Property Characteristics and Legal Descriptions Practice Questions
Property characteristics, legal descriptions and property use account for 11 scored questions on the National portion of the Texas sales agent exam. These 20 free practice questions cover fixtures, land characteristics, surveys and land-use controls, with an explanation after each answer. Five separate Texas-law examples follow the quiz and do not count toward your score.
20 questions on property characteristics, scored, each with a full explanation after you answer. Every question is also written out below if you would rather study at your own pace.
20 questions
~15 min
National practice only
No signup is required. Use the app later if you want fresh questions, saved diagnostics, and progress across every exam area.
Study mode · National principles
Work through the questions at your own pace.
Choose an answer mentally, then open its explanation. Each question has a source and a point to watch. These are original practice questions, not Pearson VUE exam items or a prediction of your result.
1
A built-in household appliance
An owner installs a built-in dishwasher as a permanent part of the kitchen, bolting it into the cabinetry and connecting the plumbing. No agreement excludes it from the sale. How is it normally classified?
A.A fixture included with the real estate
B.A trade fixture retained by the seller
C.A chattel excluded from every home sale
D.An emblement belonging to the occupant
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. A fixture included with the real estate
The stated permanent installation, use and objective intent point to a fixture. It normally conveys with the real estate unless the parties provide otherwise. Attachment is evidence, not a rule that every bolted item must convey.
Watch for this: Read who installed the item and why. Business-tenant equipment can raise a different issue.
Rule: Common law of fixtures; objective intent and annexation
A restaurant tenant bolts removable display shelving to a wall for the business. The lease allows the tenant to take it out before the term ends and repair any removal damage. What is the shelving?
A.A permanent improvement owned by the landlord
B.A natural product of the leased land
C.A trade fixture used in the tenant's business
D.A private restriction on the owner's title
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. A trade fixture used in the tenant's business
Trade fixtures are tenant-installed items used to conduct the tenant's business. Attachment alone does not make them the landlord's property. Here, the lease expressly permits timely removal and requires repairs. Actual removal rights depend on the agreement and applicable law.
Watch for this: Do not assume every business improvement is removable or that removal can happen at any time.
Rule: Common law of trade fixtures; landlord and tenant
An owner says, 'I secretly intended to keep that built-in cabinet.' There is no contrary agreement. Which evidence is most relevant to whether it became a fixture?
A.The owner's unspoken wish to retain it
B.Its attachment, adaptation and intended use
C.Its original retail price and current value
D.The buyer's preference for that furniture style
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Its attachment, adaptation and intended use
Fixture intent is assessed from outward facts, not undisclosed wishes. How the item was installed and adapted to the building helps show that intent. Texas's Logan v. Mullis decision explains this approach; a fixture dispute is not resolved by the seller's private statement alone.
Watch for this: A memory aid lists factors to investigate. It does not make attachment, price or a private intention decisive in every case.
Rule: Common law of fixtures; Logan v. Mullis, 686 S.W.2d 605
A buyer pays more for a home because it is close to work, schools and services. Which economic characteristic explains that preference?
A.Immobility
B.Indestructibility
C.Nonhomogeneity
D.Area preference, or situs
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Area preference, or situs
Situs describes preference for a location. The convenience of this location explains the buyer's willingness to pay more. Immobility is the physical fact that land cannot be relocated, not the buyer's preference.
Watch for this: Location preference is economic; inability to move the land is physical.
Rule: Economic characteristics of land; area preference (situs)
A description starts at an identified point of beginning, follows boundary courses and distances, and returns to that point. Which method is being used?
A.Metes and bounds
B.Lot and block
C.Township and range
D.Street-address reference
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Metes and bounds
Metes and bounds traces the boundary from a point of beginning. Courses give direction, distances give length, and calls may identify monuments or adjoining boundaries. Returning to the start is closure; closure alone does not prove that a description identifies the correct land.
Watch for this: A point of commencement can lead to the point of beginning. It is not necessarily a corner of the described parcel.
A deed identifies Lot 8, Block C, of a named subdivision and gives the recording reference for its plat. Which description method does it use?
A.A boundary traced by courses and distances
B.A lot-and-block reference to the recorded plat
C.A federal township-and-range description
D.A street address used instead of a recorded map
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. A lot-and-block reference to the recorded plat
The lot and block identify the parcel within the referenced subdivision plat. The subdivision name and recording reference matter because many subdivisions can contain a Lot 8 or Block C.
Watch for this: A bare lot number is not a reliable description without the record that tells you which lot it is.
Rule: Legal descriptions; lot and block, recorded plats
A developer extends utilities and builds roads, making nearby parcels more useful. Which economic characteristic describes this effect on land value?
A.Indestructibility
B.Nonhomogeneity
C.Modification, or improvements
D.Immobility
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Modification, or improvements
Improvements can change the usefulness and value of the improved parcel and surrounding land. This question concerns an economic effect, not the physical location or durability of land. An improvement is not a guarantee that value will rise by its cost.
Watch for this: Distinguish a change in utility or value from a physical characteristic.
Rule: Economic characteristics of land; modification and improvements
A city uses its lawful zoning authority to limit permitted land uses in a district. It does not acquire the parcels. What government power is the zoning ordinance primarily exercising?
A.Eminent domain
B.Escheat
C.Taxation
D.Police power
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. Police power
Zoning is a land-use regulation under police power. It is different from acquiring property through eminent domain. Ordinary zoning does not automatically require compensation, but regulation can sometimes amount to a compensable taking. The label police power does not settle every compensation claim.
Watch for this: Classify the power first. Do not memorize 'zoning never requires payment.'
Rule: Public land-use controls; police power and zoning; Texas illustration: Local Government Code 211.003
A seller owns a freestanding sofa and dining chairs. They are not attached to the building and are not included in the sale agreement. These items are
A.chattels, or personal property
B.fixtures attached to the real estate
C.appurtenant rights benefiting the parcel
D.improvements conveyed with the land
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. chattels, or personal property
Ordinary movable furniture is personal property, also called chattels. It does not convey merely because it was in the home during a showing. The parties can separately agree to include personal property in a transaction.
Watch for this: Separate the item's classification from what the parties agreed to transfer.
Rule: Real versus personal property; fixtures and chattels
A valid easement appurtenant lets Parcel A use a driveway across Parcel B. Parcel A is sold, and no termination event has occurred. What normally happens to the driveway right?
A.It ends when Parcel A changes ownership
B.It remains personal to the original owner
C.It passes with ownership of Parcel A
D.It converts into ownership of Parcel B
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. It passes with ownership of Parcel A
An appurtenant easement benefits the dominant parcel and burdens the servient parcel. The benefit normally transfers with the dominant land, subject to the easement's terms. A right to use the driveway is not fee ownership of it.
Watch for this: Keep a use right separate from ownership and from a merely personal permission.
Rule: Easements appurtenant; dominant and servient estates
Which set contains only physical characteristics of land in the National outline?
A.Scarcity, improvements, permanence of investment
B.Immobility, indestructibility, nonhomogeneity
C.Utility, demand, purchasing power, scarcity
D.Situs, permanence of investment, improvements
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Immobility, indestructibility, nonhomogeneity
The physical group is immobility, indestructibility and nonhomogeneity, or uniqueness. Indestructibility is the exam concept that land endures. It does not mean buildings, soil conditions or the parcel's value cannot be damaged.
Watch for this: Do not treat an enduring land resource as a promise that the property cannot suffer loss.
Rule: Physical characteristics of land; immobility, indestructibility, uniqueness
Before closing, a buyer wants a qualified professional to locate parcel boundaries and depict visible improvements that may cross them. Which service best fits the request?
A.A comparative market analysis
B.A property-tax assessment
C.A street-address verification
D.An appropriate boundary survey
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. An appropriate boundary survey
A boundary survey combines fieldwork and record evidence to locate and depict the parcel. Its scope may include improvements and apparent encroachments. It is not a guarantee that every title defect or unrecorded right has been found, and it does not by itself decide a contested ownership claim.
Watch for this: A survey and a title review answer related but different questions.
Rule: Legal descriptions; boundary surveys and encroachments
An investor builds a large office building. If demand shifts elsewhere, the capital committed to that improvement cannot simply be moved to the new market. Which characteristic fits?
A.Area preference, or situs
B.Permanence of investment, or fixity
C.Scarcity of available land
D.Nonhomogeneity of parcels
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Permanence of investment, or fixity
Fixity describes the long-term commitment of capital to real estate improvements. The building may be sold, but its investment cannot simply be relocated like movable inventory. Situs concerns preference for a location instead.
Watch for this: Fixity does not mean the investment is risk-free or that the owner cannot sell it.
Rule: Economic characteristics of land; permanence of investment and fixity
A boundary call ends at an oak tree that is conclusively identified as the undisturbed original monument. The written distance would place the endpoint 12 feet beyond it. No other evidence undermines the monument. Which call normally controls?
A.The tree identified as the original monument
B.The longer distance written in the description
C.The acreage estimate in the property-tax record
D.The boundary drawn on an online listing map
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. The tree identified as the original monument
An identified original monument normally controls an inconsistent distance. The purpose is to recover the original boundary, not blindly rank words. If a marker's identity or reliability is doubtful, the surveyor must evaluate the other evidence.
Watch for this: An arbitrary tree, a moved marker or a later fence is not automatically an original boundary monument.
Rule: Legal descriptions; original monuments and priority of calls
A court finds that a claimant's use of a path was adverse, open, notorious and continuous for the legally required period, and that all other required elements were proved. The court recognizes a use right, not ownership. What was acquired?
A.An easement created by an express grant
B.Fee title acquired by adverse possession
C.A personal license granted by the owner
D.An easement acquired by prescription
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. An easement acquired by prescription
Prescription can establish an easement through qualifying adverse use. Permission alone is not adverse use, and an easement is not title to the strip. The required period and elements depend on the jurisdiction. Texas's Albert decision also addresses exclusivity; this National question does not ask you to recall that state's time period.
Watch for this: Years of use alone do not prove an easement. Look for adversity and the other required elements.
Rule: Prescriptive easements; use rights versus adverse-possession title
A description in a federal public-land state identifies a section, township, range and principal meridian. Which method does it use?
A.Metes and bounds from a point of beginning
B.Lot and block in a recorded subdivision
C.The rectangular Public Land Survey System
D.A street address tied to a tax account
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. The rectangular Public Land Survey System
The rectangular system uses townships, ranges and sections tied to a principal meridian and base line. Texas is outside that federal system, but the National examination covers general real-estate principles. Do not skip the method just because you will practice in Texas.
Watch for this: Texas records can contain section and block labels. Those words alone do not establish a federal township-and-range description.
Rule: Legal descriptions; rectangular survey system
For this calculation, assume a regular section contains exactly 640 acres. How many acres are in the north half of the southeast quarter of that section?
A.40 acres
B.80 acres
C.160 acres
D.320 acres
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. 80 acres
Start with the section: 640 acres. Its southeast quarter is 640 divided by 4, or 160 acres. Half of that quarter is 160 divided by 2, or 80 acres. Actual sections can be irregular; the question supplies the area assumption.
Watch for this: Multiply the fractions: 640 × 1/4 × 1/2. Do not add the half and quarter or assume every surveyed section is exactly 640 acres.
Rule: Legal descriptions; fractional sections and acreage
Zoning allows two-story homes, but an enforceable recorded covenant limits this lot to one story. No waiver or legal exception applies. What should the buyer conclude?
A.Zoning approval cancels the private covenant
B.The covenant automatically changes the zoning
C.Either restriction can be chosen by the buyer
D.The project must satisfy both restrictions
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. The project must satisfy both restrictions
Public zoning and private covenants operate separately. A permitted use under zoning may still breach an enforceable covenant. On these stated facts, a two-story home would violate the covenant even if the city would permit it.
Watch for this: Do not assume city approval releases private obligations, or that every covenant is necessarily enforceable.
Rule: Land-use encumbrances; restrictive covenants and zoning
A new garage roof extends two feet over a confirmed boundary onto the neighboring parcel. There is no agreement or easement authorizing it. What does this describe?
A.An encroachment onto neighboring property
B.An appurtenant easement created by the roof
C.A zoning variance granted by the neighbor
D.A boundary transfer completed by construction
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. An encroachment onto neighboring property
An unauthorized physical intrusion across a boundary is an encroachment. This includes a structure projecting over the line. The facts identify the problem; they do not establish automatic ownership, an easement or a particular remedy.
Watch for this: Building across a line does not, by itself, give the builder a legal right to use that space.
A government with lawful authority acquires a strip of private land through condemnation for a public road. Under the Fifth Amendment, which principle applies?
A.Police power eliminates any compensation duty
B.The owner receives a zoning variance instead
C.The taking requires just compensation
D.Escheat transfers the strip without payment
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. The taking requires just compensation
Eminent domain is the power to take private property for public use, and the Fifth Amendment requires just compensation. Condemnation is the legal process used to exercise that power. This question is not simply about regulating what an owner may build.
Watch for this: Regulation and acquisition are different acts. Use the facts, not just the presence of a government agency.
Rule: Public land-use controls; eminent domain; U.S. Constitution, Amendment V
These examples require Texas form or statutory knowledge. They are not included in the National quiz or its score. If you only need National practice, you can skip to the study resources.
1
A garage opener and its remotes
A Texas resale uses TREC Form 20-19 with no relevant exclusions. The garage has a permanently installed opener and two handheld remotes. What conveys under Paragraph 2?
A.The opener only; the remotes are unattached
B.Both, as an improvement and its accessories
C.The remotes only; the motor is equipment
D.Neither, unless separately listed by the buyer
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. Both, as an improvement and its accessories
Paragraph 2B includes the installed opener as an improvement. Paragraph 2C includes the controls as accessories even though they are handheld. With no relevant exclusion under Paragraph 2D, both convey. Contract language can include unattached items without turning them into fixtures.
Watch for this: Classification and conveyance are different questions. Not everything that conveys must be bolted down.
An owner divides 40 acres in a city's extraterritorial jurisdiction into three parts, each greater than five acres and each with access. No public improvement is dedicated, and no subdivision-golf-course exception applies. Does Section 212.004(a) itself require a plat for this division?
A.Yes, because every division requires a plat
B.Yes, because ETJ land has no exceptions
C.No, because all ETJ land is exempt
D.No, this division fits the stated exception
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: D. No, this division fits the stated exception
Section 212.004(a) excludes a division into parts greater than five acres where each has access and no public improvement is dedicated. Section 212.0155 treats subdivision golf courses differently, which the facts exclude. This answer concerns this municipal provision, not every possible county, utility or development requirement.
Watch for this: Greater than five acres is not the same as five acres or more. An exemption from one provision is not blanket development approval.
Rule: Texas Local Government Code 212.004(a), 212.0155(c)
For an ordinary restrictive covenant covered by Texas Property Code 202.003(a), which construction rule does that subsection state?
A.Liberal construction to carry out its purposes and intent
B.Automatic invalidity whenever the language is disputed
C.Strict construction solely against any restriction on use
D.Enforcement only against the original buyer of the lot
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. Liberal construction to carry out its purposes and intent
Section 202.003(a) directs liberal construction to give effect to a covenant's purposes and intent. It does not make every restriction enforceable or eliminate other statutory protections. Whether a particular use violates a covenant still depends on its words and the facts.
Watch for this: Do not replace a stated Texas statutory rule with a general memory aid from a National textbook.
All eight members of a Texas board of adjustment hear a variance request. Five vote yes and three vote no. Even assuming the substantive variance requirements are met, is that enough under Section 211.009(c)?
A.Yes, a simple majority is enough
B.Yes, proven hardship replaces the vote
C.No, at least six concurring votes are needed
D.No, every member must vote in favor
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. No, at least six concurring votes are needed
The statute requires the concurrence of 75 percent of the board's members. For eight members, 8 × 0.75 = 6. Five votes are insufficient. Meeting the substantive requirements in subsection (a)(3) does not remove the voting requirement.
Watch for this: Keep the legal grounds for a variance separate from the vote needed to authorize it.
Rule: Texas Local Government Code 211.009(a)(3), (c)
A lawful business becomes nonconforming after a zoning change. The Texas municipality then requires it to stop. Subject to Section 211.019's procedures, which remedies does subsection (d) provide?
A.No remedy, because all zoning is uncompensated
B.A statutory payment or continued use to recover that amount
C.An automatic variance or a permanent zoning exemption
D.A replacement property or reimbursement of all profits
Check answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. A statutory payment or continued use to recover that amount
Subsection (d) provides either the statutory payment or continued nonconforming use until the recoverable amount is earned through business activity. Notice and response procedures matter, and the statute addresses conflicting choices and untimely responses. This is not a promise of unlimited operating time or a payment after every rezoning.
Watch for this: The triggering fact is a requirement to stop the nonconforming use, not merely the adoption of a new zoning rule.
Rule: Texas Local Government Code 211.019(b), (d), (e), (f)
A rule is not a substitute for a boundary investigation.
When a real transaction raises conflicting descriptions, possible encroachments or disputed use rights, get the right professional involved. A surveyor evaluates boundary evidence; an attorney can advise on ownership and enforceability. These examples teach exam distinctions, not a way to decide a neighbor dispute yourself.
The official topic has 11 scored items. The counts below describe our 20-question sample, not a promise of which questions you will see. The Texas bonus examples are excluded.
Property Characteristics: official allocation and free practice coverage
National subtopic
Exam items
Our questions
Real property vs. personal property
3
4
Characteristics of real property
2
4
Legal descriptions
3
6
Public and private land use controls – encumbrances
3
6
A sample is not complete coverage of every possible question. See Pearson VUE's Salesperson outline, section I. Sources beside each answer explain the underlying principle. Texas-specific rules and examples link to their own authority.
Start by naming what the question asks you to classify: an item, a parcel description, a right to use land or a restriction. Then find the fact that matters. A tenant's removable equipment is not the same as an owner's built-in appliance, and a road-use right is not ownership of the road.
For legal descriptions, separate the method from the evidence. A recorded plat identifies a lot; a boundary survey investigates where the lines lie. Read any assumptions before calculating acreage or applying the usual priority of boundary calls.
Choose what to study next.
Start with the lesson behind a missed question, then try another problem without notes.
Are these National questions or Texas State Law questions?
The scored quiz contains 20 National questions. Five Texas-specific examples are labeled separately and do not affect your score. A Texas source may illustrate a general principle, but the National questions do not ask you to memorize Texas form numbers, voting thresholds or platting exemptions.
How much of the exam does this topic cover?
The official National outline assigns 11 scored items to this topic: three on real versus personal property, two on land characteristics, three on legal descriptions and three on land-use controls. This set samples all four groups, not every listed concept. Review the full outline for additional subjects such as emblements, severance, scarcity, taxation, escheat and licenses.
Do I need to learn township and range for the Texas exam?
Yes, learn to recognize the rectangular system and work a fractional-section example for National preparation. Texas is outside the federal Public Land Survey System. Texas descriptions commonly refer to metes and bounds, recorded subdivision plats, and original surveys or abstracts; section or block labels alone do not identify the federal system.
Does a high score here mean I will pass?
No. These are original practice questions, not released Pearson VUE items. Their difficulty has not been calibrated against the live exam. Your score describes this set only. Review your mistakes, then use unfamiliar questions to check whether you can apply the ideas.
Can I keep practicing in the web app or mobile app?
Yes. Open the web app or choose your phone's app from the download page. Selected activities are free; full access is paid. This website topic-quiz result does not transfer to your account. Practice completed inside the app is saved when you sign in.
Sources and review notes
Reviewed September 6, 2026 for rules effective through September 5, 2026. The National topic allocation follows Pearson VUE's Salesperson outline, not its Broker outline. Texas-only form and statute questions are supplementary applications, not a claim about which items appear on the State Law exam. This page is exam preparation, not advice for a transaction.
Use the source beside an answer to check the specific rule. Cornell Law's Wex entries explain general legal concepts; they are not Texas statutes or Pearson VUE answer keys.
