The Civil Rights Act of 1866 prohibits discrimination in the sale or lease of real property on the basis of:

race, with no exemptions whatsoever

all seven of the classes now protected by federal law

race and color, subject to the Mrs. Murphy exemption

religion and national origin only

Which person is most likely exempt from licensing when arranging the sale of real property?

a court-appointed executor selling estate property under court authority

an unlicensed assistant who shows listings while the broker is traveling

a friend who locates a buyer in exchange for an agreed fee

a retired licensee who negotiates one sale for a neighbor for a commission

Title to real property passes from grantor to grantee at the moment the deed is:

Delivered to and accepted by the grantee

Acknowledged before a notary public

Voluntary alienation of real property occurs when:

An owner conveys the property by deed or leaves it by will

A public body takes the property through condemnation

A court confirms title in a person who occupied the land for the statutory period

A lender forecloses after the borrower defaults on the mortgage

Exam vocabulary · property type

What Is Real Property in Real Estate?

Definition

Real property is land and everything permanently attached to it, including buildings, trees and mineral deposits, together with the rights of ownership in it. Anything movable is personal property instead, which is why real property passes by deed and personal property by bill of sale.

How the exam tests real property

These mirror the phrasing you will see on test day. Answer them, then read the explanation whether or not you got it right.

Real property: exam questions1/8

Transfer of title

A gift of real property made by will is a:

score 0/0

Every real property question, answered

Every question above with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Read the explanations for the ones you answered correctly too. A lucky guess and knowing the rule look identical on a score report. These are sample questions from our larger bank.

1. A gift of real property made by will is a:
- AConveyance in trust
- BBequest
- CDevisecorrect
- DLegacy
Why: Real property passes by devise to a devisee. Bequests and legacies are gifts of personal property, a distinction the exam tests directly.
Transfer of title
2. Alvarez Realty manages a 60-unit building for its owner, signing leases, collecting rent and hiring contractors on the owner's behalf. Alvarez Realty is acting as a:
- AGeneral agentcorrect
- BSpecial agent
- CUniversal agent
- DSubagent of the tenants
Why: Ongoing authority to handle a continuing series of transactions in one area of the principal's business is general agency, and property management is the standard example. A listing broker, by contrast, is a special agent hired for one transaction.
Agency
3. The Civil Rights Act of 1866 prohibits discrimination in the sale or lease of real property on the basis of:
- Arace, with no exemptions whatsoevercorrect
- Ball seven of the classes now protected by federal law
- Crace and color, subject to the Mrs. Murphy exemption
- Dreligion and national origin only
Why: The 1866 Act bars racial discrimination in property transactions and contains no exemptions at all, which is why an owner who is exempt under the 1968 Act can still be liable for refusing to sell because of race.
Property disclosures
4. An encumbrance that makes real property security for the payment of a debt is:
- AAn encroachment
- BA license
- CA liencorrect
- DAn easement
Why: Liens are financial encumbrances giving a creditor the right to have the property sold to satisfy a debt. Easements are non-financial encumbrances affecting use rather than securing money.
Property ownership
5. Personal property attached to real estate so that it becomes part of the realty has undergone:
- ASeverance
- BAvulsion
- CPartition
- DAnnexationcorrect
Why: Annexation is the act of attaching personal property to land so that it converts into real property, as with an installed furnace. Severance is the reverse, detaching an item so that it becomes personal property again.
Property ownership
6. Which person is most likely exempt from licensing when arranging the sale of real property?
- Aan unlicensed assistant who shows listings while the broker is traveling
- Ba court-appointed executor selling estate property under court authoritycorrect
- Ca friend who locates a buyer in exchange for an agreed fee
- Da retired licensee who negotiates one sale for a neighbor for a commission
Why: A court-appointed executor selling estate property under court authority acts under judicial appointment and is customarily exempt. The other three all involve acting for another in expectation of compensation, which is unlicensed practice however casual the arrangement seems.
Practice of real estate
7. Title to real property passes from grantor to grantee at the moment the deed is:
- ASigned by the grantor
- BAcknowledged before a notary public
- CDelivered to and accepted by the granteecorrect
- DRecorded in the public records
Why: Transfer occurs when the deed is "Delivered to and accepted by the grantee", which is why an unrecorded deed can still pass title. Recording is the classic wrong answer because it affects notice and priority rather than the passing of title.
Transfer of title
8. Voluntary alienation of real property occurs when:
- AA public body takes the property through condemnation
- BA court confirms title in a person who occupied the land for the statutory period
- CA lender forecloses after the borrower defaults on the mortgage
- DAn owner conveys the property by deed or leaves it by willcorrect
Why: Voluntary alienation means the owner chooses to transfer, as when "An owner conveys the property by deed or leaves it by will". Foreclosure, condemnation, and court-confirmed occupancy all move title without the consent of the owner.
Transfer of title
Key term: eminent domain

Where real property sits in the exam vocabulary

Real property is a property type, and so is chattel. That matters more than it sounds: a multiple-choice item builds its wrong answers out of siblings like these, because they are the options that look plausible to someone who has learned the category but not the distinction. If real property appears as the correct answer, expect to see chattel on the same screen.

Real property does not stand on its own: it assumes you already know bundle of rights and fixture. Questions that look like they are testing real property are often really testing whether those ideas are solid underneath it.

The exam most often tries to catch you by putting real property next to chattel and trade fixture. Each of those is a real concept sitting close enough to be tempting, and the question usually turns on the single feature that separates them rather than on the definition of either one. Read the contrast, not the term.

Related exam terms

Tested alongside

Often confused with

trade fixture

Know this first

Real property belongs to the property type family of exam concepts. When it is solid, take the free real estate exam prep or browse the full real estate vocabulary.