Chapter 2 Property Rights and Legal Descriptions

Real vs. Personal Property  Real estate  Property  Real property  Personal property  Rights to property - Title - Deeds - Leases

Fixture  A personal property item that has become a part of the real property is called a fixture.  Tests for fixture status include: Intent of parties Test of attachment Test of adaptability

Original Property Rights in Hawaii  Hawaiian King distribution of original land  Original lots extended from the mountains to the sea - Pie-shaped  Intent to provide owners with all the natural resources needed to survive  Mountains to trap rain water for drinking and irrigation  Forest land for wood and hunting  Middle ground for farming  Coastal land for fishing

Air Rights  Air rights refer to the legal interests associated with the space above the surface of a parcel of land.

Mineral Rights  Mineral rights refer to the legal interests associated with oil, gals, coal, or other minerals that may be located beneath the surface of a parcel of land.

Water Rights  Water rights refer to the legal interests associated with water that flows across, touches, or is located in or under a parcel of land. littoral proprietors non-navigable bodies of water  riparian rights doctrine  prior appropriation doctrine

Ogallala Aquifer

Estates in Land  Freehold estates Present interests  Fee simple absolute estate  Qualified fee estate  Life estate Future interests include:  Reversion interest  Remainder interest  Leasehold estates Tenancy for a stated period Tenancy from period to period Tenancy at will Tenancy at sufferance

Figure 2.1

Concurrent Estates  Tenancy in common  Joint tenancy  Tenancy by the entirety  Community property

Other forms of joint ownership  Condominium  Cooperative  Timeshare Fee interests Right to use

Legal Description Methods  Metes and Bounds  Rectangular Survey  Recorded Plats

Metes and Bounds  start at a designated point of beginning and, through specific distances (metes) and directions (bounds), locate the boundary lines of the parcel (see Figure 2.3 on page 27). Distances are measured in feet (to the nearest tenth or hundredth). Directions are measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds. (See Figure 2.2 on page 26) Property corners are marked by reference points.

Figure 2.3

Figure 2.2

Rectangular Survey  Principal meridians are north- south lines  Base lines are east-west lines  Range lines  Township lines  Townships  Sections  Divisions of section

Figure 2.4

Figure 2.5

Figure 2.6

Figure 2.7

Reference to Recorded Plats  Many jurisdictions require developers to prepare accurate engineering drawings of their subdivision projects called plats.  These plats are then entered into the public record as legal documents that can be referred to as needed to identify individual parcels of land that are included in the plat.  With a properly prepared and recorded plat, a legal description for a property can be as simple as “Lot 4 of Block G of Grassy River Estates.”

Figure 2.12

Legal Descriptions in Texas  Different methods used  Metes & Bounds (southern TX)  Rectangular (Panhandle)  Plats (lot/block)

End Chapter 2