Principal

Front 1

Encumbrance—

Back 1

An interest in real property held by someone other than the property owner.

Front 2

Voluntary lien—

Back 2

A security interest given to a creditor voluntarily.

Front 3

Involuntary lien—

Back 3

A security interest given to a creditor by operation of law.

Front 4

General lien—

Back 4

A lien that attaches to all of a debtor’s property.

Front 5

Specific lien—

Back 5

A lien that attaches only to one particular piece of property.

Front 6

Mechanic’s lien—

Back 6

A lien on property in favor of someone who provided labor or materials to improve it. Also called a construction lien or materialman’s lien.

Front 7

Judgment lien—

Back 7

A lien held by someone who has won a judgment in a lawsuit, attaching to property owned by the person who lost the lawsuit.

Front 8

Easement—

Back 8

The right to use another’s land for a particular purpose.

Front 9

Easement appurtenant—

Back 9

An easement that burdens one parcel of land (the servient tenement) for the benefit of another parcel (the dominant tenement).

Front 10

Easement in gross—

Back 10

An easement that benefits a person rather than a parcel of land.

Front 11

Easement by implication—

Back 11

An easement created automatically because it is necessary for the enjoyment of the benefited land.

Front 12

Prescriptive easement—

Back 12

An easement created by continuous use for the statutory period, without the landowner’s permission.

Front 13

Merger—

Back 13

When both the dominant and servient tenements are acquired by one owner, resulting in termination of the easement.

Front 14

Abandonment—

Back 14

A way in which an easement may terminate. It requires action by the easement holder, not merely nonuse.

Front 15

Profit—

Back 15

The right to take something (such as timber) from another’s land.

Front 16

License—

Back 16

Revocable permission to enter another’s land, which does not create an interest in the property.

Front 17

Encroachment—

Back 17

A physical object that intrudes onto another’s property, such as a tree branch or a fence.

Front 18

Nuisance—

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Back 18

An activity or condition on nearby property that interferes with a property owner’s reasonable use and enjoyment of his property.

Front 19

CC&Rs—

Back 19

Covenants, conditions, and restrictions; private restrictions imposed by a subdivision developer.

Front 20

Condition—

Back 20

A restriction on the use of land, the violation of which may result in forfeiture of title.

Front 21

Covenant—

Back 21

A promise by a landowner to refrain from using her land in a particular manner.

Front 22

1.

An encumbrance is a nonpossessory right or interest in real property held by someone other than the property owner. Encumbrances may be financial or nonfinancial.

Back 22

2.

A financial encumbrance (a lien) affects title to property. It gives a creditor the right to foreclose and use the sale proceeds to pay off the debt. A lien is either voluntary or involuntary, and either general or specific. The most common types of liens include mortgages, deeds of trust, mechanic’s liens, tax liens, judgment liens, and attachment liens.

Front 23

3.

A nonfinancial encumbrance affects the use or condition of the property. Nonfinancial encumbrances include easements, profits, and private restrictions.

Back 23

4.

An easement gives the easement holder the right to use part of someone else’s property for a specified purpose. An easement runs with the land, affecting the title of subsequent owners of the property or properties in question.

Front 24

5.

An easement appurtenant burdens one parcel of land (the servient tenement) for the benefit of another parcel (the dominant tenement). An easement in gross burdens a parcel of land for the benefit of a person or company, not another parcel of land.

Back 24

6.

Licenses, encroachments, and nuisances also may affect the use or condition of property. They are not classified as encumbrances, however, because they are not interests in real property.

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Front 25

7.

Private restrictions affect how an owner may use her own property. Like easements, private restrictions run with the land. A declaration of CC& Rs recorded by a subdivision developer is binding on the future owners of the subdivision lots.

Back 25

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