Real Estate Practice Exam & Course Material Vocabulary Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards generated directly from real estate course notes, practice questions, and Guam land laws.

Lien

Money owed that is secured by a specific property.

Easement Appurtenant

An easement attached to a parcel of land that involves both a dominant tenement that benefits and a servient tenement that is burdened.

PETE

An acronym representing the four basic government powers regarding real estate: Police Power, Eminent Domain, Taxation, and Escheat.

Datum

A vertical boundaries reference point used when subdividing airspace for condominiums.

Benchmark

A permanent reference monument established throughout the United States to measure elevations and land survey positions.

General Warranty Deed

A deed containing standard covenants that offer the purchaser the greatest legal protection available against title defects.

Percentage Lease

A commercial lease structure requiring a fixed base rent plus a percentage of the tenant's gross business income.

Gross Lease

A rental agreement in which the tenant pays a fixed rent amount and the landlord pays for maintenance, taxes, and insurance expenses.

Corrective Maintenance

Property management maintenance activities focused on repairing broken or damaged amenities.

Capital Gains

The taxable profit earned on the sale of an investment property, calculated as the final selling price minus the property's adjusted basis.

Net Listing

An agreement where the seller specifies a fixed net dollar amount to receive, and the real estate broker keeps any remaining sales proceeds as commission.

Lis Pendens

A recorded public notice stating that litigation is pending regarding the title or interest in a specific parcel of property.

Commingling

The illegal practice of mixing client or customer escrow trust funds with a real estate broker's personal or general operating accounts.

Conversion

The illegal act of using client trust funds or earnest money for personal or business operational expenses.

Broker Trust Account

A separate bank checking account utilized to hold funds received from or on behalf of clients, such as earnest money and security deposits.

Uniqueness

The physical characteristic of real property stating that no two individual parcels of land are identical (also known as nonhomogeneity).

Littoral Rights

Water rights held by owners of land bordering non-flowing waters (such as lakes or oceans), extending to the average high-water mark.

Steering

The illegal act under fair housing laws of directing home seekers toward or away from specific neighborhoods based on protected class traits.

Blockbusting

The illegal practice of inducing homeowners to sell by stating that individuals of a protected class are moving into the neighborhood.

Redlining

The illegal refusal by financial institutions or insurers to issue loans or policies in specific geographical neighborhoods based on protected classes.

Fee Simple Subject to a Condition Subsequent

A fee simple estate that dictates a specific condition for use and grants the original grantor a reserved right of reentry if the condition is breached.

Fee Simple Determinable

A fee simple estate qualified by a special limitation (such as 'so long as') that automatically reverts back to the original grantor if violated.

Eminent Domain

The constitutional power of a government entity to acquire private property for public use upon payment of just compensation.

Easement in Gross

An individual or corporate right to use another person's real estate, such as a utility company's right-of-way for power lines.

Proprietary Lease

A lease agreement given to stock shareholder-owners in a cooperative housing corporation allowing occupancy of a designated unit.

Joint Tenancy

A form of co-ownership requiring four unities (possession, interest, time, title) characterized by a right of survivorship among surviving co-owners.

Acknowledgment

A formal declaration before an authorized official, such as a notary public, verifying that a grantor's signature on a document is genuine and voluntary.

Quitclaim Deed

A deed that transfers whatever interest, title, or claim the grantor possesses in a property without providing covenants or warranties.

Abstract of Title

A condensed written history of all recorded conveyances, summary judgments, liens, and proceedings affecting title to a parcel of land.

Puffing

Exaggerated or subjective statements regarding a property's features that are not intended as statements of fact.

Latent Defect

A hidden structural or physical defect in a property that is not discoverable by a routine physical inspection.

Dual Agency

An agency relationship where a broker represents both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction with full written authorization.

Specific Performance

A legal action filed in court to compel a breaching party to complete performance according to the exact terms of a contract.

Novation

The substitution of a new contract or legal obligation in place of an existing contract or party.

Promissory Note

A legal, written financing document establishing a debtor's promise to pay a specific sum of money to a lender under specified terms.

Acceleration Clause

A provision in a mortgage or note permitting the lender to declare the entire remaining balance due immediately upon borrower default.

Usury

The illegal practice of charging interest on a loan at a rate higher than permitted by governing law.

Package Loan

A single mortgage financing agreement that secures both real property and personal property items.

Blanket Loan

A mortgage loan that covers multiple distinct parcels of real estate and contains provisions for partial release of individual lots.

Functional Obsolescence

A reduction in property value caused by outdated physical features, structural layout issues, or poor design within the property.

Encapsulation

An environmental remediation technique involving the sealing of disintegrating asbestos to prevent hazardous fibers from being released into the air.

Board of Equalization

The official body on Guam responsible for reviewing appeals concerning property appraisal values for tax assessments.

LTV Formula

The loan-to-value relationship formula expressed as: $\text{LTV} = \frac{\text{Loan Amount}}{\text{Property Value}}$.

Capitalization Rate Formula

The income appraisal capitalization rate formula expressed as: $\text{Cap Rate} = \frac{\text{Net Operating Income}}{\text{Property Value}}$.