MBE Real Property Practice Test

When a grant of property is a fee simple determinable, the grantor retains a future interest that automatically follows the condition. This interest is called the possibility of reverter. The language like “so long as,” “during,” or “while” creates a present estate that ends automatically when the stated condition occurs, and the property reverts to the grantor without any action. The grantor’s future interest is specifically the possibility of reverter, which distinguishes determinable fees from other arrangements. For example, if the deed says, “to A, so long as the property is used for a library,” and the property ceases to be used as a library, ownership automatically returns to the grantor. This automatic reversion is the hallmark of a possibility of reverter. The other potential future interests—right of entry (needed to reclaim under a condition later breached), remainder (a future interest in someone else that becomes possessory after the prior estate ends), and reversion (the grantor’s return of property in other non-determinable situations)—do not apply here.