Real Property Characteristics, Ownership, and Interests
The bundle of rights and what is "real"
Real property is land plus anything permanently attached to it, described by the bundle of rights: surface, subsurface (mineral), air, and water rights. Personal property becomes a fixture through the classic three-part test - intention of the parties, method of annexation, and adaptation to the realty. Items of doubtful status (trade fixtures, appliances, above-ground pools) are the source of most exam trouble.
Freehold estates
- Fee simple absolute - the largest estate, unlimited duration, inheritable.
- Fee simple determinable - lasts "so long as," "while," or "until"; ends automatically and reverts to the grantor.
- Fee simple subject to a condition subsequent - grantor must re-enter or act to reclaim ("but if," "provided that").
- Life estate - measured by the holder's life or another's (pur autre vie); the holder may not commit waste and typically pays interest on a mortgage but not principal.
Concurrent ownership
Tenancy in common - no survivorship, unequal shares allowed. Joint tenancy - requires the four unities (time, title, interest, possession) plus survivorship language; a joint tenant who conveys her share severs the joint tenancy as to that share. Tenancy by the entirety - reserved for married couples in Iowa, carries survivorship, and is severed by divorce or death.
Traps and a worked example
Watch for "to A and B" with no survivorship words - that is a tenancy in common, not a joint tenancy. Watch for a life tenant who "sells" and buyers who think they got a fee. Example: "To A for life, then to B." A conveys his interest to C. C receives an estate measured by A's life (pur autre vie) - C owns nothing after A dies, and B's remainder is untouched because A could convey no more than he held.