Chapter 2

Property Rights and Legal Descriptions

Real vs. Personal Property

Real estate Property Real property Personal property Rights to property

- Title - Deeds - Leases

Fixture

A personal property item that has become a part of the real property is called a fixture.

Tests for fixture status include: Intent of parties Test of attachment Test of adaptability

Original Property Rights in Hawaii

Hawaiian King distribution of original land

Original lots extended from the mountains to the sea - Pie-shaped

Intent to provide owners with all the natural resources needed to survive

Mountains to trap rain water for drinking and irrigation

Forest land for wood and hunting

Middle ground for farming Coastal land for fishing

Air Rights

Air rights refer to the legal interests associated with the space above the surface of a parcel of land.

Mineral Rights

Mineral rights refer to the legal interests associated with oil, gals, coal, or other minerals that may be located beneath the surface of a parcel of land.

Water Rights

Water rights refer to the legal interests associated with water that flows across, touches, or is located in or under a parcel of land. littoral proprietors non-navigable bodies of water

riparian rights doctrine prior appropriation doctrine

Ogallala Aquifer

Estates in Land

Freehold estates Present interests

Fee simple absolute estate Qualified fee estate Life estate

Future interests include: Reversion interest Remainder interest

Leasehold estates Tenancy for a stated period Tenancy from period to period Tenancy at will Tenancy at sufferance

Figure 2.1

Concurrent Estates

Tenancy in common Joint tenancy Tenancy by the entirety Community property

Other forms of joint ownership

Condominium Cooperative Timeshare

Fee interests Right to use

Legal Description Methods

Metes and Bounds Rectangular Survey Recorded Plats

Metes and Bounds

start at a designated point of beginning and, through specific distances (metes) and directions (bounds), locate the boundary lines of the parcel (see Figure 2.3 on page 27). Distances are measured in feet

(to the nearest tenth or hundredth).

Directions are measured in degrees, minutes, and seconds. (See Figure 2.2 on page 26)

Property corners are marked by reference points.

Figure 2.3

Figure 2.2

Rectangular Survey

Principal meridians are north-south lines

Base lines are east-west lines Range lines Township lines Townships Sections Divisions of section

Figure 2.4

Figure 2.5

Figure 2.6

Figure 2.7

Reference to Recorded Plats

Many jurisdictions require developers to prepare accurate engineering drawings of their subdivision projects called plats.

These plats are then entered into the public record as legal documents that can be referred to as needed to identify individual parcels of land that are included in the plat.

With a properly prepared and recorded plat, a legal description for a property can be as simple as “Lot 4 of Block G of Grassy River Estates.”

Figure 2.12

Legal Descriptions in Texas

Different methods used

Metes & Bounds (southern TX)

Rectangular (Panhandle)

Plats (lot/block)

End Chapter 2