Abandonment Intended
surrender of property rights.
Abatement A reduction
in taxes or rent charges.
Abode Dwelling.
Abrogate
Repeal.
Abstract of judgment, law The
summary of a court judgment that creates a
lien against a property when filed with the
county recorder.
Absentee Ownership
Owner who resides elsewhere.
Abstract of Title
History of Title Chain.
Accelerated cost recovery system A
tax calculation that provides greater
depreciation in the early years of ownership
of real estate or personal property.
Acceleration clause A provision
that gives a lender the right to collect the
balance of a loan if a borrower misses a
payment.
Accelerated depreciation A
bookkeeping method that depreciates property
faster in the early years of ownership.
Acceptance Agreement
to be bound to an offer.
Access Any means by which a
person can enter property.
Accessibility The degree to
which a building or site allows access to
people with disabilities.
Accession
Ownership to
that which the land produces.
Accord and Satisfaction
Settling an old claim by substituting a new
agreement.
Accretion Land accumulated
through the gradual motion of water.
Accrue Add to an
amount.
Acknowledgment A written
declaration affirming that a person acted
voluntarily.
Acre A measurement of land
equal to 43,560 square feet.
Acre foot The volume of
material needed to cover an acre of land one
foot deep.
Act of God Casualty
caused by the forces of nature.
Active solar system A system
that utilizes electric pumps or fans to
transfer solar energy for storage or direct
use.
Actual age The number of years
a structure has been standing.
Actual Agency Arises
when an agent has, in fact, been hired.
Actual Eviction
Expulsion
of a tenant by a landlord.
Addendum An addition or change
to a contract.
Additional principal payment Extra
money included in the monthly payment to
help reduce the principal and shorten the
term of the loan.
Add-on interest The interest a
borrower pays on the principal for the
duration of the loan.
Adjacent
Lying nearby.
Adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) A
loan with an interest rate that is
periodically adjusted to reflect changes in
a specified financial index.
Adjusted cost basis The cost of
any improvements the seller makes to the
property. Deducting the cost from the
original sales price provides the profit or
loss of a home when it is sold.
Adjustment period The amount of
time between interest rate adjustments in an
adjustable-rate mortgage.
Administrator A person given
authority to manage and distribute the
estate of someone who died without leaving a
will.
Administrator's deed A legal
document that an administrator of an estate
uses to transfer property.
Adverse possession The
acquisition of title to property through
possession without the owner's consent for a
certain period of time.
Adverse use The access and use
of property without the owner's consent.
Aeolian soil Soil that is
composed of materials deposited by the wind.
Affiant A person who makes a
sworn statement.
Affidavit A written
statement of fact sworn to under oath.
Affirmation A substitution for
an oath granted to people based on religious
reasons.
Affirmative Easement
An
easement giving the right to enter and
exist.
Affordable Reasonable
value
A-frame design An interior
style that features a steeply peaked
roofline and a ceiling that is open to the
top rafters.
Agency The relationship of
trust that exists between sellers and buyers
and their agents. The agency is formed
through a written contract.
Agency closing The process by
which a lender uses a title company or other
firm as an agent to complete a loan.
Agency Disclosure
Requirement that all consumers be made aware
of agency relationships.
Agent One who formally
represents another.
Agreed boundary A compromise
boundary to which property owners agree in
order to resolve a dispute.
Agreement of sale A document
the buyer initiates and the seller approves
that details the price and terms of the
transaction.
Agricultural Property
Farm Land.
Air Rights Right to use air
space.
Alcove A recessed section of a
room, such as a breakfast nook.
Alienation Transfer
of property from one person to another.
Alienation clause A provision
that requires the borrower to pay the
balance of the loan in a lump sum after the
property is sold or transferred.
Alkali Mineral salt found in
soil.
Alkaline soil Soil that
contains a higher concentration of mineral
salt than natural acid.
Alley A lane behind a row of
buildings or between two rows of buildings.
Allodial Modern
system of property ownership.
Allowances Budgets offered by
builders of new homes for the purchase of
carpeting and fixtures.
Alluvion Increase in
land due to water.
Alternative mortgage Any home
loan that does not conform to a standard
fixed-rate mortgage.
Aluminum-clad windows Wooden
windows with aluminum covering the exterior.
Aluminum siding A metal
covering that provides an alternative to
paint for owners of wood homes.
Ambiguity Double
Meaning.
Amendment To change
something for the better.
Amenities Parks, swimming
pools, health-club facilities, party rooms,
bike paths, community centers and other
enticements offered by builders of planned
developments.
American Society of Home Inspectors The
American Society of Home Inspectors is a
professional association of independent home
inspectors. Phone: (800) 743-2744.
Americans with Disabilities Act A
law passed in 1990 that outlaws
discrimination against a person with a
disability in housing, public
accommodations, employment, government
services, transportation and
telecommunications.
Amortize Reduction of
principle in periodic installments.
Amortization The process of
paying the principal and interest on a loan
through regularly scheduled installments.
Amortization tables Mathematical
tables that lenders use to calculate a
borrower's monthly payment.
Amperage The strength of an
electrical current.
Anchor bolt A large steel bolt
anchored in concrete and attached to a
building to prevent the structure from
moving.
Anchor Tenant Major
tenant in a shopping mall.
Annexation To attach
one thing to another.
Animus Testandi An
intention to make a last will and testament.
Annual Yearly.
Annual mortgagor statement A
yearly statement to borrowers that details
the remaining principal and amounts paid for
taxes and interest.
Annual Percentage Rate (APR) The
cost of the loan expressed as a yearly rate
on the balance of the loan.
Annuity The payment of a fixed
sum to an investor at regular intervals.
Annul To Cancel,
Void.
Anticipatory breach A
communication that informs a party that the
obligations of the original contract will
not be fulfilled.
Antitrust
Laws governing
unfair trade practices.
Application A document that
details a potential borrower's income, debt
and other obligations to determine credit
worthiness.
Application fee The fee that a
lender charges to process a loan
application.
Appraisal An opinion of the
value of a property at a given point in
time.
Appraisal fee The fee that an
appraiser charges to estimate the market
value of the property.
Appraisal report A detailed
written report on the value of a property
based on recent sales of comparable sites in
the area.
Appraised value An opinion of
the current market value of a property.
Appraiser
One who
appraises.
Appreciation An increase in the
value of a home or other property.
Appurtenance A right
which attaches to property.
Arbitration A method of
resolving a dispute in which a third party
renders a decision.
Arbor An area shaded by trees,
shrubs or vines on a latticework structure.
Arch A curved structure that
supports weight over an area, such as a
doorway.
Architect A licensed
professional who designs homes, buildings
and other structures.
Architectural fees The fee an
architect charges for services. In general,
architects charge for their services by the
hour, by the square foot, or by a percentage
of the project budget.
Arpent A French measurement of
land equal to .84625 acres.
Asbestos A fire-resistant
mineral used for insulation and home
products that has been found to pose a
health hazard.
As-is clause
A clause
that shifts risk to the buyer.
As-is condition The purchase or
sale of a property in its existing
condition.
Asking price A seller's initial
price for a property.
Assessed value A tax assessor's
determination of the value of a home in
order to calculate a tax base.
Assessment The estimated value
of a piece of real estate or a levy placed
on property in addition to taxes.
Assessment rolls A list of
taxable property compiled by the assessor.
Assessor
One who
determines assessed value.
Assets Items of value which
include cash, real estate, securities and
investments.
Assignee
The party to
whom an assignment is made.
Assignment
Transfer of a
contract right.
Assignor The party who assigns
an interest in a contract.
Associate Broker An
individual who is licensed under another
broker and held to higher standards than a
REALTOR.
Assumable mortgage A mortgage
that can be transferred to another borrower.
Assumption clause A provision
that allows a buyer to take responsibility
for the mortgage from a seller.
Assumption fee A fee the lender
charges to process new records for a buyer
who assumes an existing loan.
Attestation The act
of witnessing an instrument in writing, at
the request of the party making the same,
and sub-scribing it as a witness.
Attorney Person
licensed to practice law.
Attorney in fact
One who
holds a power of attorney.
Attractive nuisance A
dangerous condition on land which attracts
children.
Auction A sale of
property, conducted in public or after a
notice to the general public, to the highest
bidder.
Authority Delegation
of power.
Average price The price of a
home determined by totaling the sales prices
of all houses sold in an area and dividing
that number by the number of homes.
Avigation easement An easement
over private property near an airport that
limits the height of structures and trees.
Avulsion
Sudden
change in a property boundary from action of
water.
Awning windows Single-sash
windows that tilt outward and up.
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