• Negative. A negative easement prevents or limits the property owner’s right to control or use his or her property with unlimited freedom. [For example, two townhouses are built adjacent to each other, and Townhouse A builds a sundeck on her roof to enjoy the sun. She can try to get an easement against her neighbor in Townhouse B to prevent him from increasing his building height in any way that may significantly block her sunlight.]
• Positive. A positive easement allows an individual or group to use the property of another property owner. This use must be for a specific purpose. [For example, Laura owns a ten-acre lot next to the lake. She sells a three-acre portion by the road to Brad, but Brad's land is blocked from the lake by Laura's remaining seven acres. As part of the sales agreement, therefore, Brad gets an easement to use a small roadway through Laura's property to access the lake. Brad can only use that easement to access the lake; he cannot build a guest cottage or garage on it, because his easement use is limited.]

An easement is a legal encumbrance upon a property and its ownership. Easements affect both the title to the property and the property’s physical condition

If the grantor’s purported interest are false or invalid, no ownership interests or property are conveyed. Also, if the grantor gains ownership interest after the quitclaim deed is conveyed, that ownership interest remains with the grantor and is not covered by the outdated quitclaim
deed.

Quitclaims are often used in corrective or simple situations. For example, if the title erroneously lists the ownership as Susan Jones (instead of Suzanna Jones) Suzanna can record a

quitclaim deed with the correct spelling. Another example is if Quincy helped his daughter Paula buy a house, and then Quincy wanted to remove his name from the title, he can issue a quitclaim deed that would remove him from the title.

Quitclaims are also recommended if the grantor (seller) is unsure about the quality of the title he or she possesses. For example, if you obtained a property through a foreclosure sale or adverse possession, you may want to consider using a quitclaim deed when you sell it.

• Attachment. The permanency of an item’s attachment to the real estate determines whether it is real or
  personal property. For example, a pile of wooden posts would be considered personal property until
  they are driven into the ground to create a fence, at which time, they become part of the real property.
• Transfer. Real property is transferred with a deed; personal property is transferred with a bill of sale.
  With most home purchases, the deed transfers the land and house, while the bill of sale handles the
  transfer of the washer and dryer.

Per the preceding example, personally property can be converted into real property through the process of
attachment. Fixtures are objects that were previously personal property but have been attached to real estate,
thus making them real property. [Note: try not to confuse regular fixtures with trade fixtures; trade fixtures,
sometimes called chattel fixtures, are considered personal property.]
By the same token, real property can be converted into personal property through the process of severance.

1. Possession. This facet of ownership pertains to the right to occupy the property. For example, a
   landlord gives the renter the right to temporarily possess, enjoy and exclude the property, but the
   landlord keeps the right to control its usage and the right to dispose the property to another person.
   l Enjoyment. This facet pertains to the right to possess the property without interference.
2. Control. This facet pertains to the owner’s right to determine how the property may be used.
   l Disposition. This facet pertains to the owner’s right to give, sell or transfer the property (either in whole
   or in separate "rights") to another individual. This right to dispose is one of the cornerstone of the real
   estate market.
3. Exclusion. This facet pertains to the owner’s right to restrict other individuals from accessing or using
   the owner’s property. Trespassing laws arise from this right.

When many people talk about property rights, it takes on an almost majestic set of rights. This goes hand in hand
with American principles (or myths) about self-reliance, privacy rights and individualism. We may find an
historical basis for this view of property rights in monarchial Europe, where landowners were essentially royalty
and had near-absolute power over their dominions, no matter how small.
Even in America’s allodial system, however, ownership is never infinite or unlimited. The government reserves
the right to "take" any or all of the ownership elements from any private individual. However, the government
must justify any such "taking" as being for the public good and the owner must be compensated the fair market
value of the property taken. As long as the government meets these two conditions and follows due process, the
property owner cannot prevent such a taking.
For example, when the state, county or city must build a new highway or street, they will need to buy the homes
and properties in the path of the proposed road through a taking.
Another, more limited example, would be if the local county wanted to build a river-walk and took an easement
through the property of the riverfront owners. The property technically still belongs to the property owner, but the
easement gives the government full usage and control of the river’s shore.

1. Surface ground. This is what most people think of when they hear the term "land," but it’s obviously
   much more.
2. Subsurface soil and water. Landowners have traditionally owned the water underneath their land
   surface and can access it at will. However, many local governments and new regulations have begun to
   exercise control over aquifers and other subsurface water sources.
3. Minerals, oil and gas. This is an extension of subsurface land rights. These elements are prime
   commodities and can give the property owner additional income-if that owner still controls the rights to
   those subsurface elements.
4. Airspace above the ground. Believe it or not, air space is part of real estate. For example, your
   neighbor cannot build an overhanging bay window that extends into your property’s air space. An
   increasingly more common discussion of air space involve condominiums, in which the condo owner
   often only owns the air space within their units—but not the walls, floors or ceilings.
5. Permanently attached natural elements (trees, boulders and vegetation). The law does differentiate
   between permanent vegetation and annual crops. Trees, grass and perennials are called "fructus
   naturales" and are considered part of larger real estate. Planted annuals and crops are called "fructus
   industrials" and are considered personal property.

As you can see,
the land can contain both real property and personal property. Ownership of land can also be further
divided into different facets-which allow for separate uses and manners of possession.

1. Feudal system. All the lands are owned by the sovereign ruler, who then gives certain ownership or
   usage rights to his or her subjects, who then may allow peasants and other workers to lease land for
   farming or other use. This was the predominant system in Europe for much of the Common Era.
2. Communist system. Similar to the feudal system, all the lands are owned by the state-or the "people."
   Use of land is dictated by the state, and no individual can ever fully own any property.
3. Allodial system. The system used in the United States and much of the developed and developing
   democratic world.

In American-English legal theory, it is important to understand the difference between these elements of land,
real property, real estate and associated rights, such as air, mineral and water rights. This chapter will discuss
these elements in three categories:

1. Land. The ground surface and the natural elements below and above it.
2. Real Estate. Land and any improvements on it.
3. Real Property. Real estate and the different "rights" involved with it.

Most people treat the terms land, real estate and real property as interchangeable. They are not. Anyone who
aspires to invest in real estate or work in the real estate industry must understand the key distinctions between
these terms. Fortunately, they are not difficult concepts to grasp.