Which two elements should always be contained in an escrow agreement, specifically to protect the fiduciary and prevent lawsuits?
Correct Answer: B
The best answer is limitation of liability and ability to resign. An escrow holder is a fiduciary and must follow the parties' written escrow instructions. Because disputes can arise when parties disagree, fail to perform, or give conflicting instructions, a well-drafted escrow agreement should protect the escrow holder by limiting liability for actions taken in good faith under the instructions and by allowing resignation when continued service is unsafe or impossible. Amounts, addresses, time limits, file numbers, property location, and reason for escrow may be useful operational details, but they do not provide the same legal protection against fiduciary exposure and lawsuits. Pennsylvania's title outline specifically tests escrow principles, escrow terminology, escrow contracts, and fiduciary responsibilities of title agents.
Question 2
Which of the following statements is true concerning an unrecorded deed?
Correct Answer: B
An unrecorded deed may be valid between the grantor and grantee if properly executed, delivered, and accepted, but it does not give constructive notice to third parties through the land records. Constructive notice arises from proper recording, allowing later purchasers, lenders, judgment creditors, and title examiners to discover the ownership claim. A deed must still name the parties and contain an adequate legal description to identify the property. The false assumption is that recording is required for validity between the original parties; recording is mainly about public notice and priority protection. Pennsylvania recording law protects later bona fide purchasers, mortgagees, and judgment holders against unrecorded instruments lacking actual or constructive notice.
Question 3
Which of the following is NOT effective with a Quit Claim Deed?
Correct Answer: C
A quit claim deed conveys whatever interest the grantor may have, if any, but it does not include a warranty of title. That is the key distinction. A quit claim deed can be used to release possible claims, remove a cloud on title, or transfer a grantor's existing interest without guaranteeing that the interest is valid or marketable. Because there is no covenant of warranty, the grantee receives no assurance that the grantor owns good title or that the title is free from defects. In title insurance practice, this matters because a quit claim deed may clear a specific claim but does not replace title examination or underwriting review. The Pennsylvania outline tests conveyances, marketable title, deeds, and clearing-title procedures.
Question 4
A deed to a lot in Greenacre is recorded. Two parties who are NOT married to each other are named as grantees. The deed does NOT mention any form of tenancy. How do the grantees hold title to the lot?
Correct Answer: A
When two unmarried grantees receive title and the deed does not state a survivorship form or another specific tenancy, the default ownership form is tenancy in common. Each co-owner holds an undivided interest that can be conveyed, devised, or inherited separately. Tenancy by the entireties is only available to married spouses, so it cannot apply here. Joint tenancy requires survivorship language or a clear expression of that intent; it is not presumed merely because two people are named as grantees. Tenancy at sufferance is not an ownership estate; it describes a holdover occupancy situation. The Pennsylvania Title Insurance outline specifically tests joint ownership types, including tenants in common, joint tenancy, and tenancy by the entirety.
Question 5
Which property type includes all lands, man-made improvements, anything growing on the lands, as well as interests, or "rights," including future occupancy, reversion, and the use of surface and air space?
Correct Answer: A
Real property includes land, improvements attached to land, natural things growing on land, and legal rights connected with the land. Those rights can include possession, occupancy, access, air rights, surface rights, mineral rights, reversions, easements, and other interests. Personal property refers to movable property not permanently attached to land. Tangible property is physical property, but the question includes legal rights and interests, making "real" the better classification. Intangible property involves rights without physical form, such as contract rights or intellectual property, and does not capture the full land-and-improvements concept. This is a Real Property topic because the Pennsylvania title outline specifically tests the definition and types of real property, interests in land, legal descriptions, and insurable estates.