Real Estate Broker Exam — Law & Practice Essentials

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1. 1

   In property law, what makes an item real property rather than personal property?

   AnswerReal property covers the land itself plus things permanently attached to it, like buildings, growing trees, and fixed structures, along with rights that attach to the land.

   Permanence of attachment is the working test separating immovable realty from movable personalty.

2. 2

   A landowner cuts a mature tree on his lot and stacks the lumber in his yard. What is the legal character of the lumber?

   1. 1It stays real property because it came from the land.
   2. 2It became personal property the moment it was severed from the land.
   3. 3It belongs to the government once cut.
   4. 4It is real property during the dry season and personal property during rains.

   AnswerIt became personal property the moment it was severed from the land.

   Severance by cutting converts a natural immovable into movable personal property.

3. 3

   A buyer is reviewing items in a house sale. Which item is most likely personal property rather than a fixture?

   1. 1A kitchen island bolted to the floor.
   2. 2Wall-mounted cabinets custom-fitted to the kitchen.
   3. 3A refrigerator on wheels that the seller can unplug and roll away.
   4. 4Ceiling fans wired into the house electrical system.

   AnswerA refrigerator on wheels that the seller can unplug and roll away.

   Items merely resting by gravity or easily disconnected without damage remain personalty; annexed and adapted items are fixtures.

4. 4

   What factors determine whether an attached object is a fixture that stays with the property?

   AnswerThe manner of annexation, the object's adaptation to the property's use, the relationship of the parties, and mainly the intention that it remain permanently with the realty.

   The stronger and more purposeful the attachment, the stronger the presumption of a fixture.

5. 5

   Cement, steel bars, and lumber are delivered to a lot and constructed into a garage. What is their status after construction?

   1. 1Still personal property because they were bought as movables.
   2. 2Real property by incorporation, having become component parts of the structure.
   3. 3Personal property owned by the hardware store until full payment.
   4. 4Government property once mixed with the land.

   AnswerReal property by incorporation, having become component parts of the structure.

   Incorporation into a structure turns construction materials into immovables.