REAL PROPERTY — FREE MBE PRACTICE QUESTIONS
A free sample of NCBE-style Real Property questions with full per-choice explanations. Click “Reveal” after you commit to an answer. Pair these with the Real Property Master Outline and its one-sheet.
📝 Want the full bank? These are a free sample. Drill thousands of NCBE-style MBE questions — with per-choice rationales, named trap analysis, an adaptive weak-spot engine, and a predicted-score tracker — at MBEMax. Your first 10 MBE questions and the entire MPRE bank are free. Part of the ALL4JDS / Bar Exam Project family.
QUESTION 1 — Implied Warranty of Habitability in Real Property Sales (medium)
In Columbus, seller Elena Voss sold her townhouse to buyer Jamal Reed without a home inspection. After closing, Reed discovered active termite damage hidden behind freshly painted baseboards that Voss had concealed. Voss knew of the infestation and made no disclosure. In a jurisdiction applying an implied warranty of habitability to residential sales, is Reed likely to recover from Voss?
(A) No, because caveat emptor bars recovery for undisclosed physical defects in existing homes.
(B) No, unless Reed proves Voss fraudulently misrepresented the condition at closing.
(C) Yes, if the defect rendered the home uninhabitable and Voss failed to disclose known defects.
(D) Yes, only if the contract expressly warranted habitability.
► Reveal answer & explanations
Correct answer: C. Correct. An implied warranty of habitability in residential sales protects buyers from undisclosed defects that make the dwelling unfit, especially when the seller knew and concealed them.
Why the others are wrong:
(A) Incorrect. Many jurisdictions reject caveat emptor for residential sales and impose an implied warranty of habitability.
(B) Incorrect. Implied warranty may provide recovery without proving fraudulent misrepresentation when undisclosed known defects exist.
(D) Incorrect. The warranty is implied by law in applicable jurisdictions and need not be stated in the contract.
Black-letter rule: In jurisdictions recognizing an implied warranty of habitability in the sale of existing residential property, the seller warrants the dwelling is fit for ordinary residential use; undisclosed known defects may breach the warranty.
Trap: Applies commercial caveat emptor to residential hidden-defect sales.
Memory hook: Residential sale + hidden rot seller knew = implied warranty bite.
QUESTION 2 — Mortgages and Liens - Priority and Distribution of Foreclosure Proceeds (hard)
Borrower owned Parcel A and Parcel B. First Bank held a $400,000 mortgage on Parcel A recorded first. Creditor Dana Wu obtained a $50,000 judgment lien against Borrower and docketed it before Second Bank recorded a $200,000 mortgage on Parcel B. First Bank foreclosed Parcel A, netting $350,000 at sale. Borrower sought surplus proceeds. How should the $350,000 foreclosure proceeds be distributed?
(A) All $350,000 to First Bank, with no share to Wu because her lien attached only to Parcel B.
(B) $400,000 to First Bank from both parcels, then Wu receives any remainder.
(C) First Bank receives $350,000 toward its Parcel A debt; Wu has no priority to Parcel A proceeds because her judgment lien did not attach to Parcel A before Second Bank's mortgage on Parcel B.
(D) Wu receives the first $50,000 as an equitable prior judgment lien on all borrower property, then First Bank takes the rest.
► Reveal answer & explanations
Correct answer: C. Correct. Foreclosure proceeds satisfy the mortgage on the foreclosed parcel according to priority on that parcel; Wu's judgment lien priority on Parcel B does not entitle her to Parcel A foreclosure proceeds unless properly attached and prioritized on Parcel A.
Why the others are wrong:
(A) Incorrect. First Bank receives proceeds only up to the sale amount and its secured debt on Parcel A; surplus rules depend on priority on that parcel.
(B) Incorrect. First Bank cannot collect beyond the foreclosure sale proceeds and its lien on the foreclosed parcel.
(D) Incorrect. A judgment lien does not automatically trump a senior recorded mortgage on a different parcel without proper attachment and priority on that parcel.
Black-letter rule: Foreclosure proceeds from a particular parcel are distributed according to lien priority on that parcel; judgment liens attach to real property in the judgment debtor's name in the recording jurisdiction and compete by priority on each parcel.
Trap: Treats judgment lien as automatically senior on all debtor property everywhere.
Memory hook: Foreclose one parcel — pay liens on THAT parcel by priority.
QUESTION 3 — Restrictive Covenants - Running with the Land (medium)
Developer sold Lot 1 to Alice with a recorded covenant prohibiting commercial use. Alice later sold Lot 1 to Ben. After Ben purchased, Developer sold Lot 2 to Carla without mentioning the covenant, though it was recorded. Carla opened a cafe on Lot 2. Ben sued to enjoin the cafe. Will Ben likely prevail?
(A) Yes, because the covenant was recorded before Carla bought Lot 2.
(B) Yes, if the covenant touches and concerns the land and horizontal privity existed between Developer and Alice.
(C) No, unless the covenant burden attached to Lot 2 before Carla acquired it, requiring privity and notice when Carla took title.
(D) No, because only the original grantor may enforce restrictive covenants.
► Reveal answer & explanations
Correct answer: C. Correct. For the covenant to run against Carla, the burden must have attached to Lot 2 before or when she acquired it, requiring privity with the covenanting party and notice of the covenant.
Why the others are wrong:
(A) Incorrect. Recording alone does not bind successors if the burden did not attach when Carla acquired Lot 2 under privity and notice rules.
(B) Incorrect. Horizontal privity between Developer and Alice does not automatically burden Lot 2 acquired later without vertical privity and notice on Lot 2.
(D) Incorrect. Benefited owners like Ben may enforce covenants that run with the land, not only the original grantor.
Black-letter rule: A restrictive covenant's burden runs with the land against a subsequent owner only if the covenant touches and concerns the land, there is privity of estate, and the successor had notice when acquiring the burdened parcel.
Trap: Assumes recorded covenant automatically binds all later neighborhood buyers.
Memory hook: Covenant burdens buyer only if privity + notice at her purchase.
QUESTION 4 — Real Property - Merger Doctrine (medium)
Seller and buyer contracted for sale of a farm including a clause requiring Seller to repair the barn roof before closing. At closing, Seller delivered a quitclaim deed without performing the repair. Buyer accepted the deed and paid the price but later sued for breach of the repair obligation. Can buyer recover for the unrepaired roof?
(A) Yes, because the repair obligation survived closing as an independent covenant.
(B) Yes, if the deed did not reference the barn roof.
(C) No, because the merger doctrine generally extinguishes prior contract obligations upon delivery and acceptance of the deed unless fraud or a collateral agreement exception applies.
(D) No, only if the deed was a warranty deed.
► Reveal answer & explanations
Correct answer: C. Correct. Under the merger doctrine, delivery and acceptance of the deed typically satisfy the contract and extinguish prior obligations not preserved in the deed, unless fraud or a valid collateral agreement exception applies.
Why the others are wrong:
(A) Incorrect. Merger generally integrates contract duties into the deed delivery absent exceptions.
(B) Incorrect. Lack of reference in the deed does not automatically preserve independent repair duties after merger.
(D) Incorrect. Merger applies to quitclaim and warranty deeds alike when deed delivery closes the transaction.
Black-letter rule: The merger doctrine holds that delivery and acceptance of a deed generally merge prior land-sale contract obligations into the deed, extinguishing separate contract claims absent fraud or a collateral agreement.
Trap: Sues on pre-closing repair promise after accepting deed and paying.
Memory hook: Deed delivered + accepted = contract promises often merge away.
📝 Want the full bank? These are a free sample. Drill thousands of NCBE-style MBE questions — with per-choice rationales, named trap analysis, an adaptive weak-spot engine, and a predicted-score tracker — at MBEMax. Your first 10 MBE questions and the entire MPRE bank are free. Part of the ALL4JDS / Bar Exam Project family.
Keep studying: Real Property Master Outline · Real Property One-Sheet · How to Attack the MBE.