NALA ACP Real Estate study plan

Classify each estate in land - fee simple absolute, fee simple defeasible (determinable, subject to condition subsequent, executory interest), life estate, and leasehold - and state which future interest follows each.

Diagram the reversion, remainder (vested/contingent), and executory interest holdings that arise when a fee simple defeasible or life estate is created, including the effect of the Rule in Shelley's Case being abolished in most states.

Differentiate tenancy in common, joint tenancy (four unities, right of survivorship, severance by conveyance or mortgage), tenancy by the entirety, and community property, and predict how each passes at death.

Explain fixtures using the annexation, adaptation, and intention tests, and apply the trade-fixture and emblement rules to a landlord-tenant scenario.

Analyze easements by express grant/reservation, implication, necessity, and prescription, and distinguish easements appurtenant from in gross, plus profits, licenses, and covenants running with land.

Apply the elements of adverse possession (actual, open and notorious, exclusive, hostile, continuous, statutory period) and identify when tacking and color of title apply.

Identify the essential elements of a valid deed - grantor/grantee capacity, words of grant, legal description, consideration, signature, delivery, and acceptance - and spot defects in sample instruments.

Contrast general warranty, special warranty, bargain and sale, and quitclaim deeds by the covenants each carries (seisin, right to convey, against encumbrances, quiet enjoyment, warranty, further assurances) and their notice effect.

Apply the race, notice, and race-notice recording statutes to three-party priority fact patterns and determine who prevails between competing purchasers, judgment lienholders, and mortgagees.

Trace a chain of title and explain the roles of the abstract of title, title commitment, title insurance owner's and lender's policies, and the standard exceptions and endorsements each may contain.

Sequence the closing process from contract to recording, including escrow instructions, settlement statement line items, and the seller's and buyer's typical closing obligations.

Compute prorations for property taxes, rent, and utilities on a per-diem and 365-day basis, and calculate the buyer's and seller's debit/credit positions at closing.

Explain marketable title, the effect of the implied covenant of marketable title in a sale contract, and the buyer's remedies when title defects appear before closing.

Distinguish a mortgage from a deed of trust, identify the parties (mortgagor/mortgagee, trustor/trustee/beneficiary), and explain hypothecation, the note versus the security instrument, and acceleration clauses.

Rank lien priority by recording date, purchase-money mortgage status, subordination agreements, and the effect of a subordination clause in a construction loan.

Apply RESPA and TILA disclosure rules - Loan Estimate, Closing Disclosure, three-day review period, escrow account limits, and the tolerance categories - to a refinance timeline.

Contrast judicial and nonjudicial foreclosure step by step, including notice requirements, power-of-sale clause mechanics, and the deed given at a trustee's sale.

Distinguish statutory and equitable redemption, deficiency judgments and anti-deficiency protections, and the alternatives of deed in lieu, short sale, and forbearance.

Identify the elements of an enforceable real estate sale contract - statute of frauds, legal description, essential terms, mutual assent, capacity - and the effect of missing or open terms.

Draft and evaluate contingency clauses (financing, inspection, appraisal, title), plus the remedies of specific performance, liquidated damages, and rescission for breach.

Explain listing agreement types (exclusive right to sell, exclusive agency, open listing), broker duties, procuring cause, and how commissions are earned and split.

Apply RESPA Section 8 anti-kickback rules, the seller's property disclosure obligations, lead-based paint disclosure, and fair housing prohibitions to transaction scenarios.

Distinguish assignment from delegation, novation, option contracts, and installment land contracts, and state who bears risk of loss before closing under the Uniform Vendor and Purchaser Risk Act.

Sequence the transaction from offer and acceptance through earnest money deposit, attorney review, contingency removal, and closing, noting deadlines that create default.

Classify leasehold estates (term of years, periodic tenancy, tenancy at will, tenancy at sufferance) and identify how each is created and terminated.

Distinguish gross, net, net-net, triple net, percentage, and ground leases, and allocate taxes, insurance, maintenance, and CAM charges among them.

Apply the implied warranty of habitability, covenant of quiet enjoyment, constructive eviction, and the rules on security deposits, assignment, subleasing, and holdover tenants.

Explain zoning basics - use districts, variances, special use permits, nonconforming uses, spot zoning, and the takings analysis under regulatory vs. physical taking, plus dedication and eminent domain.

Re-test every missed item from weeks 1-7 by rewriting the rule statement for each in one sentence from memory.

Complete two full-length timed practice exams under exam conditions and review every wrong answer to its source rule.

Build a one-page master sheet of the most-confused pairs: deed vs. contract covenants, mortgage vs. deed of trust, judicial vs. nonjudicial foreclosure, race vs. race-notice, variance vs. special use permit.

Rehearse the exam-day pacing plan: question allocation per domain, flagging strategy, and a rule for when to skip and return.