REAL ESTATE TERMS

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ABATEMENT OF NUISANCE. Extinction or termination of a nuisance.

ABSOLUTE OWNERSHIP. See FEE SIMPLE ESTATE.

ABSTRACT OF JUDGMENT. A condensation of the essential provisions of a court judgment.

ABSTRACT OF TITLE. A summary or digest of all transfers, conveyances, legal proceedings, and any other facts relied on as evidence of title, showing continuity of ownership, together with any other elements of record which may impair title.

ABSTRACTION. A method of valuing land. The indicated value of the improvement is deducted from the sale price.

ACCELERATED COST RECOVERY SYSTEM. The system for figuring depreciation (cost recovery) for depreciable real property acquired and placed into service after January 1, 1981. (ACRS)

ACCELERATED DEPRECIATION. A method of cost write-off in which depreciation allowances are greater in the first few years of ownership than in subsequent years. This permits an earlier recovery of capital and a faster tax write-off of an asset.

ACCELERATION CLAUSE. A condition in a real estate financing instrument giving the lender the power to declare all sums owing lender immediately due and payable upon the happening of an event, such as sale of the property, or a delinquency in the repayment of the note.

ACCEPTANCE. The act of agreeing or consenting to the terms of an offer thereby establishing the .meeting of the minds. that is an essential element of a contract.

ACCESS RIGHT. The right of an owner to have ingress and egress to and from owner.s property over adjoining property.

ACCESSION. An addition to property through the efforts of man or by natural forces.

ACCRETION. Accession by natural forces, e.g., alluvium.

ACCRUED DEPRECIATION. The difference between the cost of replacement new as of the date of the appraisal and the present appraised value.

ACCRUED ITEMS OF EXPENSE. Those incurred expenses which are not yet payable. The seller.s accrued expenses are credited to the purchaser in a closing statement.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT. A formal declaration made before an authorized person, e.g., a notary public, by a person who has executed an instrument stating that the execution was his or her free act. In this state an acknowledgment is the statement by an officer such as a notary that the signatory to the instrument is the person represented to be.

ACOUSTICAL TILE. Blocks of fiber, mineral or metal, with small holes or rough-textured surface to absorb sound, used as covering for interior walls and ceilings.

ACQUISITION. The act or process by which a person procures property.

ACRE. A measure of land equaling 160 square rods, or 4,840 square yards, or 43,560 square feet, or a tract about 208.71 feet square.

ACTUAL AUTHORITY. Authority expressly given by the principal or given by the law and not denied by the principal.

ACTUAL FRAUD. An act intended to deceive another, e.g., making a false statement, making a promise without intending to perform it, suppressing the truth.

ADJUSTABLE RATE MORTGAGE (ARM). A mortgage loan which bears interest at a rate subject to change during the term of the loan, predetermined or otherwise.

ADJUSTMENTS. In appraising, a means by which characteristics of a residential property are regulated by dollar amount or percentage to conform to similar characteristics of another residential property.

ADMINISTRATOR. A person appointed by the probate court to administer the estate of a deceased person who died intestate. (Administratrix, the feminine form.)

AD VALOREM. A Latin phrase meaning .according to value.. Usually used in connection with real estate taxation.

ADVANCE. Transfer of funds from a lender to a borrower in advance on a loan.

ADVANCE COMMITMENT. The institutional investor.s prior agreement to provide long-term financing upon completion of construction; also known as a take-out loan commitment.

ADVANCE FEES. A fee paid in advance of any services rendered. Sometimes unlawfully charged in connection with that illegal practice of obtaining a fee inadvance for the advertising of property or businesses for sale, with no intent to obtain a buyer, by persons representing themselves as real estate licensees, or representatives of licensed real estate firms.

ADVERSE POSSESSION. A method of acquiring title to real property through possession of the property for a statutory period under certain conditions by a person other than the owner of record.

AFFIANT. One who makes an affidavit or gives evidence.

AFFIDAVIT. A statement or declaration reduced to writing sworn to or affirmed before some officer who has authority to administer an oath or affirmation.

AFFIDAVIT OF TITLE. A statement, in writing, made under oath by seller or grantor, acknowledged before a Notary Public in which the affiant identifies himself or herself and affiant.s marital status certifying that since the examination of title on the contract date there are no judgments, bankruptcies or divorces, no unrecorded deeds, contracts, unpaid repairs or improvements or defects of title known to affiant and that affiant is in possession of the property.

AFFIRM. To confirm, to aver, to ratify, to verify. To make a declaration.

AGENCY. The relationship between principal and the principal.s agent which arises out of a contract, either expressed or implied, written or oral, wherein the agent is employed by the principal to do certain acts dealing with a third party.

AGENT. One who acts for and with authority from another called the principal.

AGREEMENT. An exchange of promises, a mutual understanding or arrangement; a contract.

AGREEMENT OF SALE. A written agreement or contract between seller and purchaser in which they reach a .meeting of minds. on the terms and conditions of the sale. The parties concur; are in harmonious opinion.

AIR RIGHTS. The rights in real property to the reasonable use of the air space above the surface of the land.

ALIENATION. The transferring of property to another; the transfer of property and possession of lands, or other things, from one person to another.

ALIENATION CLAUSE. A clause in a contract giving the lender certain rights in the event of a sale or other transfer of mortgaged property.

ALLODIAL TENURE. A real property ownership system where ownership may be complete except for those rights held by government. Allodial is in contrast to feudal tenure.

ALLUVIUM. The gradual increase of the earth on a shore of an ocean or bank of a stream resulting from the action of the water.

ALTA OWNER.S POLICY. An owner.s extended coverage policy that provides buyers and owners the same protection the ALTA policy gives to lenders.

ALTA TITLE POLICY. (American Land Title Association) A type of title insurance policy issued by title insurance companies which expands the risks normally insured against under the standard type policy to include unrecorded mechanics liens; unrecorded physical easements; facts a physical survey would show; water and mineral rights; and rights of parties in possession, such as tenants and buyers under unrecorded instruments.

AMENITIES. Satisfaction of enjoyable living to be derived from a home; conditions of agreeable living or a beneficial influence from the location of improvements, not measured in monetary considerations but rather as tangible and intangible benefits attributable to the property, often causing greater pride in ownership.

AMORTIZATION. The liquidation of a financial obligation on an installment basis; also, recovery over a period of cost or value.

AMORTIZED LOAN. A loan to be repaid, interest and principal, by a series of regular payments that are equal or nearly equal, without any special balloon payment prior to maturity. Also called a Level Payments Loan.

ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE. The relative cost of credit as determined in accordance with Regulation Z of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for implementing the Federal Truth in Lending Act.

ANNUITY. A sum of money received at fixed intervals, such as a series of assured equal or nearly equal payments to be made over a period of time, or it may be a lump sum payment to be made in the future. The installment payments due to the landlord under a lease is an annuity. So are the installment payments due to a lender.

ANTICIPATION, PRINCIPLE OF. Affirms that value is created by anticipated benefits to be derived in the future.

APPELLANT. A party appealing a court decision or ruling.

APPRAISAL. An estimate of the value of property resulting from an analysis of facts about the property. An opinion of value.

APPRAISER. One qualified by education, training and experience who is hired to estimate the value of real and personal property based on experience, judgment, facts, and use of formal appraisal processes.

APPR0PRIATION OF WATER. The taking, impounding or diversion of water flowing on the public domain from its natural course and the application of the water to some beneficial use personal and exclusive to the appropriator.

APPURTENANCE: That which belongs to something, but not immemorially; all those rights, privileges, and improvements which belong to and pass with the transfer of the property, but which are not necessarily a part of the actual property. Appurtenances to real property pass with the real property to which they are appurtenant, unless a contrary intention is manifested. Typical appurtenances are rights-of-way, easements, water rights, and any property improvements.

APPURTENANT. Belonging to; adjunct; appended or annexed to. For example, the garage is appurtenant to the house, and the common interest in the common elements of a condominium is appurtenant to each apartment. Appurtenant items pass with the land when the property is transferred.

APR. See ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE.

ARCHITECTURAL STYLE. Generally the appearance and character of a building's design and construction.

ARTICLES OF INCORPORATION. An instrument setting forth the basic rules and purposes under which a private corporation is formed.

ASSESSED VALUATION. A valuation placed upon a piece of property by a public authority as a basis for levying taxes on the property.

ASSESSMENT. The valuation of property for the purpose of levying a tax or the amount of the tax levied. Also, payments made to a common interest subdivision homeowners- association for maintenance and reserves.

ASSESSOR. The official who has the responsibility of determining assessed values.

ASSIGNMENT. A transfer to another of any property in possession or in action, or of any estate or right therein. A transfer by a person of that person.s rights under a contract.

ASSIGNMENT OF RENTS. A provision in a deed of trust (or mortgage) under which the beneficiary may, upon default by the trustor, take possession of the property, collect income from the property and apply it to the loan balance and the costs incurred by the beneficiary.

ASSIGNOR. One who assigns or transfers property.

ASSIGNS, ASSIGNEES. Those to whom property or interests therein shall have been transferred.

ASSUMPTION AGREEMENT. An undertaking or adoption of a debt or obligation primarily resting upon another person.

ASSUMPTION FEE. A lender.s charge for changing over and processing new records for a new owner who is assuming an existing loan.

ASSUMPTION OF MORTGAGE. The taking of a title to property by a grantee wherein grantee assumes liability for payment of an existing note secured by a mortgage or deed of trust against the property, becoming a coguarantor for the payment of a mortgage or deed of trust note.

ATTACHMENT. The process by which real or personal property of a party to a lawsuit is seized and retained in the custody of the court for the purpose of acquiring jurisdiction over the property, to compel an appearance before the court, or to furnish security for a debt or costs arising out of the litigation.

ATTEST. To affirm to be true or genuine; an official act establishing authenticity.

ATTORNEY IN FACT. One who is authorized by another to perform certain acts for another under a power of attorney; power of attorney may be limited to a specific act or acts or be general.

AVULSION. A sudden and perceptible loss of land by the action of water as by a sudden change in the course of a river.

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