Property Land Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Property Land Law - Essay Example Felix S. Cohen suggests that property is about relationships between people. An individual's proprietary interest will depend on his ability, as accorded by law, to dispose of his property as he sees fit and prevent others from enjoying or utilizing it. Proprietary interests can be fragmented among a number of individuals or groups over different levels, making the ability to exclude others more difficult and confusing, oftentimes leading to property disputes.In Western Australia, such problems become more confusing because of two existing systems of land ownership. The case of the Hillside and Coventry properties is an example where Frederick, owner of the two properties with fee simple interests, mortgaged and consequently sold to Marjorie, Lucille, and Bernie. This left the parties with competing interests, thus calling for the need to determine whose interest is greater and what each party can do to create an interest in the aforementioned properties. According to the Old System, upon which Hillside is initially registered under, Marjorie, upon entering into a contract with Frederick possess an equitable interest in the property. With regard to Bernie, his interest depends on whether there was a conveyance of deeds and the legal interests were transferred to Lucille. Lucille’s interest, however, as second mortgagee is quite interesting.Both Lucille and Marjorie’s interests are subject to the equity of redemption.... Hence, there cannot be two legal mortgages over a single property. This, however, does not apply because in Lucille's case, although her mortgage happened subsequent to Marjorie's mortgage, the legal interest was not transferred to Marjorie because Frederick kept the deeds and gave them to Lucille. In this sense, Lucille has the legal interest in the property. However, it is important to determine whether there has been a conveyance of properties. The case only mentioned Frederick giving the deeds of the property to Lucille. If such can be considered a conveyance of the deeds, she possesses the legal interest. On the contrary, if there was no conveyance of deeds, her interest remains equitable. Both Lucille and Marjorie's interests are subject to the equity of redemption3. Thus, although a transfer was made based on the Old System, Frederick still retains certain interests in the property, including the right to redeem it, provided that he complies with his obligations. With regard to Bernie, his interest depends on whether there was a conveyance of deeds and the legal interests were transferred to Lucille. Assuming that Frederick's legal interests were transferred to Lucille by virtue of the mortgage, Bernie possesses only an equitable interest in Hillside based on the equity of redemption, which Frederick retained upon the mortgage. This is because at the time the sale took place, Frederick did not have a legal interest in the property to sell to Bernie by virtue of the mortgage. Hence, Bernie will only possess a legal interest after the mortgage is paid off and redeems his rights from Lucille. Between Lucille and Marjorie, Lucille's interest takes priority because she conducted the legal mortgage, hence possessing a legal interest. Between Lucille and Bernie,