But all methods of co-ownership share one common characteristic : all co-owners have e-qual rights to occupy all of the property and one co-owner may not exclude any other co-owners from any portion of their property1. The major types of co-ownership for individuals are tenancy in common, joint tenancy and tenancy by entirety.

Tenancy in common regulates the relationship among the co-owners in various ways. One tenant can pass his interest to the persons named in his will ； any number may co-own as tenants in common, and they may own unequal percentages. Tenants in common may sell or mortgage their interest without the other co-owners，consent.

In a joint tenancy, on the death of a joint tenant, his interest is evenly divided among the remaining joint tenants. (This is called the right of survivorship2. ) Any number may own as joint tenants, but each must have an equal interest. Joint tenants, like tenants in common, may sell or mortgage their interest without the co-owners, consent. If a joint tenant sells his share of interest to another, the joint tenancy is severed j hence, the buyer and the remaining tenants will hold as tenants in common.

Tenancy by entirety is only for married couples. If the couple is divorced or separated, tenancy by entirety is transformed into tenancy in common. Tenancy by entirety includes the right of survivorship. Each spouse must own a 50 percent interest aside from the requirement of marriage. Tenancy by entirety is distinguished from joint tenancy only by the fact that each spouse must consent to any mortgaging or sale of the other spouse,s interest.

One who owns an estate in land that includes the right of possession may sometimes give some possessory right in land to others. The owner of an estate may grant others the right to come upon his realty. This temporary written or oral right to come upon the realty of another is called a license. Generally, licenses are revocable.

Easements are usually irrevocable rights to some limited use of another’s realty. In contrast with licenses, easements are given for either substantial periods of time or permanently f and they must be in writing.

When a party other than the owner has a financial claim aganist the value of any estate that party is said to have a lien. A lien generally allows the lien holder to cause the sale of the estate if the debt is not paid.

The owner’s use of realty can also be restricted by zoning ordinances, which may be adopted by cities or counties to regulate the location of residential, housing, business, industrial and agricultural districts. If the zoning reduces the value of the owner’s land, he bears the loss and can not recover for the financial injury from the local government.

Ownership of realty is transferred through the deeding process. The deed is the principal document used in transferring ownership of realty. Usually it is only a single sheet of paper. The completion of deeding process symbolizes the shift of ownership. The elements of deeding process are execution, delivery and acceptance. Execution refers to the format， language, signing and notarizing of the deeding documents. Delivery involves transferring possession of a properly executed deed to the buyer with the intention of shifting ownership. Acceptance means that the buyer indicates his willingness to assume ownership. Retaining the deed after delivery usually constitutes acceptance.

Deeds can also be used in transfer of ownership by gift or will. Under some circumstances ，real property passes against the wishes of the owner. This may occur by condemnation and adverse possession. When a government takes the ownership from an owner on payment of reasonable compensation, it is called condemnation. When one publicly treats land as his own for a substantial period of time without opposition，he is said to have an adverse possession of the land.

Recording is the process of filing a document related to realty with the county clerk, or recorder * or commissioner of documents. It is a way to make public the fact that a paticular transaction has occured. Deeds» mortgages > land sales contracts 9 easements 9 and liens are among the many documents usually recorded. In general, recording influ-ences priority and gives notice. Priority determines the order in which claims against the realty are satisfied.

Answer the following questions: 1. What do different methods of co-ownership share in common? 2. What is survivorship? In which types of co-tenancy does a tenant enjoy survivorship? 3. Under what circumstances will a joint tenancy and tenancy by entirety be transformed into tenancy in common? Illustrate it with examples. 4. Please compare the legal characteristics of different types of co-ownership. 5. What is the legal status of a lien? 6. What are the major ways to transfer ownership of realty? 7. What are the elements of deeding process? Use examples to give illustrations. 8. Can real property pass against the wishes of the owner? How? 9. What is an easement? How is it different from a license? 10. The Smiths deeded property to School District No. The property was to be used "only for school purposes. " The property was used for school purposes for about 60 years and then ceased to be used for school purposes. What type of estate did the Smiths convey? Who owns the property? Explain.

Persons other than the owner frequently have some limited rights in realty ： these include licenses > easements and liens. An easement is a nonpossessory interest in real property which gives the holder the right to use real property, or prevent its use in a specified manner ; the most common lien on real property* often used as a method of purchasing that property, is the mortgage. The borrower or debtor is the mortgagor f and the lender or creditor is the morta-gaee.