RANGE
- A measurement, used in the government survey system, consisting of
a strip of land six miles wide, running in a north-south direction.
RATE OF RETURN
- The relationship (expressed as a percentage) between the annual net
income generated by a business and the invested capital, or the appraised
value, or the gross income, etc., of the business.
RAW LAND -
Unimproved land; land in its unused natural state prior to the construction
of improvements such as streets, lighting, sewers, and the like.
REAL ESTATE
- The physical land and appurtenances, including any structures; for
all practical purposes synonymous with real property.
REAL PROPERTY
- All land and appurtenances to land, including buildings, structures,
fixtures, fences, and improvements erected upon or affixed to the same;
excluding, however, growing crops.
REALTOR
- A registered word which may only be used by an active real estate
broker who is a member of the state and local real estate board affiliated
with the National Association of Realtors. The use of the name REALTOR
and the distinctive seal in advertising is strictly governed by the
rules and regulations of the National Association.
REALTY -
Land and everything permanently affixed thereto.
REBATE
- A reduction or kickback of a stipulated charge.
RECAPTURE CLAUSE
- A clause usually found in percentage leases, especially in shopping
center leases, giving the landlord the right to terminate the lease
(and thus "recapture" the premises) if the tenant does not
maintain a specified minimum amount of business.
RECEIVER -
An independent party appointed by a court to impartially receive, preserve
and manage property which is involved in litigation, pending final disposition
of the matter before the court.
RECORDING
- The act of entering into the book of public records the written instruments
affecting the title to real property, such as deeds, mortgages, contracts
of sale, options, assignments, and the like. Proper recordation imparts
constructive notice to all the world of the existence of the recorded
document and its contents.
REDEMPTION, EQUITABLE
RIGHT OF - The right of a mortgagor who has defaulted on
the mortgage note to redeem or get back his title to the property by
paying off the entire mortgage note prior to the foreclosure sale.
REDUCTION CERTIFICATE
- An instrument which shows the amount of the unpaid balance
of a mortgage, the rate of interest and the date of maturity.
REFINANCE
- The act of obtaining a new loan to pay off an existing loan; the process
of paying off one loan with the proceeds from another.
REFORMATION
- A legal action to correct or modify a contract or deed which has not
accurately reflected the intentions of the parties due to some mechanical
error, such as a typo graphical error in the legal description.
RELEASE
- The discharge or relinquishment of a right, claim or privilege. Releases
involving real property transactions should be acknowledged and recorded.
RELEASE CLAUSE
- A provision found in many blanket mortgages enabling the mortgagor
to obtain partial releases of specific parcels from the mortgage upon
the payment of, typically, a larger-than-pro-rata portion of the loan.
REMAINDER ESTATE
- A future interest in real estate created at the same time and
by the same instrument as another estate, and limited to arise immediately
upon the termination of the prior estate.
RENEWAL OPTION
- A covenant in some leases which gives the lessee the right to extend
the lease term for a certain period, on specified terms.
RENT
- Fixed periodic payment made by a tenant or occupant of property to
the owner for the possession and use thereof, usually by prior agreement
of the parties.
RENT CONTROL
- Regulation by state or local governmental agencies restricting the
amount of rent landlords can charge their tenants; such regulation is
a valid exercise of the state's police power.
RENTAL AGREEMENT
- An agreement, written or oral, which establishes or modifies the terms,
conditions, rules, regulations, or any other provisions concerning the
use and occupancy of a dwelling unit and premises; a lease on residential
property.
RENTAL POOL
- A rental arrangement whereby participating owners of rental apartments
agree to have their apartment units available for rental as determined
by the rental agent, and then share in the profits and losses of all
the rental apartments in the pool according to an agreed formula.
REPRODUCTION COST
- The cost, on the basis of current prices, of reproducing a new replica
property with the same or fairly similar material.
RESCISSION
- The legal remedy of canceling, terminating or annulling a contract
and restoring the parties to their original positions; a return to the
status quo.
RESERVE FUND
- Monies set aside as a cushion of capital for future payment
of items such as taxes, insurance, furniture replacement, deferred maintenance,
etc.; sometimes referred to as an impound account.
RESIDUAL PROCESS
- An appraisal process used in the income approach to estimate the value
of the land and/or the building, as indicated by the capitalization
of the residual net income attributable to it.
RESTRICTIONS
- Limitations on the use of property. Private restrictions are created
by means of restrictive covenants written into real property instruments,
such as deeds and leases.
RESTRICTIVE COVENANT
- A private agreement, usually contained in a deed, which restricts
the use and occupancy of real property.
RETALIATORY EVICTION
- An act whereby a landlord evicts the tenant in response to
some complaint made by the tenant.
REVERSION -
A future estate in real property created by operation of law when a
grantor conveys a lesser estate than he has. The residue left in the
grantor is called a reversion which commences in possession in the future
upon the end of a particular estate granted or devised, whether it be
freehold or less-than-freehold.
RIGHT OF SURVIVORSHIP
- The distinctive characteristic of a joint tenancy (also tenancy by
entirety) by which the surviving joint tenant (s) succeeds to all right,
title and interest of the deceased joint tenant without the need for
probate proceedings.
RIGHT-OF-WAY
- The right or privilege, acquired through accepted usage or
by contract, to pass over a designated portion of the property of another.
RIPARIAN
- Those rights and obligations which are incidental to ownership of
land adjacent to or abutting on watercourses such as streams and lakes.
RISK OF LOSS
- Responsibility for damages caused to improvements. The risk of loss
passes to the vendee when either title or possession passes, and he
should protect himself by securing proper insurance.
RUNNING WITH THE
LAND - Rights or covenants which bind or benefit successive
owners of a property are said to run with the land, such as restrictive
building covenants in a recorded deed which would affect all future
owners of the property.
back to index
S
SALE AND LEASEBACK
- A transaction in which, typically, an owner sells his improved property
and as part of the same transaction signs a long-term lease and remains
in possession.
SCHEMATICS
- Preliminary architectural drawings and sketches; basic layouts not
containing the final details of design.
SECOND MORTGAGE
- A mortgage which is junior or subordinate to a first mortgage; typically,
an additional loan imposed on top of the first mortgage, which is taken
out when the borrower needs more money.
SECONDARY MORTGAGE
MARKET - A market for the purchase and sale of existing mortgages,
designed to provide greater liquidity for mortgages; also called secondary
money market.
SECURITY AGREEMENT
- A security document which creates a lien upon chattels, including
chattels intended to be affixed to land as fixtures; known as a chattel
mortgage prior to the adoption of the Uniform Commercial Code.
SECURITY DEPOSIT
- Money deposited by or for the tenant with the landlord, to be held
by the landlord for the following purposes: to remedy tenant defaults
for damage to the premises (be it accidental or intentional), for failure
to pay rent due, or for failure to return all keys at the end of the
tenancy.
SEPTIC TANK
- A sewage settling tank in which part of the sewage is converted
into gas and liquids before the remaining waste is discharged by gravity
into a leaching bed underground.
SETBACK
- Zoning restrictions on the amount of land required surrounding improvements;
the amount of space required between the lot line and the building line.
SETTLEMENT
- The act of adjusting and prorating the various credits, charges and
settlement costs to conclude a real estate transaction.
SEVERALTY
- Sole ownership of real property.
SHELL LEASE
- A lease wherein a tenant leases the unfinished shell of a building,
as in a new shopping center, and agrees to complete construction himself
by installing ceilings, plumbing, heating and air conditioning systems,
and electrical wiring.
SHORELINE
- The dividing line between private land and public beach on beachfront
property.
SIMPLE INTEREST
- Interest computed on the principal balance only.
SPECIAL ASSESSMENT
- A tax or levy customarily imposed against only those specific parcels
of realty which will benefit from a proposed public improvement, as
opposed to a general tax on the entire community.
SPECIAL WARRANTY
DEED - A deed in which the grantor warrants or guarantees
the title only against defects arising during the period of his tenure
and ownership of the property and not against defects existing before
the time of his ownership.
SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE
- A legal action brought in a court of equity to compel a party
to carry out the terms of a contract.
SPOT LOAN
- A loan on a particular property, usually a condominium unit, by a
lender who has not previously financed that particular condominium building.
STANDING LOAN
- A commitment by the interim or construction lender to keep the money
already funded in the project for a specified period of time after the
expiration of the interim loan, usually until permanent take-out financing
is secured.
STATUTE OF FRAUDS
- That law which requires certain contracts to be in writing and signed
by the party to be charged therewith in order to be legally enforceable.
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
- That law pertaining to the period of time within which certain actions
must be brought to court.
STEP-UP LEASE
- A lease with fixed rent for an initial term and provision for pre-determined
rent increases at specified intervals and/or increases based upon periodic
appraisals; sometimes called a graduated lease.
STRAIGHT NOTE
- A promissory note evidencing a loan in which "interest
only" payments are made periodically during the term of the note,
with the principal payment due in one lump sum upon maturity.
SUBJECT TO MORTGAGE
- A grantee taking title to real property "subject to mortgage"
is not personally liable to the mortgagee for payment of the mortgage
note. In the event the grantor-mortgagor defaults in paying the note,
the grantee could, however, lose property, and thus his equity, in a
foreclosure sale.
SUBORDINATION AGREEMENT
- An agreement whereby a prior mortgagee agrees to subordinate or give
up their priority position to an existing or anticipated future lien.
SUMMARY POSSESSION
- A legal process used by a landlord to regain possession of the leased
premises if the tenant has breached the lease or is holding over after
the termination of tenancy.
SURRENDER
- A premature conveyance of a possessory estate to a person having a
future interest, as when a lessee surrenders the leasehold interest
to the owner of the reversion interest, the lessor, before the normal
expiration of the lease.
SURVEY
- The process by which boundaries are measured and land areas are determined;
the on-site measurement of lot lines, dimensions, and position of houses
in a lot including the determination of any existing encroachments or
easements.
SURVIVORSHIP
- The right of survivorship is that special feature of a joint tenancy
whereby all title, right and interest of a decedent joint tenant in
certain property passes to the surviving joint tenants by operation
of law, free from claims of heirs and creditors of the decedent.
