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| Mortgage loans are rated as A, B, C, or D paper. "A" paper loans are the highest quality, lowest risk loans; "B" quality are loans where the borrower has minor credit problems; "C" quality are borrowers with marginal or poor credit; "D" quality indicates very high risk loans. |
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| The voluntary relinquishment of rights of ownership or another interest (such as easement) by failure to use the property, coupled with intent to abandon (give up the interest). |
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| A reduction of decrease. Usually applies to a decrease of assessed valuation of ad valorem taxes after the assessment, and levy |
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| The total number of vacant square feet of office space divided by the square footage leased per year historically. Used to analyze demand of office space in a given market area. |
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| A full summary by the court of a judgment. It becomes a general lien on all of a debtor's property in the county where it is recorded. |
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| A full summary of all consecutive grants, conveyances, wills, records and judicial proceedings affecting title to a specific parcel of real estate, together with a statement of all recorded liens and encumbrances affecting the property and their present status. The abstract of title does not guarantee or ensure the validity of the title of the property. Rather, it is a condensed history that merely discloses those items about the property that are of public record; thus, it does not reveal such things as encroachments and forgeries. |
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| The person preparing the abstract of title. The abstracter searches the title as recorded or registered with the county recorder, county registrar, circuit court and/or other official sources. He or she then summarizes the various instruments affecting the property and arranges them in the chronological order of recording, starting with the original grant of title. |
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| Clause in a deed of trust or mortgage, which "accelerates," or hastens, the time when the indebtedness becomes due. For example, some deeds of trust contain a provision (an acceleration clause) stating that the note shall become due immediately upon the sale of the land or upon failure to pay interest or an installment of principal and interest. |
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| An acceptance is a promise by the offeree to be bound by the exact terms proposed by the offeror. The acceptance must be communicated to the offeror. |
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| Acquiring title to additions or improvements to real property as a result of the annexation of fixtures or the accretion of alluvial deposits along the banks of streams. |
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| Recording of instruments with the county recorder by a title company merely as a convenience to a customer and without assumption of responsibility for correctness or validity-Policy. |
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| The settlement of an obligation. An accord is an agreement by a creditor to accept less than bargained for from a debtor. The creditor's acceptance of the accord constitutes satisfaction of the debt. |
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| The agent must be able to report the status of all funds received from or on behalf of the principal. Most state real estate license laws require a broker to give accurate copies of all documents to all parties affected by them and to keep copies on file for a specified period of time. Most license laws also require the broker to deposit immediately, or within 24 to 48 hours, all funds entrusted to the broker (such as earnest money deposits) in a special trust or escrow account. Commingling such monies with the broker's personal or general business funds is strictly illegal. |
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| The increase or addition of land by the deposit of sand or soil washed up naturally from a river, lake or sea. The gradual and imperceptible addition of land by alluvial deposits of soil through natural causes, such as shoreline movement caused by streams or rivers. This added land upon a bank or stream, navigable or not, becomes the property of the riparian or littoral owner, and it also becomes subject to any existing mortgages. |
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| 1. in accounting, a bookkeeping account that shows the total amount of depreciation taken on an asset since it was acquired; also called accumulated depreciation. (2. For appraisal purposes, the difference between the cost to reproduce the property (as of the appraisal date) and the property's current value as judged by its "competitive condition." In this context, accrued depreciation is often called diminished utility. |
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| In a closing statement, items of expense that are incurred but not yet payable, such as interest on a mortgage loan or taxes on real property. |
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| The first step in a disciplinary action against a licensee. |
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| A formal declaration made before a duly authorized officer, usually a notary public, by a person who has signed a document; also, the document itself. An acknowledgment is designed to prevent forged and fraudulently induced documents from taking effect. |
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| The amount of money or other valuable consideration expended to obtain title to a property. It includes the purchase cost, plus such items as appraisal fees, closing costs, finance charges, mortgage loan origination fees and title insurance. |
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| A measure of land equal to 43.560 square feet. |
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| An action where an issue, formed by some kind of complaint, is presented for trial. Proceedings are for declaration, enforcement, protection of a right, redress, or prevention of a wrong. |
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| Real, substantial and just damages, or the amount awarded to a complainant in compensation for his actual and real loss or injury. |
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| The legal process that results in the tenant's being physically removed from the leased premises. Actual notice: Express information or fact; that which is known; direct knowledge. |
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| The Latin word for "according to value." |
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| Additional material attached to and made part of a document. If there is space insufficient to write all the details of a transaction on the sales contract form, the parties will attach an addendum or supplement to the document. The sales contract should incorporate the addendum by referring to it as part of the agreement. The addendum should refer to the sales contract and be dated and signed or initialed by all the parties. |
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| Disposal by a testator in his or her lifetime of a specific property bequeathed in his or her will so the bequest is revoked. |
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Term
| Adjustable rate mortgage (ARM): |
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Definition
| A broad term for a loan (mortgage or deed of trust) with rates and terms that can change. The adjustable rate loan has become commonplace, with allowable ranges as to time intervals, percentage of increase or decrease and total increases or decreases likely to change as market conditions change. |
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Term
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Definition
| The original cost basis of a property reduced by certain deductions and increased by certain improvement costs. The original basis determined at the time of acquisition is reduced by the amount of allowable depreciation or depletion allowances taken by the taxpayer, and by the amount of any uncompensated property losses suffered by the taxpayer. It then increases by the cost of capital improvements plus certain carrying costs and assessments. The amount of gain or loss recognized by the taxpayer upon sale of the property is determined by subtracting the adjusted basis on the date of sale from the adjusted sales price. |
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Term
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Definition
| In an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM), the "adjustment period," is the period of time (i.e., one month, three months, six months, one year, etc.) between changes in one interest rate charged and the next interest rate to be charged. |
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Term
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Definition
| Decrease or increase in the sales price of a comparable property to account for a feature that the property has or does not have in comparison with the subject property. |
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| Administered price system: |
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| Federal National Mortgage Association securities purchasing procedure where required yields are adjusted daily to reflect financial market factors. |
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| A government agency that makes rules and regulations to carry out the law. A state's real estate commission develops regulations to complement license law. |
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| A legal document signed by the EPA directing an individual, business, or other entity to take corrective action or refrain from an activity. The order describes the violations and action to be taken and can be enforced in court. |
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| A person appointed by the probate court to carry out the administration of a decedent's estate when the decedent has left no will. If a woman is appointed, she is called an administratrix. |
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| A female person appointed by the court to settle the estate of a person who has died intestate (leaving no will). Sometimes referred to as the personal representative. |
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| An agreement specifying services for which an agent or broker will be compensated including a provision for payment of an advance fee. |
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Definition
| A fee paid before any services are rendered. Specifically, it is a practice of some brokers to obtain a nonrefundable fee from the seller in advance to cover the advertising of properties or businesses for sale while giving no guarantee that a buyer will be found, which is often held to be improper conduct. Brokers must keep accurate records of expenditures. |
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Definition
| A denial or revocation of credit, a change in the terms of an existing credit arrangement, or a refusal to grant credit either on the amount requested or on the terms requested. |
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| The acquiring of title to real property owned by someone else by means of open, notorious, hostile and continuous possession for a statutory period of time. The burden to prove title is on the possessor, who must show that four conditions were met: 1. He or she has been in possession under a claim of right. 2. He or she was in actual, open and notorious possession of the premises so as to constitute reasonable notice to the record owner. 3. Possession was both exclusive and hostile to the title of the owner (that is, without the owner's permission and evidencing an intention to maintain the claim of ownership against all who may contest it). 4. Possession was uninterrupted and continuous for at least the prescriptive period stipulated by state law. |
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Definition
| Zoning for beauty. May regulate architectural styles, colors or signage. |
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| A written statement, made under oath by a seller or grantor of real property and acknowledged by a notary public, in which the grantor 1. Identifies himself or herself and indicates marital status, 2. Certifies that since the examination of the title on the date of the contracts no defects have occurred in the title and 3. Certifies that he or she is in possession of the property (if applicable). |
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Definition
| A sworn written statement made under oath before a notary public or other official authorized by law to administer an oath. The term literally means "has pledged one's faith." The affiant (person making the oath, sometimes called the deponent") must swear before the notary that the facts contained in the affidavit are true and correct. |
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| A formal declaration that an affidavit is true. |
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| Gives the owner of the dominant tenement the right to use the servient tenement. |
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Definition
| Title or interest acquired by the grantor after a property has been conveyed. |
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Term
| Agency coupled with an interest: |
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Definition
| An agency relationship in which the agent is given an estate or interest in the subject of the agency (the property). |
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Term
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Definition
| A relationship created when one person, the principal, delegates to another, the agent, the right to act on his or her 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. |
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| Agent property evaluation: |
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Definition
| A questionnaire filled out by real estate agents while reviewing a listed property. Often completed during the course of a caravan. |
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Definition
| One authorized to represent and to act on behalf of another person (called the principal). Unlike an employee, who merely works for a principal, an agent works in the place of a principal. The main difference between an agent and an employee is that the agent may bind his or her principal by contract, if within the scope of authority, whereas an employee may not unless given express authorization. |
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Definition
| One whose legal right is invaded by an act(s) of another. The word "aggrieved" refers to a substantial grievance, a denial of some personal or property right, or the imposition upon a party of a burden or obligation. |
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Definition
| A written contract entered into between the seller (vendor) and buyer (vendee) for sale of real property (land) on an installment or deferred payment plan. It is also known as an agreement to convey, a long form Security Agreement or a real estate installment contract. |
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Definition
| Agricultural landowners often lease their land to tenant farmers, who provide the labor to produce and bring in the crop. An owner can be paid by a tenant in one of two ways: agreed cash in advance rental amount (cash rents) or as a percentage of the profits from the sale of the crop when it is sold (sharecropping). |
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| Attention, Interest, Desire, Action. In real estate advertising, creating ads that get the Attention of prospects, stimulating their Interest in a property, generating a Desire to purchase, and motivating the prospect to take Action. |
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Definition
| Persons with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome are protected under most federal and state discrimination laws. If buyers ask the real estate agent whether a prior occupant had AIDS, most agents point out that the law prevents responding one way or the other. Many states have emended their licensing laws to include that someone who has AIDS is not deemed a material fact, and therefore, does not form the basis for a claim that a broker concealed a material fact. Also protected are persons with AIDS-related complex (ARC) or human immunodeficiency virus infection (HIV). |
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| A designated airspace over a piece of land. An air lot, like surface property, may be transferred. |
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| The level of selected pollutants set by law that may not be exceeded in outside air. Used to determine the amount of pollutants that may be emitted by industry. |
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| Rights to the use of the open space or vertical plane above a property. Ownership of land includes the right to all air above the property. Until the advent of the airplane, this right was unlimited, but now the courts permit reasonable interference with one's air rights, such as is necessary for aircraft, so long as the owner's right to use and occupy the land is not lessened. Thus, low-flying aircraft might be unreasonably trespassing, and their owners would be liable for any damages. Governments and airport authorities often purchase air rights adjacent to an airport, called an avigation easement, to provide glide patterns for air traffic. |
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| A provision sometimes found in a promissory note or mortgage that 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. Alienation is usually broadly defined to include any transfer of ownership, title, interest, or estate in real property, including a sale by way of a contract for deed. Also called a due-on-sale clause. |
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Term
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Definition
| The act of transferring ownership, title, interest, or estate in real property from one person to another. Property is usually sold or conveyed by voluntary alienation, as with a deed or assignment of lease. Involuntary alienation takes place when property is sold against the owner's will, as in a foreclosure sale or a tax sale. |
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Definition
| Rate which includes charges for title insurance, searching or abstract fees and examination fees. |
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| A system of land ownership in which land is held free and clear of any rent or service due to the government; commonly contrasted to the feudal system. Land is held under the allodial system in the United States. |
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| (American Land Title Association) Organization composed of title insurance firms which set standards for the industry, including title insurance policy forms used on a national basis. |
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Definition
| Any unconfined portion of the atmosphere; open air; outside surrounding air. |
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| Amendment to the escrow instructions: |
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Definition
| A change to escrow instructions requiring the agreement of both buyer and seller. |
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Definition
| An amendment is a change to the existing content of a contract. Any time words or provisions are added to or deleted from the body of the contract, the contract has been amended. |
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