Florida Real Estate Sales Associate — All Questions

An owner of property bordering a large navigable lake or the ocean holds:

• a.Littoral rights✓
• b.Appropriative rights granted by permit
• c.Riparian rights along a flowing stream
• d.Percolating groundwater rights only

Littoral rights attach to land bordering a sea, ocean, or large navigable lake, generally extending to the mean high-water mark. Riparian rights, by contrast, apply to flowing watercourses such as rivers.

In deciding whether an item is a fixture, courts weigh method of attachment, adaptation, and, most importantly, the:

• a.The color and decorative style of the item
• b.Original purchase price paid for the item
• c.Intention of the party who attached it✓
• d.Whether the item is currently insured

The tests for a fixture include the method of attachment, adaptation to the property, the relationship of the parties, and the intention of the person who installed it, with intention often given the most weight. Fixtures generally transfer with the real estate.

A commercial tenant's shelving and equipment installed to operate a business are:

• a.Personal property owned by the landlord
• b.Emblements belonging to the landlord
• c.Trade fixtures the tenant may usually remove✓
• d.Real property that must remain with the building

Trade fixtures are items a commercial tenant attaches to conduct business; the tenant generally may remove them before the lease ends, repairing any damage. This is an exception to the usual rule that fixtures stay with the real estate.

Annual crops produced by a tenant farmer's labor and cultivation are known as:

• a.Fixtures attached to the soil
• b.Trade improvements owned by the landlord
• c.Emblements✓
• d.Appurtenances that pass with title

Emblements are annual cultivated crops treated as the tenant farmer's personal property, which the tenant may harvest even after the tenancy ends. This doctrine protects the labor invested in growing the crops.

A right or benefit that transfers with the land, such as an easement that benefits the parcel, is a(n):

• a.Encumbrance held by a creditor
• b.Reversionary future interest
• c.Chattel that remains personal property
• d.Appurtenance✓

An appurtenance is a right, privilege, or improvement that belongs to and passes with the land, such as an easement appurtenant or water rights. When the land is sold, its appurtenances generally transfer with it.

In Florida, a claim of adverse possession generally requires continuous possession for at least:

• a.7 years✓
• b.3 years with any casual use
• c.10 years, but only against the state
• d.21 years, the traditional common-law period

Florida requires seven years of continuous, open, and hostile possession, typically with color of title or payment of taxes, to establish adverse possession. The requirements are strict and statute-based.

Property taxes levied in proportion to the assessed value of real estate are called:

• a.Ad valorem taxes✓
• b.Special assessments for improvements
• c.Intangible personal-property taxes
• d.Documentary stamp transfer taxes

Ad valorem means 'according to value,' so ad valorem taxes are based on the assessed value of the property. They fund local government services. A property's assessed value and any exemptions determine the tax owed.

A charge levied only on properties that benefit from a specific public improvement, such as a new sidewalk, is a:

• a.Documentary stamp tax on the deed
• b.Special assessment✓
• c.State intangible tax on the mortgage
• d.General ad valorem property tax

A special assessment is a charge imposed on properties that directly benefit from a public improvement like paving, sewers, or sidewalks. Unlike general ad valorem taxes, it applies only to the benefited parcels.

A property owner who wants to use land in a way that slightly departs from zoning requirements may apply for a:

• a.Private restrictive covenant
• b.Deed in lieu of foreclosure
• c.Legal nonconforming-use certificate
• d.Variance✓

A variance is permission to deviate from specific zoning requirements, often due to hardship, without changing the zoning classification. It is granted by the local zoning board of adjustment under set criteria.

A lawful land use that existed before a new zoning ordinance and is permitted to continue is a:

• a.Conditional easement of record
• b.Legal nonconforming use✓
• c.Special exception granted by variance
• d.Spot-zoning violation of the plan

A legal nonconforming use, often called grandfathered, is a use that was lawful before a zoning change and is allowed to continue despite no longer conforming. Restrictions may limit expanding or rebuilding it.

Local long-range land-use goals in a Florida community are set out in its:

• a.Comprehensive plan✓
• b.Recorded deed restrictions
• c.Multiple listing service rules
• d.Uniform building code

A comprehensive plan (or general plan) states a community's long-range goals for growth, land use, and infrastructure. Zoning ordinances are enacted to implement the plan. Florida requires local governments to adopt such plans.

Illegally rezoning a single parcel to benefit one owner, contrary to the surrounding area, is called:

• a.Lawful downzoning of a district
• b.A properly granted variance
• c.Inclusionary zoning for housing
• d.Spot zoning✓

Spot zoning is the improper rezoning of a single parcel in a way inconsistent with the surrounding area and the comprehensive plan, usually to benefit one owner. Courts may strike it down as invalid.

The deed that offers a buyer the greatest protection through full covenants of title is a:

• a.Bargain-and-sale deed
• b.Special warranty deed with limited covenants
• c.General warranty deed✓
• d.Quitclaim deed with no warranties

A general warranty deed provides the broadest protection, with the grantor warranting title against all defects, even those arising before the grantor owned the property. A quitclaim deed, by contrast, offers no warranties.

A deed that transfers only whatever interest the grantor may have, with no warranties of title, is a:

• a.Quitclaim deed✓
• b.Trustee's deed containing warranties
• c.General warranty deed with full covenants
• d.Special warranty deed with limited covenants

A quitclaim deed conveys whatever interest, if any, the grantor holds, without any warranties. It is often used to clear clouds on title or transfer between family members, but it offers the grantee the least protection.

For fair housing purposes, 'familial status' protects:

• a.Only legally married couples
• b.Households with one or more children under 18✓
• c.Persons who are over the age of 62
• d.Extended families of any composition

Familial status protects families with children under 18, pregnant individuals, and those securing custody of a child. It prohibits discrimination against households with minor children, subject to the older-persons housing exemption.

A landlord's duty to permit a disabled tenant to install a wheelchair ramp at the tenant's own expense is a reasonable:

• a.Modification✓
• b.Variance obtained from the zoning board
• c.Accommodation that the landlord must pay for
• d.Exemption from the fair housing laws

A reasonable modification is a physical change to the premises, generally at the tenant's expense, needed for a disabled person's full use. A reasonable accommodation, by contrast, is a change in rules or policies, which the landlord provides.

The federal Fair Housing Act's limited exemption for an owner-occupied building applies to buildings with:

• a.Any single-family home in all cases
• b.Four or fewer units✓
• c.Only government-subsidized housing
• d.Up to ten units in any location

The 'Mrs. Murphy' exemption may apply to owner-occupied buildings of four or fewer units, in limited circumstances. However, the exemption never permits discriminatory advertising or racial discrimination barred by the 1866 Civil Rights Act.

Which of the following is NOT one of the four government powers over private property?

• a.Police power to regulate land use
• b.Novation✓
• c.Eminent domain to take for public use
• d.Taxation to fund public services

The four government powers over real estate are police power, eminent domain, taxation, and escheat (PETE). Novation is a contract-law concept involving substitution of parties, not a government power.

The right within the bundle of rights that allows an owner to sell, lease, or will the property is the right of:

• a.Physical possession
• b.Exclusion of others
• c.Quiet enjoyment
• d.Disposition✓

Disposition is the right to transfer the property by sale, gift, lease, or will. It is one of several rights in the bundle, along with possession, control, enjoyment, and exclusion. All are subject to governmental powers.

When a growing tree is cut down and removed from land, it changes from real property to personal property through:

• a.Accession to the land
• b.Annexation to a building
• c.Severance✓
• d.Accretion by water

Severance is the act of detaching something from the land, converting real property (such as a standing tree) into personal property (such as cut timber). Annexation is the opposite process.

When personal property is permanently attached so that it becomes part of the real estate, the process is called:

• a.Annexation✓
• b.Reliction of water
• c.Severance from the land
• d.Emblement of crops

Annexation occurs when personal property is affixed to real estate and becomes a fixture, part of the real property. Severance is the reverse process. Whether an item became a fixture depends on the fixture tests.

For a deed to be valid, it must be signed by the:

• a.Listing broker of record
• b.Grantor✓
• c.County property appraiser
• d.Grantee receiving the property

A valid deed must be executed (signed) by the grantor, the party conveying the property. The grantee need not sign. Other requirements include a competent grantor, legal description, granting clause, and delivery and acceptance.

Title to real estate actually passes to the buyer when the deed is:

• a.Notarized by a licensed notary
• b.Recorded in the public records
• c.Delivered and accepted✓
• d.Signed by the grantor alone

Title passes upon delivery of the deed by the grantor and acceptance by the grantee during the grantor's lifetime. Recording is not required to pass title, though it protects the grantee by giving constructive notice.

The primary purpose of recording a deed in the public records is to:

• a.Make the deed valid between the parties
• b.Give constructive notice of the owner's interest✓
• c.Satisfy and release the mortgage lien
• d.Actually transfer title from grantor to grantee

Recording provides constructive notice to the world of the grantee's interest, protecting priority against later claims. A deed is valid between the parties without recording, but recording guards against subsequent purchasers and lienholders.

Title insurance protects the insured against:

• a.Default by the borrower on the mortgage loan
• b.Physical damage to the structure from fire or storms
• c.Future declines in the property's market value
• d.Losses from title defects that existed before the policy date✓

Title insurance protects against losses from covered defects in the title that existed on or before the policy's effective date, such as undisclosed liens or forged deeds. It does not cover physical damage or future value changes.

A title that a reasonable buyer would accept without objection, free of serious defects, is a:

• a.Marketable title✓
• b.Color of title without real ownership
• c.Equitable title held by the buyer
• d.Clouded title with unresolved claims

Marketable title is title free from significant defects, liens, or reasonable doubt that a well-informed buyer would accept. Purchase contracts typically require the seller to convey marketable title at closing.

A claim or encumbrance that may impair an owner's title, such as an old unreleased lien, is a:

• a.Constructive eviction of a tenant
• b.Cloud on the title✓
• c.Marketable and insurable title
• d.Valid legal description

A cloud on title is an outstanding claim or encumbrance, such as an unreleased mortgage or a recording error, that could challenge the owner's title. Clouds are often removed through a quitclaim deed or a quiet-title action.

When selling Florida homestead property owned by a married person, the deed generally must be signed by:

• a.Either spouse acting individually
• b.Both spouses, even if only one holds title✓
• c.Only the spouse whose name appears on the deed
• d.The listing broker as attorney-in-fact

Because of Florida's homestead protections, both spouses generally must sign a deed conveying homestead property, even if title is in only one spouse's name. This spousal joinder requirement safeguards the family's homestead rights.

A co-owner who wants to end the co-ownership and force a division of the property may file a court action for:

• a.Escheat back to the state
• b.Novation of the ownership agreement
• c.Partition✓
• d.Subordination of the other owners' shares

Partition is a legal action that allows a co-owner, such as a tenant in common or joint tenant, to divide the property or force its sale and split the proceeds. It provides a remedy when co-owners cannot agree.