a bank loan. The bank has a security interest on Jeff's home through its mortgage. |
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Term
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Definition
| A method of terminating the rights of a borrower in the secured property by enforcing the deed of trust or mortgage. Ex: Jeff loses his job and cannot make his mortgage payments. The lender forcloses on his home. It is sold, and the proceeds are used to pay off the outstanding loan with the lender. |
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Term
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Definition
| To return the party to the position he or she was in before a default occurred. Ex: Jeff defaults and does not pay his monthly $500. But he repays the $500 and reinstates the loan. The foreclosure is cancelled and it is though there was never a default. |
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Term
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Definition
| A contract that grants another person the right to use and possess property for a limited period of time. Ex: Amanda signed a one-year lease at a home in Boston. During that 1-year period, as long as she pays the rent on time and lives up to the conditions in the lease, Amanda has the exclusive right to occupy the home. |
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Definition
| The owner of property that is leased. Ex: Jeff owns 2 Sage Way and leases it to Anne. Jeff is the landlord. |
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Term
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Definition
| The person who leases property. Ex: Jeff owns 2 Sage Way and leases it to Anne. Anne is the lessee/tenant. |
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