Hint. It’s neither a fee nor is it simple.
Rather, the term is used to refer to the “bundle of rights” that accompany ownership of real property.
The “fee simple” is the largest bundle available for private ownership of land.
Included in the bundle of rights under “fee simple” are: right to occupy and use, right to build, right to restrict use, right to mine, drill, or farm, right to mortgage, right to easements, right to exclude others, right to sell, right to give away or abandon, right to refuse to sell, right to rent or lease, right to license, right to the fruits, and right to devise by will.
Hence, real estate ownership is also really just ownership of the rights to the land.
When a real property is mortgaged, this may be viewed as removing one right from the bundle and giving it to third parties (such as a bank or other financing institutions ).