Contracts, regulations, compliance, entity structures, zoning, permits, and landlord-tenant law.
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Foundation terms you need to know first (89 terms)
Development costs are all the expenses incurred during the process of acquiring land, designing, constructing, and preparing a real estate project for use or sale, from start to finish.
Base rent is the fixed, minimum rent amount paid by a tenant to a landlord for the use of a property, excluding additional charges like operating expenses, taxes, or utilities.
An absolute auction is a type of real estate auction where the property is sold to the highest bidder, regardless of the price, with no minimum bid or reserve price set by the seller.
The Lease Commencement Date is the official date specified in a lease agreement when the tenant's rights and obligations, including rent payments and property responsibilities, legally begin.
An application fee is a non-refundable charge paid by a prospective tenant to a landlord or property manager to cover the costs associated with processing a rental application, including background and credit checks.
Complex strategies and professional concepts (117 terms)
An Equity-for-Property Swap is an advanced real estate investment strategy where an investor exchanges equity in one or more properties or entities for direct ownership of another property, often to achieve tax deferral, portfolio restructuring, or strategic asset acquisition.
The accounting process of recognizing the estimated cost of an Asset Retirement Obligation (ARO) as a liability and capitalizing a corresponding asset, which is then depreciated over its useful life, reflecting the future costs associated with retiring a long-lived asset.
A legally binding contract that alters the priority of liens on a property, allowing a senior lienholder to voluntarily place their claim in a junior position to another, typically to facilitate new financing or complex transactions.
Unrelated Business Income Tax (UBIT) is a tax levied on the net income of a tax-exempt organization, including certain real estate investment vehicles, derived from a trade or business regularly carried on and not substantially related to its exempt purpose.
Inverse condemnation is a legal action initiated by a private property owner against a government entity to recover "just compensation" for a taking of their property, where the government has not formally exercised its power of eminent domain but has effectively deprived the owner of beneficial use or value.
Adaptive reuse is a real estate strategy that converts an existing building from its original purpose into a new, often more profitable use, preserving the structure while meeting modern market demands.
An addendum is a document added to an existing real estate contract, such as a purchase agreement, to introduce new terms or clarify existing ones without altering the original document's language.
Additional Paid-in Capital (APIC) represents the amount of capital investors contribute to a company or partnership that exceeds the par value of the issued stock or the stated capital contribution in a partnership agreement. It is a crucial component of equity, reflecting premium contributions.
Adjusted basis for an S-Corp shareholder represents their investment in the company's stock and debt, crucial for determining the taxability of distributions, deductibility of losses, and gain or loss on sale of stock.
Adverse possession is a legal doctrine allowing a non-owner to acquire title to real property by occupying it openly, continuously, exclusively, and hostilely for a statutory period, without the true owner's permission.
Alignment of interests in real estate investing refers to the congruence of goals, incentives, and expectations among all parties involved in a transaction or partnership, ensuring everyone works towards a common, mutually beneficial outcome.
An Anti-Dilution Provision is a contractual clause, typically found in preferred stock agreements or limited partnership agreements, designed to protect early-stage investors from the dilution of their ownership percentage or investment value resulting from subsequent equity financing rounds at lower valuations.
Anti-dilution provisions are contractual clauses designed to protect investors' equity ownership percentage from being significantly reduced (diluted) by future equity issuances at a lower valuation, particularly in real estate syndications and private equity deals.
An application fee is a non-refundable charge paid by a prospective tenant to a landlord or property manager to cover the costs associated with processing a rental application, including background and credit checks.
An appraisal contingency is a clause in a real estate purchase agreement that allows the buyer to back out of the deal or renegotiate if the property's appraised value is less than the agreed-upon purchase price. It protects buyers from overpaying and ensures lenders do not finance more than a property is worth.
Appraisal fraud involves the intentional misrepresentation or manipulation of a property's value by an appraiser or other parties to deceive lenders or investors for financial gain, often leading to inflated loan amounts and increased risk.
An appurtenance is a right, privilege, or improvement that belongs to and passes with the land, automatically transferring to the new owner upon sale.
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