Property Characteristics Practice Questions

Every question explained

Prefer to study at your own pace? Here are all 20 questions. Read each one and pick your answer, then reveal the correct answer, the reasoning, and the trap that catches most candidates.

1. 1. A homeowner installs a built-in dishwasher, bolting it into the cabinetry and connecting it to plumbing. With no contrary agreement, this dishwasher is now

   • A.personal property the seller may remove
   • B.a fixture that has become part of the real property
   • C.a trade fixture
   • D.an emblement
   ▸Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: B. a fixture that has become part of the real property

   Why B is correct: Personal property that is permanently attached to real property becomes a fixture and passes with the real estate. A built-in, plumbed dishwasher is a fixture. Unless the contract says otherwise, it conveys with the home.

   Trap: A fixture conveys with the property. Once an item is permanently attached, it is no longer movable personal property.

   Source: Common law of fixtures; TREC No. 20-19 Paragraph 2B (improvements)

2. 2. A business tenant installs display shelving and a walk-in cooler to run a restaurant. These items are

   • A.fixtures that must stay with the building
   • B.trade fixtures the tenant may remove before the lease ends
   • C.emblements owned by the landlord
   • D.real property once installed
   ▸Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: B. trade fixtures the tenant may remove before the lease ends

   Why B is correct: Trade fixtures are items a business tenant installs to conduct business. They remain the tenant's personal property and may be removed before the lease ends, with the tenant repairing any damage caused by removal.

   Trap: Trade fixtures stay personal property even when attached. The business tenant removes them before the lease term ends.

   Source: Common law of trade fixtures; landlord and tenant

3. 3. When deciding whether an item is a fixture, courts often weigh the method of attachment, adaptability, relationship of the parties, intent, and any agreement. Which factor usually controls?

   • A.Only whether the item is bolted down
   • B.The intent of the party who installed it and any written agreement
   • C.The cost of the item
   • D.Whether the item is visible from the street
   ▸Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: B. The intent of the party who installed it and any written agreement

   Why B is correct: Texas decides this with the three-part test from Logan v. Mullis: the mode and sufficiency of annexation, the adaptation of the item to the use of the realty, and the intention of the party who annexed it. Intention is the preeminent factor, and the first two are treated as evidence of that intention rather than as separate scores. MARIA is a national memory aid, not the Texas test, and a written agreement settles the question before the test is ever reached.

   Trap: Do not decide a fixture question on attachment alone. In Texas the intention is objective, meaning what a reasonable person would conclude from the facts, not the secret wishes of the person who installed the item.

   Source: Logan v. Mullis, 686 S.W.2d 605 (Tex. 1985); fixtures test

4. 4. Which is considered the most important economic characteristic of land?

   • A.Indestructibility
   • B.Immobility
   • C.Area preference, also called situs
   • D.Non-homogeneity
   ▸Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: C. Area preference, also called situs

   Why C is correct: Standard real estate exam texts treat area preference, or situs, as the most important economic characteristic of land. It captures the value people place on a particular location. Pearson lists situs but does not rank the economic characteristics. Immobility, indestructibility, and uniqueness are physical characteristics.

   Trap: Sort the lists first. Situs is economic; immobility and indestructibility are physical characteristics.

   Source: Standard exam doctrine; economic characteristics of land; area preference (situs)

5. 5. A legal description that starts at a defined point of beginning and traces the boundary by direction and distance, returning to the start, uses which method?

   • A.Lot and block
   • B.Rectangular (government) survey
   • C.Metes and bounds
   • D.Street address
   ▸Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: C. Metes and bounds

   Why C is correct: Metes and bounds describes a parcel by starting at a point of beginning and tracing the perimeter using courses (directions) and distances back to the start. Lot and block uses a recorded plat, and the rectangular survey uses principal meridians and base lines.

   Trap: A point of beginning that traces the boundary and closes back on itself is metes and bounds, not lot and block.

   Source: Legal descriptions; metes and bounds

6. 6. A recorded subdivision plat assigns each parcel a number within a numbered block. A deed that describes a parcel by referring to this plat uses the

   • A.metes-and-bounds method
   • B.rectangular survey method
   • C.lot-and-block (recorded plat) method
   • D.monument method
   ▸Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: C. lot-and-block (recorded plat) method

   Why C is correct: The lot-and-block method describes property by reference to a recorded subdivision plat that assigns lot and block numbers. It is common in platted subdivisions and is the simplest of the three methods to read.

   Trap: Lot and block depends on a recorded plat. If the description names a lot and block in a subdivision, that is the method.

   Source: Legal descriptions; recorded plats. Tex. Loc. Govt Code 212.004(b)

7. 7. A developer extends utilities and builds roads that make nearby parcels more useful and valuable. Which economic characteristic of land does this illustrate?

   • A.Modification, also called improvements
   • B.Immobility
   • C.Indestructibility
   • D.Nonhomogeneity
   ▸Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: A. Modification, also called improvements

   Why A is correct: Modification, also called improvements, is the economic idea that changes to one parcel can affect that parcel and surrounding land. Roads, utilities, and buildings can alter demand and value. Immobility, indestructibility, and nonhomogeneity are physical characteristics.

   Trap: The question asks about value created by changes to land, so choose modification or improvements. Do not confuse an economic effect with a physical characteristic.

   Source: Economic characteristics of land; modification and improvements

8. 8. A city adopts a zoning ordinance limiting an area to single-family homes, with no payment to affected owners. This exercise of government authority is

   • A.eminent domain, which requires adequate compensation
   • B.police power, which does not require compensation
   • C.escheat
   • D.a private deed restriction
   ▸Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: B. police power, which does not require compensation

   Why B is correct: Zoning is an exercise of police power, the government's authority to regulate for the health, safety, morals, and general welfare of the public, and in Texas cities it is granted by Local Government Code Section 211.003(a). Ordinary land-use regulation normally does not require compensation. Eminent domain, the power to take property for public use, does require payment, and Article I, Section 17 of the Texas Constitution calls it adequate compensation rather than the federal phrase just compensation.

   Trap: Police power regulates without paying; eminent domain takes and must pay. Zoning is police power.

   Source: Tex. Loc. Govt Code 211.001, 211.003(a); police power

9. 9. Movable items of personal property, such as furniture, are called

   • A.fixtures
   • B.chattels (personal property)
   • C.appurtenances
   • D.improvements
   ▸Show answer and explanation

   Correct answer: B. chattels (personal property)

   Why B is correct: Movable items not permanently attached to real property are chattels, or personal property. When personal property is permanently affixed to real estate, it can become a fixture and part of the real property.

   Trap: Personal property is movable (chattel). It becomes a fixture only when permanently attached with the intent to stay.

   Source: Common law of fixtures; real versus personal property

10. 10. An easement that benefits one parcel (the dominant estate) and burdens an adjoining parcel (the servient estate) is an easement that

    • A.ends when the property is sold
    • B.runs with the land and transfers with ownership
    • C.applies only to the original owner
    • D.must be renewed each year
    ▸Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B. runs with the land and transfers with ownership

    Why B is correct: An easement appurtenant runs with the land. It benefits the dominant estate and burdens the servient estate, and it passes to new owners when either parcel is sold unless properly terminated.

    Trap: An easement appurtenant transfers with the land, not just with the original owner.

    Source: Common law of easements appurtenant

11. 11. Which set lists the physical characteristics of land?

    • A.Scarcity, improvements, and permanence
    • B.Immobility, indestructibility, and uniqueness (nonhomogeneity)
    • C.Demand, utility, and transferability
    • D.Location, location, and location
    ▸Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B. Immobility, indestructibility, and uniqueness (nonhomogeneity)

    Why B is correct: The physical characteristics of land are immobility (it cannot be moved), indestructibility (it endures), and uniqueness or nonhomogeneity (no two parcels are exactly alike). Scarcity and permanence are economic characteristics.

    Trap: Do not mix the physical characteristics (immobility, indestructibility, uniqueness) with the economic ones (scarcity, improvements, permanence, area preference).

    Source: Physical characteristics of land; immobility, indestructibility, uniqueness

12. 12. Before closing, a buyer wants a professional to locate the parcel's boundaries and identify visible encroachments. Which document best serves that purpose?

    • A.A survey
    • B.A street address
    • C.A property tax bill
    • D.A comparative market analysis
    ▸Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: A. A survey

    Why A is correct: A survey is a professional measurement and depiction of a parcel. It can locate boundary lines and show visible improvements, easements, or encroachments. A street address can help someone find the property, but it is not a legal description or a boundary opinion.

    Trap: A deed describes the property. A survey measures and depicts it. When the facts ask where boundaries or improvements sit on the ground, choose the survey.

    Source: Legal descriptions and the purpose of a survey

13. 13. Money invested in a large office building cannot be moved easily to a better market. Which economic characteristic of real estate does this illustrate?

    • A.Scarcity
    • B.Permanence of investment, also called fixity
    • C.Area preference, also called situs
    • D.Nonhomogeneity
    ▸Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B. Permanence of investment, also called fixity

    Why B is correct: Permanence of investment, or fixity, means capital placed into land and buildings is committed for a long time and is difficult to relocate. Situs concerns preference for a location, while nonhomogeneity is the physical uniqueness of each parcel.

    Trap: If the deciding fact is that money committed to an improvement cannot be relocated, the answer is permanence of investment or fixity.

    Source: Economic characteristics of land; permanence of investment and fixity

14. 14. A metes-and-bounds description says a boundary ends at an old oak tree, but its stated distance would place the endpoint 12 feet beyond the tree. Which call normally controls?

    • A.The stated distance
    • B.The oak tree as a natural monument
    • C.The parcel's street address
    • D.The acreage stated in the tax record
    ▸Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B. The oak tree as a natural monument

    Why B is correct: When calls in a legal description conflict, monuments normally control measurements. The usual exam priority is natural monuments, artificial monuments, courses, distances, and then area. The oak tree is a natural monument, so it normally controls the inconsistent distance.

    Trap: Do not let a precise number outrank the landmark. On the exam, natural monuments normally outrank distances.

    Source: Legal descriptions; priority of conflicting calls

15. 15. A person gains an easement across a neighbor's land by using it openly, notoriously, and continuously for the required statutory period. This is an easement by

    • A.prescription
    • B.necessity
    • C.express grant
    • D.estoppel
    ▸Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: A. prescription

    Why A is correct: An easement by prescription is acquired through open, notorious, continuous, and adverse use of another's land for the statutory period, similar to adverse possession but creating a use right rather than ownership. In Texas the period is 10 years, borrowed from the adverse possession statute, and Texas adds a fourth element that trips candidates up: the use must also be exclusive, so shared use of the same path by the landowner defeats the claim.

    Trap: Prescription creates a use right through long adverse use; an easement by necessity arises from landlocked access, not from use over time.

    Source: Common law of prescriptive easements, borrowing the 10-year period of Tex. Civ. Prac. & Rem. Code 16.026

16. 16. A Texas resale uses TREC No. 20-19 with no exclusions written in. The garage has a permanently mounted motorized opener, and the seller keeps the two handheld remotes in a kitchen drawer. At closing, what happens to the opener and the remotes?

    • A.Both stay, because the opener is an improvement and the remotes are accessories
    • B.Both go with the seller, because neither is permanently installed
    • C.The opener stays and the remotes go with the seller, because remotes are personal property
    • D.Both stay only if the buyer asks for them in writing
    ▸Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: A. Both stay, because the opener is an improvement and the remotes are accessories

    Why A is correct: Paragraph 2 of TREC No. 20-19 splits these into two buckets, and both convey. The mounted garage door opener is named in Paragraph 2B as a permanently installed improvement. The handheld controls are named in Paragraph 2C as accessories, which convey even though they are not permanently installed. Because Paragraph 2D requires anything the seller intends to keep to be written in as an exclusion, and nothing was written in, both stay with the property.

    Trap: Do not assume an item conveys only if it is bolted down. Paragraph 2C conveys a closed list of unattached accessories, including door keys, window air conditioning units, and the controls for garage doors and entry gates.

    Source: TREC No. 20-19 Paragraphs 2B, 2C, 2D (form adopted at 22 TAC 537.28)

17. 17. An owner divides a 40-acre tract inside a Texas city's extraterritorial jurisdiction into three parts of about 13 acres each. Each part has road access and no public improvement is being dedicated. Under Local Government Code Section 212.004, is a plat required?

    • A.Yes, any division of a tract into two or more parts requires a plat
    • B.No, because the division creates parts greater than five acres with access and no dedication
    • C.Yes, because the tract is in the extraterritorial jurisdiction
    • D.No, because platting applies only inside city limits
    ▸Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B. No, because the division creates parts greater than five acres with access and no dedication

    Why B is correct: Section 212.004(a) requires a plat when an owner divides a tract inside a municipality or its extraterritorial jurisdiction to lay out a subdivision, lots, or streets, and it applies however the division is made, including by a metes and bounds description in a deed. But the same subsection carves out a division into parts greater than five acres where each part has access and no public improvement is being dedicated. Three roughly 13-acre parts with access fit that exemption.

    Trap: The extraterritorial jurisdiction does not decide this. Platting reaches into the ETJ, so the deciding facts are the five-acre threshold, access, and whether anything is being dedicated to public use.

    Source: Tex. Loc. Govt Code 212.004(a)

18. 18. A subdivision covenant bars any structure other than a single-family residence. An owner argues the covenant should be read narrowly, because restrictions on the free use of land are disfavored, so a small home office should be allowed. How does a Texas court approach the covenant?

    • A.Strictly, resolving doubt in favor of the free use of land
    • B.Liberally, to give effect to the covenant's purposes and intent
    • C.It refuses to enforce private covenants where a city has zoning
    • D.It applies the covenant only to the original purchaser
    ▸Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B. Liberally, to give effect to the covenant's purposes and intent

    Why B is correct: Texas reverses the common-law instinct by statute. Property Code Section 202.003(a) says a restrictive covenant shall be liberally construed to give effect to its purposes and intent. That is a pro-enforcement rule, and it is why private deed restrictions carry so much weight in Texas, most visibly in Houston, which has no traditional zoning.

    Trap: Option A states the national common-law rule taught in most textbooks, and it is wrong for Texas. When a question sets a Texas scene, the Section 202.003(a) liberal-construction rule governs.

    Source: Tex. Prop. Code 202.003(a)

19. 19. A Texas board of adjustment with eight members hears a setback variance. Five members vote in favor and three against. The applicant showed that a drainage easement crossing the lot makes literal compliance impossible. What is the result?

    • A.The variance is granted, because a majority voted in favor
    • B.The variance fails, because it takes a 75 percent concurring vote
    • C.The variance is granted, because hardship was proven
    • D.The matter goes to the city council for a simple majority vote
    ▸Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B. The variance fails, because it takes a 75 percent concurring vote

    Why B is correct: Proving hardship is necessary but not sufficient. Local Government Code Section 211.009(a)(3) sets the substantive test, requiring that the variance not be contrary to the public interest, that special conditions make literal enforcement an unnecessary hardship, and that the spirit of the ordinance be observed. Section 211.009(c) then sets the vote: a concurring vote of 75 percent of the members is necessary to authorize a variance. Five of eight is 62.5 percent, so the variance fails.

    Trap: A simple majority is the intuitive answer and it is wrong. The 75 percent threshold also applies to reversing an administrative official and to deciding in an applicant's favor on a matter the ordinance sends to the board.

    Source: Tex. Loc. Govt Code 211.009(a)(3), (c)

20. 20. A Texas city rezones a block to residential only. A machine shop that has operated there lawfully for years is now nonconforming, and the city orders it to cease operations. What does Texas law entitle the shop owner to?

    • A.Nothing, because zoning is police power and requires no payment
    • B.Payment covering the costs of ceasing the use and the loss in market value
    • C.An automatic variance from the board of adjustment
    • D.Relocation to a comparable site chosen by the city
    ▸Show answer and explanation

    Correct answer: B. Payment covering the costs of ceasing the use and the loss in market value

    Why B is correct: Zoning itself is police power and pays nothing, but Texas treats forcing an existing lawful use to stop as a different act. Local Government Code Section 211.019(b) lets a nonconforming use continue unless the municipality requires it to stop, and Section 211.019(d) then entitles the owner or lessee to payment from the municipality covering both the costs directly attributable to ceasing the use, expressly including demolition, relocation, lease termination, and discharge of a mortgage, and the diminution in the property's market value.

    Trap: Option A is the correct general rule about zoning and the wrong answer here. Section 211.019 is a Texas exception layered on top of police power, and it turns on the city requiring the use to stop, not on the rezoning itself.

    Source: Tex. Loc. Govt Code 211.019(b), (d)