A legal action to correct or modify a contract or deed which does not accurately reflect the intentions of the parties due to some mechanical error, such as a typographical error in the legal description.

The idea that government land use restrictions or controls, such as zoning ordinances, constitute a type of private property taking. For example, if local zoning ordinances restrict residences to one per acre but a landowner wishes to subdivide his lot into four, build houses on each and sell them, he must be offered just compensation if he is not allowed to do so.

A provision found in many blanket mortgages enabling the mortgagor to obtain partial releases of specific parcels from the mortgage upon the payment of, typically, a larger-than-pro rata portion of the loan.

The interest in real property from a life estate that passes to another upon the death of the life tenant; the grantor of the original life estate specifies upon creation of this estate who is to receive the remaining interest when the life estate ends; this person is known as the remainderman.

Contrast with reversion.

The person who receives the interest from a life estate upon the death of the life tenant.

A zoning classification or type of zoning district that allows single or multiple family dwellings such as houses, condominiums, apartments, mobile homes, and townhomes.

The legal process through which an estate is returned to the grantor, usually in fee ownership, after the grantee's estate ends.

The grantee's estate may end for a number of reasons. For example, the grantor may have specified that the grantee's interest in the property expires on a certain date. Other examples of different estates and the events that might end them include:
1. The death of the life tenant (conventional life estate) or the person upon whose life the duration of the life estate was based (life estate pur autre vie).
2. Violation of a condition (estate in qualified fee subject to condition subsequent) or limitation (estate in qualified fee determinable) specified by the grantor.

Contrast with remainder.

The interest in a conventional life estate (or an estate pur autre vie) that is retained by the grantor of the estate if no remainderman is named and that allows the grantor to recover ownership of the property once the life estate ends.

Anything that can be revoked, removed, annulled, withdrawn, cancelled, or repealed.

A permanent change in zoning laws from one permitted land use type (zoning district) to another. For example, a residential zone might be reclassified as industrial or commercial, based on changing community dynamics or needs.

The practice of adjoining landowners meeting at mid-point of a common partition fence and agreeing that one landowner will maintain the partition fence to the right of the midpoint and the other owner will maintain the fence to the left.

A legal right appurtenant to some types of estates in real property, including estates in fee simple absolute and estates in fee simple defeasible, that allows title to the property to be transferred to the decedent's heirs by will (devise).

The reversionary right and future interest retained by the grantor of an estate in qualified fee subject to condition subsequent. The right of re-entry allows the grantor to recover fee simple ownership of real property if a condition stipulated in the deed is violated. Action in a court with jurisdiction over real estate matters is required to recover ownership of property under the right of reentry.
Contrast with Possibility of reverter.

A right to or interest in real property that is retained by the grantor of certain types of estates and that allows him or her to recover full fee ownership of the property under certain conditions. Rights of reversion can be thought of as secondary estates that are created when certain types of estates in real property are granted. Rights of reversion are property in and of themselves and, as such, can be transferred, sold, or inherited. The events that trigger reversion differ by type of estate; estates in real property with rights of reversion include:
Conventional life estate
Life estate pur autre vie
Estate in qualified fee determinable
Estate in qualified fee conditional

Lasting for an indefinite period of time; without an endpoint; of unlimited duration.

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

Zoning restrictions on the amount of bare land required surrounding improvements; the amount of space required between the lot line and the building line.

A lease agreement wherein a tenant leases the unfinished shell of a building, as in a new shopping center, and agrees to complete construction himself by installing ceilings, plumbing, heating and air conditioning systems, and electrical wiring, as well as those trade fixtures necessary for the operation of the business.

The specific qualification included in the deed used to create an estate in qualified fee determinable. The grantee must ensure that the special limitation is continually met in order to avoid the possibility of reverter, a future interest retained by the grantor of the estate..

For example, Steve sells real property to Ed with the special limitation that it can only be used for a church. If Ed uses the land for anything else, Steve automatically recovers full ownership of his former estate and Ed's estate ends.

Zoning policies allowing land uses and activities not covered under other zoning classifications. Examples include detention centers and prisons, government buildings, sewer treatment facilities, cemetaries, churches, and landfills. Special zoning is often allowed through special-use permits, also known as conditional-use permits.

1. A permanent change in or exemption from zoning regulations for an individual property. 2. A zoning variance for a single or individual parcel of land.

Definition: The act or practice of directing or leading buyers to limited choices or particular neighborhoods, or attempting to discourage buyers from looking for homes in a particular area or neighborhood. This practice is illegal under the Federal Fair Housing Act, even if the intentions of the "steerer" are not malicious in nature.


Terms and Definitions: Real Estate, Legal, Management

Ownership of or interest in a unit within a larger building or complex of buildings, usually coupled with an undivided interest in a proportion of all common areas.
This type of property ownership was first used in Australia in the early 1960's. Strata title began as a form of ownership for buildings with multiple levels or floors, such as condominiums or apartments. It has since been expanded to include most multi-family complexes, even if they have only one story or floor (such as townhouses). With strata title, the property owner has title to the space within the walls of his or her particular unit, as well as an undivided interest in a proportion of all common areas. Strata title has replaced company title in most areas where it exists.

Permanent change in or exemption from existing zoning regulations for adjacent parcels of property. Strip zoning is often achieved through zoning variances, conditional-use permits, or amendments to zoning district maps. For example, a row of houses in a residential zoning district along a road that has become a busy thoroughfare might be rezoned as commercial.

One who divides, separates, or apportions something into smaller parts, especially with respect to subdivision of real estate.