Sale of Property (Case Law) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Sale of Property (Case Law) - Essay Example To begin with, it is imperative to understand the different types of property that can be sold. Basically there are two types of property: real and personal property. Real property in this case refers to the land and anything that is growing, erected or affixed to it, including the crops and buildings. The term is also used to refer to any rights attached to the ownership of the land. Therefore, the terms real property and real estate both refer to land. Land also includes everything found above and beneath it such as oil, minerals and gases (Laitos 1998, p. 4-13). Personal property (movable property), on the other hand, is anything other than land which can be subject of ownership such as money, inventory, copyrights and patents, as well as intangible property. The difference between personal and real property can be recognized very easily. Nevertheless, its character can be altered. In this case, a property that was initially personal in nature may become a real property by being a nnexed to it. For instance, this may happen when a rail is converted into a fence on land. However, in certain cases the agreement or intention of the parties determines whether a property annexed retains its character as personal property. ... In this regard, possession refers to the interest in a given property under which an individual to the exclusion of others is able to exercise some degree of power over something. Basically, it is the property right that entitles the possessor to continue peaceful possession against any other person except someone with a superior right (Stoebuck, Whitman and Cunningham 2000, p.14-22). This also gives the possessor the right to recover personal property, that has been acquired wrongfully and to recover damages against offenders. As such, it means that in case Mr. Blog only possesses the said properties without ownership, then he has no right of passing the title to the purchaser. In this case, if he happens to transfer the property to the buyer and latter own its owner comes along and claim for it, then the buyer would have to surrender the property since it is voidable. Therefore, it is important that the buyer consider the true ownership of the property before committing to buying t he property. Based on the common law principle, an individual cannot pass a better title than he or she has (Mattei 2000, p.13-29). This implies that a buyer cannot acquire a better title than that of the seller. For instance, since a thief does not have a title to the stolen goods, it follows that a person who purchases goods that are stolen acquire no title. This implies that the purchaser would also have to determine if Mr. blog is the bona fide owner of the properties he is selling. This is to unearth whether the properties that Mr. Blog is to sell are stolen, grabbed or are for someone else. The reason being, if the properties that Mr. Blog wants to sell happens to have been acquired illegally, then any transfer to the purchaser