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| Question | Answer |
| >Real Estate Defined | Real Estate consists of a number of component parts....those components being Land & Improvements |
| >Real Estate Components -- Land and Improvements Defined | When real estate is sold, all component part are deemed to be included in the sale unless stated otherwise in the purchase agreement or addenda. Accordingly, a seller can either withhold certain elements from a sale or sell them separately. |
| Land Component Defined | As a specific component part, land includes the immediate surface area, subsurface area, and the air above to a reasonable distance. |
| Real Estate Component 1. Land a. Surface rights | The surface rights to real estate include ownership and use of the actual surface area, the underlying soil, and the physical objects permanently attached by nature such as boulders, tree and landscaping. |
| Real Estate Component 1. Land >b. Mineral Rights | The owner of real estate is further entitled, at least theoretically, to the surface extending downward to the center of the earth including the rights to any minerals located therein. It is important for a buyer not to assume the mineral rights are automatically included. They may have been conveyed by a prior owner in the chain of title |
| Real Estate Component 1. Land >c. Air Rights | The air rights associated with land ownership are generally considered to be limited to a reasonable distance above the surface area rather than being unlimited. Air rights typically become an issue with (1) condominium developments, (2) high-rise buildings constructed over roads and railways in urban areas where a small portion of the land may be required for caissons, i.e., supports, and (3) for approach patterns next to airports. |
| Real Estate Component 1. Land >c. Air Rights - con'd | Air rights may also be the subject of easements such as an easement for air, light, and the right to a view. |
| Real Estate Component 1. Land >d. Water related property rights | Most state in the eastern U.S. follow similar riparian rights laws that limit the right to use water and watercourses to those lands that actually border the bod of water. Further, a waterfront owner's use must be reasonable and consistent with other owner's uses, without actually owning the water itself which is held in a public trust for all citizens. |
| Classification of lands associated with water | Land is associated with water-related rights are commonly classified as either riparion or littoral in nature. |
| Riparian Land | Riparian land is that which is bounded by or touches a natural watercourse such as a river or stream. The therm riparian is sometimes applied generally to all types of weather whether it is a lake, river or ocean. |
| Littoral Land | Littoral land is a specific term referring to property that borders an ocean, sea, or one of the Great Lakes. |
| Prior Appropriation | PA is a legal form of water control that does not require the water to actually contact a landowner's property in order for rights to arise. It is based on a principle that water rights are unconnected to land ownership. |
| Extent Of Rights | Riparian owners acquire the right to use the water without actually owning the water itself. As a general rule, water wich is navigable is deemed to be owned by the state in a public trust. The right to use or enjoy something in which the person has no actual ownership is legally known as usufruct. |
| Extent Of Rights a) Bottomland and high water mark | A riparian owner typically owns to the center of an inland lake. Under common law, a littoral owner of property that borders a large boy of water owns to what is known as the high water mark. The MI Supreme Court created a new term called the "ordinary high water mark." |
| Extent of Rights a)Bottomland and high water mark i) Historical use, control, and tresspass issues | Historically, the area from the high water mark down to the wet sand by the water's edge has been controlled by the state government with exclusive use granted to the littoral owner. The public only had a highly limited right of passage on the area between the wet sand into the water (since wet sand is part of the bottomland and the state government holds all bottomland in public trust). |
| Extent of rights: a) Bottomland and high water mark: ii) Shoreline boundary changes | Shore, also known as beach, is the land located next to a body of water. Littoral owners gain new shore when water levels drop, but generally do not lose it when water levels rise. |
| Extent of rights: a) Bottomland and high water mark: iii) Ordinary high water mark: | In 2005, the MI Supreme Court rejected the common law definition of high water mark in favor of a new one which expanded the public's right to use the upland beyond the water's edge. |
| Extent of rights: a) Bottomland and high water mark: iii) Ordinary high water mark con'd: | According to the Court, the ordinary high water mark is "the point on the bank or shore up to which the presence and action of the water is so continuous as to leave a distinct mark either by erosion, destruction of terres-trial vegetation, or other easily recognized characteristic. |
| Extent of rights: a) Bottomland and high water mark: iii) Ordinary high water mark con'd: | Th MI Supreme Court definition further goes on to state that if the ordinary high water mark is impossible or difficult to ascertain in one location, reference can be made to the ordinary high water mark at another point of the bank or shore of the same lake or stream. |
| Extent of rights: a) Bottomland and high water mark: iii) Ordinary high water mark con'd: | To summarize, the public is able to walk anywhere from the water, upland to the ordinary high-water mark without constituting a trespass. The public only has a right to walk across this area, but not to do anything else such as picnic, swim, camp, etc...see chapter 11 |
| 3. Changes to land resulting from the motion of water | The washing motion of water can alter the actual boundaries of an owner's land. |
| 3. Changes to land resulting from the motion of water con'd | a) Accretion of land: Accretion is the process of gradual and imperceptible accumulation or buildup of land by natural causes. It can occur from the continual washing motion of water as may result with a river or large lake. It adds to the land that is already owned. |
| 3. Changes to land resulting from the motion of water con'd | There are two kinds of accretion: 1) alluvion 2) dereliction |
| 3.Changes to land resulting from the motion of water con'd | i) Alluvion: Technically speaking, alluvion is the name for the actual sand or soil that is deposied by the process of accretion. The terms accretion and alluvion are sometimes used or defined synonymously. |
| 3. Changes to land resulting from the motion of water con'd | Erosion: Erosion refers to the eroding or wearing away, usually of soil, often by the gradual running or washing away action of water. |
| 3. Changes to land resulting from the motion of water con'd | Various laws have been enacted to prevent soil erosion and resulting pollution of lakes and streams from sediment such as Part 91 of MI's Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (formerly know as the Soil Erosion and Sedimentation Control Act). This law is discussed in Chapter 21. |
| 2. IMPROVEMENTS | An improvement is any item or group of times that is permanently attached to land or the buildings located thereon. The term improvements may also be used to refer to permanent land development structures such as streets, sidewalks, and sewers. |
| >Improvements a. Fixtures | A fixture is one type of improvement. It is technically defined as an article of personal property that is attached to land or to a building so that it can legally be regarded as part of the real property. |
| >Improvements a. Fixtures | When real property is sold, the buyer not only assumes ownership of the land and buildings, but also all of the improvements unless they have been specifically excluded in the purchase agreement. Raw land itself is never considered to be a fixture. |
| 2. Improvements a. Fixturers 1) Legal tests of a fixture: | Three common tests for determining whether an item is personal property or real property include the "intent of the party," the "method of annexation," and its "adaptation to the real estate." Any combination of these tests may be applied to determine whether an item is a fixture or personal property. Disputes often arise over items such as drapes, blinds, custom light fixtures, and wall-mounted flat screen TV sets. |
| 2. Improvements a. Fixtures 1)Legal tests of a fixture a) Intent of party annexing the object: | This test examines whether the intent of the person placing the item was to have it be removable or forever attached to the structure. For example, an outdoor wood deck or patio structure is intended to be a permanent structure and part of the real estate. By contrast, a standard refrigerator or washer and dryer are intended to be removable and are not fixtures. |
| 2. Improvements a. Fixtures 1)Legal tests of a fixture a) Intent of party annexing the object: b) Method of annexation |
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