R
Rate of Return -
A percentage relationship between the
investment price or equity invested and the composite returns.
Re-entry
- The right of the landlord to repossess leased property following the
violation of the terms in the lease.
Ready, Willing and Able -
Someone fully qualified to enter into a
transaction.
Real Estate -
Land and all man-made improvements both on and to the land, plus all
tangible interest in the real property. Surface, subsurface and air
rights.
Real Estate Commission -
The state regulatory body whose duty it is
to carry out the real estate license laws in a particular state.
Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) -
A method of pooling investment money using
the trust form of ownership if certain tax requirements are met. One
advantage of the REIT is the avoidance of corporate tax (thus no double
taxation) + many more.
Real Estate Market -
The mechanism by which rights and interests in real estate are sold,
prices set, supply adjusted to demand, space allocated among competing
alternate uses, and land-use patterns set.
Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act
(RESPA)
- A law which covers most mortgage loans made for one to four-unit
residential property. It requires the lender to provide the loan
applicant with pertinent information so that the borrower can make
informed decisions as to which lender will be used to finance the
purchase.
Real Property -
Refers to land and improvements both on and to the land, and also to the
physical aspects of real estate, including surface, air and subsurface
rights plus, bundle of rights.
REALTOR®
- A registered trademark of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS. It is
used by brokers and salespersons who hold active membership in the
association.
Receiver
- A court-appointed person who is charged with preserving a property,
collecting rents and doing anything necessary to maintain the property's
condition.
Reciprocity
- The recognition that states give whereby a licensee of one state can be
involved in real estate transactions in other states.
Rectangular Survey -
method of land description used in about 30 states based on imaginary
lines of longitude (meridians) and latitude (base lines); also referred
to as the US government survey system.
Redemption Period -
The right of a mortgagor (borrower) to make good on the default within a
specified time and receive the property back.
Redlining
- The practice of some lending institutions that restricts the number of
loans or the loan-to-value ratio in certain areas of a community, i.e.,
it is illegal for a lending institution to require a higher down payment
because the home the borrower is buying is located in a racially mixed
area.
Refinancing
- A description of an extension of the existing financing either through
the same lender or through a new financial arrangement.
Regulation Z
- Issued by the Federal Reserve System to implement the Truth-In-Lending
Law (National Consumer Credit Protection Act). Applies to credit and
interest rates.
Remainder-man
- The person who has a future interest in a life estate once the present
estate terminates.
Renegotiable Rate Mortgage -
A renegotiated loan where the maturity is fixed (for example, 30 years)
but the interest rate, and hence the monthly payment, is renegotiated
periodically (for example, every 3 or 5 years.)
Rent
- The payment made for the use of land.
Replacement Cost -
The cost of substituting a similar structure with utility equivalent to
the subject property but constructed with modern materials.
Reproduction Cost -
The cost of exactly duplicating a structure using the same material and
design.
Rescission
- Repealing a contract either by mutual consent of the parties to the
contract or by one party when the other party is in breach of the
contract.
Resident Manager -
An employee of the property management firm and its representative on
the premises.
Restrictive Covenant -
A clause in a deed which restricts use of property for a specified time.
Reversion
- A future interest in the grantor, which occurs whenever the owner of
real estate conveys an estate of lesser duration than the owner has.
Reversionary Interest -
A future interest a person has in property after present possession is
terminated.
Revocation
- The nullification of an offer to contract by the original offeror.
Right of Re-entry -
The right retained when a fee simple on condition subsequent exists;
also referred to as the power of termination. Back to court.
Right of Redemption -
The legal ability to buy back one's property within the time specified
in each state after a judicial sale by paying the debt, interest and
certain costs.
Right of Survivorship -
Upon the death of a joint tenant or tenant by the entirety the interest
does not pass to the tenant's heirs but to the other join tenant(s).
Riparian Rights -
A legal right of a landowner who owns land next to a natural watercourse
to reasonable use of whatever water flows past the property.
Run with the land -
Certain restrictions, easements and covenants are part of the ownership
of land and thus are not terminated when title is transferred but remain
in effect from owner to owner.
S
Sale-leaseback -
A technique used by owners of property as
a means of raising capital. The process involves the simultaneous
selling and leasing back of the property usually through a net lease.
Sales Contract -
An agreement in which the buyer and seller agree to the terms and
conditions of the sale of property. (Bilateral Contract)
Salesperson
- A natural person licensed to perform on behalf of any licensed real
estate broker any act or acts authorized to be performed by the broker.
Satisfaction of Mortgage -
An instrument issued by the mortgagee (Lender) when the mortgage has
been paid in full.
Satisfaction Piece -
An instrument issued by a person holding a lien to indicate lien is
discharged.
Scarcity
- The scarcity of real estate refers to the limited supply of certain
types of real estate at particular locations.
Second Mortgage -
A mortgage subordinate to a first mortgage; also referred to as a junior
mortgage. (Recorded Second)
Seisin
- The actual possession of land by one who claims rightful ownership of a
freehold estate therein.
Servient Estate -
The tract of land burdened by an easement.
Setback Lines -
A requirement in zoning ordinances in which all structures are to be a
minimum distance from property lines.
Severalty Ownership -
Ownership by one person.
Site
- A lot ready for development.
Situs
- Refers to the economic location of real estate.
Special Assessment -
From time to time jurisdictions levy a charge on certain pieces of
property for the purpose of paying for the cost of a public a
improvement such as sewers or sidewalks, which particularly benefit
properties being assessed as opposed to those improvements benefitting
the public at large. Considered a tax.
Special Warranty Deed -
The grantor warrants against defects that have occurred after the
grantor acquired title. (No warrantee forever-only for the time the
grantor owns the property)
Specific Lien -
One that attaches to a particular property.
Specific Performance -
An equitable remedy in which the court orders the contract to be
performed as agreed to by the parties.
Statute
- A law passed by a state legislature.
Statute of Frauds -
Every state has some form of laws which require that certain contracts
must be in writing in order to be enforceable in a court.
Statutory Period of Redemption -
The time within which property may be
redeemed after a foreclosure sale.
Steering
- The channeling of prospective home purchasers or renters, by real estate
brokers or salespersons, into racially homogeneous neighborhoods, and
actively discouraging them away from neighborhoods of different racial
or ethnic composition.
Sublease
- The transfer when the original lessee retains a reversion. Primary
liable. Remains with the original lessee.
Subordination Clause -
A clause in which the holder of a mortgage permits a subsequent mortgage
to take priority. Subordination is the act of yielding priority.
Subrogation
- The substitution of a third person in place of a creditor to whose
rights the third person succeeds in relation to the debt. (Title
company)
Suit
- A court action to enforce a legal claim or right.
Syndicate
- An arrangement to raise equity capital for real estate purchases or for
other types of investments.
Member, National Association of Realtors
®
