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Property Fall Build: Mortgages, Foreclosure, Priority, Fixtures, Water Rights, Support, Remedies, and the Complete Property Examination System

9/13/2026
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Sunday concludes the Property Fall Build by linking financing, priority, fixtures, water rights, support, remedies, and exam strategy.

A mortgage secures debt with a real property interest.

The borrower is the mortgagor; the lender is the mortgagee. A promissory note creates personal debt, while the mortgage provides security. The mortgage follows the note.

States apply lien, title, or intermediate theories to define legal ownership before default.

Prior to foreclosure, borrowers hold an equitable right of redemption by paying the debt. Pre-default waivers are disfavored clogs on equity.

Some states also grant statutory redemption after foreclosure.

Foreclosure ends equitable redemption and sells property to satisfy debt via judicial or nonjudicial methods.

Foreclosure must join junior interest holders to extinguish their interests; unjoined interests survive. Senior liens are not eliminated by junior foreclosures.

First in time, first in right sets baseline mortgage priority, modified by recording statutes, notice, purchase-money status, or subordination agreements.

A purchase-money mortgage finances land acquisition and receives super-priority.

Senior foreclosure terminates properly joined junior interests.

Junior foreclosure leaves senior interests intact on the land.

  1. Costs; foreclosing debt; junior liens in priority; mortgagor surplus.

If foreclosure proceeds are insufficient, lenders may seek a deficiency judgment, unless barred by statute.

A due-on-sale clause permits debt acceleration upon transfer.

A buyer who assumes a mortgage becomes personally liable; taking subject to leaves only the land liable to foreclosure. The original borrower remains liable unless released.

Fixtures are personal property annexed to realty, determined by intent, adaptation, and annexation.

Commercial tenants may remove trade fixtures before lease end if no substantial damage occurs.

Water rights follow riparian rights (reasonable use for waterfront owners) or prior appropriation (priority by beneficial use).

Landowners have a right to lateral support (adjacent land) and subjacent support (subsurface). Strict liability applies to natural land collapse, while negligence usually governs building collapse.

  • Possessory/Title: ejectment, quiet title, partition, specific performance, foreclosure.

  • Monetary/Equitable: damages, injunctions, rescission.

The 10-step exam strategy: identify property and claimants, classify interests, check source/validity/transferability/priority, analyze use and obligations, then determine remedies.

Always ask: ā€œWhat interest does each claimant have?ā€

Property Law is a system for identifying, classifying, ranking, and enforcing competing interests.

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