Pearson Vue Real Estate Exam Study Guide
Based on Outline
Fixture
An item of personal property that has been converted to real property by being
permanently affixed to the realty.
Trade Fixture
An article installed by a tenant under the terms of a lease that is removable by the
tenant before the lease expires.
Emblement
Growing crops, such as corn, that are produced annually through labor and industry;
also called 'fructus industriales'
Attachment
The act of taking a person's property into legal custody by writ or other judicial order to
hold it available for application to that person's debt to a creditor.
Severance
Changing an item of real estate to personal property by detaching it from the land (e.g
cutting down a tree)
Bill of Sale
A document used to transfer ownership of personal property.
Economic Characteristics
The four economic characteristics of real property that affect its value as a product in
the marketplace are scarcity, improvements, permanence of the investment, and area
preference.
Physical Characteristics
Immobility, Indestructibility, Uniqueness
Metes and Bounds
A method used to describe a parcel of land that begins at a well-marked point and
follows the property's boundaries, using directions and distances around the tract, back
to the place of beginning (POB)
Rectangular Government Survey System
A system established in 1785 by the federal government, providing for surveying and
describing land by reference to principal meridians and base lines.
Recorded Plat (Lot & Block)
A map of a subdivision filed as a public record showing the location and boundaries of
the individual parcels.
Survey
The process by which boundaries are measured and land areas are determined; the on-
site measurement of lot lines, dimensions, and position of a house on a lot, including the
determination of any existing encroachments or easements.
Encumbrance
Anything—such as a mortgage, tax, or judgment lien; an easement; a restriction on the
use of the land; or an outstanding dower right—that may diminish the value or use and
enjoyment of a property.
, Police Power
The government's right to impose laws, statutes, and ordinances, including zoning
ordinances and building codes, to protect the public health, safety, and welfare.
Eminent Domain
The right of a government or municipal quasi-public body to acquire property for public
use through a court action called condemnation, in which the court decides that the use
is a public use and determines the compensation to be paid to the owner.
Taxation
The process by which a government body raises monies to fund its operations.
Escheat
The reversion of property to the state or county, as provided by state law, in cases
where a decedent dies intestate without heirs capable of inheriting, or when the property
is abandoned.
Zoning Ordinances
exercise of police power by a municipality to regulate and control the character and use
of property
Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs)
Private agreements that affect land use. They may be enforced by an owner of real
estate that benefits from them and can be included in the seller's deed to the buyer.
HOAs
Usually enforces CC&Rs, is set up by the developer and turned over to the
homeowners when a specified number of properties has been sold
Easement
A right to use the land of another for a specific purpose, such as for a right-of-way or
utilities; an incorporeal interest in land because it does not include a right of possession.
Easement Appurtenant
An easement that is annexed to the ownership of one parcel and allows the owner the
use of the neighbor's land.
Easement by Implication
An easement that occurs when a party's actions reflect the intention to create an
easement.
Easement by Necessity
An easement allowed by law as necessary for the full enjoyment of a parcel of real
estate; for example, a right of ingress and egress over a grantor's land.
Easement by Prescription
An easement acquired by continuous, open, and hostile use of the property for the
period of time prescribed by state law.
Easement in Gross
An easement that is not created for the benefit of any land owned by the owner of the
easement but that attaches personally to the easement owner. For example, a right
granted by a property owner to a friend to use a portion of the property for the rest of the
friend's life would be an easement in gross.
License
The revocable permission for a temporary use of land-a personal right that cannot be
sold.
Encroachment
Based on Outline
Fixture
An item of personal property that has been converted to real property by being
permanently affixed to the realty.
Trade Fixture
An article installed by a tenant under the terms of a lease that is removable by the
tenant before the lease expires.
Emblement
Growing crops, such as corn, that are produced annually through labor and industry;
also called 'fructus industriales'
Attachment
The act of taking a person's property into legal custody by writ or other judicial order to
hold it available for application to that person's debt to a creditor.
Severance
Changing an item of real estate to personal property by detaching it from the land (e.g
cutting down a tree)
Bill of Sale
A document used to transfer ownership of personal property.
Economic Characteristics
The four economic characteristics of real property that affect its value as a product in
the marketplace are scarcity, improvements, permanence of the investment, and area
preference.
Physical Characteristics
Immobility, Indestructibility, Uniqueness
Metes and Bounds
A method used to describe a parcel of land that begins at a well-marked point and
follows the property's boundaries, using directions and distances around the tract, back
to the place of beginning (POB)
Rectangular Government Survey System
A system established in 1785 by the federal government, providing for surveying and
describing land by reference to principal meridians and base lines.
Recorded Plat (Lot & Block)
A map of a subdivision filed as a public record showing the location and boundaries of
the individual parcels.
Survey
The process by which boundaries are measured and land areas are determined; the on-
site measurement of lot lines, dimensions, and position of a house on a lot, including the
determination of any existing encroachments or easements.
Encumbrance
Anything—such as a mortgage, tax, or judgment lien; an easement; a restriction on the
use of the land; or an outstanding dower right—that may diminish the value or use and
enjoyment of a property.
, Police Power
The government's right to impose laws, statutes, and ordinances, including zoning
ordinances and building codes, to protect the public health, safety, and welfare.
Eminent Domain
The right of a government or municipal quasi-public body to acquire property for public
use through a court action called condemnation, in which the court decides that the use
is a public use and determines the compensation to be paid to the owner.
Taxation
The process by which a government body raises monies to fund its operations.
Escheat
The reversion of property to the state or county, as provided by state law, in cases
where a decedent dies intestate without heirs capable of inheriting, or when the property
is abandoned.
Zoning Ordinances
exercise of police power by a municipality to regulate and control the character and use
of property
Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions (CC&Rs)
Private agreements that affect land use. They may be enforced by an owner of real
estate that benefits from them and can be included in the seller's deed to the buyer.
HOAs
Usually enforces CC&Rs, is set up by the developer and turned over to the
homeowners when a specified number of properties has been sold
Easement
A right to use the land of another for a specific purpose, such as for a right-of-way or
utilities; an incorporeal interest in land because it does not include a right of possession.
Easement Appurtenant
An easement that is annexed to the ownership of one parcel and allows the owner the
use of the neighbor's land.
Easement by Implication
An easement that occurs when a party's actions reflect the intention to create an
easement.
Easement by Necessity
An easement allowed by law as necessary for the full enjoyment of a parcel of real
estate; for example, a right of ingress and egress over a grantor's land.
Easement by Prescription
An easement acquired by continuous, open, and hostile use of the property for the
period of time prescribed by state law.
Easement in Gross
An easement that is not created for the benefit of any land owned by the owner of the
easement but that attaches personally to the easement owner. For example, a right
granted by a property owner to a friend to use a portion of the property for the rest of the
friend's life would be an easement in gross.
License
The revocable permission for a temporary use of land-a personal right that cannot be
sold.
Encroachment
