NALA ACP Real Estate cheat sheet

Freehold estates are fee simple absolute, fee tail (largely abolished), and life estate; fee simple absolute is inheritable, freely alienable, and has no natural end.

Fee simple determinable ends automatically on the stated event, leaving the grantor a possibility of reverter; fee simple subject to condition subsequent requires the grantor to exercise a right of re-entry.

Fee simple subject to executory limitation passes automatically to a third party on the stated event; the third party holds an executory interest.

A life tenant may possess, receive rents and profits, and make ordinary repairs but may not commit voluntary waste; remaindermen hold future interests and may sue for waste.

Tenancy in common has separate undivided shares and no survivorship; joint tenancy requires unity of time, title, interest, and possession and includes survivorship, severed by conveyance.

Tenancy by the entirety is a spousal estate with survivorship; whether one spouse may encumber or convey without the other depends on state law, and divorce usually converts it to tenancy in common.

An easement appurtenant benefits and runs with a dominant parcel; an easement in gross benefits a person or entity and generally lacks a dominant estate.

A prescriptive easement requires use that is open, notorious, adverse, and continuous for the statutory period; permissive use defeats prescription.

A fixture is determined by annexation, adaptation, and intent; trade fixtures installed by a tenant are generally removable before lease expiration if removal does not cause material damage.

Statute of Frauds: a contract for sale of land must be signed by the party to be charged and identify parties, property, and price; electronic signatures satisfy ESIGN/UETA in most states.

A broker earns commission under an exclusive right to sell when a ready, willing, and able buyer is produced, even if the owner finds the buyer; exclusive agency leaves owner's own sale commission-free.

A counteroffer terminates the original offer; acceptance must mirror the offer, and a purported acceptance with material changes operates as a rejection and counteroffer.

Equitable conversion treats the buyer as equitable owner at contract signing; risk of loss follows contract terms or the Uniform Vendor and Purchaser Risk Act, which varies by state.

Specific performance is an equitable remedy for unique realty; the buyer must show a valid contract, readiness and willingness to perform, and inadequate legal remedy.

A liquidated damages clause is enforceable if damages are difficult to estimate and the amount is reasonable; otherwise it is a penalty and unenforceable.

Federal lead-paint disclosure applies to pre-1978 residential sales and rentals; sellers and landlords must disclose known lead-based paint hazards and provide the EPA pamphlet.

The merger doctrine extinguishes most contract claims at closing when the deed is accepted; collateral covenants, fraud, and express survival clauses may remain enforceable.

Assignment transfers the assignee's rights; delegation transfers duties; a novation releases the original party and requires consent of all parties.

A valid deed requires a grantor, grantee, words of grant, legal description, and signature of the grantor; delivery with intent to convey and acceptance are also required.

Recording is generally unnecessary for validity between grantor and grantee but protects against later purchasers; notarization or witnesses are required for recording in many states.

General warranty deed covenants: seisin, right to convey, against encumbrances, quiet enjoyment, warranty, and further assurances; special warranty limits covenants to grantor's own acts.

Race statute: first to record wins regardless of notice. Notice statute: a later bona fide purchaser without notice wins. Race-notice: BFP wins only if records before the prior interest.

Constructive notice arises from properly recorded instruments in the chain of title; inquiry notice arises from visible possession or facts prompting investigation; actual notice is express knowledge.

A wild deed is recorded outside the chain of title and generally provides no constructive notice; a deed recorded before the grantor obtains title may also fall outside the chain.

Title insurance covers recorded title defects and specified risks; Schedule B exceptions exclude matters such as easements, restrictions, and rights of parties in possession.

At closing, prorations allocate taxes, rents, and operating expenses by the contract's cutoff; the settlement statement or Closing Disclosure itemizes debits and credits.

Adverse possession elements are actual, open and notorious, exclusive, continuous, and hostile for the statutory period; some states require color of title, payment of taxes, or a boundary survey.

A mortgage is a two-party security interest; a deed of trust adds a trustee and usually permits nonjudicial foreclosure under a power of sale.

The note is the borrower's personal obligation; the mortgage or deed of trust secures it. Transferring the note generally transfers the security instrument.

Recording determines priority among liens; a purchase-money mortgage generally has priority over prior judgments against the purchaser, and mechanics liens may relate back to visible commencement of work.

Judicial foreclosure requires court action and sale; nonjudicial foreclosure requires statutory notice, publication, and auction, and is unavailable in some states for mortgages.

Equitable redemption ends at the foreclosure sale; statutory redemption allows the borrower to repurchase within a set period after sale in some states.

A deficiency judgment is the unpaid balance after sale proceeds; anti-deficiency statutes, one-action rules, and fair-value hearings can limit or bar it.

RESPA requires a Loan Estimate within three business days of application and a Closing Disclosure at least three business days before consummation for most residential mortgages.

The Homeowners Protection Act generally cancels private mortgage insurance at 80% loan-to-value based on original value upon borrower request, and automatically at 78%.

An adjustable-rate mortgage has an initial rate, adjustment index, margin, periodic cap, lifetime cap, and lookback; the fully indexed rate equals index plus margin.

Leases for more than one year generally require a writing under the Statute of Frauds; periodic tenancies may arise by payment and acceptance of rent without a fixed term.

An assignment transfers the tenant's entire remaining term and creates privity of estate between landlord and assignee; a sublease transfers less than the entire term and leaves the original tenant in privity.

Residential leases carry an implied warranty of habitability; a tenant may repair and deduct, withhold rent, or terminate in some states after notice and opportunity to cure.

Constructive eviction occurs when the landlord's acts or omissions substantially interfere with possession; the tenant must vacate within a reasonable time and may claim rent abatement.

Unlawful detainer is the summary eviction action after notice to quit; self-help eviction, such as changing locks or shutting utilities, is prohibited in most states.

Zoning variances address unnecessary hardship: use variances permit a use not allowed in the district, while area variances relax dimensional standards such as setbacks or height.

A nonconforming use predates the zoning ordinance and may continue; expansion, reconstruction after substantial destruction, and resumption after abandonment are commonly restricted.

Regulatory takings analysis uses Penn Central factors for partial deprivations and categorical rules for permanent physical invasions or total loss of economic use; exactions require rough proportionality.

Euclidean zoning separates uses into districts; conditional uses or special exceptions require administrative approval, while spot zoning singles out one parcel inconsistently with the comprehensive plan.