California Real Estate Salesperson

A special agent (typical real estate broker) is authorized for a single transaction without continuity of service, while a general agent is authorized to conduct a series of transactions involving continuity of service as an integral part of a business enterprise.

Actual authority arises from an express agreement (e.g., a signed listing) between principal and agent, while ostensible authority is what the principal intentionally or carelessly causes third persons to believe the agent possesses.

Joint tenancy includes the right of survivorship so the deceased co-owner's interest passes automatically to surviving co-owners, while tenancy in common has no right of survivorship and each co-owner's interest passes to their heirs.

A grant deed conveys any after-acquired title the grantor later obtains, while a quitclaim deed transfers only the interest the grantor holds at the moment of execution and conveys no after-acquired title.

An easement appurtenant benefits a specific neighboring parcel (dominant tenement) and runs with that land, while an easement in gross is a personal right held by an individual or entity (e.g., a utility company) that owns no adjacent dominant tenement.

Replacement cost new reconstructs a building using modern methods, design, and materials that provide equivalent utility, while reproduction cost new replicates the exact original design and materials.

Direct capitalization converts a single year's income into a value opinion, while yield capitalization measures the present worth of a multi-year series of income payments over the investment's life.

Price is the amount asked, offered, or paid and becomes a fact once stated, while value is always an opinion of worth at a given time and is never a fact.

Riparian rights attach to land bordering or crossed by flowing water such as rivers or streams, while littoral rights attach to land bordering standing water such as lakes or oceans.

Police power allows government to regulate private property use (zoning, building codes) without compensating the owner, while eminent domain requires just compensation when the government takes property for public use.

Under an exclusive agency listing the owner retains the right to sell independently without owing a commission, while under an exclusive right to sell listing the broker earns a commission regardless of who produces the buyer.

Community property is acquired by spouses during marriage and requires both spouses to join in any sale, while separate property includes pre-marriage assets and property acquired by gift or inheritance during marriage and is controlled solely by that spouse.