California Real Estate Principles and License Preparation

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.

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Legal distinctions between real and personal property

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

Personal property is usually transferred by a bill of sale.

Real vs. Personal Property Property comes in two, and only two, mutually exclusive kinds: real and personal. "Every kind of property that is not real is personal." CC §663. Each kind of property can, under certain circumstances, be transformed into the other kind.

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 shortage of water in many areas of California makes water law an important topic. There are three main categories of water rights: 1. Underground water rights; 2. Riparian and littoral rights; and 3. Right of appropriation.