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WV Real Estate practice questions

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Question 1Property Ownership

Which estate gives an owner the broadest bundle of rights, lasting indefinitely and descending to heirs if the owner dies without a will?

  1. Life estate
  2. Easement in gross
  3. Fee simple absolute Correct answer.
  4. Estate for years

Explanation

A fee simple absolute is the largest estate the law recognizes: it lasts forever, may be sold or devised freely, and passes by intestate succession if the owner dies without a will. Smaller freehold estates, such as a life estate, terminate on a stated event and carry no inheritance right.

Question 2Property Ownership

A homeowner builds a bookcase, bolts it permanently into a wall, and finishes it to match the room's trim. In a dispute over the sale of the house, the bookcase is best classified as

  1. A fixture Correct answer.
  2. A trade fixture
  3. A chattel
  4. An emblement

Explanation

Personal property becomes a fixture, and therefore part of the realty, when it is annexed to the land, adapted to the use of the property, and intended to remain permanently. A built-in bookcase bolted to the wall and finished with the room satisfies all three tests.

Question 3Property Ownership

An easement that benefits a particular parcel of land and passes automatically when that parcel is sold is called

  1. A profit a prendre
  2. An easement appurtenant Correct answer.
  3. A license
  4. An easement in gross

Explanation

An easement appurtenant benefits a specific parcel, the dominant tenement, and runs with the land, so it transfers automatically with either the dominant or the servient parcel. An easement in gross benefits a person or entity rather than a parcel.

Question 4Property Ownership

The government's power to take private land for a public purpose, provided the owner receives just compensation, is known as

  1. Escheat
  2. Eminent domain Correct answer.
  3. Police power
  4. Taxation

Explanation

Eminent domain is the inherent governmental power to condemn private property for public use upon payment of just compensation. Police power regulates how property may be used without transferring title, while taxation and escheat are separate sovereign powers.

Question 5Property Ownership

Two unrelated investors take title to a rental duplex as tenants in common. Which statement describes their ownership?

  1. The surviving co-owners automatically take the deceased's share
  2. Each co-owner's share passes to their heirs at death Correct answer.
  3. The co-owners' shares must always be equal
  4. The co-owners' interests must be created by the same deed

Explanation

A tenancy in common gives each co-owner a separate, undivided interest that may be devised or inherited, and there is no right of survivorship. Shares need not be equal and the interests need not be created at the same time or in the same instrument.

Question 6Property Ownership

Three friends own a cabin in equal shares as joint tenants. One friend conveys her interest to a stranger. What is the effect of that conveyance?

  1. The grantee takes a life estate measured by the conveyor's life
  2. The grantee becomes a joint tenant with the original co-owners
  3. The joint tenancy is severed as to that share Correct answer.
  4. The conveyance is void without the co-tenants' consent

Explanation

A joint tenant may convey his or her interest without the consent of the others, and doing so severs the joint tenancy as to that share because the unities of title and time are broken. The grantee typically holds as a tenant in common with the remaining owners, who may remain joint tenants among themselves.

Question 7Property Ownership

A married couple takes title to their home as tenants by the entirety. Which statement is accurate?

  1. Either spouse may convey an undivided half interest without the other's consent
  2. The survivorship right ends automatically if the couple separates
  3. Each spouse's interest passes by will at death
  4. One spouse alone cannot defeat the other's right of survivorship Correct answer.

Explanation

Tenancy by the entirety is a form of co-ownership reserved for married couples in which each spouse owns the whole and the survivor takes the property automatically. Because the spouses hold as a unit, neither may convey an interest that would defeat the other's survivorship right without the other's joinder.

Question 8Property Ownership

An owner conveys Blackacre "to my sister for life, then to my nephew." The nephew's interest is

  1. An executory interest
  2. A reversion
  3. A fee simple determinable
  4. A remainder Correct answer.

Explanation

Because the nephew's interest is created in the same instrument and can become possessory only when the preceding life estate ends naturally, it is a remainder. A reversion remains in the grantor, and an executory interest cuts short or follows a gap after another estate.

Question 9Property Ownership

Over many years a river slowly deposits silt along the bank of a riparian parcel, adding several feet of dry land. The owner's title to the addition rests on the doctrine of

  1. Accretion Correct answer.
  2. Prescription
  3. Reliction
  4. Avulsion

Explanation

Accretion is the gradual and imperceptible addition of land by the action of water, and the riparian owner acquires title to the addition without any deed. Avulsion is a sudden and visible change in a watercourse, which does not shift title, and reliction is the gradual receding of water that exposes the former bed.

Question 10Property Ownership

Which set of circumstances is necessary for a claimant to acquire title to another's land by adverse possession?

  1. Payment of taxes plus a recorded deed covering the period
  2. Possession with the record owner's written permission for that period
  3. Recording a survey and notifying adjacent owners
  4. Open, hostile, and continuous possession for the statutory period Correct answer.

Explanation

Adverse possession requires possession that is actual, open and notorious, exclusive, hostile to the record owner, and continuous for the statutory period. Permission from the owner negates the hostility element and turns the occupant into a tenant at will.

Question 11Property Ownership

A neighbor's detached garage extends two feet across the boundary line onto an adjoining lot. The garage's presence on the adjoining lot is best described as

  1. A prescriptive easement
  2. An easement by necessity
  3. An encroachment Correct answer.
  4. A license

Explanation

An encroachment is a physical intrusion by a structure or improvement across a boundary, and it is treated as a trespass that may be enjoined or resolved by removal or conveyance. Easements and licenses are nonpossessory rights of use, not the placement of a structure.

Question 12Property Ownership

A developer records a subdivision plat showing streets and a small park, then sells lots that reference the plat. The public's right to use those streets most likely arises through

  1. Escheat
  2. Dedication Correct answer.
  3. Condemnation
  4. Eminent domain

Explanation

Dedication is the intentional setting aside of private land for public use, and it is commonly shown by recording a plat and selling lots that reference it, which creates a public right in the depicted streets and parks. Condemnation is the exercise of eminent domain and requires a taking with compensation.

Question 13Property Ownership

A parcel is bounded by a non-navigable stream. Under the common law rule followed in most eastern states, the owner's title presumptively extends

  1. To the high-water mark only
  2. To the center of the stream Correct answer.
  3. To the low-water mark only
  4. To the opposite bank

Explanation

An owner of land bordering a non-navigable stream presumptively owns the streambed to the thread, or center, of the stream, subject to the reasonable-use rights of other riparians. Along navigable waters, title ordinarily stops at the ordinary high-water mark, with the bed held by the state.

Question 14Property Ownership

A grantor conveys land "to the school board so long as it is used for school purposes." The school board holds

  1. A fee simple absolute
  2. A fee simple subject to a condition subsequent
  3. A fee simple determinable Correct answer.
  4. A life estate pur autre vie

Explanation

Words such as "so long as" create a fee simple determinable, which ends automatically when the stated use ceases and leaves a possibility of reverter in the grantor. A condition subsequent requires language such as "but if" and gives the grantor a right of entry that must be exercised to end the estate.

Question 15Property Ownership

A tenant with an uncertain leasehold plants corn on the leased field, and the tenancy ends before harvest. The tenant's right to re-enter and harvest the crop is the doctrine of

  1. Estovers
  2. Waste
  3. Emblements Correct answer.
  4. Reliction

Explanation

Emblements give a tenant who planted annual crops the right to re-enter and harvest them after the tenancy ends for a reason beyond the tenant's control. Waste concerns injury to the land, and estovers is the right to take timber or other materials for limited purposes.

Question 16Property Ownership

A grantor subdivides a tract and conveys an interior lot that has no access to any public road. The lot owner may claim

  1. A license
  2. An easement by prescription
  3. An easement in gross
  4. An easement by necessity Correct answer.

Explanation

An easement by necessity arises by operation of law when strict necessity exists, typically where a common grantor's subdivision leaves a parcel landlocked, because the parties are presumed to have intended access. Prescription requires adverse use for the statutory period, and a license is revocable permission.

Question 17Land Use Controls and Regulations

A parcel in a West Virginia town contains a small machine shop that was lawful when built, but the area is now zoned residential. Which statement best describes the shop's status?

  1. It must stop immediately when the ordinance takes effect
  2. It may continue because the use predates the ordinance Correct answer.
  3. It automatically becomes a conforming use after one year
  4. It may expand to any size the owner later chooses

Explanation

A nonconforming use is a use that was lawful when established but no longer complies with current zoning. The general rule allows it to continue, although most ordinances restrict enlargement, reconstruction after heavy damage, and resumption after a long period of discontinuance.

Question 18Land Use Controls and Regulations

Which action is ordinarily within the authority of a West Virginia board of zoning appeals?

  1. Adopt the community's comprehensive plan
  2. Grant a dimensional hardship variance Correct answer.
  3. Rezone a parcel from residential to commercial
  4. Amend the text of the zoning ordinance

Explanation

A board of zoning appeals hears administrative appeals and may grant relief such as dimensional variances when strict application of the ordinance produces a hardship. Text amendments, map amendments, and plan adoption are legislative acts reserved to the governing body with planning commission input.

Question 19Land Use Controls and Regulations

What is the primary function of a local comprehensive plan in West Virginia?

  1. It is enforced like a zoning ordinance against landowners
  2. It sets the property tax rate for each parcel
  3. It guides future land-use decisions and public improvements Correct answer.
  4. It serves as the local building code for new homes

Explanation

The comprehensive plan is a policy document that describes existing conditions and states goals for land use, housing, transportation, and public facilities. Zoning and subdivision regulations are then adopted to implement the plan, but the plan itself is not a self-executing regulatory ordinance.

Question 20Land Use Controls and Regulations

Before starting construction of a new single-family house, an owner must normally obtain which approval first?

  1. A variance from the board of zoning appeals
  2. A building permit from the local code official Correct answer.
  3. A special exception from the planning commission
  4. A certificate of occupancy before starting work

Explanation

A building permit is issued before construction so that plans can be reviewed for compliance with the building code and applicable zoning. The certificate of occupancy is issued later, after inspection confirms the structure is safe and compliant for occupancy.

Question 21Land Use Controls and Regulations

A church wants to locate in a residential district where the ordinance permits churches only if the board of zoning appeals approves. What is this approval called?

  1. A rezoning of the church parcel
  2. A use variance
  3. A conditional use approval Correct answer.
  4. A nonconforming use status

Explanation

A special exception, often called a conditional use, is a use that the ordinance expressly allows in a district when stated conditions are met and the reviewing board approves. It differs from a variance, which addresses hardship created by strict application of a standard.

Question 22Land Use Controls and Regulations

A city council changes the zoning of one lot from residential to commercial even though every surrounding parcel is residential and the comprehensive plan was not amended. This action is best described as which of the following?

  1. Planned unit development approval
  2. A regulatory taking
  3. A dimensional variance
  4. Spot zoning Correct answer.

Explanation

Spot zoning is the rezoning of a small parcel to a use inconsistent with surrounding uses and the comprehensive plan, usually for the benefit of one owner. Courts examine whether the amendment is consistent with the plan and whether it bears a reasonable relation to the public welfare.

Question 23Land Use Controls and Regulations

A developer buys a 20-acre tract and intends to divide it into 12 separate lots for sale. Before selling the lots, the developer should ordinarily do which of the following?

  1. File restrictive covenants with the city
  2. Obtain a use variance for each lot
  3. Pay an impact fee to the school district
  4. Get plat approval and record the plat Correct answer.

Explanation

Subdivision regulation requires the developer to submit a plat to the planning commission for review and approval, then record the approved plat in the county clerk's office before conveying lots. Recording gives public notice of lot lines and dedications.

Question 24Land Use Controls and Regulations

A county participates in the National Flood Insurance Program and has a mapped floodplain. A builder wants to construct a home in the mapped area. What does the local floodplain ordinance most likely require?

  1. A state permit from the fire commission
  2. No special local permit is needed
  3. A variance from the local floodplain board
  4. A floodplain permit and raised building Correct answer.

Explanation

Communities that join the NFIP must adopt local floodplain ordinances that require permits for development in special flood hazard areas and that elevate or floodproof structures to the base flood elevation. The local permit is the main enforcement tool for those standards.

Question 25Land Use Controls and Regulations

What is the main effect of West Virginia's right-to-farm law for an established agricultural operation?

  1. It rezones the land to commercial use
  2. It shields established farms from nuisance suits Correct answer.
  3. It exempts farm buildings from all codes
  4. It permanently bans all development on the land

Explanation

Right-to-farm statutes protect agricultural operations that were established before nearby nonagricultural uses from being treated as nuisances, provided the operation is conducted lawfully and without negligence. The protection can be lost if the operation is substantially changed or abandoned.

Question 26Land Use Controls and Regulations

A recorded deed restriction limits fences on a lot to four feet, while the city zoning ordinance allows fences up to six feet. Which rule applies to the homeowner?

  1. The city must enforce the deed restriction for the neighbors
  2. The stricter private covenant may be enforced by neighbors Correct answer.
  3. The zoning ordinance controls because it is public law
  4. The covenant is void because zoning covers the same subject

Explanation

Zoning sets minimum standards, and private covenants may impose stricter limits on the same subject. A court may enforce the covenant at the request of a benefited neighbor, but the city does not enforce private deed restrictions.

Question 27Land Use Controls and Regulations

Under West Virginia law, when may government take private property through eminent domain?

  1. Another private owner who will pay more tax
  2. A public purpose without compensation
  3. Any private business that will create jobs
  4. A public use with just compensation Correct answer.

Explanation

Both the West Virginia Constitution and state statutes require that property be taken only for a public use and that the owner receive just compensation. State law defines public use narrowly and generally excludes takings whose primary purpose is transferring property to a private party for economic development.

Question 28Land Use Controls and Regulations

A builder obtains a building permit and pours the foundation for a house. The city then amends its zoning ordinance to prohibit that type of house on the lot. Under traditional vested rights principles, what is the builder's position?

  1. Loses the permit because zoning changed
  2. Must apply for a variance for the completed work
  3. Must stop work until a new permit is issued
  4. May finish if construction was well underway Correct answer.

Explanation

Vested rights doctrine protects a landowner who has obtained the required permits and made substantial good-faith construction expenditures in reliance on them. If those elements are met, later zoning changes generally will not prevent completion of the project.

Question 29Land Use Controls and Regulations

A landowner applies for a building permit, and the local code official denies it as inconsistent with the zoning ordinance. What is the landowner's usual first step to challenge that decision?

  1. Ask city council to rezone the parcel
  2. Appeal to the board of zoning appeals Correct answer.
  3. File suit in circuit court immediately
  4. Resubmit the same permit application

Explanation

An appeal from a decision of an administrative officer enforcing the zoning ordinance lies to the board of zoning appeals within the time and in the manner set by the ordinance. Courts generally require exhaustion of that administrative remedy before judicial review.

Question 30Land Use Controls and Regulations

A planning commission reviews a proposed amendment to the zoning map. What is the commission's usual role in the process?

  1. It grants the final rezoning decision
  2. It issues building permits under the new zone
  3. It recommends after a public hearing Correct answer.
  4. It hears variances from the ordinance

Explanation

The planning commission holds a public hearing on proposed zoning amendments and forwards a recommendation to the governing body, which makes the final legislative decision. The commission's recommendation is advisory rather than final.

Question 31Valuation and Market Analysis

Which condition is required for a sale price to represent market value?

  1. The seller provides below-market financing to the buyer
  2. The buyer pays all cash with no financing contingency
  3. Both parties act prudently and without undue pressure Correct answer.
  4. The property has been widely advertised on the internet

Explanation

Market value is the most probable price in a competitive and open market under all conditions requisite to a fair sale, with buyer and seller each acting prudently and knowledgeably and price unaffected by undue stimulus. Financing terms, advertising, and method of payment do not by themselves create or destroy market value.

Question 32Valuation and Market Analysis

A duplex sells for $240,000 and rents for $2,000 per month. What is the gross rent multiplier?

  1. 120 Correct answer.
  2. 0.008
  3. 240
  4. 12

Explanation

The gross rent multiplier equals sale price divided by gross monthly rent: $240,000 ÷ $2,000 = 120. The multiplier is then applied to a subject property's monthly rent to indicate value.

Question 33Valuation and Market Analysis

A comparative market analysis prepared by a real estate licensee for a prospective seller is best described as:

  1. A valuation that must be performed by a state-certified appraiser
  2. A formal opinion of value admissible in condemnation proceedings
  3. An opinion of price prepared to help set a listing price Correct answer.
  4. A USPAP-compliant appraisal report

Explanation

A comparative market analysis is a licensee's opinion of likely selling price based on comparable listings and recent sales, prepared to help a client with a listing decision. It is not an appraisal, is not prepared to appraisal standards, and may not be represented as one.

Question 34Valuation and Market Analysis

Which set of conditions is most characteristic of a buyer's market?

  1. Prices rising faster than buyers' household incomes
  2. Rapid price appreciation with unusually short marketing times
  3. Few listings on the market, rising prices, and multiple offers
  4. Ample inventory and softening prices Correct answer.

Explanation

In a buyer's market, supply exceeds effective demand, so inventory is plentiful, homes take longer to sell, and sellers must be more negotiable on price and terms. The result is downward pressure on prices rather than the rapid appreciation seen in a seller's market.

Question 35Valuation and Market Analysis

The dollar amount a county assessor places on a property for ad valorem taxation is called:

  1. Appraised value
  2. Reproduction cost
  3. Salvage value
  4. Assessed value Correct answer.

Explanation

Assessed value is the value used as the tax base, set by the assessor under state and county rules. It may equal a statutory percentage of market value or otherwise differ from an appraiser's opinion of market value.

Question 36Valuation and Market Analysis

A site is zoned for either residential or light commercial use and can physically support either. Residential development would return 6 percent on total cost, while commercial development would return 9 percent. What does highest and best use analysis conclude?

  1. Commercial use, the maximally productive legal use Correct answer.
  2. Residential use, because it generates less traffic congestion
  3. Neither, because both returns fall below ten percent
  4. Residential use, because the area already has housing

Explanation

Highest and best use must be legally permissible, physically possible, financially feasible, and maximally productive. When both uses clear the first three tests, the use producing the greatest net return is the highest and best use.

Question 37Valuation and Market Analysis

The subject property has a two-car garage. A comparable with a one-car garage sold for $300,000. A two-car garage contributes $8,000 more than a one-car garage. What is the adjusted sale price of the comparable?

  1. $316,000
  2. $308,000 Correct answer.
  3. $292,000
  4. $300,000

Explanation

Adjustments are made to the comparable so that it reflects the subject's features. Because the comparable is inferior to the subject in garage capacity, its price is adjusted upward by $8,000, giving $308,000.

Question 38Valuation and Market Analysis

Reproduction cost new of a building is $400,000, accrued depreciation is $90,000, and the land is valued at $120,000. What value does the cost approach indicate?

  1. $490,000
  2. $520,000
  3. $400,000
  4. $430,000 Correct answer.

Explanation

The cost approach adds land value to the depreciated cost of the improvements: $120,000 + ($400,000 − $90,000) = $430,000. Depreciation is subtracted because it measures the loss from cost new.

Question 39Valuation and Market Analysis

A property generates a net operating income of $36,000 per year. The market capitalization rate is 9 percent. What is the indicated value?

  1. $4,000
  2. $400,000 Correct answer.
  3. $450,000
  4. $324,000

Explanation

Under the income approach, value equals net operating income divided by the capitalization rate: $36,000 ÷ 0.09 = $400,000. The rate converts a single year's income into an estimate of value.

Question 40Valuation and Market Analysis

An appraiser estimates a home's value by analyzing prices of similar homes that sold recently, reasoning that a buyer will not pay more for a property than the cost of an equally desirable substitute. Which principle is being applied?

  1. Contribution
  2. Conformity
  3. Substitution Correct answer.
  4. Anticipation

Explanation

Substitution holds that value tends to be set by the price of acquiring an equally desirable substitute. It is the foundation of the sales comparison approach and also supports the cost approach.

Question 41Valuation and Market Analysis

A small, well-kept house is surrounded by larger, more expensive homes. Which principle explains why this house may sell for more than an identical house located among smaller homes?

  1. Contribution
  2. Progression Correct answer.
  3. Assemblage
  4. Regression

Explanation

Progression is the increase in value of a lesser property caused by its association with superior properties. The opposite effect, regression, is the loss in value suffered by a superior property surrounded by inferior ones.

Question 42Valuation and Market Analysis

A market area has 600 homes listed for sale and closings are averaging 75 homes per month. How many months of supply does this represent?

  1. 8 months Correct answer.
  2. 12 months
  3. 6 months
  4. 7.5 months

Explanation

Months of supply equals active listings divided by the monthly absorption rate: 600 ÷ 75 = 8 months. A rising months-of-supply figure signals a softening market.

Question 43Valuation and Market Analysis

In the final reconciliation of value, an appraiser should:

  1. Disregard the cost approach whenever the property is insured
  2. Weight most heavily the approach best supported by the data Correct answer.
  3. Average the indications from all three approaches arithmetically
  4. Rely on the highest indication in order to protect the lender

Explanation

Reconciliation is a weighing process, not an averaging. The appraiser considers the adequacy and reliability of the data behind each approach for the specific property type and market, then selects a final value conclusion.

Question 44Valuation and Market Analysis

When two adjoining lots are combined into a single site and the combined value exceeds the sum of the separate lot values, the added value is called:

  1. Surplus land
  2. Excess land
  3. Assemblage
  4. Plottage Correct answer.

Explanation

Plottage is the increment of value created when parcels are combined into one larger, more useful tract. Assemblage is the act of combining the parcels; plottage is the resulting increase in value.

Question 45Valuation and Market Analysis

A 40-year-old house has one bathroom, while three bathrooms are standard for its neighborhood and price range. The loss in value is best classified as:

  1. Functional obsolescence Correct answer.
  2. Deferred maintenance of worn components
  3. External obsolescence from off-site influences
  4. Curable physical deterioration

Explanation

Functional obsolescence is a loss in value from a design or layout deficiency measured against what the market expects, such as too few bathrooms or a poor floor plan. It is curable when the cost to correct it is less than the value the correction adds.

Question 46Valuation and Market Analysis

A house worth $260,000 loses value after a nearby industrial plant begins emitting odors and noise. The loss is:

  1. Curable physical deterioration
  2. External obsolescence, generally incurable Correct answer.
  3. Incurable physical deterioration
  4. Functional obsolescence that can be corrected

Explanation

External, or economic, obsolescence is a loss caused by influences outside the property line, such as a neighboring nuisance or neighborhood decline. Because the owner cannot control the cause, it is generally incurable.

Question 47Valuation and Market Analysis

In a neighborhood where three bathrooms is typical, the owner of a three-bath house adds a fourth bathroom at substantial cost, but the home's value rises by much less than the cost. This best illustrates:

  1. Plottage created by assembling adjoining lots
  2. The principle of substitution in the sales comparison approach
  3. The principle of conformity in a subdivision
  4. Increasing and diminishing returns Correct answer.

Explanation

The principle of increasing and diminishing returns holds that improvements eventually reach a point where the value added is less than the cost added. Beyond that point the additional improvement is not financially justified.

Question 48Valuation and Market Analysis

The value of a property to a particular investor, based on that investor's own required yield, financing, and tax position, is known as:

  1. Assessed value
  2. Liquidation value
  3. Market value
  4. Investment value Correct answer.

Explanation

Investment value reflects one investor's personal criteria, such as required yield, financing terms, and tax situation. Market value, by contrast, is the consensus of typical market participants and does not depend on any single investor's circumstances.

Question 49Financing

A buyer purchases a home for $250,000, and the property appraises at $250,000. The lender approves a $200,000 mortgage. What is the loan-to-value ratio?

  1. 20%
  2. 75%
  3. 80% Correct answer.
  4. 125%

Explanation

Loan-to-value is the loan amount divided by the lesser of the sale price or the appraised value. Here $200,000 divided by $250,000 equals 0.80, or 80%. Lenders use this ratio to gauge risk and to set mortgage insurance and pricing requirements.

Question 50Financing

A lender quotes a monthly payment that includes principal, interest, property taxes, and hazard insurance. What is this payment commonly called?

  1. A buy-down payment
  2. A balloon payment
  3. A PITI payment Correct answer.
  4. A blanket payment

Explanation

PITI stands for principal, interest, taxes, and insurance, the four components of a fully escrowed monthly housing payment. Lenders use the PITI figure when measuring the borrower's housing expense for qualification.