Also known as: real estate transaction · property transactions · real property transactions
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A broad category of legal dealings by which interests in land are transferred between parties.
Regina Robinson sold her home to Ruby Rivera under a contract that promised clear title. After closing and delivery of the deed, Ruby discovered a title defect from an old lien. The contract claim against Regina is extinguished because the sale agreement merged into the deed.
Rowan Russell, domiciled in State A, bought coastal land in State B from Roland Rhodes under a contract selecting State A law. A third party later claimed a prescriptive easement based on long use entirely in State B. The court applies the law of the state with the most significant relationship to the land and the parties.
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Rebecca Ross sought a lawyer for a residential closing but found every firm charging the local bar's minimum fee. She sued the bar association, alleging the schedule restrained competition in real estate transaction services.
Rosa Ruiz, a Black buyer, offered to purchase a home from a private seller who refused solely because of race. She sued under federal law prohibiting racial discrimination in property transactions.
Roland Rhodes operated a municipal pool used in real estate marketing for surrounding neighborhoods. The city closed the pool after desegregation orders, prompting claims that the action perpetuated racial barriers in housing access.
Ruby Rivera bought a home from Regina Robinson without learning that a notorious crime had occurred there years earlier. After discovering the fact, Ruby sued for failure to disclose the stigma affecting market value.
No. Promises concerning title merge into the deed and are extinguished, but covenants about the physical condition of the property remain enforceable unless the parties clearly intend otherwise.
The law of the state with the most significant relationship to the land and the parties applies, with special weight given to protecting justified expectations in property transactions and to the situs of the land for immovables.
Yes. Congress may prohibit private racial discrimination in the sale or rental of property as a badge or incident of slavery under the Thirteenth Amendment enforcement power.
Yes. Payment of consideration for a promise to keep an offer open creates an enforceable option contract that renders the underlying offer irrevocable during the stated period.
…analysis, a lease was the conveyance of an interest in land, courts have usually utilized the special rules governing real property transactions to resolve controversies involving leases. However, as the Supreme Court has noted in another context, “the body of private property law , more than almost any other branch of law, has…