Section 1: Intro to Real Estate

Client

A party represented by a broker in an agency relationship - also called a principal

appurtenance

A right, privilege, or improvement belonging to and passing with the principal property. It is not necessarily a part of the property. Example: a right of way through a neighbor's land.

commercial property

Property that refers to retail and office properties, and industrial real estate.

base line

Imaginary line running east and west used by surveyors as a reference in describing land under the government survey method.

meridian lines

Imaginary north-south lines used in US government surveys

home inspection

An examination of a home's construction, condition and internal systems by an inspector or contractor prior to purchase.

abutting (contiguous)

Bordering, adjacent to, physically adjoining.

boundary

boarder

ground water

Water found below the Earth's surface.

Third parties

people who the broker hopes to do business with

per capita

per person

blueprints

a drawing of a design plan

heir

a person who is entitled by law or by the terms of a will to inherit the estate of another.

gentrification

a process of converting a neighborhood from low-income to middle-class; property revitalization.

general partnership

a type of partnership in which all partners share equally in both responsibility and liability.

furlong

a unit of length equal to 220 yards

bay window

a window that sticks out from the outside wall of a house

setback

the legal distance that a building must be from property lines.

monument

(p.m. permanent reference marker)A boundary marker in a fixed and identifiable position. May be man-made (stake or post) or natural (boulder or tree). Used most commonly in metes and bounds land description.

Realtor

A copyrighted term used to designate a member of the National Association of Realtors. He is also a member of state and local boards.

benchmark

A formal reference marker, placed by a surveyor at a known elevation point from which elevations in a topographical survey may be calculated.

doctrine of prior appropriation

A legal philosophy that allows a first user to continue diverting water.

Meridian

A line of longitude that runs north-south. All lines of longitude are equal in length and intersect at the poles.

plat

A map or survey of a subdivision.

government survey method

A method of land description that utilizes imaginary grid lines.

metes and bounds method

A method of land description utilizing measurements and boundaries.

lot, block, and subdivision method

A method of land description utilizing recorded plats.

National Association of Realtors

A national trade organization of real estate brokers and salesmen. Members are referred to as Realtors, which is a copyright term.

former will

A will that has been drafted, signed and witnessed

fructus industriales (emblements)

Annual plantings that require cultivation. Considered personal property.

personal property

Any property other than real property; chattels.

parallel lines

East-west lines in the Government Survey Method.

Salesperson and Associate Broker

Employed by the broker. Act as the broker's agent in conducting real estate transactions.

Brokerage firm

Employed by the public to perform acts of brokerage

bundle of rights

Legal rights that go with the ownership of property.

Et ux

Latin for "and wife."

Multiple Listing Service

Organization of brokers who work to sell each other's listings

trade fixtures

Personal property affixed to real property that is essential to a business and that is removable by the lessee.

fixture

Personal property that is permanently attached to real property and goes with the property when it is sold.

fructus naturales

Plants that do not require annual cultivation and are considered real property.

radon gas

Radioactive material that comes up from the ground and can penetrate basements.

situs

Refers to the economic location of real estate.

attachment

Seizure of property by court order, to insure payment of a debt or to have it available to satisfy a possible judgment.

subdivision

Splitting a single property into smaller parcels

property

That which is legally owned by an individual.

government check

The 24-mile-square parcels composed of 16 townships in the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.

common area

The area in a condominium project that is shared by all of the condominium owners, such as elevators, hallways, and parking lots.

Principal broker

The broker who manages the offices and is responsible for supervising the activities of the licensed and unlicensed staff.

assemblage

The combining of adjoining separate parcels of land into a single tract. Assemblage value (plottage value) refers to the increase in value that results when parcels are combined, thereby creating a site that has greater value than the sum of lots individually considered.

amenities

The intangible aspects of property that give pleasure and satisfaction to the owner, such as attractive design, good view, etc.

errors and omissions insurance

The name used to describe a type of malpractice insurance coverage for real estate professionals. The coverage protects against financial losses from lawsuits filed as a result of your work in the real estate profession.

accretion

The process of the addition of soil to real estate by natural causes (see alluvion).

air rights

The rights to use the air above the land.

anchor tenant

The tenant in a shopping center that leases the largest space and will draw the greatest amount of traffic e.g., grocery store in a plaza or a major department store in a mall.

survey

To determine and describe the boundaries and positions of a tract of land.

vertical land descriptions

Used to describe air rights or subsurface rights.

bequest

a gift of personal property by will

Buffer Zone

an area of land that serves as a barrier.

supply and demand

an economic concept that states that the price of a good rises and falls depending on how many people want it (demand) and depending on how much of the good is available (supply)

building inspection

an inspection by a government official which certifies a building has met the applicable building codes.

Et al

and others

emblements

annual crops; farm crops.

political unit

city-state

intestate

dying without a will

growth

development

Dower Rights

rights a wife has to her husband's estare upon his death.

holographic will

handwritten will

domicile

home

littoral right

lake rights

real estate

land and anything that is attached to it

Anti-Trusts Laws

laws to control monopoly power and to preserve and promote competition

riparian rights

river rights

per stripes

method of proportionately dividing an estate between beneficiaries.

inherit

money or other assets given to a party upon one's death, also known as a bequest.

condominium

multi-unit structure made up of individually owned units with separate deeds and shared ownership of common areas.

public record

records of a public office.

indemnity

security or protection against a loss or other financial burden.

buyer's market

supply high, price is low.