Property-Only common mistakes
Property-Only · Understand the traps and how to avoid them.
When a question asks how a co-owner's share passes at death, the candidate answers from the label alone ("joint tenancy means it goes to the survivor") without first checking that the four unities were created in the same instrument, at the same time, with equal shares, and with identical title language.
Mnemonics like 'right of survivorship' get memorized as a property of the word 'joint' rather than as a consequence of the four unities. Exam items deliberately plant a break in one unity (different acquisition dates, unequal contributions, one tenant conveyed her interest) to see whether the candidate tests the unities before applying survivorship.
What to do instead
Before answering, write the four unities (time, title, interest, possession) and mark each one present or broken based on the facts. If any unity is broken, the tenancy is in common and the interest passes through the estate. Only after all four check out do you apply survivorship.
The candidate classifies every lien by the same rule, for example treating a mechanic's lien, a property tax lien, a mortgage, and a judgment lien as if they all related back to recording date, instead of applying each lien's own priority rule.
Priority feels like one concept ('first to record wins'), but real property uses different attachment and relation-back rules for different lien types. Tax liens typically attach by statute and outrank other liens; mechanic's liens often relate back to the start of work, which can leapfrog a mortgage recorded mid-construction. Candidates who apply one blanket rule miss these exceptions.
What to do instead
Build a short priority table with columns for lien type, when it attaches, and whether it relates back. On each item, identify the lien type first, then read its rule from the table before comparing dates.
The candidate treats an easement appurtenant and an easement in gross as interchangeable, and cannot state which parcel is dominant and which is servient, or whether the benefit runs with the land.
Both easements grant a right of use over another's land, so the labels blur under time pressure. The distinction matters because appurtenant easements transfer automatically with the dominant parcel, while easements in gross are held by a person or entity and generally do not run with the land unless commercial and assignable.
What to do instead
For every easement item, name the benefited parcel and the burdened parcel out loud in the analysis. If there is no benefited parcel, it is in gross. Then ask whether the question turns on transfer of the benefit; that is where the two types diverge.
The candidate answers a marketable-title question by describing what a title search or title insurance does, rather than identifying the specific defect the item describes and whether it is curable.
Title concepts cluster tightly (marketable title, insurable title, record notice, actual notice, inquiry notice), and candidates default to the most familiar tool (title insurance) instead of diagnosing the defect. Items often hinge on whether a defect is a recorded encumbrance, an unrecorded interest, or a physical condition that triggers inquiry notice.
What to do instead
Restate the facts as a defect list, then classify each defect by notice type (record, actual, inquiry) and curability. Answer the question actually asked: is title marketable, what cures it, or who bears the risk.
The candidate reads a contract item and jumps to the remedy (specific performance, damages, rescission) without first checking whether the contract was enforceable, whether the contingency was satisfied, and whether the parties were in a condition to perform.
Remedies are memorable and contingencies are tedious, so candidates skip the enforceability step. Many items are designed so that the correct answer is 'no remedy because the contract never became enforceable' or 'the buyer's deposit is returned because the financing contingency failed.'
What to do instead
Use a fixed sequence on every contract item: offer and acceptance, consideration, capacity, legality, statute of frauds, contingency status, then breach and remedy. Do not reach the remedy step until the earlier steps are settled.
The candidate confuses the agency relationship with the fiduciary duties owed under it, answering a 'who represents whom' question with a duty (loyalty, disclosure, accounting) or answering a duty question with a representation status.
Agency items interleave representation types (single agent, dual agent, transaction broker, subagent) with duties and with disclosure timing. Candidates who do not separate the two layers pick an answer that is true in general but does not address the question.
What to do instead
Tag each agency item as either 'status' or 'duty' before reading the choices. For status items, map the parties and who owes representation to whom. For duty items, name the specific duty and the specific act that breached it.
The candidate computes a capitalization-rate or gross-rent-multiplier problem using the wrong income figure, mixing potential gross income, effective gross income, and net operating income in the same formula.
The income tiers sound similar and the formulas are short, so candidates substitute whichever number appears in the prompt. Cap rate applies to net operating income; GRM applies to gross rent or price relative to gross income. Using the wrong tier produces a plausible but wrong number.
What to do instead
Always build the income ladder first: potential gross income, minus vacancy and collection loss, equals effective gross income, minus operating expenses, equals net operating income. Then select the formula and plug in only the tier that formula requires.
The candidate computes a loan payment or a loan-to-value ratio without confirming whether the rate is annual or periodic, whether the term is in months or years, and whether points or fees are part of the calculation.
Mortgage math items embed unit mismatches (monthly rate versus annual rate, monthly payment versus annual total) and cost items (discount points, origination fees) that change the effective yield. Candidates who skip the unit check get an answer that matches a distractor.
What to do instead
Before calculating, write the rate, the compounding period, the number of payments, and the loan amount in a single line with units attached. Convert everything to the payment period, then compute, then sanity-check that the total paid exceeds the principal.
The candidate answers a land-use item by naming the zoning category (residential, commercial) instead of applying the specific control the item tests, such as a nonconforming use, a variance, a special exception, or a grandfather clause.
Zoning vocabulary overlaps and candidates collapse distinct mechanisms into one. A nonconforming use is a pre-existing use allowed to continue; a variance is relief from a dimensional or use standard; a special exception is a permitted use requiring approval. Each has different standards and different outcomes.
What to do instead
For each land-use item, state which mechanism is in play and its defining test: prior lawful existence for nonconforming use, hardship for a variance, and the ordinance's listed criteria for a special exception. Then apply that test to the facts.
The candidate reads a fair-housing or consumer-protection item and answers based on the actor's intent or good faith, rather than on whether the practice produced a discriminatory effect or violated a specific disclosure requirement.
Fair-housing and consumer-protection rules often turn on effect, on the words used in advertising, or on timing of disclosures, not on whether the agent meant well. Candidates who look for malice or bad intent miss items where a neutral policy or a careless ad violates the law regardless of intent.
What to do instead
For fair-housing items, check the protected class, the practice, and whether the practice had a disparate effect or used prohibited language. For consumer-protection items, check the required disclosure, its deadline, and who must receive it. Intent is not the test unless the item specifically asks about intent.