Property

Fee Simple Absolute

devisable; descendible; alienable

Defeasible Fees (3)

Fee Simple Determinable 

possibility of reverter

Fee Simple subject to condition subsequent 

Right of entry= power of termination held by grantor

Fee simple subject to an executor limitation 

Executory interest held by third party

Life estate

Future interest: Reversion (if held by grantor); Remainder (if held by 3rd party)

Voluntary waste, Permissive waste, Ameliorative waste

(overt destruction) Tenant must not consume o rexploit natural resources on property unless one of four exceptions (PURGE)

• PU- Prior use
• R- Repairs
• G- Grant
• E- Exploitation

• Life tenant must maintain premises in reasonably good repair
• obligated to pay ordinary taxes on land

Life tenant must not engage in acts that will enhance property's value

Accompanies ONLY the fee simple detrminable

ONLY accompanies fee simple subject to condition subsequent

Arises in grantor who transfers estate OTHER than fees imple determinable or fee simple subject to conditon subsequent

if BOTH created in an ascertained person AND is not subject to any condition

Created in an unascertained person OR is subject to a conditon precedent or both

When it appears BEFORE the language creating the remainder or is woven into the grant to remainderman

The rule of destructibility of contingent remainders (IN PA-- Rule has bot been abolished)

The rule in shelley's case

The doctrine of worthier title (in pa-- title has been abolished)

the holder of this remainder is CERTAIN to acquire an estate in teh future, with NO STRINGS ATTACHED (B is known with no conditions)

• Remainderman's taking is NOT subject to any condition precedent
• however, right to possession could be cut short becuase of condition subsequent

A remainder is VESTED in a group of takers, at least one of whom is qualified to take

• ALWAYS follows a defeasible fee
• Cut short by someone other than O the grantor

Cuts off O, the grantor

• 1. A gift to an open class that is conditioned on the members surviving to an age beyond 21 violates the common law RAP
• 2. Mnay shifting executory interests violate the RAP. An executory interest with no limit on teh time wihtin which it must vest violates the RAP

validity of any suspect future interest is determined on teh basis of the facts as they now exist, at the end of the measuring life 

PA historically applied this. PA did away with RAP

provides for an alternative 90 year vesting period

T-TIP

• at the same TIME
• By the same TITLE
• With IDENTICAL INTERESTS
• Rights to POSSESS the whole

SPAM

• Sale
• Partition
• And Mortgage
• (in PA-- TITLE THEORY:mortgage executed by fewr than all JTs severs JT)

Majority follow lien theory: a joint tenant's execution of a mortgage on his or her own interest WONT sever joint tenancy

Lease for a fixed period (you know termination date from start)

In pa-- leases for more than 3 years MUST BE IN WRITING

lease continues for successive intervals until L or T give proper notice to terminate (terminate notice-- lenght of period itself)

Tenancy for no fixed duration

created when t WRONGFULLY held over past the expiration of the lease

lasts until L evicts T or holds T to new tenancy

• Surrender
• Ignore abandonment and hold T responsible for unpaid rent
• Re-let the premises on wrongdoers behalf and hold him liable for any deficiency

majority-- L must try to re-let--  mitigation

• Substantial Interference due to L's actions or failures
• Notice: T must notify L of problem and L must fail to correct 
• Goodbye: T must vacate within reasonabel time after L fails to correct problem

Premises mus tbe fit for basic human dwelling

• Move out and end lease
• Repair and deduct
• Reduce rent or withhold until court determines fair rental value
• Remain in possession, pay rent, and affirmateively seek money damages

Applies to residential leases but not commercial leases

• to show breach: tenant must show:
• she gave notice to landlord of defect or condition
• landlord had reaosnable opportunitty to make repairs
• and landlord failed to make repairs

• Common areas
• Latent defects rule
• Assumption of repairs
• Public use rule
• Short term lease of furnished dwelling

Dominant (gets benefit of the easement) and servient land (bears burden of the easement)

only one parcel involved. Only servient land burdened

• Prescription (COAH ELEMENTS)
• Implication 
• Necessity
• Grant

• Estoppel
• Necessity
• Destruction of servient land
• Condemnation of servient estate
• Release
• Abandonment
• Merger doctirine 
• Prescription (COAH)

• Writing
• Intent
• Touch and concern the land
• Horzontal and vertical privity both required for burden to run
• Notice

• Writing
• Intent
• Touch and concern
• Vertical Privity

• Writing
• Intent
• Touch and concern
• Notice

• 2 elements:
• 1. when sales began, subdivider had general scheme of residential develipment which included D's lot 
• 2. D lotholder had notice of the promise in predecessors deeds

• Actual
• Implied
• Record

Changed conditions: changed circumstances alleged by party must be so pervasive that entire area has changed

• Continuous
• Open and Notorious
• Actual entry, giving exclusive possession
• Hostile

one adverse possessor may takc on to his time with the land his predecessors' time, as long as there is privity (satisfied by non-hostile nexus, such as contract, deed or will)

SOL will not run against true owner who is afflited by disability AT THE START of the adverse possession

21 years

Risk of loss passes to buyer on signing of the land sale contract

• 1. Seller promises to provide marketbale title at closing
• 2. Seller promises not to make any false statements of material fact

• 1. Adverse possession
• 2. Encumbrances
• 3. Zoning violations

• in PA-- 
• P Must show:
• 1. there is a latent defect
• 2. it is attributable to builder's design or construction
• 3. and it affect habitability

must be brought within 12 years of home's construction

Lawfully Exectuted And Delivered

• Contains NO COVENANTS
• But grantor still implicitly promises that land contract has marketable title AT THE CLOSING ONLY

• warrants against all defects in title, including those attributable to grantor's predecessors 
• - Contains all 6 covenants
• 1. Covenant of seisin
• 2. Covnenant of right to convey
• 3. Covenant against encumbrances
• 4. Covenant for quiet enjoyment
• 5. Covenant of warranty
• 6. Grantor will do what's needed in future to pefect title

• 2 promises that grantor makes on behalf of HIMSELF (not predecessors)
• 1. Grantor promises that he hasn't conveyed Blackacre to anyone other than grantee
• 2. Blackacre is free from encumbrances made by grantor

• 1. one who buys Blackacre for value AND
• 2. Without notice that someone else got there first

Notice statute

Race-notice statute

One who takes form a BFP will prevail against any entity that the transferor- BFP would have prevailed against

• If deed entered on teh records has a grantor unconnected to chain of title, deed is a wild deed 
• It is INCAPABLE of giving record notice of its existence

One who conveys reality in which he has no interest is estopped from denying the validity of that conveyance if he later acquires that perviously transferred interest

instead of executing a note or a mortgage deed, O hands Creditor a deed to Blackacre that is absolute on its face

• 1.Endorsing the note and delivering it to the transferee OR
• 2. Executing a separate document of assignment

Holder in due course

Takes the note free of any personal defenses that could have been raised agaisnt the original mortgagee

"personal defenses include: lack of consideration, fraude in teh inducement, unconscionability, waiver, estoppel

Foreclose the mortgage despite any such personal defense

• Material Alteration
• Duress
• Fraud In the Factum (lie about instrument itself)
• Incapacity
• Illegality
• Infancy
• Insolvency

• 1. note must be neotiable, made payabel to named mortgagee
• 2. original note mus tbe indorsed (signed by named mortgagee)
• 3. original note must be deliverd to transferee 
• 4. transferee must take the note in good faith, without notice of any illegality and
• 5. the transferee must pay value of the note, meaning some amount more than nominal

• B primarily liable
• O secondarily liable

• B asuumes no personal liability
• Only O personally liable 
• - mortgage stays with teh land, if O can't pay (mortgage can be foreclosed)

mortgagee brings deficiency action against debtor

any junior liens paid in order of priority; any remaining surplus goes back to debtor

terminate interests junior to mortgage being foreclosed but not affect senior interests

Necessary parties to the foreclosure action: Debtor-mortgagor considered necessary party

Must be in writing subject to SOF

• by the norm of first in time first in right
• whoever records first

Purchase moeny mortgagee has FIRST priority in the parcel that it financed, DESPITE any floating liens

"whether now owned or therefore acquired"

At any point prior to teh foreclosure sale, Debtor may try to redeem the land 

once foreclosure taken place-- right to equitable redemption is gone

Give debtor/mortgagor statutory right to redeem for some fixed period after foreclosure sale has occurred (applies after foreclosure)

• Requires residential mortgage lenders to determine a mortgagor's ability to repay BEFORE making the loan 
• Terms of the loan must be understandable 
• violation of this act can be used by mortgagor as defense in lender's foreclosure action

Water belongs initially to the state, but the right to divert it and use it can be acquire by an individual, regarless of whether or not he happens to be a riparan owner

A landowner may change drainage to make any other changes/improvements on his land to combat the flow of surface water

creates a rebuttable presumption that a reservation of mineral rights does not also reserve natural gas and oil rights -- presumption may be overcome by clear and convincing parol evidence

Provide that the lease will alst as long as oil or gas is "produced in paying quantities"

• the parties must have intended that the covenant run with the land
• the original parties must have been in horizontal privity
• the succeeding party must be in vertical privity with teh original promisor
• the covenatn must touch and concern the land
• the burdened party must have actual or constructive notice of the covenant