A loss in value due to any cause; any condition which adversely affects the value of an improvement

For tax purposes, depreciation is an expense deduction taken for an investment in depreciable property

Tables of percentage designed to provide a uniform system of measuring the additional value to lots which accrues because of added depth, with the extra depth valued according to the added utility which it creates

Manner of acquiring title and ownership of real or personal property through hereditary succession, as when an ancestor's estate is left intestate. The process of descent is formally described as the acquisition of an estate through operation of law by a legal heir ("heir-at-law"), with the heir succeeding to the property of the decedent.

The portion of a conveyance document which defines the property being transferred

Definition: An iterative auction where successive bids may only decrease below the amount of the opening or minimum bid.

Terms, Definitions, and Concepts: Auction, Real Estate

A large area of land with little moisture or vegetation

One who attempts to put land to its most profitable use by the construction of improvements

A gift of real property by will. The person who gives the property is known as the testator, and the person who receives it is known as the devisee.

One who inherits or receives a gift of real property by will following the death of the testator.

Diameter of a tree bole measured at a height of 4.5 feet. Usually recorded in inches (in) or centimeters (cm).

For area measurements, square units refers to total area, while units square refers to the number of units on each side (the length of each side of a square). For example, consider two square pieces of land: one is 7 square miles, and the other is 7 miles square. The total area of the first parcel is 7 square miles. Since the parcel is a square, the length of each side is equal to the square root of 7 square miles, which is approximately 2.65 miles. In contrast, the length of each side of the second parcel is 7 miles, according to the definition above. The total area is therefore 7 miles x 7 miles = 49 square miles.

A dike, also known as a levee or flood wall, is a natural or man-made flood-control structure usually consisting of a wall or mound of earth (sometimes rock or stone) running generally parallel to a river or other drainage channel, or along ocean frontage. Dikes help to contain floods within the channel by raising the height of the riverbank, thereby allowing the channel to hold a greater volume of water before flooding begins. Dikes are also used to protect low-lying land near the ocean that has been reclaimed by pumping and dredging and developed, as in the coastal areas of Louisiana (United States) or the Netherlands.

Definition:
The presence of a mental or physical impairment that substantially limits a person's daily activities.
Same as Handicap status.

Discussion: According to the Federal Fair Housing Act (1968, 1974, 1988), it is illegal to discriminate against a disabled person when leasing or selling real estate. Landlords are generally required to make reasonable accommodations for those with disabilities, including allowing modification of the premises to permit equal enjoyment of the same. These modifications must usually be done at the disabled tenant's expense, and the landlord may require that the premises be restored to their original condition following the expiration of the lease.


Terms, Definitions, and Concepts: Real Estate, Legal, Management

A statement denying legal responsibility, frequently found in the form of, There are no promises, representations, oral understandings or agreements except as contained herein.

An added loan fee charged by a lender to make the yield on a lower-than-market interest VA or FHA loan competitive with higher interest conventional loans

The act of making a distinction against or in favor of a person on the basis of the group or class to which the person belongs; the failure to treat people equally

The right to sell, transfer, will, lease, give, or otherwise dispose of or encumber real or personal property; one of the bundle of rights.

The right of a landlord, pursuant to a court order, to seize a tenants belongings for rents in arrears

1. Variation in the physical characteristics of ecosystems across a landscape caused by variation in soil, slope, aspect, elevation, climate, and geology, and the accompanying variation in biotic communities. Also known as ecological or biological diversity.

1. Ridge that divides two drainage areas 2. watershed which separates two drainage areas; example: The Continental Divide

1. Excavated basin for receiving ships 2. wharf, pier 3. water betwen two piers

Doing business as (DBA) refers to a "fictitious name" or business entity name that does not carry the name of the principal. Example: Your name is Smith, but you choose to call your business "Speedy House Painting" and not "Smith House Painting".
In the United States, fictitious names must usually be registered at the state level, with the Secretary of State or some other such office. The term "fictitious" is used in a legal sense and does not imply that the business is dishonest or disreputable.

The state where an individual has his true, fixed, permanent home and principal business establishment and to which place he has the intention of returning whenever he is absent

One of the two parcels of real estate of an appurtenant easement; the dominant tenement is the property for which the easement is necessary, as opposed to the servient tenement, which provides the easement.