50 Principles & Ownership Practice Questions & Answers
Every Principles & Ownership practice question from the Real Estate License Practice Test, with the correct answer and a short explanation.
Start practice test →1. Which estate provides the most complete form of ownership, with the greatest bundle of rights and no time limit?
- A.Leasehold estate
- B.Estate at will
- C.Life estate
- D.Fee simple absolute✓ Answer
Fee simple absolute is the highest and most complete estate in land, lasting indefinitely with the full bundle of rights.
2. A grants property to B 'for the life of B.' What type of estate does B hold?
- A.A conventional life estate✓ Answer
- B.A fee simple determinable
- C.A tenancy at sufferance
- D.An estate for years
A life estate measured by the life of the holder is a conventional (ordinary) life estate that ends at that person's death.
3. Which characteristic distinguishes joint tenancy from tenancy in common?
- A.Ownership by two or more people
- B.The ability to sell one's interest
- C.The right of survivorship✓ Answer
- D.Equal management authority
Joint tenancy carries the right of survivorship, so a deceased co-owner's interest passes to surviving joint tenants rather than to heirs.
4. The four unities required to create a joint tenancy are time, title, interest, and:
- A.Possession✓ Answer
- B.Survivorship
- C.Recording
- D.Consideration
Joint tenancy requires the four unities of time, title, interest, and possession (PITT); possession completes the set.
5. An easement that benefits an adjoining parcel of land, passing with the land when it is sold, is called:
- A.An easement appurtenant✓ Answer
- B.A license
- C.An easement in gross
- D.An encroachment
An easement appurtenant benefits a dominant tenement and runs with the land, transferring automatically to subsequent owners.
6. A lien that attaches to all of a debtor's property, both real and personal, is classified as:
- A.A general lien✓ Answer
- B.A mechanic's lien
- C.A specific lien
- D.A voluntary lien
A general lien affects all of the debtor's property, whereas a specific lien attaches only to a particular property.
7. The government power that allows taking of private property for public use with just compensation is:
- A.Police power
- B.Escheat
- C.Eminent domain✓ Answer
- D.Taxation
Eminent domain is the government's power to take private property for public use, exercised through condemnation, with just compensation.
8. When a person dies with no heirs and no valid will, ownership of the real property reverts to the state through:
- A.Foreclosure
- B.Adverse possession
- C.Eminent domain
- D.Escheat✓ Answer
Escheat transfers property to the state when an owner dies intestate with no heirs, preventing ownerless land.
9. Zoning ordinances are an exercise of which of the government's four powers?
- A.Taxation
- B.Escheat
- C.Police power✓ Answer
- D.Eminent domain
Zoning is an exercise of police power, the government's authority to regulate land use to protect public health, safety, and welfare.
10. A property owner wants permission to use land in a way the zoning ordinance does not permit, due to a unique hardship. The owner should seek:
- A.A restrictive covenant
- B.A nonconforming use
- C.A building permit
- D.A variance✓ Answer
A variance grants permission to deviate from zoning requirements because of a special hardship unique to the property.
11. Which legal description method uses metes (distances) and bounds (directions) starting and returning to a point of beginning?
- A.Lot and block
- B.Monument only
- C.Rectangular (government) survey
- D.Metes and bounds✓ Answer
The metes-and-bounds method describes a parcel by distances and directions from a point of beginning, ending back at that same point.
12. In the rectangular (government) survey system, how many acres are in one section?
- A.36 acres
- B.160 acres
- C.640 acres✓ Answer
- D.320 acres
One section in the rectangular survey system is one square mile, containing 640 acres.
13. Under the federal Fair Housing Act, which of the following is a protected class?
- A.National origin✓ Answer
- B.Occupation
- C.Political affiliation
- D.Marital status
The federal Fair Housing Act protects race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, and disability.
14. Under the federal Fair Housing Act, 'familial status' primarily protects:
- A.Large extended families
- B.Households with children under 18✓ Answer
- C.Married couples only
- D.Unmarried cohabitants
Familial status protects families with children under 18, as well as pregnant persons and those securing custody of a minor.
15. The 'bundle of rights' in real property ownership includes the rights of possession, control, exclusion, enjoyment, and:
- A.Disposition✓ Answer
- B.Taxation
- C.Escheat
- D.Condemnation
The bundle of rights includes possession, control, exclusion, enjoyment, and disposition (the right to transfer or dispose of the property).
16. Which of the following would MOST likely be classified as a fixture rather than personal property?
- A.A free-standing refrigerator
- B.A built-in dishwasher bolted to the cabinetry✓ Answer
- C.A potted plant on the patio
- D.A window air-conditioning unit resting in the frame
An item permanently attached to the structure, like a bolted-in dishwasher, becomes a fixture and part of the real property.
17. Growing crops that require annual cultivation, which a tenant farmer may harvest even after the lease ends, are known as:
- A.Appurtenances
- B.Fixtures
- C.Emblements✓ Answer
- D.Riparian rights
Emblements are annually cultivated crops treated as personal property, which a tenant farmer retains the right to harvest after the tenancy ends.
18. Which type of deed provides the grantee with the greatest protection by including the full set of covenants of title?
- A.Quitclaim deed
- B.Bargain and sale deed
- C.General warranty deed✓ Answer
- D.Special warranty deed
A general warranty deed offers the greatest protection because the grantor warrants title against all defects, even those arising before the grantor owned the property.
19. A deed that transfers only whatever interest the grantor may have, with no warranties of title, is a:
- A.General warranty deed
- B.Quitclaim deed✓ Answer
- C.Special warranty deed
- D.Grant deed
A quitclaim deed conveys only the grantor's present interest, if any, and contains no covenants or warranties of title; it is often used to clear clouds on title.
20. For a deed to be valid, it must be signed by the:
- A.Grantee
- B.Grantor✓ Answer
- C.Both grantor and grantee
- D.Recorder of deeds
A deed must be signed by the grantor (the party conveying the property); the grantee need not sign for the deed to be valid.
21. What is required for a deed to actually transfer title to the grantee?
- A.Recording at the county courthouse
- B.Delivery and acceptance✓ Answer
- C.Payment of transfer taxes
- D.Title insurance issuance
Title passes when the deed is delivered by the grantor and accepted by the grantee; recording gives public notice but is not required to transfer title.
22. The primary purpose of recording a deed in the public records is to:
- A.Validate the deed
- B.Transfer possession
- C.Give constructive notice to the world✓ Answer
- D.Pay off existing liens
Recording gives constructive notice, establishing the priority of the interest and protecting the owner against later claims; it does not by itself validate the deed.
23. Title insurance primarily protects the insured against:
- A.Future damage to the physical structure
- B.Defects in title existing before the policy date✓ Answer
- C.Decline in the property's market value
- D.Nonpayment of future property taxes
Title insurance protects against losses from title defects that already existed when the policy was issued, such as forged deeds, undisclosed liens, or errors in the public record.
24. The history of all recorded documents affecting title to a particular parcel is called the:
- A.Chain of title✓ Answer
- B.Title insurance policy
- C.Legal description
- D.Deed restriction
The chain of title is the recorded sequence of ownership transfers; a gap or defect in it is called a cloud on the title.
25. In the rectangular (government) survey system, how many acres are in the NW 1/4 of the NW 1/4 of a section?
- A.160 acres
- B.80 acres
- C.40 acres✓ Answer
- D.10 acres
A section has 640 acres; dividing by 4 (a quarter) and again by 4 (a quarter of a quarter) gives 640 ÷ 16 = 40 acres.
26. In the government survey system, a township is composed of how many sections?
- A.6 sections
- B.16 sections
- C.36 sections✓ Answer
- D.640 sections
A township is 6 miles by 6 miles and is divided into 36 sections, each one square mile.
27. The lot-and-block (recorded plat) system of legal description is MOST commonly used for:
- A.Large rural ranches
- B.Subdivided urban and suburban lots✓ Answer
- C.Irregular colonial-era parcels
- D.Federal wilderness areas
The lot-and-block system references a recorded subdivision plat map and is most common for describing lots in developed urban and suburban subdivisions.
28. A form of ownership in which each co-owner holds an undivided fractional interest with NO right of survivorship is:
- A.Tenancy in common✓ Answer
- B.Joint tenancy
- C.Tenancy by the entirety
- D.Severalty
In tenancy in common, each owner holds an undivided interest that can be sold or willed to heirs; there is no right of survivorship.
29. Ownership of real property by one person or a single legal entity alone is called ownership in:
- A.Severalty✓ Answer
- B.Common
- C.Partnership
- D.Trust
Ownership in severalty means title is held by one individual or entity alone, severed from all others.
30. In a condominium, an individual owner typically holds fee simple title to their unit and, together with all other owners, holds the common areas as:
- A.Tenants by the entirety
- B.Joint tenants
- C.Tenants in common✓ Answer
- D.A single corporation
Condo owners hold fee simple title to their individual units and own the common elements as tenants in common with the other unit owners.
31. A key difference between a cooperative and a condominium is that a cooperative owner receives:
- A.Fee simple title to a specific unit
- B.Shares of stock and a proprietary lease✓ Answer
- C.An easement in gross
- D.A life estate in the unit
In a cooperative, a corporation owns the building; residents own shares of stock and receive a proprietary lease granting the right to occupy a unit, rather than real property title.
32. The rights of an owner whose land borders a flowing waterway such as a river or stream are called:
- A.Littoral rights
- B.Riparian rights✓ Answer
- C.Prior appropriation
- D.Air rights
Riparian rights belong to owners along flowing water (rivers, streams); littoral rights apply to owners bordering static bodies of water such as lakes or oceans.
33. When a building or improvement physically extends over the boundary line onto an adjoining owner's land, it is a(n):
- A.Easement
- B.Encroachment✓ Answer
- C.License
- D.Lien
An encroachment is an unauthorized physical intrusion of an improvement onto adjoining property and can be revealed by a survey.
34. A private restriction on land use, created by a developer and binding on all lots in a subdivision, is a:
- A.Zoning ordinance
- B.Restrictive covenant✓ Answer
- C.Variance
- D.Police power
Restrictive covenants (CC&Rs) are private deed restrictions imposed by a developer that run with the land and bind all owners in a subdivision.
35. If a private deed restriction is more restrictive than the local zoning ordinance on the same matter, which one generally controls?
- A.The zoning ordinance always controls
- B.The more restrictive of the two✓ Answer
- C.The less restrictive of the two
- D.Neither is enforceable
When a deed restriction and a zoning law conflict, the more restrictive provision generally governs the use of the property.
36. A pre-existing land use that lawfully predates a new zoning ordinance and is allowed to continue is called a:
- A.Variance
- B.Nonconforming use✓ Answer
- C.Special exception
- D.Spot zoning
A legal nonconforming use ('grandfathered') existed lawfully before the zoning change and may continue even though it no longer conforms to current zoning.
37. An easement created when a landlocked parcel needs access across a neighboring parcel that was once part of the same ownership is an easement by:
- A.Necessity✓ Answer
- B.Prescription
- C.Express grant
- D.Estoppel
An easement by necessity arises when a parcel is landlocked and requires access, typically where the parcels were once under common ownership.
38. An easement acquired through open, continuous, and hostile use of another's land over a statutory period is an easement by:
- A.Necessity
- B.Prescription✓ Answer
- C.Condemnation
- D.Reservation
An easement by prescription is acquired through open, notorious, continuous, and hostile use of another's property for the statutory period, similar to adverse possession.
39. A specific, involuntary lien placed on real property by a contractor or supplier who was not paid for labor or materials is a:
- A.Judgment lien
- B.Mechanic's lien✓ Answer
- C.Tax lien
- D.Mortgage lien
A mechanic's lien is a specific, involuntary lien that secures payment to contractors, subcontractors, or suppliers for improvements to a particular property.
40. Which type of lien generally takes priority over all other liens, regardless of when it was recorded?
- A.A first mortgage lien
- B.A general property tax lien✓ Answer
- C.A mechanic's lien
- D.A judgment lien
General real estate (ad valorem) property tax liens and special assessment liens usually take priority over all other liens regardless of recording date.
41. When two or more liens have equal claim, priority among them is normally determined by:
- A.The size of the debt
- B.The date and time of recording✓ Answer
- C.Alphabetical order of creditors
- D.The age of the property
For most liens, priority follows the 'first to record, first in right' rule based on the date and time of recording (property tax liens being a key exception).
42. A fee simple estate that automatically terminates and reverts to the grantor if a stated condition occurs is a:
- A.Fee simple absolute
- B.Fee simple determinable✓ Answer
- C.Life estate
- D.Leasehold estate
A fee simple determinable ends automatically upon the happening of a stated event, with title reverting to the grantor through a possibility of reverter.
43. A tenant who lawfully takes possession under a lease, but remains after the lease expires without the landlord's consent, holds a(n):
- A.Estate for years
- B.Estate from period to period
- C.Estate at will
- D.Estate at sufferance✓ Answer
An estate (tenancy) at sufferance occurs when a tenant who once had lawful possession holds over after the lease ends without the landlord's permission.
44. A lease with a definite beginning and ending date, requiring no notice to terminate, creates an:
- A.Estate for years✓ Answer
- B.Estate at sufferance
- C.Periodic tenancy
- D.Estate at will
An estate for years has fixed start and end dates and terminates automatically at the end of the term without any notice required.
45. In states that recognize it, property acquired by either spouse during a marriage (other than by gift or inheritance) is generally classified as:
- A.Separate property
- B.Community property✓ Answer
- C.Property in severalty
- D.A life estate
In community property states, most assets acquired during marriage are owned equally by both spouses; property acquired by gift or inheritance remains separate property.
46. The right to acquire title to real estate by open, notorious, continuous, exclusive, and hostile possession for a statutory period is:
- A.Adverse possession✓ Answer
- B.Eminent domain
- C.Dedication
- D.Accession
Adverse possession allows a person to gain title by possessing another's land openly, notoriously, continuously, exclusively, and hostilely for the statutory period.
47. A special warranty deed differs from a general warranty deed in that the grantor warrants against defects arising only:
- A.During the grantor's period of ownership✓ Answer
- B.Before the grantor owned the property
- C.For the entire history of the property
- D.After the grantee takes possession
In a special (limited) warranty deed, the grantor warrants only against title defects that arose during the grantor's own period of ownership, not before.
48. Which of the following is an essential requirement for a valid deed?
- A.The grantee's signature
- B.A recital of the full purchase price
- C.A legally competent grantor✓ Answer
- D.Recording within 30 days
A valid deed requires a legally competent grantor, a named grantee, consideration, words of conveyance (granting clause), an adequate legal description, and the grantor's signature and delivery.
49. A privilege to use another's land for a specific purpose that is personal, revocable, and does NOT create an interest in the land is a:
- A.License✓ Answer
- B.Easement appurtenant
- C.Leasehold
- D.Profit
A license is a personal, revocable privilege to use land for a specific purpose; unlike an easement, it creates no ownership interest and does not run with the land.
50. The right of a landowner to use and profit from the water beneath the surface of their property involves:
- A.Air rights
- B.Surface rights only
- C.Subsurface (mineral and water) rights✓ Answer
- D.Littoral rights
Subsurface rights cover what lies beneath the land's surface, including minerals and groundwater, and can be sold or leased separately from surface rights.
Practice questions cover the uniform national portion of the real estate exam. Your state adds a state-law portion — study your state's official materials before testing. Licensing info (ARELLO) →