Real Estate

Taking: Legal Concepts in Land Acquisition and Land Use Law
Taking refers to the acquisition of a parcel of land through condemnation or the application of police power restrictions so restrictive that they preclude any reasonable use.
Tangible Personal Property: Definition and Examples
Tangible Personal Property refers to assets that can be seen, touched, and measured but are not categorized as real estate. This article explores the definition, types, examples, and key considerations in distinguishing between tangible personal property and real estate.
Tax Abatement: Reprieve from a Tax Obligation
An in-depth examination of tax abatement, a government incentive often used to encourage real estate or industrial development by partially or completely forgiving tax obligations.
Tax Deed: A Comprehensive Guide
An in-depth look at tax deeds, their historical context, legal implications, processes, and practical aspects.
Tax Map: A Tool for Locating and Evaluating Property
A Tax Map is a document outlining the location, dimensions, and relevant details of a parcel of land subject to property taxes. These maps are typically archived as public records in local tax offices.
Tax Sale: Property Auction Due to Unpaid Taxes
A Tax Sale refers to the sale of a property after a period of nonpayment of taxes. The grantee receives a Tax Deed. In many states, the defaulting party has a redemption period to repay the owed taxes, interest, and associated costs to reclaim the property.
TAX STOP Clause: Property Tax Limiting Provision in Leases
A TAX STOP clause in a lease agreement limits the amount of property taxes a lessor must pay, preventing unexpected increases beyond a predetermined threshold. Learn about its functionality, examples, historical context, and related terms.
Tax-Deferred (Tax-Free) Exchange: Understanding Section 1031
A comprehensive guide to understanding tax-deferred exchanges, primarily concerning property under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code. This entry explores the concept, applications, and implications of such exchanges in the context of real estate.
Tax-Exempt Property: Understanding Non-Taxable Real Estate
An in-depth guide to tax-exempt property, a type of real estate that is not subject to property taxes, including examples, types, and special considerations.
Tax-Free Exchange, Delayed: Deferred Property Exchange
A delayed tax-free exchange is a real estate transaction where a property is traded for the promise to provide a replacement like-kind property within a specified period, allowing tax deferral on gains.
Taxable Value: An Essential Financial Assessment
Understanding the concept of Taxable Value, its calculation, its significance in real estate and property taxation, and its interplay with Assessed Valuation.
Tenancy: Understanding Property Possession Rights
Comprehensive explanation of tenancy, including the right to possess real estate, lease or title, landlord-tenant relationships, and related terms such as joint tenancy and tenancy in common.
Tenancy at Sufferance: Lawful Tenant Overstaying Their Lease
A detailed examination of tenancy at sufferance, a situation where a lawful tenant wrongfully remains in possession of the property after the lease has expired, along with its legal implications, examples, and historical context.
Tenancy at Will: Definition and Implications
Tenancy at Will refers to a property tenure where the tenant's right to occupy the property is based on the mutual agreement between the landlord and tenant, and can be terminated at any time by either party.
Tenancy by the Entirety: Estate Shared by Spouses
A unique form of property ownership that exists exclusively between married couples, offering equal possession and survivorship rights.
Tenancy in Common: Ownership of Realty by Two or More Persons
Tenancy in Common refers to a form of property ownership where two or more individuals hold undivided interests in a property without the right of survivorship. Each owner's share is bequeathed as per their will upon their demise.
Tenancy In Common (TIC): Real Estate Co-Ownership Structure
A comprehensive guide to Tenancy In Common (TIC) ownership, its mechanisms, benefits, and considerations, especially in relation to Section 1031 tax-free exchanges.
Tenancy in Severalty: Sole Ownership of Property
A comprehensive guide to Tenancy in Severalty, detailing the sole ownership of property by one person or legal entity, including definitions, examples, and legal implications.
Tenant Finish-Out Allowance: Financial Support for Customizing Rental Spaces
A Tenant Finish-Out Allowance is a monetary provision offered to prospective tenants for customizing rental spaces to suit their needs. It helps in covering costs related to acquiring, building, or modifying walls, partitions, and fixtures, generally expressed in dollars per square foot.
Tenant Fixtures: Definition and Overview
Tenant fixtures are fixtures added to leased real estate by lessees, which, by contract or by law, may be removed by the lessee upon expiration of the lease.
Tenant Improvements (TIs): Customizing Leased Spaces
Tenant Improvements (TIs) refer to the modifications made to commercial properties to meet tenants' specific needs. These adjustments may range from basic structural changes to aesthetic upgrades.
Tenant Reimbursements: Essential Concept in Commercial Leasing
Tenant reimbursements refer to amounts paid by a tenant to a landlord for the tenant's share of expenses. This concept is frequently encountered in net leases and leases with stop clauses in shopping centers and office buildings.
Tenement: Explanation and Historical Context
An in-depth look at tenements, including their definition, types, historical significance, and modern implications.
Tenure in Land: Modes of Holding Estates in Land
A comprehensive exploration of how an estate in land is held, including historical context, types of tenure, examples, and related legal concepts.
Terminal Value: Remaining Property Value
An in-depth look at Terminal Value, the remaining or expected remaining value of a property at the end of a projection period, including methods of calculation, examples, and its importance in financial analysis.
Testimonium Clause: Ensuring the Validity of Deeds
The testimonium clause in a deed or other conveyance acts as a formal attestation of the document, citing the act and date. This ensures all details, from names to legal descriptions, are correct before signing.
Third-Party Sale: Intermediary Transactions in Real Estate and Beyond
A third-party sale involves a transaction where an agency acts as an intermediary between a buyer and a seller. This entry explores the intricacies of third-party sales, their applications, and related terms such as listing broker.
Time-Sharing Computers and Real Estate: Dual Utilization of Shared Resources
Time-sharing in computing and real estate signifies a method of sharing resources among multiple users, be it computing resources via a mainframe or property ownership in real estate.
Title Company: Ensuring Clear Property Ownership and Protecting Against Claims
A title company specializes in examining real estate titles to verify ownership and issuing title insurance to protect against claims or disputes regarding property ownership.
Title Insurance: Protection Against Title Defects
Title insurance is an insurance policy that protects the holder from financial loss sustained through defects in a property's title. Mortgage lenders virtually always require borrowers to buy a mortgagee's policy of title insurance. The premiums paid on a business title insurance policy are typically tax deductible.
Title Report: Document Indicating Current State of Title
A Title Report is a document that indicates the current state of a property's title, including details about easements, covenants, liens, and any other defects. It differs from an Abstract of Title as it does not describe the chain of title.
Title Search: Investigation of Public Records
A thorough investigation of documents in public record offices to determine the state of a property title, including liens, encumbrances, mortgages, future interests, and other factors affecting the property.
Title Theory: Modern Version of the Common Law Mortgage
Title theory is a modern version of the common law mortgage where the creditor holds the legal right to possess the property, although the debtor usually remains in possession.
Title-Theory State: Concept and Mechanism
An in-depth exploration of Title-Theory State, a legal framework where the law splits the title to mortgaged property into legal and equitable titles.
Torrens Registration System: Simplified Title Registration for Real Estate
An overview of the Torrens Registration System, a title registration system used in some states to simplify the process of discovering title conditions without conducting a detailed title search.
Town House: A Comprehensive Overview
A detailed exploration of town houses, their architectural features, and their role in urban and suburban housing developments.
Tract House: Standardized Dwelling in Development
Tract houses, often found in suburban developments, are dwellings with similar style and floor plan to others in the same area. Frequently constructed by volume builders, these homes offer uniformity and affordability. They stand in contrast to homes built by custom builders, who provide unique designs tailored to individual preferences.
Tract of Land: Definition and Applications
A comprehensive examination of 'Tract of Land,' its significance, types, and implications in real estate and land development.
Trade Area: Definition and Insights
A comprehensive look into the concept of Trade Area, its implications, and significance in various industries including retail and real estate.
Trade Fixture: Definition and Examples
Detailed explanation of trade fixtures in the context of rented real estate, including examples, legal considerations, and FAQs.
Transfer Development Rights (TDR): A Strategic Zoning Tool for Urban Development
Transfer Development Rights (TDR) is a zoning ordinance that enables property owners to sell development rights from low-density or conservation areas to other landowners, facilitating more concentrated development. This entry covers the concept, types, historical context, examples, and related terms.
Triple-A Tenant: Tenant with an Excellent Credit Record
This entry explores the concept of a Triple-A Tenant, known for having an excellent credit record, its importance in real estate, detailed characteristics, and special considerations.
Triple-Net Lease: Comprehensive Overview
A Triple-Net Lease (NNN Lease) is a lease agreement where the tenant assumes responsibility for all operating expenses of the property, offering the landlord a net rental income.
Trust Account: Separate Bank Account for Client Funds
A trust account is a separate bank account, segregated from a broker's own funds, in which the broker is required by state law to deposit all monies collected for clients. In some states, this is referred to as an escrow account.
Trustee's Sale: Foreclosure Sale Conducted by a Trustee
A comprehensive exploration of Trustee's Sale, a foreclosure sale conducted by a trustee under the stipulations of a deed of trust, including its process, significance, and legal aspects.
Underlying Debt: Explanation and Importance
Underlying Debt refers to the primary obligations in both real estate and municipal bonds, representing a pivotal concept in financial structures.
Underlying Mortgage (First Mortgage): In the Context of Wraparound Mortgages
A comprehensive explanation of an underlying mortgage (first mortgage) within the context of wraparound mortgages. This entry details the involved concepts, formulas, examples, historical context, and FAQs to provide clarity on this financial topic.
Underwater: Financial Conditions When Values Sink
Comprehensive explanation of the term 'Underwater' in various financial contexts, including loans, options, and investment portfolios.
Undivided Interest: Shared Property Ownership
An undivided interest represents an ownership right to use and possess property that is shared among co-owners, where no one co-owner has exclusive rights to any portion of the property.
Unearned Increment: Increase in Real Estate Value
An increase in the value of real estate that occurs without any effort from the property owner, often resulting from factors like population growth or economic development.
Unencumbered Property: Free and Clear Title in Real Estate
Detailed explanation of unencumbered property in real estate, emphasizing free and clear title, property ownership in fee simple, absence of liens, restrictive covenants, granted easements, and leases.
Uniform Settlement Statement: Comprehensive Guide
The Uniform Settlement Statement, prescribed by RESPA, is essential for federally related loans. It details relevant closing information and must be provided to both buyer and seller.
Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP): A Code of Professional Appraisal Standards
Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) are a set of standards established by the Appraisal Foundation that guide state-certified and organizational appraisal professionals in preparing appraisal reports.
Uninsurable Title: Real Estate Title without Insurance Coverage
An Uninsurable Title refers to a real estate title that cannot be covered by title insurance due to significant defects or claims. This entry explores the reasons, examples, and implications of an uninsurable title.
Unoccupancy: Insurance and Real Estate Considerations
Unoccupancy refers to the absence of people from a given property for at least 60 consecutive days, affecting property insurance coverage due to increased risks.
Unoccupied: See Vacant
Unoccupied refers to a state where a space or object is not currently being used or inhabited. For more details, see 'Vacant'.
Unrecorded Deed: An Overview
An unrecorded deed is a legal instrument that transfers title from one party (grantor) to another party (grantee) without providing public notice of the change in ownership. It is essential to record a deed to protect one's interest in real estate.
Upfront Charges: Home Purchase Fees
Comprehensive explanation of upfront charges in real estate, including points, recording fees, mortgage title policy, appraisal fees, and credit report fees.
Upgraders: Definition and Insights
Upgraders, also known as 'move-up' buyers, are individuals seeking to purchase a more desirable home, typically one that is larger, better located, or has enhanced amenities.
Upside-Down Mortgage: Definition, Implications, and Solutions
An in-depth exploration of upside-down mortgages, where the loan balance exceeds the property's market value, leading to negative equity.
USPAP: Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice
Detailed guide on the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, its importance in the appraisal industry, and its applications across various sectors.
Usufructuary Right: A Comprehensive Overview
Understand the concept of usufructuary right, its application in property law, particularly concerning natural water channels, and its varying restrictions under state law.
Utility Easement: Use of Another's Property for Utility Purposes
A comprehensive overview of utility easements, including their definition, types, legal considerations, examples, historical context, applicability, comparisons, related terms, frequently asked questions (FAQs), and references.
VA Loan: U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Home Loan
A VA Loan is a mortgage home loan guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) under the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944. It offers benefits like no down payment and low interest rates to eligible veterans.
Vacancy: An Empty Structure
A detailed explanation of the term 'vacancy' and its various contexts, including unoccupied spaces, positions, and implications in different fields such as real estate, employment, and science.
Vacancy Rate: Percentage of Unoccupied Units or Space
The vacancy rate represents the percentage of all units or spaces that are unoccupied or not rented. It is a crucial metric in real estate and finance, used to estimate the vacancy allowance on a pro-forma income statement, which is then deducted from Potential Gross Income (PGI) to derive Effective Gross Income (EGI).
Vacant Land: Definition and Context
Vacant Land refers to parcels of land that are not currently being used for any purpose. They may have utilities and off-site improvements.
Vacate: Terminate Occupancy or Annul an Order
An in-depth exploration of the term 'Vacate' in both real estate and legal contexts, covering definitions, examples, historical context, and applicability.
Valuation: Determining Worth or Price
Valuation is the process of determining the estimated worth or price of an asset or entity, often using various methodologies and approaches.
Value: Definition and Significance
Understand the comprehensive meaning of value, encompassing its worth arising from ownership and its significance in exchange transactions, with a detailed look at different types of value in economics and finance.
Vendee: Buyer in Real Estate Contracts
The term 'vendee' refers to the buyer, especially in contracts for the sale of real estate. This designation is crucial in legal and financial documents, marking the party acquiring the property.
Vendor: Comprehensive Definition and Explanation
A detailed exploration of the term 'Vendor,' which refers to a seller, particularly in real estate, as well as suppliers, retailers, and street peddlers. This entry includes definitions, types, applications, historical context, and related terms.
Vendor's Lien: Understanding Collateral in Property Sales
Vendor's lien refers to the collateral granted to the seller of property as security for a promissory note taken by the seller as part of the selling price. This entry explores the concept, types, and importance of vendor's liens in real estate transactions.
Veterans Affairs Mortgage: An Overview
A comprehensive overview of Veterans Affairs (VA) Mortgages, highlighting their benefits, eligibility criteria, types, historical context, and application process.
Warranty Deed: Conveying Real Estate Ownership with Guarantees
A Warranty Deed is a legal document used in real estate transactions to guarantee that the grantor has the rightful title to the property and that it is free from all encumbrances.
Water Damage Insurance: Comprehensive Protection for Your Property
Protection in the event of accidental discharge, leakage, overflow of water from plumbing systems, heating, air conditioning, and refrigerating systems, and rain or snow through broken doors, open doors, windows, and skylights resulting in damage or destruction of the property scheduled in the policy.
Whole Loan: Distinguishing an Investment in Original Residential Mortgage Loans
An in-depth exploration of Whole Loans in the secondary mortgage market, their characteristics, types, historical context, applicability, and comparisons to pass-through securities.
Workout: Mutual Effort by a Property Owner and Lender to Avoid Foreclosure or Bankruptcy
A comprehensive guide to understanding workouts, a mutual effort by property owners and lenders to avoid foreclosure or bankruptcy following a default, including reductions in debt service burden and considerations during economic downturns.
Wraparound Mortgage: An Innovative Loan Arrangement
A comprehensive overview of wraparound mortgages, where an existing loan is retained by the seller, and an additional, larger loan is made. Seller becomes the lender and manages both loans.
Yard: Enclosed Area or Measurement Unit
A comprehensive definition and explanation of the term 'Yard,' covering its uses both as an enclosed area for storage or repair and as a unit of measurement.
Zoning: Legislative Action for Municipal Planning
Zoning is a municipal regulatory measure that divides a municipality into districts to control land use and building construction, promoting community health, safety, and welfare.
Zoning Map: Essential Urban Planning Tool
A Zoning Map is a graphical representation used by local jurisdictions to indicate current zoning designations, which affects land use and urban planning.
Zoning Ordinance: Comprehensive Land Use Regulations
A Zoning Ordinance is a regulatory framework established by local authorities to govern land use, detailing permissible property uses and restrictions across different zones.

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