Lewes Beach land is leased. It is not owned or occupied by the homeowners. The Town of Lewes is the owner of Lewes Beach’s land. There is also leased land in the Rehoboth by Sea and Dewey Beach lands. Most leases on these land will not be renewed. Instead, they will be returned to their owners. The homes on top will also be returned to their owners. A large portion of Riverdale’s land, located on Indian River Bay and adjacent to Oak Orchard are leased. Chief Clark of Nanticoke is the owner of Riverdale’s leased land. Sussex County has approximately half its residents living on leased property. The majority of the leased land can be found in mobile home parks or communities. These communities are home to very few mobile homes, and many of them have stick-built homes. There are often condominiums and townhouses on leased land. For some, all of this is confusing. Realtors and Attorneys use “fee simple” to describe land that is being sold for real property. That is real estate. We use the term leased property or leasehold interest to refer to land that isn’t being transferred as real-estate. This long text is about Leased Land, Real Estate Chattels, Mobile Homes and Homes on Leased Land. A legal dissertation was also included to help define, describe, and determine the differences. Real Estate terminology is critical when discussing the topic. real property. Black’s Law Dictionary is the definitive source for legal definitions in American Law. It is derived from English Law. PROPERTY is a group of rights that government guarantees and protects. BL6, p. 1216. PERSONAL PROPERTY: Personal property, movable property, chattels, and property not attached to real-estate. BL6, p. PROPERTY: (Personal property) – Everything that is not part of the real estate category, but which is subject to ownership. A right or interest other than a freehold in realty. BL6, p. 1217 Personal property, which isn’t real estate, is any property that can be easily removed. Personal property is crops, trees and shrubs, trailers. Sheds. cars. Mobile homes. Manufactured homes with a Department of Motor Vehicle title. The contents of a home. Personal property is anything that can be used to decorate a house or business, such as drapes, lighting fixtures, rugs, (not installed carpeting), freestanding cabinets and drawers, furniture, and any contents of closets. Chattel property, which is buildings that are not supported by blocks, is chattel property. These chattels include dog houses and the tiny storage buildings that are found outside of homes. LANDS: Any ground, soil, or Earth is understood in the broadest sense of the word. Black’s Law Dictionary 6th Edition. (BL6). p.877 PRIVATE PROPERTY: Property that is not available for public use and which belongs to an individual. Property that is specific, fixed, and tangible, which can be transferred to another person, such as chattels, lands, or houses. BL6, p.1217. Private property can be land, houses and chattels. Private property is not allowed to be used for public purposes. Private property is exclusive. REAL ESTATE is synonymous with real estate” and p.1218 Real Property… The general term for lands tenements and hereditaments (those items which are hereditary), which upon death of the owner intestate passes to his heir. BL6, page 1263 ESTATE is the amount, quality, nature, and extent of an individual’s interest in REAL and PERSONAL properties. An ESTATE means that the tenant has such an interest in lands, land tenements, or hereditaments. BL6, at 547. The following definitions are for real estate: real property = real estate = estate = lands and tenements; hereditaments = hereditaments. First, it might seem that’real estate’ is the right term for all lands. However, it does not clearly state ownership. Just recently, we had an example of this. The Robert Tunnel family inherited thousands of leased land parcels in Angola and Pots Nets. IN OUR AREA THERE ARE NUMEROUS LEASED LAND PROPERTIES AND THOSE PROPERTIES ARE THE REAL ESTATE OF THE OWNER OF THE LAND – NOT THE OWNER OF THE HOME WHICH IS UPON THAT LAND. If you read the definition of ESTATE it means an interest in the exact same articles that are real property and realestate. What is this land? Who is its owner? Land can either be private property OR an estate. real estate. A person’s interest in “real properties” can be called estate. A person is the only owner of private property. INTEREST: It refers to a right that accrues from any thing, and more specifically, any right of the property nature but less than title. BL6, p.812. It is clear from this definition that mls map can’t be TITLE since it is lower than title. Although interest can be a property right on land, it doesn’t give you absolute ownership. The only interest that a tenant has in leased land is an interest in the land. That interest is called a leasehold interest. Is there a definition that property means land held in absolute owner, similar to private property? This can be explored further. ABSOLUTE TILT – This is a title to land that is unique or excludes any other title not compatible with it. A single absolute title to land cannot be held by different individuals or governments. BL6, p.1485 PRIVATE PROPERTY-… property which is owned exclusively by an individual and can be used only by him. BL6, p.1217 OWN – To possess a legal title or title. BL6, p. 1105 To “own”, is to have title. Interest is LESS than title. ESTATE: The amount, nature, and extent of an individual’s personal and real estate interests. The tenant is entitled to the land, tenements, or hereditaments that constitute an estate. – – Bl6, p.547 These definitions show that we cannot “own” all real estate. You can only have qualified ownership of qualified and detailed ownership of Real Estate. We need to have the Deed Description in order to qualify and describe it. The Deed Description also qualifies the ownership. These rights include laws, decrees, and rights that date back to antiquity like rights against trespass. Taxation, zoning and rights of way are just a few of the entailments that qualify ownership. Therefore, a title search is necessary to identify those entailments. Some of them are invisible. As one might be led to believe, there isn’t as much difference in ownership rights and interests. I am fine with people who rent land, rather than buying it. They usually pay far less than they would for the same property. But they rarely get to appreciate the land. Instead, the landlord gains the appreciation in real worth, while the resident can enjoy the lifestyle at a much lower monthly or annual cost. An interest in leased land cannot be transferred and is NOT Real Estate. Additionally, the chattel property is personal property. A title is required for the mobile home. However, Realtors are allowed to participate in the sale of such properties. We are not supposed to be selling real property. It does get foggy, though. It is because there are companies and people who sell mobile home on leased land that are not licensed realtors. Even though no one wants to discuss it, mobile home sales on leased land are prohibited by realtors. This is not a battle we need to be involved in. I have already described it. OWNERSHIP is the complete dominion, title or propriety, including any right in a thing… Property ownership can be either absolute or qualified. If a single person is the owner of property, he has absolute ownership and may use it or dispose it as he wishes, subject only to general laws. It is considered to be qualified if it is divided with more than one person, if the time of enjoyment is deferred, limited or restricted. BL6, p. 11106 This type of sharing is common between husband and wife as well as partners, families, and corporations. DOMINION- The general definition of “dominion”, as it is commonly known, is total control over right of ownership. The word suggests both title as well as possession. It seems to require complete control over disposition. I believe that building codes, zoning, condominium documents and business licensing, as well as covenants between home owners associations and homeowners, are restrictions that restrict the use of land. Also, failure to pay property taxes on real property will result in the property being lost. It’s not absolute ownership. Private property can be defined as ABSOLUTE OWNERSHIP and not qualified (interest). PROPERTY (tangible). All property that can be touched, and which has real existence (physical), whether it is personal or real. – BL6, page 1218. In summary, it takes an experienced real estate attorney to fully grasp the complex definitions, rights, liabilities and privileges that come with real estate ownership. For thirty years, I have been involved in real estate transactions for both myself and others. I have taught courses in real-estate law and real estate. I would not consider purchasing or leasing property without consulting a professional who is a specialist in real estate in the specific county where the property is situated. There are no valid options for other attorneys in the same area.