Series
Real Law Society Press · Series
Foundations of Property Law
A chapter-by-chapter primer introducing the doctrines and vocabulary of American property law.
Editorial focus: Property as a legal relation — real vs. personal, estates in land, and the recorded instrument.
Volume I · 19 chapters · generated from the current published edition
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All apparatus is generated automatically from the current published edition. The website remains the definitive online edition.
How to Cite This VolumeReal Law Society Press, Foundations of Property Law, Volume I — Foundations of Property Law (2026 ed.), reallawsociety.com/press/series/foundations-of-property-law.
Subject Index
- A Promise Versus an Order — Ch. 19 § 19.5
- Acceleration — Ch. 18
- Acceleration Clauses — Ch. 19 § 19.15
- Acceptance — Ch. 14
- Actual-notice — Ch. 15
- Adverse-possession — Ch. 13
- Affirmative and Negative Easements — Ch. 10
- Affirmative-easement — Ch. 10
- Attorneys' Fees and Collection Costs — Ch. 19 § 19.18
- Authoritative Secondary Sources — Ch. 1
- Balloon Payment Notes — Ch. 19 § 19.25
- Blank, Special, and Restrictive Indorsements — Ch. 19 § 19.36
- Bona Fide Purchasers — Ch. 15
- Bona-fide-purchaser — Ch. 15
- Boundary Fence — Ch. 13
- Boundary-disputes — Ch. 13
- Breaks in the Chain of Title — Ch. 16
- Chain of Title and Marketable Title — Ch. 16
- Chain-of-title — Ch. 16, Ch. 17, Ch. 18
- Chapter Purpose — Ch. 19 § 19.1
- Characteristics of a License — Ch. 11
- Characteristics of a Reversion — Ch. 7
- Characteristics of Fee Simple Ownership — Ch. 4
- Check — Ch. 19 § 19.5
- Co-ownership — Ch. 9
- Color of Title — Ch. 13
- Color-of-title — Ch. 13
- Commercial Importance of Transfer Rules — Ch. 19 § 19.34
- Commercial Transactions — Ch. 2
- Commercial-paper — Ch. 19 § 19.1
- Commercial-use restriction — Ch. 12
- Common Conveyancing Examples — Ch. 6, Ch. 12
- Common Examples — Ch. 13
- Common Exclusions and Exceptions — Ch. 17
- Common Misconceptions — Ch. 4, Ch. 5, Ch. 6, Ch. 7, Ch. 8, Ch. 9, Ch. 10, Ch. 11, Ch. 12, Ch. 13, Ch. 14, Ch. 15, Ch. 16, Ch. 17, Ch. 18
- Common Mortgage Provisions — Ch. 18
- Common Recording Examples — Ch. 15
- Community Property (Introduction) — Ch. 9
- Community-property — Ch. 9
- Comparing the Forms of Concurrent Ownership — Ch. 9
- Comparing the Three Defeasible Fees — Ch. 8
- Complete Chain — Ch. 16
- Conclusion of Part III — Ch. 19
- Concurrent-ownership — Ch. 9
- Constructive-notice — Ch. 15
- Contingent Remainders — Ch. 7
- Contingent-remainder — Ch. 7
- Continue Your Reading — Ch. 1, Ch. 2, Ch. 3, Ch. 4, Ch. 5, Ch. 6, Ch. 7, Ch. 8, Ch. 9, Ch. 10, Ch. 11, Ch. 12, Ch. 13, Ch. 14, Ch. 15, Ch. 16, Ch. 17, Ch. 18
- Conveyance — Ch. 14
- Conveyancing — Ch. 7, Ch. 8, Ch. 9, Ch. 10, Ch. 11, Ch. 12, Ch. 13
- Cotenancy — Ch. 9
- Covenants — Ch. 12, Ch. 17
- Covenants of Title (Introduction) — Ch. 14
- Covenants-of-title — Ch. 14
- Creating a Mortgage — Ch. 18
- Creation of a License — Ch. 11
- Deed-of-trust — Ch. 19 § 19.1
- Deeds — Ch. 14, Ch. 16, Ch. 17, Ch. 18
- Default — Ch. 18
- Default and Acceleration — Ch. 18
- Default Provisions — Ch. 19 § 19.16
- Defeasible Fees (Introduction) — Ch. 4
- Defeasible-fee — Ch. 8
- Defeasible-fees — Ch. 4
- Definition — Ch. 18
- Delivery — Ch. 14
- Delivery and Acceptance — Ch. 14
- Delivery of the Instrument — Ch. 19 § 19.30
- Demand Notes — Ch. 19 § 19.22
- Disabilities — Ch. 13
- Documents Found in the Chain of Title — Ch. 16
- Dominant and Servient Estates — Ch. 10
- Dominant-estate — Ch. 10
- Easement-appurtenant — Ch. 10
- Easement-by-necessity — Ch. 10
- Easement-in-gross — Ch. 10
- Easements — Ch. 10, Ch. 16, Ch. 17
- Easements Compared to Other Property Interests — Ch. 10
- Enforcement of Promissory Notes — Ch. 19
- Equitable Interests — Ch. 1
- Equitable Servitudes — Ch. 12
- Equitable-servitudes — Ch. 12
- Essential Components of a Promissory Note — Ch. 19 § 19.10
- Essential Elements of a Valid Deed — Ch. 14
- Estate Administration — Ch. 2
- Estates in Land — Ch. 1
- Estates-in-land — Ch. 1, Ch. 3, Ch. 4, Ch. 5, Ch. 6, Ch. 7, Ch. 8, Ch. 9
- Estoppel — Ch. 11
- Example One — Ch. 7, Ch. 8
- Example Three — Ch. 7, Ch. 8
- Example Two — Ch. 7, Ch. 8
- Executory-interest — Ch. 6, Ch. 8
- Express-grant — Ch. 10
- Express-license — Ch. 11
- Fee Simple Absolute — Ch. 4
- Fee Simple Compared to Other Estates — Ch. 4
- Fee Simple Determinable — Ch. 8
- Fee Simple Subject to an Executory Limitation — Ch. 8
- Fee Simple Subject to Condition Subsequent — Ch. 8
- Fee-simple — Ch. 4
- Fee-simple-determinable — Ch. 8
- Fee-simple-subject-to-condition-subsequent — Ch. 8
- Fee-simple-subject-to-executory-limitation — Ch. 8
- Fixtures — Ch. 1, Ch. 2
- Foreclosure — Ch. 18
- Forged Deed — Ch. 17
- Foundational — Ch. 1, Ch. 2, Ch. 3, Ch. 4, Ch. 5, Ch. 6, Ch. 7, Ch. 8, Ch. 9, Ch. 10, Ch. 11, Ch. 12, Ch. 13, Ch. 14, Ch. 15, Ch. 16, Ch. 17, Ch. 18, Ch. 19 § 19.1
- Foundational Ownership Interests — Ch. 1
- Freehold — Ch. 3, Ch. 4, Ch. 5
- Freehold Estates — Ch. 1, Ch. 3
- Future Interests and Estate Planning — Ch. 6
- Future Interests Created in Another Person — Ch. 6
- Future Interests Following a Life Estate — Ch. 5
- Future Interests Retained by the Grantor — Ch. 6
- Future-interests — Ch. 3, Ch. 5, Ch. 6, Ch. 7
- General-warranty-deed — Ch. 14
- Gift to a Family Member — Ch. 14
- Governing Law and Venue — Ch. 19 § 19.19
- Grantee — Ch. 14
- Grantor — Ch. 14
- Grantor and Grantee — Ch. 14
- Historical Origins of Fee Simple — Ch. 4
- Holder in Due Course — Ch. 19 § 19.40
- Holder Versus Owner — Ch. 19 § 19.39
- Homeowners-associations — Ch. 12
- How a Chain of Title Is Built — Ch. 16
- How a Life Estate Is Created — Ch. 5
- How Easements Are Created — Ch. 10
- Implied-license — Ch. 11
- Improvements — Ch. 1
- Indorsements — Ch. 19 § 19.35
- Inquiry-notice — Ch. 15
- Installment Payment Structures — Ch. 19 § 19.24
- Intangible Property — Ch. 2
- Intangible-property — Ch. 2
- Interest Provisions — Ch. 19 § 19.12
- Interest-Only Notes — Ch. 19 § 19.26
- Intermediate-theory — Ch. 18
- Introduction — Ch. 1, Ch. 2, Ch. 3, Ch. 4, Ch. 5, Ch. 6, Ch. 7, Ch. 8, Ch. 9, Ch. 10, Ch. 11, Ch. 12, Ch. 13, Ch. 14, Ch. 15, Ch. 16, Ch. 17, Ch. 18, Ch. 19
- Irrevocable-license — Ch. 11
- Joint Tenancy — Ch. 9
- Joint-tenancy — Ch. 9
- Judgments — Ch. 16
- Key Rule — Ch. 18
- Key Takeaways — Ch. 1, Ch. 2, Ch. 3, Ch. 4, Ch. 5, Ch. 6, Ch. 7, Ch. 8, Ch. 9, Ch. 10, Ch. 11, Ch. 12, Ch. 13, Ch. 14, Ch. 15, Ch. 16, Ch. 17, Ch. 18
- Land — Ch. 1
- Land-use — Ch. 11, Ch. 12
- Leasehold — Ch. 3
- Legal Descriptions — Ch. 14
- Legal Title — Ch. 1
- Legal-description — Ch. 14
- Lenders-policy — Ch. 17
- License — Ch. 11
- License vs. Easement — Ch. 11
- License vs. Lease — Ch. 11
- License-vs-easement — Ch. 11
- License-vs-lease — Ch. 11
- Licenses — Ch. 11
- Lien Theory and Title Theory — Ch. 18
- Lien-theory — Ch. 18
- Liens — Ch. 16, Ch. 17
- Life Estate vs. Fee Simple — Ch. 5
- Life-estate — Ch. 5
- Looking Ahead — Ch. 6
- Maintenance obligation — Ch. 12
- Maker — Ch. 19 § 19.1
- Marketable-title — Ch. 16, Ch. 17
- Maturity Date — Ch. 19 § 19.14
- Measuring Lives — Ch. 5
- Missing Conveyance — Ch. 16
- Mixed Property Interests — Ch. 2
- Mortgagee — Ch. 18
- Mortgages — Ch. 16, Ch. 17, Ch. 18, Ch. 19 § 19.1
- Mortgagor — Ch. 18
- Negative-easement — Ch. 10
- Negotiability Under Article 3 — Ch. 19 § 19.28
- Negotiable-instruments — Ch. 19 § 19.1
- Negotiation and Transfer of Promissory Notes — Ch. 19
- Non-Freehold Estates — Ch. 3
- Nonfreehold Estates — Ch. 1
- Nonpossessory-interest — Ch. 10, Ch. 11
- Notes Payable at a Definite Time — Ch. 19 § 19.23
- Notes Versus Drafts — Ch. 19 § 19.6
- Notice — Ch. 12
- Notice-statute — Ch. 15
- Order Paper and Bearer Paper — Ch. 19 § 19.31
- Owner's Policy vs. Lender's Policy — Ch. 17
- Owners-policy — Ch. 17
- Parties to a Mortgage — Ch. 18
- Partition — Ch. 9
- Payee — Ch. 19 § 19.1
- Payment on Demand and Payment at a Definite Time — Ch. 19 § 19.21
- Payment Terms — Ch. 19 § 19.13
- Permission Granted — Ch. 13
- Person Entitled to Enforce — Ch. 19 § 19.38
- Personal Property — Ch. 1, Ch. 2
- Personal-permission — Ch. 11
- Personal-property — Ch. 2
- Planned-communities — Ch. 12
- Possession — Ch. 13
- Possessory and Future Interests — Ch. 3
- Possessory Interests — Ch. 1
- Possibility-of-reverter — Ch. 6, Ch. 8
- Practical Applications — Ch. 7, Ch. 8, Ch. 9, Ch. 10, Ch. 11, Ch. 12, Ch. 13, Ch. 14, Ch. 15
- Practical Examples — Ch. 16, Ch. 17
- Practical Uses of Life Estates — Ch. 5
- Prepayment Clauses — Ch. 19 § 19.17
- Prescriptive-easement — Ch. 10
- Primary Authorities — Ch. 1
- Primary Authorities and Authoritative Secondary Sources — Ch. 2, Ch. 3, Ch. 4, Ch. 5, Ch. 6, Ch. 7, Ch. 8, Ch. 9, Ch. 10, Ch. 11, Ch. 13, Ch. 14, Ch. 15, Ch. 16, Ch. 17, Ch. 18
- Primary Authorities and Authoritative Sources — Ch. 1
- Principal and the Debt Obligation — Ch. 19 § 19.11
- Priority — Ch. 15
- Privity — Ch. 12
- Promissory Note — Ch. 19 § 19.5
- Promissory-note — Ch. 18, Ch. 19 § 19.1
- Proof of Signatures and Status — Ch. 19 § 19.42
- Property-law — Ch. 1, Ch. 2, Ch. 3, Ch. 4, Ch. 5, Ch. 6, Ch. 7, Ch. 8, Ch. 9, Ch. 10, Ch. 11, Ch. 12, Ch. 13, Ch. 14, Ch. 15, Ch. 16, Ch. 17, Ch. 18, Ch. 19 § 19.1
- Pur-autre-vie — Ch. 5
- Quiet-title — Ch. 13
- Quitclaim-deed — Ch. 14
- Race-notice-statute — Ch. 15
- Race-statute — Ch. 15
- Reacquisition of an Instrument — Ch. 19 § 19.37
- Reading Conveyancing Language — Ch. 7, Ch. 8
- Reading Deed Language — Ch. 9
- Real Covenants — Ch. 12
- Real Covenants vs. Equitable Servitudes — Ch. 12
- Real Property — Ch. 1, Ch. 2
- Real Property vs. Personal Property — Ch. 1
- Real-covenants — Ch. 12
- Real-estate-finance — Ch. 18, Ch. 19 § 19.1
- Real-property — Ch. 1, Ch. 2, Ch. 3, Ch. 4, Ch. 5, Ch. 6, Ch. 7, Ch. 8, Ch. 9, Ch. 10, Ch. 11, Ch. 12, Ch. 13, Ch. 14, Ch. 15, Ch. 16, Ch. 17, Ch. 18, Ch. 19 § 19.1
- Recorded Easement — Ch. 17
- Recording — Ch. 14, Ch. 15, Ch. 16, Ch. 17, Ch. 18
- Recording a Deed — Ch. 14
- Recording Does Not Cure Invalid Instruments — Ch. 15
- Recording the Mortgage — Ch. 18
- Recording vs. Ownership — Ch. 15
- Recording-acts — Ch. 15, Ch. 16, Ch. 17, Ch. 18
- Relationship to Other Estates — Ch. 6
- Relationship to Other Property Doctrines — Ch. 13, Ch. 14, Ch. 15, Ch. 16, Ch. 17, Ch. 18
- Relationship to Other Property Interests — Ch. 11
- Remainder — Ch. 6, Ch. 7
- Requirements of a Valid Remainder — Ch. 7
- Reserved for later study — Ch. 12
- Residential Purchase — Ch. 14
- Residential Real Estate Sales — Ch. 2
- Residential-only restriction — Ch. 12
- Restrictive Covenants in Modern Developments — Ch. 12
- Restrictive-covenants — Ch. 12
- Reversion — Ch. 6, Ch. 7
- Reversion vs. Remainder — Ch. 7
- Revocable-permission — Ch. 11
- Revocation of a License — Ch. 11
- Right-of-entry — Ch. 6, Ch. 8
- Right-of-survivorship — Ch. 9
- Rights Acquired by Transfer — Ch. 19 § 19.33
- Rights and Duties Before Default — Ch. 18
- Rights and Duties of the Life Tenant — Ch. 5
- Rights of Co-Owners — Ch. 9
- Running with the Land — Ch. 12
- Running-with-the-land — Ch. 12
- Scope of an Easement — Ch. 10
- Servient-estate — Ch. 10
- Special-warranty-deed — Ch. 14
- Statute-of-limitations — Ch. 13
- Statutory Periods — Ch. 13
- Subdivisions — Ch. 12
- Successive Possessors — Ch. 13
- Tacking — Ch. 13
- Tangible Property — Ch. 2
- Tangible-property — Ch. 2
- Tenancy by the Entirety — Ch. 9
- Tenancy in Common — Ch. 9
- Tenancy-by-the-entirety — Ch. 9
- Tenancy-in-common — Ch. 9
- Termination of Easements — Ch. 10
- The Commercial Purpose of Notes — Ch. 19 § 19.8
- The Debt and the Security Instrument — Ch. 18
- The Doctrine of Waste (Introduction) — Ch. 5
- The Historical Development of Promissory Notes — Ch. 19 § 19.4
- The Legal Effect of Payment Terms — Ch. 19 § 19.27
- The Legal Nature of a Promissory Note — Ch. 19 § 19.1
- The Life Tenant — Ch. 5
- The Meaning of Real Property — Ch. 1
- The Parties to a Promissory Note — Ch. 19 § 19.7
- The Public Land Records — Ch. 15
- The Relationship Between the Note and the Security Instrument — Ch. 19 § 19.20
- The Relationship Between the Note and the Underlying Obligation — Ch. 19 § 19.9
- The Terms and Operation of the Promissory Note — Ch. 19
- The Three Types of Recording Acts — Ch. 15
- The Title Examination Process — Ch. 17
- The Traditional Elements of Adverse Possession — Ch. 13
- The Two Fundamental Categories of Future Interests — Ch. 6
- The Two Major Categories of Estates — Ch. 3
- The Two Primary Categories of Property — Ch. 2
- Title — Ch. 15, Ch. 16, Ch. 17
- Title Claims — Ch. 17
- Title Commitments — Ch. 17
- Title Examination — Ch. 16
- Title-commitment — Ch. 17
- Title-examination — Ch. 10, Ch. 11, Ch. 12, Ch. 13, Ch. 16, Ch. 17
- Title-insurance — Ch. 16, Ch. 17, Ch. 18
- Title-theory — Ch. 18
- Touch-and-concern — Ch. 12
- Transfer Versus Negotiation — Ch. 19 § 19.29
- Types of Deeds — Ch. 14
- Types of Easements — Ch. 10
- Types of Notice — Ch. 15
- Ucc-article-3 — Ch. 19 § 19.1
- Undisclosed Heir — Ch. 17
- Undivided-interest — Ch. 9
- Unreleased Mortgage — Ch. 16
- Value and Consideration — Ch. 19 § 19.41
- Vested Remainders — Ch. 7
- Vested-remainder — Ch. 7
- Waste — Ch. 5
- What Adverse Possession Does Not Do — Ch. 13
- What Are Recording Acts? — Ch. 15
- What Is a Chain of Title? — Ch. 16
- What Is a Covenant? — Ch. 12
- What Is a Deed? — Ch. 14
- What Is a Defeasible Fee? — Ch. 8
- What Is a Future Interest? — Ch. 6
- What Is a License? — Ch. 11
- What Is a Life Estate? — Ch. 5
- What Is a Mortgage? — Ch. 18
- What Is a Promissory Note? — Ch. 19 § 19.2
- What Is a Remainder? — Ch. 7
- What Is a Reversion? — Ch. 7
- What Is Adverse Possession? — Ch. 13
- What Is an Easement? — Ch. 10
- What Is an Estate in Land? — Ch. 3
- What Is Concurrent Ownership? — Ch. 9
- What Is Fee Simple Ownership? — Ch. 4
- What Is Property? — Ch. 1
- What Is Title Insurance? — Ch. 17
- What Title Insurance Generally Covers — Ch. 17
- Why Covenants Exist — Ch. 12
- Why Deeds Matter — Ch. 14
- Why Defeasible Fees Exist — Ch. 8
- Why Easements Exist — Ch. 10
- Why Estates Matter — Ch. 3
- Why Fee Simple Matters — Ch. 4
- Why Future Interests Exist — Ch. 6
- Why Licenses Exist — Ch. 11
- Why Negotiability Matters — Ch. 19 § 19.32
- Why Promissory Notes Exist — Ch. 19 § 19.3
- Why Proper Classification Matters — Ch. 2
- Why Property Classifications Matter — Ch. 2
- Why Recording Matters — Ch. 15
- Why the Chain of Title Matters — Ch. 16
- Why the Law Recognizes Adverse Possession — Ch. 13
- Why the Law Recognizes Concurrent Ownership — Ch. 9
- Why the Law Uses Estates — Ch. 3
- Why Title Insurance Exists — Ch. 17
- Wild Deeds — Ch. 16
- Wild-deed — Ch. 16
Contents▾
Volume I
Foundations of Property Law
19 Chapters Published
19 / 27 Complete
Part I
Foundations of Property Rights
Foundational doctrines governing ownership, interests in land, conveyancing, recording, and title.
17 Chapters Published
17 / 17 Complete
Part II
Real Estate Finance
The instruments and doctrines by which real property is used as security for a loan.
2 Chapters Published
2 / 10 Complete
Established · MMXXVRead Law. Not Lore.Vol. I — Folio I