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Freehold vs Leasehold Estates

National · Property Ownership & Land Use — free study notes for the real estate licensing exam.

🏘️ Property Ownership & Land Use

📖 What you need to know

A FREEHOLD estate is ownership for an indeterminate time: fee simple absolute (the maximum bundle of rights), fee simple defeasible (ownership that can be lost if a condition is broken — watch for 'so long as' or 'provided that'), and the life estate (ownership measured by a lifetime). A LEASEHOLD is possession without ownership — the tenant holds a non-freehold estate for a defined or renewing period. Exam trap: a life tenant may sell or mortgage their interest, but everything they grant ends when the measuring life ends, and they must not commit waste that damages the remainderman's future interest.

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Questions students ask

Is Freehold vs Leasehold Estates on the real estate exam?

Yes. Property Ownership & Land Use is a scored domain on the real estate licensing exam, and this topic appears in the national portion.

Is this cheat sheet free?

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