California Real Estate Principles and License Preparation

All other considerations being equal, it is generally held that a tenant who installs an item, such as a chandelier, intends to remove the item at the expiration of the lease. However, an owner who installs the same chandelier likely did so with the intention of improving the property, thus making this chandelier a fixture. Following similar reason

The most important methods of easement creation are by:

The courts have established five tests of a fixture to determine whether an item of personal property is a fixture. It might be of help to remember these five tests by the mnemonic, "MARIA": method of attachment, adaptability, relationship of the parties, intent, and agreement between the parties.

should carefully put in writing what they deem to be personal property or fixtures.

Because there is no ownership in these underground minerals (as distinct from ownership of rights to drill for these minerals), the owner of the drilling rights may extract all of these transitory minerals in the underground reservoir, even if such extraction depletes the minerals under neighboring lands.

Riparian rights are the rights of a landowner to the reasonable use of water that flows through or adjacent to his or her property.

A wood board being carried by a carpenter toward a house that is being built is personal property. Moments later, once the carpenter permanently affixes it to the house as part of a wall or floor, the board becomes real property. If sometime later during remodeling the board is removed from the house, it again becomes personal property.

Transfer of real property is completed by the delivery of a written deed.

In general, a riparian landowner has the right to an amount of water in proportion to the amount of land that borders the water, but only after taking into consideration the rights and needs of others. Water law gives preference to domestic use of water over use for irrigation.