PA REAL ESTATE ANSWERS AND QUESTIONS SET A+
✔✔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 of a property.
✔✔reversionary interest - ✔✔The remnant of an estate that the grantor holds after
granting a life estate to another person.
✔✔remainder interest - ✔✔The remnant of an estate that is conveyed to take effect and
be enjoyed after the termination of a prior estate, such as when an owner conveys a life
estate to one party and the remainder to another.
✔✔life estate - ✔✔An interest in real or personal property that is limited in duration to
the lifetime of its owner or some other designated person or persons.
✔✔defeasible fee estate (or fee simple defeasible) - ✔✔An estate in which the holder
has a fee simple title that may be divested upon the occurrence or nonoccurrence of a
specified event. There are two categories of defeasible fee estates: fee simple on
condition precedent (fee simple determinable) and fee simple on condition subsequent.
✔✔leasehold estate - ✔✔A tenant's right to occupy real estate during the term of a
lease, generally considered to be a personal property interest.
✔✔freehold estate - ✔✔An estate in land in which ownership is for an indeterminate
length of time, in contrast to a leasehold estate.
✔✔estate in land - ✔✔The degree, quantity, nature, and extent of interest that a person
has in real property.
✔✔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.
, ✔✔taxation - ✔✔The process by which a government or municipal quasi-public body
raises monies to fund its operation
✔✔condemnation - ✔✔A judicial or administrative proceeding to exercise the power of
eminent domain, through which a government agency takes private property for public
use and compensates the owner.
✔✔eminent domain - ✔✔The right of a government or municipal quasi-public body to
acquire property for public use through the legal process called condemnation.
✔✔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.
✔✔alloidal system - ✔✔A system of land ownership in which land is held free and clear
of any rent or service due to the government; commonly contrasted to the feudal
system. Land is held under the allodial system in the United States.
✔✔benchmark - ✔✔A permanent reference mark or point established for use by
surveyors in measuring differences in elevation.
✔✔datum - ✔✔A horizontal plane from which heights and depths are measured.
✔✔air lot - ✔✔A designated airspace over a piece of land. An air lot, like surface
property, may be transferred.
✔✔section - ✔✔A portion of township under the rectangular (government) survey
system. A township is divided into 36 sections, numbered one through 36. A section is a
square with mile-long sides and an area of one square mile, or 640 acres.
✔✔township - ✔✔The principal unit of the rectangular (government) survey system. A
township is a square with six-mile sides and an area of 36 square miles
✔✔baseline - ✔✔The main imaginary line running east and west and crossing a
principal meridian at a definite point, used by surveyors for reference in locating and
describing land under the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.
✔✔principal meridian - ✔✔The main imaginary line running north and south and
crossing a base line at a definite point, used by surveyors for reference in locating and
describing land under the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.
✔✔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.
✔✔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 of a property.
✔✔reversionary interest - ✔✔The remnant of an estate that the grantor holds after
granting a life estate to another person.
✔✔remainder interest - ✔✔The remnant of an estate that is conveyed to take effect and
be enjoyed after the termination of a prior estate, such as when an owner conveys a life
estate to one party and the remainder to another.
✔✔life estate - ✔✔An interest in real or personal property that is limited in duration to
the lifetime of its owner or some other designated person or persons.
✔✔defeasible fee estate (or fee simple defeasible) - ✔✔An estate in which the holder
has a fee simple title that may be divested upon the occurrence or nonoccurrence of a
specified event. There are two categories of defeasible fee estates: fee simple on
condition precedent (fee simple determinable) and fee simple on condition subsequent.
✔✔leasehold estate - ✔✔A tenant's right to occupy real estate during the term of a
lease, generally considered to be a personal property interest.
✔✔freehold estate - ✔✔An estate in land in which ownership is for an indeterminate
length of time, in contrast to a leasehold estate.
✔✔estate in land - ✔✔The degree, quantity, nature, and extent of interest that a person
has in real property.
✔✔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.
, ✔✔taxation - ✔✔The process by which a government or municipal quasi-public body
raises monies to fund its operation
✔✔condemnation - ✔✔A judicial or administrative proceeding to exercise the power of
eminent domain, through which a government agency takes private property for public
use and compensates the owner.
✔✔eminent domain - ✔✔The right of a government or municipal quasi-public body to
acquire property for public use through the legal process called condemnation.
✔✔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.
✔✔alloidal system - ✔✔A system of land ownership in which land is held free and clear
of any rent or service due to the government; commonly contrasted to the feudal
system. Land is held under the allodial system in the United States.
✔✔benchmark - ✔✔A permanent reference mark or point established for use by
surveyors in measuring differences in elevation.
✔✔datum - ✔✔A horizontal plane from which heights and depths are measured.
✔✔air lot - ✔✔A designated airspace over a piece of land. An air lot, like surface
property, may be transferred.
✔✔section - ✔✔A portion of township under the rectangular (government) survey
system. A township is divided into 36 sections, numbered one through 36. A section is a
square with mile-long sides and an area of one square mile, or 640 acres.
✔✔township - ✔✔The principal unit of the rectangular (government) survey system. A
township is a square with six-mile sides and an area of 36 square miles
✔✔baseline - ✔✔The main imaginary line running east and west and crossing a
principal meridian at a definite point, used by surveyors for reference in locating and
describing land under the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.
✔✔principal meridian - ✔✔The main imaginary line running north and south and
crossing a base line at a definite point, used by surveyors for reference in locating and
describing land under the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.
✔✔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.
