Real Estate Exam [California] 09, Encumbrances, Easements, and Liens

Real Estate Exam [California] 09, Encumbrances, Easements, and Liens

From Real Estate Exam Prep by Ran Chen, EA, CFP®

June 13, 2026 · 3 min

About this episode

This episode covers encumbrances, easements, and liens relevant to the California real estate exam.

This podcast is made by Ran Chen, who holds an EA license, Insurance and Securities licenses (Series 6, 63, 65), and the CFP® designation. He is passionate about opening access to high-quality exam preparation resources and helping learners prepare more effectively for professional certification exams. In this episode you will learn: - Encumbrances are non-possessory interests that limit title or use, categorized as money (liens) and non-money (easements, restrictions) types. - Lien priority in California is generally set by recording date, but property tax liens are always first, and mechanic's liens' priority dates back to the start of work. - An easement appurtenant requires a dominant (benefiting) and servient (burdened) property and runs with the land, unlike an easement in gross which benefits a person or entity. - An encroachment is a physical intrusion, like a misplaced fence, whereas a license is revocable, personal permission and not a true encumbrance affecting title. - The exam tests your ability to classify liens as voluntary/involuntary and general/specific based on practical scenarios. For more free exam prep tools, practice questions, and AI-powered explanations…

People in this episode

Host: Ran Chen

Topics covered

  • encumbrances
  • easements
  • liens
  • real estate exam
  • California real estate

Keywords

  • encumbrances
  • easements
  • liens
  • California
  • real estate exam
  • property tax
  • mechanic's liens
  • dominant property
  • servient property

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Open Exam Prep, YouTube Channel

Places: California

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