Bar Exam — Real Property (MBE subject) flashcards
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Black-letter real property for the MBE: estates and future interests, the Rule Against Perpetuities, concurrent ownership, landlord–tenant, servitudes, easements and profits, land contracts, mortgages, deeds, transfer at death and recording acts.
Learn deck · part of Bar exam (MBE subjects) · written against: NCBE MBE subject matter outline, edition dated 11/16/20; Supreme Court decisions through the October 2024 Term. Updated 2026-10-10.
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O conveys Blackacre 'to the school district so long as the land is used for a school.' Years later the district stops using it as a school. What happens to title?The fee simple determinable ends automatically, and title returns to O (or O's successors) under O's possibility of reverter. Durational words such as 'so long as,' 'while,' 'during' or 'until' signal this estate.Estates › Present Estates
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O conveys 'to A, but if alcohol is ever sold on the premises, O may re-enter and retake the land.' A sells alcohol. Does A's estate end at once?No — A holds a fee simple subject to condition subsequent, which continues until O exercises the right of entry (power of termination) by taking action to reclaim the land. Conditional words like 'but if,' 'provided that' or 'on condition that' signal it.Estates › Present Estates
Watch out: when the language is ambiguous, courts prefer this estate over a fee simple determinable to avoid automatic forfeiture. -
What four unities does a common law joint tenancy require, and what language do most states require to create one?Time, title, interest and possession — the tenants take at the same time, by the same instrument, with equal undivided shares and an equal right to possess the whole. Most states presume a tenancy in common, so the deed must clearly show an intent to create a joint tenancy (for example, 'as joint tenants' or 'with right of survivorship'); a conveyance to two people without such language creates a tenancy in common.Concurrent Ownership
Mnemonic: T-TIP. -
A, B and C own land as joint tenants. A sells her interest to D. What interests result?A's conveyance severs the joint tenancy only as to her share: D holds a one-third interest as a tenant in common with B and C, while B and C remain joint tenants with each other as to the other two-thirds.Concurrent Ownership
Watch out: a joint tenant's will cannot sever, because survivorship takes effect at the moment of death. -
How much notice is required to end a periodic tenancy at common law?Notice equal to one full period, timed to end at the close of a period — a full month for a month-to-month tenancy; for a year-to-year tenancy, six months' notice at common law. A tenancy for years, by contrast, ends automatically at the end of its term with no notice.Landlord and Tenant
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A tenant's one-year lease has expired, but he stays on without the landlord's consent. What can the landlord do?Either evict the holdover (and recover damages for the holdover period) or elect to bind him to a new periodic tenancy on the old lease's terms. Courts differ on the period — many use the rent-payment interval, and some use the original term capped at one year.Landlord and Tenant
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What must be shown for the burden of a real covenant to run to the promisor's successor, so the successor is liable for damages?A writing, intent that the covenant run, that it touch and concern the land, horizontal privity between the original parties, vertical privity between the promisor and the successor, and notice to the successor.Rights in Land › Covenants and Servitudes
Watch out: horizontal privity exists when the covenant was made in a grantor–grantee or landlord–tenant transaction. -
Seller and buyer shake hands on a sale of land at an agreed price. Is the oral contract enforceable?Not ordinarily — a land sale contract must be evidenced by a writing signed by the party to be charged that identifies the parties, the land and (in many states) the price.Contracts › Land Sale Contracts
Watch out: part performance, usually some combination of possession, payment and improvements, can support specific performance. -
In most states, who holds title to mortgaged land before foreclosure, and what does the lender hold?The borrower keeps title and possession; under the majority lien theory, the lender holds only a security lien until foreclosure. In title-theory states, the lender holds legal title and may claim possession earlier.Mortgages
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What must an adverse possessor prove to acquire title?Actual possession that is open and notorious, exclusive, hostile (without the owner's permission), and continuous for the statutory period. Under the majority objective view, the possessor's state of mind about ownership is irrelevant.Titles › Adverse Possession
Mnemonic: OCEAN — open, continuous, exclusive, adverse, notorious.
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About these cards
Review status: Second-reader reviewed, with corrections applied.
Checked against:
- Checked against the NCBE MBE Subject Matter Outline (edition dated 11/16/20; topic order only; no text copied) and standard property casebooks and hornbooks used for reference only; rules paraphrased in original wording.
- Federal statute cited on a card (Garn–St Germain Depository Institutions Act, 12 U.S.C. 1701j-3) — U.S. government work, public domain.
- Anti-lapse rules checked against the Uniform Probate Code (reference only; no text copied).
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