Business / Real Estate Glossary

Annexation: An addition to property by the act of joining or uniting one thing to another, as in attaching personal property to real property, thereby creating a fixture. For example, a sink becomes a f . . . View Full Definition

Annual Debt Service: Monthly loan payments (principal and interest, if any) times 12 months.

Annual Operating Expenses: The actual costs it takes to run the property, such as property tax, insurance, maintenance, repairs, management fees, utilities, and supplies.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR): An expression of the relationship of the total finance charge to the total amount to be financed as required under the federal Truth-in-Lending Act. Tables available from any Federal Reserve . . . View Full Definition

Annuity: A sum of money recieved by an annuitant in a series of fixed periodic payments.

Anticipation: The appraisal principle which holds that value can increase or decrease based on the expectation of some future benefit or detriment produced by the property.

Antimerger Clause: A clause in a mortgage or deed of trust specifying that the senior lienholder will retain lien priority in the event of a merger.

Antitrust Laws: State and federal laws designed to maintain and preserve business competition. The Sherman Antitrust Act (1890) is the principal federal statute covering competition, which is defined by mos . . . View Full Definition

Apartment Building: A building having separate units for permanent tenants who rent or lease them. The owner of the building provides common facilities, such as lights, heat, elevator and garbage disposal servi . . . View Full Definition

Appraisal: An estimate of the monetary value of a property on the open market, an estimate of a propertys type and condition, its utility for a given purpose or its highest and best use.

Appraiser: An independent person trained to provide an unbiased estimate of value, such as a professional service performed for a fee.

Appreciation: An increase in the worth or value of a property due to economic or related causes, which may prove to be either temporary or permanent, opposite of depreciation.

Appropriation: Appropriation is the way a taxing body authorizes the expenditure of funds and provides for the sources of funding. Appropriation generally involves the adoption of an ordinance or the passa . . . View Full Definition

Appropriative Water Rights: A water right favored in some states where an owner has the exclusive rights to take all the water for specific beneficial uses.

Appurtenant: Belonging to, adjunctive, appended or annexed to. For example, the garage is appurtenant to the house, and the common interest in the common elements of a condominium is appurtenant to each . . . View Full Definition

Appurtenant Easement: An easement that is annexed to the ownership of one parcel and allows the owner the use of the neighbors land.

Aquifer: An underground water-bearing layer of rock, including gravel and sand, that will yield water in usable quantity. Aquifers are sources of water for wells and springs.

Arbitrage: Borrowing at one interest rate and investing at a higher rate.

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