Day 6 - Real Estate Exam

Front 1

Encumbrance

Back 1

is a right or interest in a piece of real estate that belongs to someone other than the property owner.

Front 2

2 Types of Encumbrances

Back 2

- Financial claims (liens)
- Limitations on the use of the property (easements, encroachments & restrictions)

Front 3

Priority of Liens (who gets paid first)

Back 3

Real estate taxes get paid first, always, including any special taxes or special assessments. The mortgage would be second. The rest would be paid off in the order that they were filed with county clerks office or some other office of record.

Front 4

2 Types of Liens

Back 4

Voluntary or Involuntary
General or Specific

Front 5

voluntary vs. involuntary liens

Back 5

Voluntary - owner willingly takes action to secure the lien, a mortgage
Involuntary - someone places a lien on your property for non-payment

Front 6

specific vs. general

Back 6

specific lien - attaches to one property

general lien - attached to all your properties, even personal property e.g. boat, car etc

Front 7

Types of Liens

Back 7

Tax Lien
Mortgage Lien
Mechanic's Lien
Judgement Lien

Front 8

Tax Lien

Back 8

Involuntary & Specific
State, Govmt puts a lien on your house for property taxes, gets paid first

Front 9

Mortgage Lien

Back 9

Voluntary & Specific
you put the property as collateral when you purchase real estate

Front 10

Mechanic's Lien

Back 10

Involuntary & Specific
If you had work done on your property and you didn't pay the guy, he can put a mechanic's lien on your house

Front 11

Judgement Lien

Back 11

Involuntary & General
This can be a personal injury claim against you and is issued by a judgement

Front 12

Easement

Back 12

the right to use someone elses property for your benefit.

Front 13

Easement - Dominate tenement or Dominate Estate

Back 13

The property receiving the benefit of the easement

Front 14

Easement - Servient tenement or Servient Estate

Back 14

The property for which the easement was granted - serving the easement

Front 15

Appurtenant Easement

Back 15

'runs with the land' - if your land is 'landlocked' you obtain an appurtenant easement from your neighbor to access your land across his. There can be:
- surface easement (driveway)
- underground easement (water line)
- aerial easement (electric line)

Front 16

Easement in Gross

Back 16

typically a utility company easement, say the town wants to connect sewer pipes under your property - they'd request easement in gross

Front 17

Easement by necessity

Back 17

courts order - say you bought land without an easement to access it thru a neighbors land, the court can grant you an easemet by necessity if the neighbor
wont

Front 18

Easement by Prescription

Back 18

created by the actions of one person against the interests of another. Must be court ordered.
An example is when your neighbor drives over a corner of your lot everynight, a few years later you decide you dont want him doing that. he can go to court and ask for am easement by prescription

Front 19

Tacking

Back 19

using the previous example in easement by prescription, let's say your neighbor sells his land after 5 years, the new neighbor picks right up where the previous one left off - he can use the time from the previous owner to show that this has been going on for 10 years or so in order to be grated the easement by prescription

Front 20

Party Walls

Back 20

in areas of the country where buildings are built with no space in between, the owners own 1/2 the wall and an easement for the other half, these are appurtenant easements

Front 21

Ways to terminate an easement

Back 21

- an agreement or release (person who posses, give it up)
- by merger (two lands merg under one owner)
- by abandonment (you stop using for whatever reason)
- the need no longer exists (a new road is added)

Must be done thru the courts

Front 22

Deed Restrictions
(covenants, conditions & restrictions)

Back 22

a limitation on your property set forth before you purchase, may be the size of a house you can build on a lot

Front 23

Laches

Back 23

if you have a deed restriction on your house saying you can't paint it 'purple' - and you piant it 'purple' - your neighbors have a certain amount of time to enforce you to comply, if they don't, they've lost the right to complain that thats called 'laches'

Front 24

Encroachment

Back 24

is the unauthorized or illegal use of someone's property by another person. could be a shed build by mistake on your property or it could be a house someone built on your country land. court action may be necessary

Front 25

adverse possession

Back 25

someone actually claiming ownership of your property. say your neighbor built a fence 10 ft into your land, you don't care and he has it for many years. he can go to court and ask to take possession of that add'l 10 ft, this is adverse possession

Front 26

Zoning Ordinance
or
Zoning Codes

Back 26

essentially tell you what you can build, where you can build it, and how much of it you can build.

Front 27

Variance

Back 27

when a one-property variations from the requirements is requested, it's called a variance

Front 28

Special Permit Use
or
Special use variance
or
conditional use permits

Back 28

may be required when a request is made that is different enough from the stated zoning codes, an example may be a nursery school in a residential neighborhood.

Front 29

Non-conforming Uses

Back 29

refers to an established structure that was built prior to the current zoning codes. Example would be a factory built in a neighborhood that is now zoned for single family housing only

Front 30

Municipalities (towns, cities, villages)

Back 30

create master plans that help them shape the look and feel of the towns, they study and track
- capital facilities
- demographics
- housing
- infrastructure (roads, sewer etc)
- land use

Front 31

Accessory Buildings

Back 31

are buildings separate from the main building on the property, e.g. detached garage & pool house

Front 32

Accessory Uses

Back 32

related to but are different from the principle use of the property, e.g. inlaw apartment

Front 33

Sub-Division

Back 33

one parcel of land divided into two or more

In MA, sub-divison is defined as land devided into two or more lots that do not front on public or approved roads.

Front 34

Sub-Divider

Back 34

once the subdivision is approved, a 'sub-divider' sells that lots to builders and individuals who want to build

Front 35

Developer

Back 35

develops the subdivison, by building roads, houses etc. sometimes he is the 'sub-divider' as well

Front 36

Density Zoning

Back 36

permits the same overall density within the subdivision, which means the same total number of lots on the same overall size property

Front 37

cluster zoning

Back 37

clusters together groups of lots to ensure certain portion of the subdivion as 'open space'

Front 38

Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act - 1968

Back 38

Administered by HUD, the act applys to interstate sales of vacant or underdeveloped lots in subdivions of 25 lots or more. The act DOESN'T apply to lots of 20 acres or larger. It requires developers to file information with HUD describing details of the project include utilities, recreation, facilities, soil conditions etc.

Front 39

Building Codes

Back 39

are regulations that provide minimum standards relating to the construction, electrical, plumbing and safety materials and practices when building a house. Managed at the local level

Front 40

Inverse Condemnation

Back 40

is when a landowner can sue the government because of loss value of their property because of governement action. e.g. a sewage plant built in a neighborhood brings the property values down, the property owners can sue the gvmnt for the lost value of the house or even ask that they purchase the house

Front 41

Escheat

Back 41

is the transfer of property when someone doies 'intestate' - without a will and no heirs

Front 42

Plat Map

Back 42

the plan showing the individual lots in a sub division

Front 43

The Zoning Act - Chapter 40A of Mass General Law

Back 43

is the source of zoning authority for all communities except Boston.

Front 44

MA Non-conforming (grandfathered) Structures

Back 44

cannot go on forever in MA, if they have not been used or have been abandonded for two years, they must start conforming to the current zoning regulatioins

Front 45

Applying for a variance in MA

Back 45

Go thru Zoning Board of Appeals- must show the change necessary for public interest or hardship. An objection can be appealed to Mass Superior Court

Front 46

Sub-Division Law in MA

Back 46

is in effect for every city except Boston -
-protect the health, safety
- provide adequant access by roads
- lessening congestion on subdivision roads adjacent to public roads
- reduct motor accidents
- secure safety in case of fire, flood, panic etc.
- compliance w/zoning etc
etc.....

Front 47

Uniformed Building Code

Back 47

regulates residential, commercial, and industrial construction in MA. It supersedes local building codes

Front 48

Massachusetts Comprehensive Permit Law (40B) - 1969
(anti-snob zoning)

Back 48

distribution of low-income housing. 25% of new developments must be set aside for low income

Front 49

Zoning Affects

Back 49

- permitted use of land
- lot sizes
- types of structures
- building heights
- setbacks (from sidewalks)
- style & appearance of structures
- density (land to build. ratio)
- protection of natural resources

Front 50

Buffer Zone

Back 50

typically a strip of land used to separate zoned property (commercial vs. residential etc)

Front 51

Bulk Zoning

Back 51

controls density and avoides overcrowding by restricting set backs, heights and % of open area, or restricting new construction

Front 52

aesthetic zoning

Back 52

specifies certain types of architecturefor new buildings

Front 53

incentive zoning

Back 53

to incorporate into developments such as requiring a street floor of an office building for retail

Front 54

Zoning Permits

Back 54

are usually required before a buildin permit is issued

Front 55

certificate of occupancy

Back 55

issued once work permit has been pulled and the work is done and inspected

Front 56

land development plan

Back 56

before actual subdividing can be done a 'land development plan' must comply with the municipality's comprehensive (master) plan

Front 57

Plat

Back 57

is a detailed map showing all the details to the proposed subdivision. The 'plat' must be approved by the municipality before it can be recorded

Front 58

Impact Fees

Back 58

are charges made in advance for expenses involving off-site capital improvements from the new subdivision (water & sewer, add'l roads, school expansions, etc)