A tenant installs a custom-built bar in a rented restaurant space for use in their business. Under the law of fixtures, this item is best classified as a:
A. Trade fixture, which the tenant may remove before the lease ends
B. Real fixture that automatically becomes the landlord's property
C. Emblement, which passes with the harvest
D. Bill of sale item requiring no further action
Show answer and reasoning
Correct answer: A. Trade fixture, which the tenant may remove before the lease ends
Correct. Trade fixtures are items a business tenant installs to conduct trade; the tenant retains the right to remove them before the lease expires, provided the premises are restored.
- B: Incorrect. A trade fixture does not automatically convert to the landlord's real property; that is the general fixture rule, not the trade fixture exception.
- C: Incorrect. Emblements are cultivated annual crops a tenant farmer may harvest after a tenancy ends, not commercial equipment.
- D: Incorrect. A bill of sale documents personal property transfer but does not itself resolve fixture classification.
Source: Pearson VUE National/General Exam Content Outline for Salespersons, eff. 4/1/2025, Sec. I.A
Which test is applied first when determining whether an item attached to real property remains personal property or has become a fixture?
A. The method and permanence of attachment to the property
B. The original purchase price of the item
C. Whether the item was purchased new or used
D. The color and style of the item
Show answer and reasoning
Correct answer: A. The method and permanence of attachment to the property
Correct. Courts and licensees look first to how firmly and permanently an item is attached; items bolted, wired, or built in tend toward fixture status.
- B: Incorrect. Purchase price has no bearing on fixture classification.
- C: Incorrect. New versus used condition is irrelevant to the legal test.
- D: Incorrect. Aesthetic characteristics do not determine fixture status.
Source: Pearson VUE National/General Exam Content Outline for Salespersons, eff. 4/1/2025, Sec. I.A.2
The economic characteristic of real property known as "scarcity" refers to:
A. The limited supply of land in a given location
B. The physical indestructibility of land
C. The fact that no two parcels are exactly alike
D. The immobility of land
Show answer and reasoning
Correct answer: A. The limited supply of land in a given location
Correct. Scarcity describes the finite supply of land, particularly in desirable locations, which supports value.
- B: Incorrect. Indestructibility is a physical characteristic, not the economic trait of scarcity.
- C: Incorrect. That description matches non-homogeneity (uniqueness), a separate physical characteristic.
- D: Incorrect. Immobility is a physical characteristic, not scarcity.
Source: Pearson VUE National/General Exam Content Outline for Salespersons, eff. 4/1/2025, Sec. I.B.1
Which of the following is a physical, rather than economic, characteristic of land?
A. Non-homogeneity, meaning every parcel is unique
B. Scarcity of desirable locations
C. Permanence of investment
D. Area preference (situs)
Show answer and reasoning
Correct answer: A. Non-homogeneity, meaning every parcel is unique
Correct. Non-homogeneity (uniqueness) is one of land's three physical characteristics, along with immobility and indestructibility.
- B: Incorrect. Scarcity is one of the four economic characteristics of land.
- C: Incorrect. Permanence of investment is an economic characteristic reflecting the durability of improvements.
- D: Incorrect. Area preference, or situs, is an economic characteristic describing buyer preference for a location.
Source: Pearson VUE National/General Exam Content Outline for Salespersons, eff. 4/1/2025, Sec. I.B.2
A metes and bounds legal description begins and ends at which point?
A. The point of beginning (POB)
B. The nearest section corner
C. The benchmark elevation marker
D. The county courthouse
Show answer and reasoning
Correct answer: A. The point of beginning (POB)
Correct. A metes and bounds description traces the perimeter of a parcel using courses and distances, starting and closing at a fixed point of beginning.
- B: Incorrect. Section corners are used in the government rectangular survey system, not metes and bounds.
- C: Incorrect. A benchmark marks elevation for surveying purposes but is not the anchor point of a metes and bounds description.
- D: Incorrect. The courthouse is where deeds are recorded, not a survey reference point.
Source: Pearson VUE National/General Exam Content Outline for Salespersons, eff. 4/1/2025, Sec. I.C.1
