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Real Estate Glossary of Terms
Looking for the definition of a real estate
term? Click on a letter of the alphabet below to go to that letter's
corresponding page of terms.
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Z ABANDONMENT
- The voluntary surrender or relinquishment of possession of real property
with the intention of terminating one's possession or interest, but without
vesting this interest in any other person.
ABATEMENT
- A reduction or decrease in amount, degree, intensity or worth.
ABSORPTION RATE
- An estimate of the rate at which a particular classification of space -
such as new office space, new housing, new condominium units and the like -
will be sold or occupied each year.
ABSTRACT OF TITLE
- A concise, summarized history of the title to a specific parcel of real
property, together with a statement of all liens and encumbrances affecting
the property. The abstract of title does not guarantee or assure the
validity of the title of the property. It merely discloses those items about
the property which are of public record, and thus does not reveal such
things as encroachments, forgeries, and the like.
ACCELERATED
DEPRECIATION - A method of calculating the
depreciation of certain property (that property which is used in a trade or
business, or which is held for the production of income) at a faster rate
than would be achieved from using the straight line method of depreciation.
ACCELERATION CLAUSE
- A clause in a promissory note, agreement of sale, or mortgage which gives
the lender the right to call all sums due and payable in advance of the
fixed payment date upon the occurrence of a specified event, such as a sale,
default, assignment or further encumbrance of the property.
ACCEPTANCE
- The expression of the intention of the person receiving an offer (offeree,
usually the seller) to be bound by the terms of the offer.
ACCESS
- A general or specific right of ingress and egress to a particular
property.
ACCRETION
- The gradual and imperceptible addition to land by alluvial deposits of
soil through natural causes, such as shoreline movement caused by streams or
rivers.
ACCRUED
- That which has accumulated over a period of time, such as accrued
depreciation, accrued interest or accrued expenses.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
- A formal declaration made before a duly authorized officer, usually a
Notary Public, by a person who has signed a document.
ACRE
- A measure of land equaling 43,560 square feet; 4,840 square yards; 160
square rods.
ADHESION CONTRACT
- A contract that is very one-sided and favors the party who drafted the
document.
AD VALOREM
- Latin for "according to valuation," usually referring to a type of tax or
assessment.
ADVERSE POSSESSION
- The acquiring of title to real property owned by someone else, by means of
open, notorious and continuous possession for the statutory period of time
(20 years in Hawaii).
AFFIDAVIT
- A sworn statement reduced to writing and made under oath before a Notary
Public or other official authorized by law to administer an oath.
AGENCY
- A relationship created when one person, the "principal," delegates to
another, the "agent," the right to act on the principal's behalf in business
transactions and to exercise some degree of discretion while so acting. An
agency gives rise to a fiduciary relationship and imposes on the agent, as
the fiduciary of the principal, certain duties, obligations and high
standards of good faith and loyalty.
AGENT
- One who is authorized to represent and to act on behalf of another person
(called the principal). A real estate broker is the agent of his client, be
it the seller or buyer, to whom he owes a fiduciary obligation. A salesman
is the agent of his broker and does not have a direct personal contractual
relationship with either the seller or buyer.
AGREEMENT OF SALE
- An agreement between the seller (vendor) and buyer (vendee) for the
purchase of real property.
AIR RIGHTS
- The rights to the use of the open space or vertical plane above a
property. Ownership of the land includes the right to all air above the
property.
ALIENATION CLAUSE
- A clause in a promissory note or mortgage which provides that the balance
of the secured debt becomes immediately due and payable at the option of the
mortgagee upon the alienation of the property by the mortgagor.
ALLODIAL SYSTEM
- The free ownership of land by individuals.
AMENITIES
- Features, both tangible and intangible, which enhance and add to the
desirability of real estate.
AMORTIZATION
- The gradual repayment of a debt by means of systematic
payments of principal and interest over a set period, where at the end of
the period there is a zero balance.
ANCHOR TENANT
- Major department or chain stores which are strategically located at
shopping centers so as to give maximum exposure to smaller satellite stores.
ANNUAL PERCENTAGE
RATE - The relationship of the total Finance
Charge to the total amount to be finance as required under the Federal
Truth-in-Lending Law.
APPRAISAL
- The process of estimating, fixing, or setting the market value of real
property. An appraisal may take the form of a lengthy report, a completed
form, a simple letter, or even an oral report.
APPRECIATION
- An increase in the worth or value of property due to economic or related
causes, which may prove to be either temporary or permanent.
APPURTENANT
- Belonging to; adjunct; appended or annexed.
ARBITRATION
- The non-judicial submission of a controversy to selected third parties for
their determination in the manner provided by agreement or by law.
ASSESSED VALUATION
- The value of real property as established by the government for purposes
of computing real property taxes.
ASSESSMENT
- A specific levy for a definite purpose, such as adding curbs or sewers in
a neighborhood. Individual condominium owners are subject to special
assessments benefiting the project as a whole and not funded through regular
maintenance charges.
ASSIGNMENT
- The transfer of the right, title and interest in the property of one
person, the assignor, to another, the assignee. In real estate, there are
assignments of mortgages, contracts, agreements of sale, leases, and
options, among others.
ASSUMPTION OF
MORTGAGE - The act of acquiring title to property
which has an existing mortgage on it and agreeing to be personally liable
for the terms and conditions of the mortgage, including payments.
ATTACHMENT
- The legal process of seizing the real or personal property of a defendant
in a lawsuit, by levy or judicial order, and holding it in the custody of
the courts as security for satisfaction of the judgment which the plaintiff
may recover in any action upon a contract, express or implied.
ATTORNEY-IN-FACT
- One who is authorized by another to act in his place under a power of
attorney.
ATTORNMENT
- The act of a tenant formally agreeing to become the tenant of a successor
landlord; as in attorning to a mortgagee who has foreclosed on the leased
premises.
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