Chapter 28 Practice Exam

Matching Questions

Match the following terms with their definitions:

(5) C. Adverse possession.

(3) D. Fixture.

(1) E. License.

1. Temporary permission to enter upon another’s property, for example, to attend a concert.

3. Goods that have become attached to real property.

5. A chance to own land without ever paying for it.

True/False Questions

Circle true or false:

1. T F The owner of a fee simple absolute could lose the property if she uses it in a prohibited manner.

3. T F If you sell the oil rights in your property while keeping the surface rights, the oil company has purchased a profit.

5. T F The federal government has the power to take private property for public use, but local governments have no such power.

Multiple-Choice Questions

7. Marta places a large, prefabricated plastic greenhouse in her backyard, with the steel frame bolted into concrete that she poured specially for that purpose. She attaches gas heating ducts and builds a brick walkway around the greenhouse. Now the town wants to raise her real property taxes, claiming that her property has been improved. Marta argues that the greenhouse is not part of the real property. Is it?

(a) The greenhouse is not part of the real property because it was prefabricated.

(b) The greenhouse is not part of the real property because it could be removed.

(d) The greenhouse is a fixture and is part of the real property.

(e) The greenhouse is an easement, and is part of the real property.

9. Takeoff Construction is struggling financially, and to save money, has “cut corners” in two construction projects: a three-story office building, and a large house. In both buildings, the company used cheap structural supports, pipes, and insulation, which it knows will not last long. Both properties sell, and neither buyer asks about those specific materials. Six months later, both buyers sue, based on Takeoff’s shabby material and workmanship.

(a) The homeowner will win but the office buyer will lose.

(b) The office buyer will win but the homeowner will lose.

(d) Both the homeowner and office buyer will lose.

(e) In both cases, a jury will decide whether Takeoff “adequately responded to all questions the buyer posed.”

Short-Answer Questions

11. In 1944, W. E. Collins conveyed land to the Church of God of Prophecy. The deed said: “This deed is made with the full understanding that should the property fail to be used for the Church of God, it is to be null and void and property to revert to W. E. Collins or heirs.” In the late 1980s, the church wished to move to another property and sought a judicial ruling that it had the right to sell the land. The trial court ruled that the church owned a fee simple absolute and had the right to sell the property. Comment.

Answer: This would seem to be a fee simple defeasible which would cause the Church’s interest to terminate upon the occurrence of the limiting event.

13. ROLE REVERSAL: Write a short-answer question focusing on one of these issues: a fixture, an easement, or adverse possession.