Real Estate Principles and Practices Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering real estate ownership, law, financing, agency, and land use regulations based on lecture notes.

Real Property (Realty)

Includes land, improvements, attached things, and ownership benefits.

Personal Property

Unattached, movable items also known as personalty or chattel.

Fixtures

Items that were once moveable but have been attached to real property.

Trade Fixtures

Removable property used by a tenant specifically for business purposes.

Emblements

Crops owned by tenants, referred to as fructus industriales.

Easement in Gross

An easement for personal use that does not have a dominant tenement.

Easement by Prescription

An easement acquired through adverse use that becomes protected.

Encroachment

The overlapping use of a property by another, which can be legal or illegal.

Lis Pendens

A pending lawsuit encumbrance on a property.

Metes and Bounds

A property description method using distances and monuments (landmarks) as references.

Rectangular Survey

A grid system for land description based on axes, townships, and sections.

Township

A land division in a rectangular survey consisting of six-mile squares.

Lien

A monetary encumbrance that can be voluntary or involuntary, general or specific.

Ad Valorem Tax

General real estate taxes calculated based on the property value.

Police Power

The state's authority to create laws for community welfare, including zoning and building codes.

Eminent Domain

The power to take private property for public or private benefit provided just compensation is paid.

Escheat

The transfer of property to the state when an owner dies intestate without heirs.

Nonconforming Use

Continuing a previous land use after a zoning change has occurred.

Variance

A specific exception to zoning regulations granted for unique circumstances.

Riparian Rights

Usage rights for land bordering a flowing watercourse.

Littoral Rights

Usage rights for land fronting large bodies of water like lakes or oceans.

Accretion

The process of gaining land through natural causes.

Avulsion

The sudden loss of land due to natural forces.

Asbestos

A fibrous material formerly used for insulation, now recognized as a health hazard managed through abatement or encapsulation.

Radon Gas

A naturally occurring, odorless radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer.

Amenity

A feature that enhances the value of real estate.

Assemblage

The act of combining multiple land parcels into a single larger parcel.

Plottage

The increase in value that results from the successful assemblage of land parcels.

Functional Obsolescence

A loss in value due to inherent design flaws that make a building less desirable.

External Obsolescence

A decrease in property desirability caused by factors outside the property itself.

Straight Note

A note where the principal is repaid in a lump sum at the end of the loan term.

Blanket Mortgage

A mortgage covering multiple properties with a release schedule for individual lots.

Acceleration Clause

A provision allowing a lender to demand full repayment if the borrower defaults.

Usury

Charging an interest rate that exceeds the legal limit.

Negative Amortization

An increase in loan balance that happens when monthly payments skip interest costs.

RESPA

The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, which regulates closings and disclosure of settlement costs.

OLDCAR

Acronym for an agent's fiduciary duties: Obedience, Loyalty, Disclosure, Confidentiality, Accounting, and Reasonable Care.

Special Agency

Agency created for a specific act, such as a listing contract, without binding the principal.

General Agency

Agency authorized for a series of acts associated with a business, such as a property manager.

Exclusive Right to Sell

A listing where the brokerage is paid regardless of who finds the buyer.

Latent Defect

A hidden flaw not easily observed during a standard property inspection.

Statute of Frauds

A law requiring real estate contracts to be in writing to be legally enforceable.

Novation

The substitution of a new obligation for an existing one with the intent to cancel the old one.

Specific Performance

A legal action to compel a defaulting party to fulfill the exact terms of a contract.

Adverse Possession

Acquiring title through open, notorious, hostile, and continuous possession, often for $21$ years.

Quitclaim Deed

A deed that conveys only the interest the grantor has at the time, providing no warranties.

Habendum Clause

A deed clause starting with 'to have and to hold' that describes the estate being granted.

Fee Simple Absolute

The highest form of ownership where heirs gain ownership upon the owner's death.

Alienation Clause

A due-on-sale clause giving the lender the right to declare the loan due if property is sold.

Percolation Test

A test evaluating land's ability to absorb and drain water, required for septic systems.

Board Foot

A lumber measurement unit equal to $144$ cubic inches ($12 \times 12 \times 1$).

Bearing Wall

A wall that supports a vertical load in addition to its own weight.

GNP (Gross National Product)

The total value of goods and services produced by a nation in a calendar year.

Certificate of Occupancy (CO)

An approval issued to signify a building is safe to occupy.