The Declaration of Independence

Running head: REAL ESTATE LAW
QUESTION-ANSWER
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Authors note

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1.
The Constitution of the United States as a form of social contract provides security to
various natural rights, such as life and property, at the detriment of certain individual freedoms
which the populace usually finds unfavorable to the people at large. John Locke, an early
advocate of the philosophy of social contracts, undoubtedly had a strong impact on constitution
writers. Locke’s Second Government Treatise discusses his views on the nature and function of a
legal, democratically elected government, also referencing this work leading up to the initial
drafting of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence.
a) Locke’s views are reflected in the US Constitution when the Founders of America
noticeably recognized that private property is the cornerstone not only of wealth but of
democracy itself. Therefore, Locke stated that with the help of common law, state law, and the
Constitution — property rights must be protected which includes the rights of citizens to freely
obtain, use, and dispose of the property.
b) The Constitution safeguards property rights through the Due Process Provisions of the
Fifth Amendments and, more specifically, the Taking Clause of the Fifth Amendment which
states that Personal land shall not be used for public use, without paying reasonable
compensation.
c) The Constitution safeguards property rights through the Due Process Provisions of the
Fourteenth Amendments and, more specifically the Privileges or Immunities Clause of the
Fourteenth Amendment which states that Common law protections have also been
constitutionalized against States.

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d) Within the preamble of the US Constitution, the concepts as mentioned in John Locke’s
Second Treatise of Government are outlined in a brief, clear statement. The lines mentioned in
the preamble is also inspired by John Locke’s ‘Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Property’
2.
a) The current legal definition of land ownership is expressed by a metaphor as a ‘bundle of
rights’ or ‘bundle of sticks’ in the United States. This metaphor is a theoretical notion that
defines property critically as a set of rights, rather than rights to a ‘thing’. This is a legal term
that has developed to define the rights along with obligations that take part in ownership quite
independently of something held by any ‘thing’. By the expression ‘bundle of the stick’, each
stick regarded as the individual's right. Thus, a bundle of rights is a term for the collection of
legal privileges usually granted to a buyer of immovable property with the transfer of title.
b) The three examples of a bundle of rights are the right of possession, the right of
disposition and the right of exclusion.
3.
a) In the Village of Euclid Ohio vs. Ambler Realty case, the certiorari question to the US
Supreme Court was has the village of Euclid’s zoning regulation infringed the right to freedom
and property of Ambler Realty under the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process and Equal
Protection Clauses?
b) In the Village of Euclid Ohio vs. Ambler Realty case, the Supreme Court held that the
zoning order was not an unfair expansion of the enforcement authority of the village and did not
have the character of an illogical decree, and therefore was not unconstitutional.

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c) The decision of the Supreme Court in the Village of Euclid Ohio vs. Ambler Realty was
a novel because zoning was a fairly new idea at the time of Euclid, and it was a fact that the
government decided how a proprietor could use land. By recognizing a legitimate government
interest in preserving the character of a neighborhood and controlling where other land uses
would occur, the court allowed the resulting explosion of zoning regulations across the world.
4.
a) In the Kelo vs. New London case, the certiorari question to the US Supreme Court was
has the town violated the Taking Clause of the Fifth Amendment if the town takes private land
and sells it for private profit, in the expectation the profit will improve the poor economy of the
area?
b) In the Kelo vs. New London case, the US Supreme Court held that the provision of
‘public use’ as used under the Taking Clause of the Fifth Amendment permits the use of the
well-known area for purposes of financial development to provide a public benefit.
c) I do not support the decision of the Supreme Court because the idea of taking from the
rich and giving to the poor is justified. However, in this case, the property was taken not for the
benefit of an underdeveloped group, rather for the benefit of another private party, such as a
development firm. The provision of ‘public use’ as used in the ‘Taking Clause’ of the Fifth
Amendment was used differently in this case.
5.
The differences between Euclidean Zoning and Form-Based Zoning are:
Euclidean Zoning concentrates on the kind of usage permitted on land, based on the concept that
every space should be of one, special usage and discourages mixed utilization. Whereas, Form-

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Based Zoning concentrates on the shape of construction as it applies to the streetscape and
neighboring uses, inspires mixed utilization, practices architecture principles and patterns
designed to maintain properties and character of a community.
Case Study
6.
a) The notice received by Olivia in August was Property (real estate) Tax or Millage Rate
Notice.
b) The notice has been sent to her by the local government.
c) The notice gave her the ‘bundle of rights’ which includes the right of possession, the right
of disposition and the right of exclusion.
7.
a) The notice received by Olivia in November was Property (real estate) Tax or Millage Rate
Notice informing her about high property taxes.
b) The notice has been sent to her by the local government.
c) As she has already received notice on property tax, therefore, she must pay the tax
immediately because all states have laws that authorize counties to lien a property if the owner of
the property is negligent about the property taxes. Moreover, when property taxes are unpaid for
a long time, usually the taxing agency may conduct a tax sale.

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8.
a) Homestead exemption is a statutory provision that lowers the residential property’s
assessed value to $25,000 for eligible permanent residents. The clause of ‘Save our Home’ only
applies to the valuation of the property, not property taxes. As the property of Olivia is in rent
thus she is not eligible for homestead exemption.
b) The clause of ‘Save our Home’ only applies to the valuation of the property, not property
tax. As the entire property of Olivia is in rent thus the portion of the rented house would come
from under the cap on ‘Save our Homes’.
c) The amount of the ‘cap’ will be:
i) The rise cannot surpass the 3 percent lower or the previous year’s Consumer Price
Index (CPI).
ii) Moreover, the assessed value cannot, in any case, be greater than the market value.
9.
a) The market value of the property is regarded as to be ‘just value’. The value which has
been established every year based on information like sales is called just value. Just value is also
known as market value.
b) Just values are determined through the multiplication of the taxable value of the property
by the settled millage rate every year by taxing authority at the time of calculation of tax.
c) The just value of Olivia’s property should be less because:
i) Her property is a leased property and an increased rate on the interest of property will
impact the seller as well.
ii) Natural calamity can reduce the just value of the property and here Olivia’s property
faced Hurricane Irma.

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iii) Moreover, foreclosure and short sales in the neighborhood also have a great negative
impact on the market value of the property. Here, Olivia’s property also faced the same
issue due to the new zoning code.

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Reference