Congratulations, you just purchased your piece of property! But, even though you own the entire fee simple ownership rights to the property, there are still some certain restrictions placed on it. These restrictions are known as encumbrances. In this post, I will be explaining the Private Restrictions, or encumbrances, on Real Estate. Some examples of these private encumbrances include; CC&Rs, liens, easements, profit a prendre, adverse possession, and encroachments.

CC&Rs is an acronym for Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions. They are defined as private techniques for restricting land use. They limit the way a property owner can use the property. CC&Rs are essentially promises by the property owner on what they can or cannot do with that property.

A lien is a claim on a property as either a security for a debt or fulfillment of some monetary charge or obligation. The best example of a lien isa mortgage on the piece of property.

An easement is best described as when a property owner gives the right to another party to use the land in a specified manner. An example of this is when a property owner allows a utility company to run their power lines across the piece of property.

According to our textbook, a profit a prendre is defined as a nonpossessory interest in real property that permits the holder to remove part of the soil or produce of the land. It is also known more simply as a profit.

The right of adverse possession allows an individual to gain the title to a piece of property that they have been in possession of for a statutory period of time. This time period is usual between 7-20 years.

An encroachment is an unauthorized invasion of a fixture from on property onto another. An example of this is when a fence strays across a property line.

A real life example of a private restriction on real estate actually happened in my neighborhood. The Anderson family was building a new home on their piece of property in Montgomery, TX. When surveying their land, it was brought to their attention that their neighbors, the Allen family, had built their fence onto the Andersons property. Once everything was figured out, it was determined that the Allens fence line was 1/16th of a foot over the property line. There was a dispute between the two families, but they eventually came to an agreement. This was a classic example of an encroachment.

Real Estate can be described as land and anything attached to it. Examples of real estate include houses, buildings, landscaping, fences, fixtures within the boundaries of the property, etc.

Real Property is defined as the legal interests associated with owning real estate as well as anything attached to that land. Basically it refers to real estate land and things attached to that land. I it should not be confused with personal property which refers to movable property such as vehicles, furniture, clothing, etc.

www.sunjournal.com/news/franklin/2014/10/30/bray-hill-property-owners-dispute-driveway-permits/1610414