Real Property

Syllabus and Course Guide

 

WEEKLY ASSIGNMENTS:

Each week (on Monday or Tuesday), an assignment will be posted to the course message board. Students are responsible to complete at least three of the posted assignments for the course. They will be graded, and they will count for 30% of the student’s grade for the course. If you complete more than three assignments, the best two of your assignment submissions will be graded. Assignments completed beyond the third one will also count as extra credit. Assignments can be submitted via e-mail or posted to the message board. Assignments must be submitted within seven days of the last day of the course for the student to receive credit for the assignment.

Each submitted assignment will be graded on the following scale:

3 – Excellent

2 – Good

1 – Accepted

0 – Not Acceptable (must re-submit)

In addition, feedback will be posted by the instructor for each assignment that has been submitted.  

GRADING:

Each student who completes the requisite assignments and exams will be given a letter grade upon completion of the course. The course will be graded on the following basis:

            Midterm Exam: 35%

            Final Exam: 35%

            Assignments: 30%

For more information on Grading, Exams and Assignments, please see the PTI Grading Policy.

Lecture and reading assignments schedule:

CLASS ONE                       

 

We will begin the course with a discussion of personal property. We will discuss the rule of capture and the responsibilities that pertain to finders of lost property. Next, we will discuss the rules regarding the acquisition of property by accession. We will then turn our attention to personal property transfers. We will discuss the various elements that are required to make a gift valid. We will also talk about the various kinds if gifts, including inter-vivos gifts and gifts causa mortis. We will then turn to bailments, which deal with transfer of possession of personal property, as opposed to gifts, which are transfers of possession of personal property, rather than the transfer of title.

 

Reading:

 

Chapter 1: Personal Property

     

                  A. Acquisition of Personal Property- The Rule of Capture

     

                  B. Acquisition by Accession

 

                        C. Inter-Vivos Gifts

     

                  D. Gifts Causa Mortis

     

                  E. Bailments

 

 

CLASS TWO                       

 

This class will begin our discussion of real property law and will focus on the estate system. We will start with the freehold estates, which include the fee simple estates and the life estate. Next, we will go over the non-freehold estates and some of the unique rules that apply to each one. We will also discuss briefly the requirements to terminate the various non-freehold estates. Then, we will discuss future interests and some of the rules that have developed over time with respect to the vesting of future interests.

 

 

Reading:

 

Chapter 2: The Estate System and Future Interests

 

                  A. Introduction to the Estate System

     

                  B. The Fee Simple and the Fee Tail

     

                  C. The Life Estate

 

                  D. The Non-Freehold Estates

     

                  E. Future Interests

     

                  F. Rule Against Perpetuities

 

 

CLASS THREE                    

 

This session will be devoted to discussing the types of concurrent ownerships of property. We will discuss the rules of the tenancy-in-common, the joint tenancy and the tenancy by the entirety. We will also discuss the community property rules, although they are only valid in a few states. Finally, we will discuss the duties that co-tenants owe to each other.

 

Reading:

 

      Chapter Three:  Concurrent Ownership of Real Property

 

                  A. Introduction to Concurrent Ownership

     

                  B. Tenancy-in-Common

     

                  C. Joint Tenancy

     

                  D. Tenancy by the Entirety

 

                  E. Community Property

 

                  F. Rights and Duties of Co-Tenants

 

CLASS FOUR                      

This class will be devoted to exploring the rules that govern the relationship between landlords and their tenants. We will start by discussing some of the aspects of the various leasehold estates. We will then discuss the duties owed by the landlord and tenant to each other.

 

Reading:

 

      Chapter Four:  Landlord-Tenant Law

 

                        A. The Leaseholds

           

                        B. Duties of the Landlord

 

                        C. Duties of the Tenant

 

CLASS FIVE             

We will begin this class by looking at the potential liability of a landlord for injuries sustained by tenants or their guests. Next, we will turn to the issue of assignments and subleases: the situations in which they are allowed and disallowed and some of the rules that pertain to each. This rest of the class will be devoted to discussing acquisition by adverse possession. That is, when a property can be acquired without the consent of the erstwhile owner. We will discuss the elements that are necessary to acquire title to property via adverse possession and we will analyze the theory behind the doctrine of adverse possession.

 

Reading:

 

      Chapter Four:  Landlord-Tenant Law

 

                        D. Landlord’s Tort Liability

 

                        E. Assignments and Sub-Leases

     

      Chapter Five:  Acquisition of Real Property

 

                        A. Acquisition by Adverse Possession

 

Midterm Examination

 

CLASS SIX                           

 In this class, we will discuss the procedure for the acquisition of real property. First we will discuss the contract for the sale or transfer of real estate. We will examine the various issues that are important to keep in mind when drafting and executing contracts for the sale of property. We will also examine a sample real estate contract. Then, we will turn our attention to the closing, where the deed is transferred to the buyer. We will look at a sample real property deed as well.

 

Reading:

 

Chapter Five:  Acquisition of Real Property

 

                        B. Contracts for the Sale of Real Property

                       

                        C. The Closing and Real Property Deeds

 

CLASS SEVEN                    

This class will focus on easements and other partial interests involving land. We will discuss how easements work and the differences between easements and other interests in land, such as licenses, real covenants and equitable servitudes. We will also spend some time discussing the creation and termination of easements and other interests in land that fall short of ownership.

 

Reading:

 

Chapter Six: Easements                     

 

                        A. Introduction to Easements

                       

                        B. License Distinguished

 

                        C. The Creation of Easements

 

                        D. The Scope of Easements

 

                        E. Termination of Easements

 

                        F. Real Covenants and Equitable Servitudes

 

 

CLASS EIGHT                           

 

In this class, we will start by discussing the recording system that is prevalent in the United States. We will discuss the way in which the recording system operates; including the method in which people can do title checks on real property. Next, we will discuss the importance of recording and the consequences of failure to record deeds. We will also look into the problem of multiple grants of the same parcel of real property. The rest of the class will be devoted to discussing mortgages. We will start with the nature and purpose of mortgages and mortgage loans. We will then move into the various rights and duties held by the various parties to a mortgage relationship. We will also discuss the situations in which mortgages can be extinguished by transfers and when mortgage liens survive transfers of the land. Finally, we will discuss the process of mortgage foreclosures, including the priorities of mortgage loans when two or more mortgages are taken out on the same property. 

 

Reading:

 

Chapter Seven: The Recording System and Mortgages  

 

                        A. The Recording System

                       

                        B. The Recording Acts

 

                        C. Mortgages and Foreclosures

 

CLASS NINE           

In our final class on Real Property, we will tie up various loose ends that relate to the rights and duties of real property owners. A significant topic in this area is the concept that governments have the power of eminent domain to condemn real property that is mitigated by the Constitutional guarantee of just compensation. We will also discuss zoning laws, although our discussion will be confined to general principals because actual zoning laws are made on the local level. Then, we will discuss the rights of real property owners with regard to resources and minerals that are beneath or adjacent to their property. Finally, we will discuss the rights of real property owners to water resources that collect on or adjoin their property.         

 

Reading:

 

Chapter Eight: Rights and Duties Inherent in the Ownership of Real Property      

 

                        A. Eminent Domain and Just Compensation

 

                        B.  Zoning Laws

 

                        C. Subterranean Caves and Lateral Support

 

                        D. Oil and Gas and other Natural Resources

 

                        E. Water Rights and Real Property Owners

 

Final Examination