Week-by-Week Schedule
Estates in Land and Present Possessory Interests
Week 1 of 14
Readings
Casebook Ch. 1-3; Restatement (Third) of Property: Wills and Donative Transfers
Key Concepts to Master
- Fee simple absolute: largest estate, freely alienable and inheritable
- Fee simple defeasible: fee simple determinable, fee simple subject to condition subsequent, fee simple subject to executory limitation
- Life estate and the doctrine of waste (affirmative, permissive, ameliorative)
- Fee tail (historical significance and modern abolition)
- Words of limitation vs. words of purchase
Study Tasks
- Create a chart of all present estates with their identifying language and characteristics
- Practice classifying 10 grant hypotheticals into the correct estate type
- Create flashcards for the durational language distinguishing each defeasible fee
- Write out the three types of waste with examples for each
Future Interests
Week 2 of 14
Readings
Casebook Ch. 3-4; Restatement (Third) of Property: Wills and Donative Transfers §§ 25.1-25.5
Key Concepts to Master
- Reversion, possibility of reverter, right of entry (powers of termination)
- Remainders: vested (indefeasibly vested, vested subject to open, vested subject to divestment)
- Contingent remainders: condition precedent or unascertained grantee
- Executory interests: shifting (divests a transferee) and springing (divests a transferor)
- Destructibility of contingent remainders (historical rule, largely abolished)
- Doctrine of worthier title and the Rule in Shelley's Case
Study Tasks
- Create a comprehensive chart mapping each future interest to its corresponding present estate
- Practice classifying 15 grants into the correct future interest categories
- Create flashcards for vested vs. contingent remainders with example language
- Diagram shifting vs. springing executory interests with timelines
Rule Against Perpetuities
Week 3 of 14
Readings
Casebook Ch. 4-5; John Chipman Gray, The Rule Against Perpetuities (selected excerpts)
Key Concepts to Master
- Classic RAP: no interest is good unless it must vest, if at all, not later than 21 years after some life in being
- RAP applies to: contingent remainders, executory interests, vested remainders subject to open (class gifts)
- RAP does not apply to: vested remainders, reversions, possibilities of reverter, rights of entry
- Validating life technique and the fertile octogenarian/unborn widow problems
- Modern reforms: wait-and-see (USRAP 90-year period), cy pres reformation
Study Tasks
- Work through 10 RAP problems identifying the validating life for each
- Create a RAP analysis flowchart: identify interest, identify condition, find validating life, test
- Practice the classic RAP traps: fertile octogenarian, unborn widow, administrative contingency
- Create flashcards for which interests RAP applies to and which are exempt
Concurrent Ownership: Tenancy in Common, Joint Tenancy, and Tenancy by the Entirety
Week 4 of 14
Readings
Casebook Ch. 6; Riddle v. Harmon, 102 Cal.App.3d 524 (1980); Sawada v. Endo, 57 Haw. 608 (1977)
Key Concepts to Master
- Tenancy in common: default, no survivorship, freely alienable
- Joint tenancy: four unities (time, title, interest, possession), right of survivorship
- Severance of joint tenancy: sale, mortgage (title theory vs. lien theory), lease
- Tenancy by the entirety: married couples, neither can unilaterally sever
- Partition: in kind vs. by sale
- Ouster and accounting among co-tenants
Study Tasks
- Brief Riddle v. Harmon on unilateral severance of joint tenancy
- Create a comparison chart of the three concurrent estates with their creation requirements
- Practice hypotheticals involving severance of joint tenancy by various actions
- Create flashcards for the four unities and the consequences of destroying each
Landlord-Tenant Law
Week 5 of 14
Readings
Casebook Ch. 7-8; Reste Realty Corp. v. Cooper, 53 N.J. 444 (1969); Javins v. First National Realty Corp., 428 F.2d 1071 (D.C. Cir. 1970)
Key Concepts to Master
- Four types of tenancies: term of years, periodic tenancy, tenancy at will, tenancy at sufferance
- Implied warranty of habitability (Javins) and its remedies
- Constructive eviction: substantial interference, landlord's breach, tenant vacates
- Assignment vs. sublease: privity of estate and privity of contract
- Tenant's duty to mitigate damages (modern trend)
- Fair housing and anti-discrimination in housing (Fair Housing Act)
Study Tasks
- Brief Javins v. First National Realty Corp. on the implied warranty of habitability
- Create a chart comparing assignment and sublease in terms of privity
- Practice a hypothetical involving constructive eviction and rent withholding
- Create flashcards for the four types of tenancies and their termination rules
Easements: Creation and Types
Week 6 of 14
Readings
Casebook Ch. 9-10; Willard v. First Church of Christ, Scientist, 7 Cal.3d 473 (1972); Othen v. Rosier, 226 S.W.2d 484 (Tex. 1950); Holbrook v. Taylor, 532 S.W.2d 763 (Ky. 1976)
Key Concepts to Master
- Easement appurtenant (benefits land) vs. easement in gross (benefits a person)
- Affirmative easements vs. negative easements (limited categories)
- Creation: express grant, express reservation, implication (prior existing use), necessity, prescription
- Prescriptive easement elements: open, notorious, continuous, adverse, statutory period
- Easement by estoppel/irrevocable license
- Scope of easements and the misuse/overburden doctrine
Study Tasks
- Brief Othen v. Rosier on easement by necessity requirements
- Create a flowchart for determining how an easement was created
- Compare prescriptive easement elements with adverse possession elements
- Create flashcards for each method of easement creation with examples
Easement Termination, Profits, and Licenses
Week 7 of 14
Readings
Casebook Ch. 10; Restatement (Third) of Property: Servitudes §§ 7.1-7.12; Preseault v. United States, 100 F.3d 1525 (Fed. Cir. 1996)
Key Concepts to Master
- Easement termination: release, merger, abandonment, prescription, estoppel, condemnation, end of necessity
- Abandonment requires intent plus physical act (non-use alone insufficient)
- Profit a prendre: right to enter and remove natural resources
- License: revocable permission, no interest in land
- Irrevocable license through estoppel (expenditure in reliance)
- Conservation easements and modern easement uses
Study Tasks
- Create a chart of all methods of easement termination with examples
- Compare easement, profit, and license in terms of revocability and transferability
- Practice a hypothetical involving abandonment vs. non-use of an easement
- Create flashcards for easement termination methods
Real Covenants and Equitable Servitudes
Week 8 of 14
Readings
Casebook Ch. 11; Tulk v. Moxhay (1848); Neponsit Property Owners' Association v. Emigrant Industrial Savings Bank, 278 N.Y. 248 (1938); Shelley v. Kraemer, 334 U.S. 1 (1948)
Key Concepts to Master
- Real covenant elements for burden to run: intent, touch and concern, horizontal and vertical privity, notice
- Real covenant elements for benefit to run: intent, touch and concern, vertical privity
- Equitable servitude: intent, touch and concern, notice (no privity required)
- Horizontal privity: mutual (easement) vs. instantaneous (grantor-grantee transaction)
- Common scheme doctrine and implied reciprocal servitudes
- Termination: changed conditions, merger, abandonment, unclean hands
Study Tasks
- Brief Neponsit Property Owners' Association and analyze touch and concern
- Create a side-by-side chart: real covenants vs. equitable servitudes
- Practice a hypothetical: does a restriction run with the land to a subsequent purchaser?
- Create flashcards for the elements required for burden and benefit to run
Zoning and Land Use Regulation
Week 9 of 14
Readings
Casebook Ch. 12; Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co., 272 U.S. 365 (1926); PA Northwestern Distributors, Inc. v. Zoning Hearing Board, 526 Pa. 186 (1991)
Key Concepts to Master
- Zoning as a valid exercise of police power (Euclid)
- Cumulative vs. non-cumulative zoning
- Variances: use variance and area/dimensional variance
- Special exceptions / conditional use permits
- Nonconforming uses: right to continue, amortization
- Spot zoning and exclusionary zoning challenges
Study Tasks
- Brief Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty and explain the rational basis standard for zoning
- Create a flowchart for seeking zoning relief (variance vs. special exception vs. rezoning)
- Practice a hypothetical involving a nonconforming use and proposed expansion
- Create flashcards for the types of zoning relief and their requirements
Adverse Possession
Week 10 of 14
Readings
Casebook Ch. 13; Van Valkenburgh v. Lutz, 304 N.Y. 95 (1952); Howard v. Kunto, 3 Wash.App. 393 (1970); Nome 2000 v. Fagerstrom, 799 P.2d 304 (Alaska 1990)
Key Concepts to Master
- Elements: actual, open and notorious, exclusive, continuous, hostile/adverse, for the statutory period
- Hostility: objective (majority), good faith, bad faith (aggressive trespass) approaches
- Tacking: privity between successive possessors
- Disabilities: tolling the statute of limitations
- Color of title: constructive adverse possession of the entire tract
- Adverse possession against the government (generally not allowed)
Study Tasks
- Brief Howard v. Kunto on tacking and continuous possession
- Create a checklist for adverse possession analysis with each element explained
- Practice a hypothetical involving seasonal use and the continuity requirement
- Create flashcards for the adverse possession elements and the different hostility standards
Takings: Eminent Domain and Regulatory Takings
Week 11 of 14
Readings
U.S. Constitution, Fifth Amendment; Kelo v. City of New London, 545 U.S. 469 (2005); Pennsylvania Coal Co. v. Mahon, 260 U.S. 393 (1922); Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, 505 U.S. 1003 (1992); Penn Central Transportation Co. v. City of New York, 438 U.S. 104 (1978); Cedar Point Nursery v. Hassid, 594 U.S. 139 (2021); Casebook Ch. 14
Key Concepts to Master
- Public use requirement and Kelo's broad interpretation
- Just compensation: fair market value
- Per se takings: physical occupation (Loretto/Cedar Point) and total economic wipe-out (Lucas)
- Penn Central regulatory takings three-factor test: economic impact, investment-backed expectations, character of government action
- Exactions: Nollan/Dolan essential nexus and rough proportionality
- Judicial takings and the emerging doctrine
Study Tasks
- Brief Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council and identify the per se rule for total takings
- Brief Penn Central and memorize the three-factor regulatory takings test
- Create a flowchart for takings analysis: physical taking → total economic loss → Penn Central
- Create flashcards for the per se and regulatory takings frameworks
Recording Acts and Title Assurance
Week 12 of 14
Readings
Casebook Ch. 15-16; Luthi v. Evans, 576 P.2d 1064 (Kan. 1978); Shelter Components Corp. v. Sally, 584 So.2d 1381 (Miss. 1991)
Key Concepts to Master
- Three types of recording acts: race, notice, and race-notice
- Bona fide purchaser (BFP) status: value, good faith, without notice
- Types of notice: actual, constructive (recorded), inquiry (possession or references)
- Chain of title problems: wild deeds, late-recorded deeds, deeds from common grantor
- Title insurance vs. title search: what each covers
- Marketable title acts and their effect on old claims
Study Tasks
- Create a comparison chart of race, notice, and race-notice recording statutes
- Practice three recording act problems with multiple conveyances and determine who prevails
- Brief Luthi v. Evans on constructive notice and the chain of title
- Create flashcards for the types of recording statutes and the types of notice
Real Estate Transactions: Contracts, Deeds, and Mortgages
Week 13 of 14
Readings
Casebook Ch. 16-17; Stambovsky v. Ackley, 169 A.D.2d 254 (N.Y. App. Div. 1991); Johnson v. Davis, 480 So.2d 625 (Fla. 1985)
Key Concepts to Master
- Real estate contract: Statute of Frauds, marketable title obligation, equitable conversion
- Seller's disclosure duties: caveat emptor vs. duty to disclose material defects
- Deed types: general warranty, special warranty, quitclaim
- Deed covenants: present (seisin, right to convey, against encumbrances) and future (quiet enjoyment, warranty, further assurances)
- Mortgage basics: lien theory vs. title theory, foreclosure, equity of redemption
- Recording priority for mortgages and subordination agreements
Study Tasks
- Brief Stambovsky v. Ackley (the haunted house case) on disclosure
- Create a chart comparing general warranty, special warranty, and quitclaim deeds
- Practice a hypothetical involving a title defect discovered after closing
- Create flashcards for the six deed covenants and the mortgage foreclosure process
Review and Exam Preparation
Week 14 of 14
Readings
Review all major cases; Restatement of Property provisions; class notes and outlines
Key Concepts to Master
- Issue-spotting across estates, future interests, servitudes, and takings
- Connecting present estates with their corresponding future interests
- Integrating recording acts with real estate transactions
- Analyzing concurrent ownership disputes through partition and accounting
- Writing organized property essays under time pressure
Study Tasks
- Complete a full practice exam under timed conditions
- Create a comprehensive one-page attack outline for property
- Review and consolidate all flashcard decks
- Identify your three weakest areas and re-read those cases
- Practice classifying 20 grants by estate type and future interest