Homeownership Glossary
Posted by Garrett McWhorter
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Homeownership Glossary
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- ABANDONMENT –
- The voluntary surrender or relinquishment of possession of real property with the intention of terminating one's possession or interest, but without vesting this interest in any other person.
- ABATEMENT –
- A reduction or decrease in amount, degree, intensity or worth.
- ABSTRACT OF TITLE –
- A concise, summarized history of the title to a specific parcel of real property, together with a statement of all liens and encumbrances affecting the property. The abstract of title doesn’t guarantee or assure the validity of the title of the property. It merely discloses those items about the property which are of public record, and thus doesn’t reveal such things as encroachments, forgeries, and the like.
- ACCELERATION CLAUSE –
- A clause in a promissory note, agreement of sale, or mortgage that gives the lender the right to call all sums due and payable in advance of the fixed payment date upon the occurrence of a specified event, such as a sale, default, assignment, or further encumbrance of the property.
- ACCEPTANCE –
- The expression of the intention of the person receiving an offer (offeree, usually the seller) to be bound by the terms of the offer.
- ACCESS –
- A general or specific right of ingress and egress to a particular property.
- ACCRETION –
- The gradual and imperceptible addition to land by alluvial deposits of soil through natural causes, such as shoreline movement caused by streams or rivers.
- ACCRUED –
- That which has accumulated over a period of time such as accrued depreciation, accrued interest, or accrued expenses.
- ACKNOWLEDGEMENT –
- A formal declaration made before a duly authorized officer, usually a notary public, by a person who has signed a document.
- ACRE –
- A measure of land equaling 43,560 square feet; 4,840 square yards; 160 square rods.
- AD VALOREM –
- Latin for "according to valuation," usually referring to a type of tax or assessment.
- ADHESION CONTRACT –
- A contract that’s very one-sided and favors the party who drafted the document.
- ADJUSTABLE-RATE MORTGAGE (ARM) –
-
A mortgage loan where the interest rate, initially fixed, begins to fluctuate after a certain amount of time based on some financial index, usually on an annual basis.
- ADVERSE POSSESSION –
- The acquiring of title to real property owned by someone else, by means of open, notorious, and continuous possession for the statutory period of time (20 years in Hawaii).
- AFFIDAVIT –
- A sworn statement reduced to writing and made under oath before a Notary Public or other official authorized by law to administer an oath.
- AGENCY –
- A relationship created when one person, the "principal," delegates to another, the "agent," the right to act on the principal's 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.
- AGENT –
- One who is authorized to represent and to act on behalf of another person (called the principal). A real estate broker is the agent of his client, be it the seller or buyer, to whom he owes a fiduciary obligation. A salesman is the agent of his broker and does not have a direct personal contractual relationship with either the seller or buyer.
- AGREEMENT OF SALE –
- An agreement between the seller (vendor) and buyer (vendee) for the purchase of real property.
- AIR RIGHTS –
- The rights to the use of the open space or vertical plane above a property. Ownership of the land includes the right to all air above the property.
- ALIENATION CLAUSE –
- A clause in a promissory note or mortgage which 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.
- ALLODIAL SYSTEM –
- The free ownership of land by individuals.
- ALLOWANCES –
-
In construction or remodeling, a line item in the contractor’s bid when the exact product, brand, or cost is yet to be determined. An estimate or placeholder for an expense.
- AMENITIES –
- Features, both tangible and intangible, which enhance and add to the desirability of real estate.
- AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (ADA) –
-
First enacted in 1990, ADA is a broad-based civil rights law that prohibits discrimination based on physical or mental disability. Among its many provisions, ADA requires that most public facilities meet certain accessibility guidelines. "ADA compliant" means that the product, fixture, or material meets the standards as outlines by the act.
- AMORTIZATION –
- The gradual repayment of a debt by means of systematic payments of principal and interest over a set period, where at the end of the period there is a zero balance.
- ANNUAL FUEL UTILIZATION EFFICIENCY –
-
Measures the percentage of the fuel that is converted to heat rather than being lost up the chimney or through other inefficiencies in homes.
- ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE –
- The relationship of the total finance charge to the total amount to be finance as required under the Federal Truth-in-Lending Law.
- APPRAISAL –
- The process of estimating, fixing, or setting the market value of real property. An appraisal may take the form of a lengthy report, a completed form, a simple letter, or even an oral report.
- APPRECIATION –
- An increase in the worth or value of property due to economic or related causes, which may prove to be either temporary or permanent.
- ARBITRATION –
- The non-judicial submission of a controversy to selected third parties for their determination in the manner provided by agreement or by law.
- ASSESSED VALUATION –
- The value of real property as established by the state government for purposes of computing real property taxes.
- ASSESSMENT –
- A specific levy for a definite purpose, such as adding curbs or sewers in a neighborhood. Individual condominium owners are subject to special assessments benefiting the project as a whole and not funded through regular maintenance charges.
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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the HRIS.
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