Legal Definitions - real property

Real property refers to land and everything permanently attached to it, such as buildings and minerals. It is a type of property that gives the owner the right to use, control, and dispose of the land in a lawful manner.

There are different types of real property, including:

• Freehold estates: These are properties that an individual owns for an indefinite period of time. Examples include the "fee simple absolute," which is inheritable and lasts as long as the individual and their heirs want to keep it, and the "life estate," which allows the individual to possess the land for the duration of their life.
• Nonfreehold estates: These are property interests of limited duration, such as tenancy for years, tenancy at will, and tenancy at sufferance.
• Concurrent estates: These exist when property is owned or possessed by two or more individuals simultaneously.

Each state has exclusive jurisdiction over the land within its borders, and its laws concerning the types of interests that can be held and how they are created are not subject tofederal law.

For example, if someone owns a house and the land it sits on, they own real property. If they sell the house but keep the land, they still own the real property. However, if they sell the land, they no longer own the real property.