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Abatement: Often referred to as free rent or early occupancy and may occur outside or in addition to the primary term of the lease

Above building standard: Upgraded finishes and specialized designs necessary to accommodate a tenant's requirements

Absorption rate: The rate at which rentable space is filled. Gross absorption is a measure of the total square feet leased over a specified period with no consideration given to space vacated in the same geographic area during the same time period. Net absorption is equal to the amount occupied at the end of a period minus the amount occupied at the beginning of a period and takes into consideration space vacated during the period.

ABSTRACTION METHOD: This method of estimating the value of property uses similar properties available in the same market to extract the value of a parcel of land.

ACCELERATION CLAUSE: A provision in a mortgage that gives the lender the right to demand immediate payment of the outstanding loan balance under certain circumstances. Usually when the borrower defaults on the loan.

ACCESSORY BUILDING: A building separate from the main structure on a property. Often used for a specific purpose, such as a workshop, storage shed or garage.

ACCRETION: The natural growth of a piece of land resulting from forces of nature

ACRE: 43,560 square feet. A measurement of area.

ACTUAL AGE: The amount of time that has passed since a building or other structure was built. See also: EFFECTIVE AGE

AD VAL OREM TAX: Taxes assessed based on the value of the land and improvements

Ad valorem: Meaning "according to value," this is a tax imposed on the value of property that is typically based on the local government's valuation of the property.

ADDENDUM: A supplement to any document that contains additional information pertinent to the subject. Appraisers use an addendum to further explain items for which there was inadequate space on the standard appraisal form.

ADJUSTABLE-RATE MORTGAGE (ARM): A type of mortgage where the interest rate varies based on a particular index, normally the prime lending rate.

ADJUSTED BASIS: The value of an asset (property or otherwise) that includes the original price plus the value of any improvement, and less any applicable depreciation.

Adjusted funds from operations (AFFO): A measure of REIT performance or ability to pay dividends used by many analysts with concerns about quality of earnings as measured by funds from operations (FFO). The most common adjustment to FFO is an estimate of certain recurring capital expenditures needed to keep the property portfolio competitive in its marketplace.

ADJUSTED SALES PRICE: An opinion of a property's sales price, after adjustments have been made to account for differences between it and another comparable property.

ADJUSTMENT DATE: The date the interest rate changes on an adjustable rate mortgage.

Administrative fee: Usually stated as a percentage of assets under management or as a fixed annual dollar amount

Advances: Payments made by the servicer when the borrower fails to make a payment

Adviser: A broker, consultant or investment banker who represents an owner in a transaction. Advisers may be paid a retainer and/or a performance fee upon the close of a financing or sales transaction.

AESTHETIC VALUE: The additional value a property enjoys based on subjective criteria such as look or appeal.

Aesthetic Zoning: The regulation of building design and site developments in the interest of appearance. The courts have consistently upheld a local government's power to protect and enhance the visual character of the community.

AFFIRMATION: A declaration that a certain set of facts are truthful.

AFFORDABILITY ANALYSIS: A calculation used to determine an individual's likelihood of being able to meet the obligations of a mortgage for a particular property. Takes into account the down payment, closing costs and on-going mortgage payments.

Affordable Housing: Capable of being purchased or rented by a household with very low, low, or moderate income, based on a household's ability to make monthly payments necessary to obtain housing. The state Housing and Community Development Department's measure of affordable housing is: spending no more than 25% of gross income on housing (percentage subject to change).

AGENT: A person who has been appointed to act on behalf of another for a particular transaction.

Aggregate Base: Composed of crushed rock 3/4 of an inch in diameter and smaller and used as a base course in roadways, concrete pads, foundations, and as backfill material for underground pipelines and other underground utilities.

Aggregation risk: Risk associated with warehousing mortgages during the pooling process for future securitization

Air Track: An out-moded, air-operated, track-mounted, rock drill. By measuring the time it takes to drill one foot without the application of hydraulic pressure one can ascertain (to a degree) the hardness of a rock formation. Newer drills apply hydraulic pressure and are capable of drilling much faster. However, geologists still use air-tracks to estimate the hardness of rock.

Air/Vac Release: Valve that releases air from a water line

Allowance: An estimated cost of improvements not shown on a preliminary engineering plan.

Alluvial Fan: A fan-shaped deposit where a fast-flowing stream flattens, slows, and spreads, typically at the exit of a canyon onto a flatter plain.

Alluvium/Alluvial (adj.): A general term for clay, silt, sand, gravel, or similar unconsolidated fragments, deposited during comparatively recent geologic time by running water, as a sorted or semi-sorted sediment. Floodplains consist of alluvium, as well as cones or a fan at the base of a mountain slope as a result of water running down the slope. Glaciers may also deposit alluvium. Alluvium is not compacted to the specifications required to build structures and must be removed, moisture-conditioned, and returned to the site as compacted fill. In some cases where shallow water tables exist, removals must be done by top-loading using an excavator and scrapers or trucks to take the material to a spreading/drying area to be moisture-conditioned (disced, plowed, etc) and returned as compacted fill. This operation is very expensive. Measured and paid by comparing original topo with the topo in the removal areas once removals have been made and prior to fill being placed.

Alpha: A coefficient which measures risk-adjusted performance, factoring in the risk due to the specific security, rather than the overall market. A high value for alpha implies that the stock or mutual fund has performed better than would have been expected given its beta (volatility).

Alternative or specialty investments: Property types that are not considered conventional institutional-grade real estate investments. Examples include congregate care facilities, self-storage facilities, mobile homes, timber, agriculture and parking lots.

Ambient: Surrounding on all sides, used to describe measurements of existing conditions with respect to traffic, noise, air, and other environments.

Amenities: Synonymous with common costs, examples include entry monumentation, pools, tennis courts, police/fire stations, community center.

AMENITY: Any feature of a property that increases its value or desirability. These might include natural amenities such as location or proximity to mountains, or man-made amenities like swimming pools, parks or other recreation.

American Land Title Association: A title industry association whose purpose is to guarantee the safe and efficient transfer of real property.

AMERICAN SOCIETY OF APPRAISERS: An organization of appraisal professionals and others interested in the appraisal profession.

Amortization: The liquidation of a financial debt through regular periodic installment payments. For tax purposes, the periodic deduction of capitalized expenses such as organization costs

Amortization: As used in zoning, a mechanism for discontinuing nonconforming uses and structures at the end of a specified period of time. Amortization periods are given to prevent what might otherwise constitute an illegal taking if a zoning change required the immediate discontinuance of a previously legal use (such as bill-boards in many jurisdictions).

AMORTIZATION: The repayment of a loan through regular periodic payment.

AMORTIZATION SCHEDULE: The breakdown of individual payments throughout the life of an amortized loan, showing both principal contribution and debt service (interest) fees.

AMORTIZATION TERM: The length of time over which an amortized loan is repaid. Mortgages are commonly amortized over 15 or 30 years.

AMPERAGE: A measure of electric current describing the magnitude.

Anchor: The tenant that serves as the predominant draw to a commercial property, usually the largest tenant in a shopping center

Annexation: The inclusion, attachment, or addition of territory to a city or special district.

Annual percentage rate (APR): The actual cost of borrowing money. It may be higher than the note rate because it represents full disclosure of the interest rate, loan origination fees, loan discount points and other credit costs paid to the lender.

ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE (APR): The rate of annual interest charged on a loan.

ANNUITY: A sum of money paid at regular intervals, often annually.

Antelope Valley - Eastern Kern Municipal Water District: A private water wholesaler providing water service to the high desert area of California.

APPLICATION: A form used to apply for a mortgage loan that details a potential borrower's income, debt, savings and other information used to determine credit worthiness.

Appraisal: An estimate of a property's fair market value that is typically based on replacement cost, discounted cash flow analysis and/or comparable sales price

APPRAISAL: A ''defensible'' and carefully documented opinion of value. Most commonly derived using recent sales of comparable properties by a licensed, professional appraiser.

APPRAISAL FOUNDATION: A not-for-profit educational organization established by the appraisal profession in the United States in 1987. It is dedicated to the advancement of professional valuation and responsible for establishing, improving, and promoting the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP).

APPRAISAL INSTITUTE: A world-wide organization dedicated to real estate appraisal education, publication and advocacy.

APPRAISAL PRINCIPLES: The basic building blocks of the property valuation process, including property inspection, market analysis and basic economics.

APPRAISAL REPORT: The end result of the appraisal process usually consists of one major standardized form such as, the Uniform Residential Appraisal Report form 1004, as well as all supporting documentation and additional detail information. The purpose of the report is to convey the opinion of value of the subject property and support that opinion with corroborating information.

APPRAISAL STANDARDS BOARD (ASB): An independent board of the APPRAISAL FOUNDATION, which writes, amends, and interprets USPAP. The ASB is composed of up to seven appraisers appointed by the Foundation's Board of Trustees. The ASB holds public meetings throughout the year to interpret and amend USPAP.

APPRAISED VALUE: An opinion of the fair market value of a property as developed by a licensed, certified appraiser following accepted appraisal principals.

APPRAISER: An educated, certified professional with extensive knowledge of real estate markets, values and practices. The appraiser is often the only independent voice in any real estate transaction with no vested interest in the ultimate value or sales price of the property.

Appreciation: An increase in the value or price of an asset

APPRECIATION: The natural rise in property value due to market forces.

Appreciation return: The portion of the total return generated by the change in the value of the real estate assets during the current quarter, as measured by both appraisals and sales of assets

Arbitrage: Buying securities in one market and then selling them immediately in another market to make a profit on the price discrepancy

ARMS LENGTH TRANSACTION: Any transaction in which the two parties are unconnected and have no overt common interests. Such a transaction most often reflects the true market value of a property.

Army Corps of Engineers: The branch of the US Army that has responsibility for maintaining the navigability of US rivers and harbors and for implementing flood control projects over much of the United States. Under the Clean Water Act, the Corps of Engineers also has the authority to review and issue permits to modify or destroy wetlands.

Asbestos Concrete Pipe: A type of concrete pipe that, in the past, was commonly used for water lines. Not used anymore because of the presence of asbestos.

As-Builts: Plans showing final location of all improvements as they were constructed. Likely will include revisions to final approved plans.

As-is condition: The acceptance by the tenant of the existing condition of the premises at the time a lease is consummated, including any physical defects

Asphaltic Concrete: A construction material commonly used for paving roads, highways and parking lots. It consists of asphalt and mineral aggregate (rocks and sand) mixed together, laid down in a mat and compacted, extremely durable.

ASSESSED VALUE: The value of a property according to jurisdictional tax assessment.

Assessment: A fee imposed on property, usually to pay for public improvements such as water, sewers, streets, improvement districts, etc.

ASSESSMENT: The function of assigning a value to a property for the purpose of levying taxes.

Assessment District: A taxation district formed by a local government agency (County, City, Water District, etc.) to finance certain designated public services and capital facilities by levying special taxes. The taxes are continuing liens and are levied against certain property owners within the service area. The tax can vary per parcel and is weighted based on the proposed benefit that a given parcel will receive as a result of the improvements, this is what distinguishes an Assessment District from a Community Facilities District.

ASSESSMENT RATIO: The comparative relationship of a property's assessed value to its market value.

ASSESSOR: The jurisdictional official who performs the assessment and assigns the value of a property.

Assessor's Parcel Number: A number composed of a 3-digit book, a 2-digit page, a 1-digit block, and a 2-digit parcel number and sometimes an alphabetical suffix, it is used to identify parcels of land. For example, 425-213-02 would be Book 425, Page 21, Block 3, Parcel 2, and no suffix.

ASSET: Any item of value which a person owns.

Asset management: The various disciplines involved with managing real property assets from the time of investment through the time of disposition, including acquisition, management, leasing, operational/financial reporting, appraisals, audits, market review and asset disposition plans

Asset management fee: A fee charged to investors based on the amount invested into real estate assets for the fund or account.

Asset turnover: Calculated as total revenues for the trailing 12 months divided by the average total assets

Assets under management: The current market value of real estate assets for which a manager has investment and asset management responsibilities

Assignee name: The individual or entity to which the obligations of a lease, mortgage or other contract have been transferred

Assignment: A transfer of the lessee's entire stake in the property. It is distinguishable from a sublease where the sublessee acquires something less than the lessee's entire interest.

ASSIGNMENT: Transfer of ownership of a mortgage usually when the loan is sold to another company.

ASSUMABLE MORTGAGE: A mortgage that can be taken over by the buyer when a home is sold.

ASSUMPTION: When a buyer takes over, or "assumes" the sellers mortgage.

ATTACHED HOUSING: Any number of houses or other dwellings which are physically attached to one another, but are occupied by a number of different people. The individual houses may or may not be owned by separate people as well.

Attached residential: A term used to describe multiple dwelling units that share walls, such as apartments, condos, town homes, etc.

Attorn: To agree to recognize a new owner of a property and to pay him/her rent.

Average common equity: Calculated by adding the common equity for the five most recent quarters and dividing by five

Average Daily Trips: The average number of motor vehicles that travel on a given surface during a specified 24-hour time period.

Average downtime: Expressed in months, the amount of time expected between the expiration of a lease and the commencement of a replacement lease under current market conditions

Average free rent: Expressed in months, the rent abatement concession expected to be granted to a tenant as part of a lease incentive under current market conditions

Average occupancy: The average occupancy rate of each of the preceding 12 months

Average total assets: Calculated by adding the total assets of a company for the five most recent quarters and dividing by five

Back of Walk: The side of the sidewalk furthest from a street.

Backbone: Infrastructure improvements benefiting the project as a whole. Costs are not directly attributable to any individual phase/unit.

Backfill: To refill an excavated area with uncontaminated soils, gravel, or other material, the material used to refill an excavated area, used to fill holes dug for utilities, landscaping, foundations, etc.

BACKFILL: The slope of the ground around a house.

Backflow Valve: A valve in water lines that prevents water from reversing flow into the main system from a sub-system.

Bail: The large metal hoop on the front of a twin-engine scraper.

Balance: A grading site is balanced when it is designed in such a way that there are equal quantities of cut and fill after shrinkage and bulking have been taken into account so as to avoid the need to import or export dirt, a costly activity. Earthwork quantities are measured raw, then, if appropriate, a percentage factor of shrinkage or bulking is applied to each type of material to be excavated. These quantities become net quantities. The amount of shrink or bulk is usually cited by the geologist in the soils report and it is most important to test the accuracy of that number in anticipating the balance of the earthwork.

BALL COCK VALVE: The valve inside a toilet tank that controls the filling of the tank.

BALLOON MORTGAGE: A mortgage loan in which the monthly payments are not large enough to repay the loan by the end of the term. So at the end of the term, the remaining balance comes due in a single large payment.

BALLOON PAYMENT: The final large payment at the end of a balloon mortgage term.

Balloon risk: The risk that a borrower will not be able to make a balloon (lump sum) payment at maturity due to a lack of funding

Balloon, or bullet, loan: A loan with a maturity that is shorter than the amortization period

Bankrupt: The state of an entity that is unable to repay its debts as they become due

Bankruptcy: Proceedings under federal statutes to relieve a debtor who is unable or unwilling to pay its debts. After addressing certain priorities and exemptions, the bankrupt entity's property and other assets are distributed by the court to creditors as full satisfaction for the debt.

BANKRUPTCY: When a person or business is unable to pay their debts and seeks protection of the state against creditors. Bankruptcies remain on credit records for up to ten years and can prevent a person from being able to get a loan.

Base principal balance: The original mortgage amount adjusted for subsequent fundings and principal payments without regard to accrued interest or other unpaid debt

Base rent: A set amount used as a minimum rent with provisions for increasing the rent over the term of the lease

Base year: Actual taxes and operating expenses for a specified year, most often the year in which a lease commences

Basis point: 1/100 of 1 percent

BEAM: A structural supporting member.

Bedrock: The native, consolidated rock underlying the Earth's surface. Above the bedrock is usually an area of broken and weathered unconsolidated rock in the basal subsoil. The term implies that the rock lies in beds, or strata. Under any given location on the Earth's surface, rock will be present.

Begin Curb Return: The beginning of a curve joining two curb lines at an intersection. Given in terms of centerline stationing.

Begin Curve: Beginning of a horizontal circular curve of a road or utility line, given in terms of either centerline or utility stationing.

Begin Vertical Curve: Beginning of a parabolic vertical curve on a road or pressurized utility given in terms of either centerline or utility stationing.

Below-grade: Any structure or portion of a structure located underground or below the surface grade of the surrounding land

Below-Market-Rate (BMR) Housing Unit: Any housing unit specifically priced to be sold ore rented to very low- low- or moderate-income households for an amount less than the fair-market rent or value of the unit. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development sets standards for determining which households qualify as 'very low income', 'low income', or 'moderate income'.

Beneficiary: An employee covered by an employee benefit plan

Benefit Assessment District: An area within a public agency's boundaries which receives a special benefit from the construction of a public facility. A benefit assessment district has no legal life of its own and cannot act by itself. It enables property owners in a specific area to cause the construction of public facilities or to maintain them by contributing their fair share of the construction and /or in installation and operating costs.

Berm: A mound of earth, often linear, a narrow shelf or flat area that breaks the contiguity of a slope

Beta: A quantitative measure of the volatility of a given stock, mutual fund, or portfolio, relative to the overall market, usually the S&P 500. Specifically, the performance the stock, fund or portfolio has experienced in the last 5 years as the S&P moved 1% up or down. A beta above 1 is more volatile than the overall market, while a beta below 1 is less volatile.

Bid: An offer, stated as a price or spread, to buy whole loans or securities

BILL OF SALE: A physical receipt indicating the sale of property.

BIWEEKLY MORTGAGE: A mortgage where you make "half payments" every two weeks, rather than one payment per month. This results in making the equivalent of 13 monthly payments per year, rather than 12, significantly reducing the time it takes to pay off a thirty year mortgage.

Blade: A motor-grader with an under-slung movable mold board (blade) designed to evenly spread materials.

Blasting Depth: No Def

Blight: A condition of deterioration of a site, structure, or area that may cause nearby buildings and /or areas to decline in attractiveness and/or utility. The term also has a specific legal meaning under California Redevelopment Law.

BLIGHTED AREA: Any region of a city or town that has fallen into disrepair or otherwise has become undesirable.

Blind pool: A commingled fund accepting investor capital without prior specification of property assets

Blow Off Valve: A valve that allows domestic water to drain from a low point in a pipe system between gate valves.

Blue Top Lot: A lot that has been graded with road grades done, but no utility improvements, no paving, stabilization landscape only, and graded to +/- .5 feet

BONA FIDE: Any genuine offer, made without intent to defraud or deceive.

Bond Release (Repairs for): Repairs to inadequate/incomplete construction in order for the governing agency to release bonds to the bonding company.

Bonds: Money posted by the developer through a bonding company to ensure improvements are constructed according to plans.

Book value: Also referred to as common shareholder's equity, this is the total shareholder's equity as of the most recent quarterly balance sheet minus preferred stock and redeemable preferred stock.

Boring: A vertical hole drilled into the ground from which soil samples can be collected and analyzed to determine the presence of chemicals and the physical characteristics of the soil.

Bottom of Wall: The ground level (finished surface) at the base of a wall. Different than top of footing.

Box Culvert: see reinforced concrete box

BRIDGE FINANCING: An interim loan made to facilitate the purchase of a new home before the buyer's current residence sells and its equity is available to fund the new purchase.

BRIDGING: Structural members used between beams to strengthen the structure.

Broker: A person who acts as an intermediary between two or more parties in connection with a transaction

BROKER: An individual who facilitates the purchase of property by bringing together a buyer and a seller.

BTU: British Thermal Unit. A unit of measurement used to describe heating or cooling capacity.

Buffer Zone: An area created as a protective transition between one type of land use from another, for example, a screen of planting or fencing to insulate existing residences from the adverse impacts of a new or different type of use.

BUFFER ZONE: A segment of land between two disparate municipal zones which acts as a shield to keep one zone from encroaching upon the other. Often used to separate residential districts from commercial areas.

Buildable acres: The area of land that is available to be built on after subtracting for roads, setbacks, anticipated open spaces and areas unsuitable for construction

Buildable Acres: The acreage related to the project typically excluding open space, streets, and commercial acreage. Typically synonymous with net acres.

Building: No Def

Building Area: The total square footage of a lot built upon and covered by a building measured on a horizontal plane at mean grade level, exclusive of terraces, uncovered porches, and steps.

Building Code: Regulations regulating the design, construction, and maintenance of buildings and other structures within a jurisdiction. They are based on the local government's police power to protect health, safety, and welfare of the public. Usually refers to the Uniform Building Code and its locally adopted modifications.

BUILDING LINE OR SETBACK: The statutory distance between buildings and the property line, imposed by municipalities, home associations, or other agreements.

Building standard plus allowance: The landlord lists, in detail, the building standard materials and costs necessary to make the premises suitable for occupancy. A negotiated allowance is then provided for the tenant to customize or upgrade materials.

Build-out: Space improvements put in place per the tenant's specifications. Takes into consideration the amount of tenant finish allowance provided for in the lease agreement.

Buildout, Build-Out: Development of land to its full potential or theoretical capacity as permitted under current or proposed planning or zoning designations.

Build-to-suit: A method of leasing property whereby the developer/landlord builds to a tenant's specifications

BUILT-INS: Specific items of personal property which are installed in a real estate improvement such that they become part of the building. Built-in microwave ovens and dishwashers are common examples.

Bulk Regulations: Zoning or other regulations that by controlling the height, mass, density, and location of buildings set a maximum limit on the intensity of development so as to provide proper, light, air, and open space.

BUNGALOW: A one-story, home-style dating from the early twentieth century. Often characterized by a low-pitched roof.

Burrito: Slang term given to gravel bedding and geo-textile enveloping sub-drains.

Butterfly Valve: Same purpose as gate valve but for larger water pipes (18 inch and larger)

Buttress: A large dam of compacted earth designed by a geologist and soils engineer and created primarily to hold a known landslide in place. A key at the designed toe of slope (TOS) is excavated into bedrock once the back-cut unloading the landslide has been made. The key is inspected, sub-drains are installed, and the filling of the buttress begins. There are instances where this operation involves slot-cutting because of the magnitude and nature (strike/dip) of the landslide. These instances are rare and very costly because, by nature, they involve moving dirt at least twice. Measured and costed based on theoretical design quantities.

Buttress Key: A section of slope overexcavated, replaced, and recompacted in order to stabilize a slope.

BUY DOWN: Extra money paid in a lump sum to reduce the interest rate of a fixed rate mortgage for a period of time. The extra money may be paid by the borrower, in order to have a lower payment at the beginning of the mortgage. Or paid by the seller, or lender, as incentive to buy the property or take on the mortgage.

BX CABLE: Electrical cable shrouded in a galvanized steel outer cover.

California Department of Fish and Game: Part of the state of California Resources Agency. It is responsible for managing the state's living resources, including those within the marine environment. The department works closely with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), especially regarding harbor seals and other pinnipeds.

California Department of Transportation: A government agency responsible for maintaining, repairing, and improving highways and bridges throughout the state. Caltrans is also involved with the improvement of public transportation systems in California.

California Environmental Quality Act: CEQA is an act that, in general, requires all private and public projects be reviewed by appropriate agencies and the public prior to approval for their potential adverse effects upon the environment.

California Housing Finance Agency: A state agency, established by the U.S. Housing and Home Finance Act of 1975, which is authorized to sell revenue bonds and generate funds for the development, rehabilitation, and conservation of very low-, low-, and moderate-income housing.

California Land Title Association: A statewide association of title insurers and underwritten title companies whose purpose is to adopt standard title policy forms.

Call date: Periodic or continuous rights given to the lender to cause payment of the total principal balance prior to the maturity date

CALL OPTION: A clause in a mortgage which allows the lender to demand payment of the outstanding balance at a specific time.

CAP: Associated with Adjustable Rate Mortgages. A limit on how high monthly payments or how much interest rates may change within a certain time period or the life of the mortgage.

CAPE COD COLONIAL: A single-story house style made popular in New England. Often characterized by a steep roof with gables.

CAPITAL: Accumulated goods and money which is most often used to generate additional income.

Capital appreciation: The change in market value of a property or portfolio adjusted for capital improvements and partial sales

CAPITAL EXPENDITURE: An outlay of funds designed to improve the income-producing capabilities of an asset or to extend its economic life.

Capital expenditures: Investment of cash or the creation of a liability to acquire or improve an asset, as distinguished from cash outflows for expense items that are considered part of normal operations

Capital gain: The amount by which the net proceeds from the sale of a capital item exceeds the book value of the asset

Capital Improvement Program: A local government's schedule of infrastructure improvements necessary to accommodate existing and anticipated future development. Most such programs include a financing mechanism to fund the cost of the improvements.

Capital improvements: Expenditures that arrest deterioration of property or add new improvements and appreciably prolong its life

Capital markets: Public and private markets where businesses or individuals can raise or borrow capital

Capitalization: The total dollar value of various securities issued by a company

Capitalization rate: The rate at which net operating income is discounted to determine the value of a property. It is the net operating income divided by the sales price or value of a property expressed as a percentage.

Carrying charges: Costs incidental to property ownership that must be absorbed by the landlord during the initial lease-up of a building and thereafter during periods of vacancy

Cash flow: The revenue remaining after all cash expenses are paid

Cash-on-cash yield: The relationship, expressed as a percentage, between the net cash flow of a property and the average amount of invested capital during an operating year

CASH-OUT REFINANCE: Refinancing a mortgage at a higher amount than the current balance in order to transform a portion of the equity into cash.

Cast in Place: A storm drain construction method where the pipe is formed in the pipe trench. The process is accomplished with a slip form and requires soils that are stable at steep slopes. CIPP construction methods are generally less expensive than manufacture and installation of RCP, unfortunately, the proper soil conditions for CIPP construction are rare.

Catch Basin: A chamber, usually built at the curb line of a street, for the admission of surface water to a storm drain system, having at it's base a sediment sump designed to retain grit and debris below the point of entry into the system

CAULKING: A pliable material used to seal cracks or openings such as around windows.

CAVEAT EMPTOR: Literally translated: ''Let the buyer beware.'' A common business tenet whereby the buyer is responsible for verifying any and all claims by the seller of property.

Cement Mortar-Lined and Coated: Used in water lines, usually in larger applications of greater than 16 inch, consists of a steel core lined on the inside and outside by concrete

Centerline: Street centerline.

Certificate of Compliance: In California, any owner or vendee may ask the city to determine whether the subject property complies with the Subdivision Map Act and the local subdivision ordinance. The city must issue either a certificate of compliance or conditional certificate of compliance.

CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT: A document showing that the bearer has a certain amount of money, at a particular amount interest, on deposit with a financial institution.

CERTIFICATE OF DEPOSIT INDEX: An index based on the interest rate of six month CD's. Used to set interest rates on some Adjustable Rate Mortgages.

CERTIFICATE OF ELIGIBILITY: A document issued by the Veterans Administration that certifies eligibility for a VA loan.

Certificate of occupancy: A document presented by a local government agency or building department certifying that a building and/or the leased area has been satisfactorily inspected and is in a condition suitable for occupancy

CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY: Issued by an appropriate jurisdictional entity, this document certifies that a building complies with all building codes and is safe for use or habitation.

CERTIFICATE OF REASONABLE VALUE (CRV): Usually based on an independent appraisal, a CRV for a particular property establishes the maximum amount which can be secured by a VA mortgage.

CERTIFICATE OF TITLE: A document designating the legal owner of a parcel of real estate. Usually provided by a title or abstract company.

CERTIFIED GENERAL APPRAISER: Generally, any professional who has met the local or state requirements, and passed the appropriate certification exam, and is capable of appraising any type of property.

CERTIFIED RESIDENTIAL APPRAISER: A sub-classification of appraiser who is only licensed to appraise residential property, usually up to four units.

CHAIN OF TITLE: The complete history of ownership of a piece of property.

Chapter 11: That portion of the federal bankruptcy code that deals with business reorganizations

Chapter 7: That portion of the federal bankruptcy code that deals with business liquidations

CHATTEL: Any personal property which is not attached to or an integral part of a property. Chattel is not commonly taken into consideration when appraising the value of real property.

CIRCUIT BREAKERS: Electrical devices which automatically open electrical circuits if they are overloaded.

Circulation factor: Interior space required for internal office circulation not accounted for in the net square footage

Class "A": A real estate rating generally assigned to properties that will generate the highest rents per square foot due to their high quality and/or superior location

Class "B": Good assets that most tenants would find desirable but lack attributes that would permit owners to charge top dollar

Class "C": Buildings that offer few amenities but are otherwise in physically acceptable condition and provide cost-effective space to tenants who are not particularly image-conscious

Cleanout: An opening, closed by a removable cover, that provides access to a drain or sewage pipe for clearing blockages.

Clear: No Def

CLEAR TITLE: Ownership of property that is not encumbered by any counter-claim or lien.

Clear-span facility: A building, most often a warehouse or parking garage, with vertical columns on the outside edges of the structure and a clear span between columns

Closed-end fund: A commingled fund that has a targeted range of investor capital and a finite life

Closing: A period of time, usually less than seven days, after a registration statement is effective and the offering commences, giving the underwriters time to receive payment for the securities

CLOSING: A torturous process designed to induce cramping in a home buyer's hands by requiring signature on countless pieces of documentation that nobody has ever read. Or, the process whereby the sale of a property is consummated with the buyer completing all applicable documentation, including signing the mortgage obligation and paying all appropriate costs associated with the sale (CLOSING COSTS).

CLOSING COSTS: All appropriate costs generated by the sale of property which the parties must pay to complete the transaction. Costs may include appraisal fees, origination fees, title insurance, taxes and any points negotiated in the deal.

CLOSING STATEMENT: The document detailing the final financial arrangement between a buyer and seller and the costs paid by each.

Cluster Development: A subdivision design that allows the reduction of lot sizes below the zoning ordinance's minimum requirements to preserve a portion of the subdivider's property as open space for the community.

CMBS (commercial mortgage-backed securities): Securities backed by loans on commercial real estate

CMO (collateralized mortgage obligation): Debt obligations that are collateralized by and have payments linked to a pool of mortgages

Coachella Valley Association of Governments: A group formed in 1973 under California's Joint Powers Law to address a variety of issues deemed important to the Coachella Valley. It is responsible for creating the Coachella Valley Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan (CVMSHCP), among other things.

Coastal Development Permit: A permit for any development within the coastal zone that is required pursuant to Section 30600 (a) of the California Coastal Act of 1976.

CO-BORROWER: A second person sharing obligation on the loan and title on the property.

Co-investment: Co-investment occurs when two or more pension funds or groups of funds share ownership of a real estate investment. In co-investment vehicles, relative ownership is always based on the amount of capital contributed. It also refers to an arrangement in which an investment manager or adviser co-invests its own capital alongside the investor.

Co-investment program: An investment partnership or insurance company separate account that enables two or more pension funds to co-invest their capital in a single property or portfolio of properties. The primary appeal for investors is to achieve greater diversification or invest in larger properties typically outside the reach of small- to mid-sized tax-exempt funds, with a greater measure of control than is afforded in typical commingled fund offerings.

Collateral: Asset(s) pledged to a lender to secure repayment of a loan in case of default

COLLATERAL: An asset which is placed at risk to secure the repayment of a loan.

COLLECTION: The process a lender takes to pursue a borrower who is delinquent on his payments in order to bring the mortgage current again. Includes documentation that may be used in foreclosure.

Colluvium/Colluvial (adj.): Loose soil or rock fragments on or at the base of slopes, hills, or cliffs, deposited as a result of wind or gravity. This is not the same as coarse deposits due to rockfall at a cliff base. Avalanches, mudslides, and landslides are some examples of colluvium. Colluvium must be removed, moisture-conditioned, and returned to the site as compacted fill. Measured and paid by comparing original topo with the topo in the removal areas once removals have been made and prior to fill being placed.

CO-MAKER: A second party who signs a loan, along with the borrower, and becomes liable for the debt should the borrower default.

Combo Wall: A wall consisting of a short block wall, topped by a view wall, such as tubular steel, wrought iron, plexiglass

Commingled fund: A pooled fund vehicle that enables qualified employee benefit plans to commingle their capital for the purpose of achieving professional management, greater diversification or investment positions in larger properties

COMMISSION: A percentage of the sales price or a fixed fee negotiated by an agent to compensate for the effort expended to sell or purchase property.

Common area: For lease purposes, the areas of a building and its site that are available for the non-exclusive use of all its tenants, e.g., lobbies, corridors, etc.

Common Area: Any landscaped area not a part of an individual lot.

COMMON AREA ASSESSMENTS: Fees which are charged to the tenets or owners of properties to cover the costs of maintaining areas shared with other tenets or owners. Commonly found in condominium, PUD or office spaces.

Common area maintenance: Rent charged to the tenant in addition to the base rent to maintain the common areas. Examples include snow removal, outdoor lighting, parking lot sweeping, insurance, property taxes, etc.

COMMON AREAS: Any areas, such as entryways, foyers, pools, recreational facilities or the like, which are shared by the tenets or owners of property near by. Commonly found in condominium, PUD or office spaces.

Common Costs: Synonymous with amenities, examples include entry monumentation, pools, tennis courts, police/fire stations, community center.

COMMON LAW: As opposed to statute law. Laws that have been established by custom, usage and courts over many years.

Common Open Space: Refers to the required unimproved area (land or water) of a planned residential development project, including permanent open space lands, unbuildable land, and land reserved for outdoor recreational purposes. Common open space shall be in addition to land required or provided for off-street parking, private decks, patios, and required side, rear, or front yards.

Community Care Facility: Elderly housing licensed by the state Health and Welfare Agency, Department of Social Services, typically for residents who are frail and need supervision. Services normally include three meals daily, housekeeping, security and emergency response, a full activities program, supervision in all dispensing of medicine, personal services such as assistance in grooming and bathing, but no nursing care. Sometimes referred to as residential care or personal care.

Community Development Block Grant: A grant program administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the state Department of Housing and Community Development. This grant allots money to cities and counties for housing and community development. Jurisdictions set their own program properties within specified criteria.

Community Facilities District (CFD): Also referred to as a Mello-Roos, it is a taxation district authorized by a local government entity (County, City, etc.) and initiated by private landholders, to finance certain designated public services and capital facilities by levying special taxes. The taxes are continuing liens and are levied against property owners within the service area. The tax rate per parcel within the district does not vary, this is one characteristic that distinguishes a Community Facilities District from an Assessment District.

COMMUNITY PROPERTY: In many jurisdictions, any property which has been acquired by a married couple. The ownership of the property is considered equal unless stipulated otherwise by both parties.

Community Services District: A private agency established to provide community services such as fire service, water & sewer service, management of assessment districts, CC&Rs, etc.

Compaction: The compression of soil, causing a reduction of pore space and both an increase in the density of the soil and a reduction of volume. Typical compaction requirements for construction are 90--95% of maximum density. Can occur naturally or through the use of machinery.

Compactor: Any self-propelled equipment used to compact soil, aggregates, or asphalt.

Comparables: Used to determine the fair market lease rate or asking price, based on other properties with similar characteristics

COMPARABLES: An abbreviated term used by appraisers to describe properties which are similar in size, condition, location and amenities to a subject property whose value is being determined. The Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice (USPAP) establish clear guidelines for determining a comparable property.

COMPOUND INTEREST: Interest paid on the principal amount, as well as any accumulated interest.

Comprehensive Project Development Plan: A thorough depiction in maps, diagrams, and text of a proposal to develop one or more parcels of land as one unit, showing development phases at a level of detail sufficient to communicate all information that the planning commission may require in order to have a full picture of a development proposal and its likely impacts.

Concessions: Cash or cash equivalents expended by the landlord in the form of rental abatement, additional tenant finish allowance, moving expenses or other monies expended to influence or persuade a tenant to sign a lease

CONCESSIONS: Additional value granted by a buyer or seller to entice another party to complete a deal.

Concrete: A mixture of portland cement, rocks, sand, water, and admixtures.

Condemnation: Also called 'eminent domain', the taking of private property by a government unit for public use. If the owner and governmental agency cannot agree on the terms of sale, the agency obtains the property through a judicial process that sets the 'fair market value' of the land.

CONDENSATION: The transition of water vapor to liquid. Typically forms in areas of high humidity.

Conditional Use: A use that may locate in certain zoning districts after obtaining a conditional use permit. These permits must include a finding that the use and conditional use permit will not be detrimental to the public health, morals, and welfare and are in conformity with the general and any adopted plans.

Conditions of Approval (COA): Generally tied to a Tentative Tract Map, these conditions are imposed by governmental or quasi-governmental agencies and require that certain specific conditions be met before the agency will approve the TTM

Condominium: An estate in real property consisting of an undivided interest in common in a portion of a parcel of real property together with a separate interest in a space in a residential, industrial, or commercial building on that real property, such as an apartment, office, or store. In addition, a condominium may include a separate interest in other portions of that real property.

CONDOMINIUM: A development where individual units are owned, but common areas and amenities are shared equally by all owners.

CONDOMINIUM CONVERSION: Commonly, the conversion of a rental property such as an apartment complex into a CONDOMINIUM-style complex where each unit is owned rather than leased.

Conduit: An alliance between mortgage originators and an unaffiliated organization that acts as a funding source by regularly purchasing loans, usually with a goal of pooling and securitizing them

CONDUIT: The pipe through which electric wiring is run.

Conservation Easement: A tool for acquiring open space, the public agency buys only certain specific rights from the owner. These may be positive rights, giving to public rights to fish, hike or ride over the land, or restricted rights limiting the uses to which the owner may put his/her land in the future. Scenic easements allow the public agency to use the owner's land for scenic enhancement such as roadside landscaping and vista point preservation.

Constraints Map: Plan by civil engineer that identifies site issues, constraints, or limits, such as faults, slopes, inadequate infrastructure.

Construct/Construction: No Def

Construction loan: Interim financing during the developmental phase of a property

CONSTRUCTION LOAN: A loan made to a builder or home owner that finances the initial construction of a property, but is replaced by a traditional mortgage one the property is completed.

Construction management: The act of ensuring the various stages of the construction process are completed in a timely and seamless fashion

Consultant: Any company or individual that provides the following services to institutional investors

Consumer price index (CPI): Measures inflation in relation to the change in the price of goods and services purchased by a specified population during a base period of time. The CPI is commonly used to increase the base rent periodically as a means of protecting the landlord's rental stream against inflation or to provide a cushion for operating expense increases for a landlord unwilling to undertake the record-keeping necessary for operating expense escalations.

Contingencies: This is for reserves in case you should have an unanticipated costs or delays in schedule.

CONTIGUOUS: Connected to or touching along an unbroken boundary.

Contiguous space: Multiple suites/spaces within the same building and on the same floor that can be combined and rented to a single tenant, or a block of space located on multiple adjoining floors in a building

CONTINGENCY: Something that must occur before something else happens. Often used in real estate sales when a buyer must sell a current home before purchasing a new one. Or, when a buyer makes an offer that requires a complete home inspection before it becomes official.

CONTRACT: A legally binding agreement, oral or written, between two parties.

Contract documents: The complete set of design plans and specifications for the construction of a building

Contract rent: The rental obligation, expressed in dollars, as specified in a lease. Also known as face rent.

Contributions In Aid of Construction: Utility companies must include utility improvements installed by the developer and builders and ceded to the utility company in the income statement and pay taxes on that income. CIAC is a fee paid by the developer and builder to the utility company to offset these taxes.

CONVENTIONAL MORTGAGE: A traditional, real estate financing mechanism that is not backed by any government or other agency (FHA, VA, etc.).

CONVERTIBLE ARM: A mortgage that begins as and adjustable, that allows the borrower to convert the loan to a fixed rate within a specific timeframe.

Convertible debt: A mortgage position that gives the lender the option to convert to a partial or full ownership position in a property within a specified time period

Convertible preferred stock: Preferred stock that is convertible to common stock under certain formulas and conditions specified by the issuer of the stock

Conveyance: Most commonly refers to the transfer of title to property between parties by deed. The term may also include most of the instruments with which an interest in real estate is created, mortgaged or assigned.

COOPERATIVE (CO-OP): A form of ownership where each resident of a multiunit property owns a share in a cooperative corporation that owns the building. With each resident having rights to a specific unit within the building.

Core properties: The major property types - specifically office, retail, industrial and multifamily. Core assets tend to be built within the past five years or recently renovated. They are substantially leased (90 percent or better) with higher-credit tenants and well-structured long-term leases with the majority fairly early in the term of the lease. Core assets generate good, stable income that, together with potential appreciation, is expected to generate total returns in the 10 percent to 12 percent range.

Corner Lot Wall: A wall along the street-side property line of a corner lot. Quantified separately by Developers Research to account for reverse frontage landscaping

CORPORATE RELOCATION: A situation where a person's employer pays all or some of the expenses associated with moving from one location to another, usually over a substantial distance. Relocation expenses often include the amounts, such as brokerage fees, incurred in the selling and buying of the employee's primary residence.

Corrugated Metal Pipe: A steel pipe used for storm drain, usually used in private applications as well as for risers and stand pipes, stronger than HDPE

Cost Detail Page (DR Budget): A line item budget of lot improvement costs within major cost categories, such as impact fees, storm drain, and walls and fences. In addition, the cost detail page contains allocation methods by which costs are apportioned across the project planning areas/phases. This page is driven, in part, by the lot details page.

COST OF FUNDS INDEX (COFI): An index of financial institutions costs used to set interest rates for some Adjustable Rate Mortgages.

Cost Summary Page (DR Budget): A summary budget of lot improvement costs by major cost categories. This page is derived from the cost detail page.

Cost-approach improvement value: The current cost to construct a reproduction of, or replacement for, the existing structure less an estimate for accrued depreciation

Cost-approach land value: The estimated value of the fee simple interest in the land as if vacant and available for development to its highest and best use

Cost-of-sale percentage: An estimate of the costs to sell an investment representing brokerage commissions, closing costs, fees and other necessary disposition expenses

Coupon: The nominal interest rate charged to the borrower on a promissory note or mortgage

Covenant: A written agreement inserted into deeds or other legal instruments stipulating performance or non-performance of certain acts, or use or non-use of a property and/or land

COVENANT: A stipulation in any mortgage that, if not met, can be cause for the lender to foreclose.

Covenants, Codes, and Restrictions (CC&R): A recorded document, which sets forth conditions of ownership and how the property may be used.

CREDIT: A loan of money for the purchase of property, real or personal. Credit is either secured by an asset, such as a home, or unsecured.

Credit enhancement: The credit support needed in addition to the mortgage collateral to achieve a desired credit rating on mortgage-backed securities. The forms of credit enhancement most often employed are subordination, over-collateralization, reserve funds, corporate guarantees and letters of credit.

CREDIT HISTORY: A record of debt payments, past and present. Used by mortgage lenders in determining credit worthiness of individuals.

CREDIT REPORT: A detailed report of an individuals credit, employment and residence history prepared by a credit bureau. Used by lenders to determine credit worthiness of individuals.

CREDIT REPOSITORY: Large companies that gather and store financial and credit information about individuals who apply for credit.

CREDITOR: A person to whom money is owed.

Cross-collateralization: A grouping of mortgages or properties that serves to jointly secure one debt obligation

Cross-defaulting: Allows the trustee to call all loans in a group into default when any single loan is in default

Crusher: A system of primary and secondary rock-crushing equipment used in conjunction with screens and conveyors to manufacture the desired product(s).

Cubic Feet per Second: The rate of flow representing a volume of 1 cubic foot passing a given point in 1 second. (Approx. 7.48 gallons per second or 0.02832 cubic meters per second)

Cubic Yards: 1 cubic yard = 27 cubic feet

CUL-DE-SAC: A dead-end street. One with only one entrance/exit.

Culvert: A closed conduit used for the conveyance of surface drainage water under a roadway, railroad, driveway, or other impediment.

Cumulative discount rate: Expressed as a percentage of base rent, it is the interest rate used in finding present values that takes into account all landlord lease concessions.

Curb and Gutter: As opposed to curb only or gutter only.

Current occupancy: The current leased portion of a building or property expressed as a percentage of its total area or units

Current yield: For CMBS, the coupon divided by the price

DATE OF APPRAISAL: The specific point in time as of which an appraiser designates the value of a home. Often stipulated as the date of inspection.

Day Care Center: Any type of group child day care program, including nurseries of children of working mothers, nursery schools for children under minimum age for education in public schools, privately conducted kindergartens when not part of a public or parochial school, program covering after-school care for school children, all of which must be conducted in accordance with state and local requirements.

Deal structure: With regard to the financing of an acquisition, deals can be unleveraged, leveraged, traditional debt, participating debt, participating/convertible debt or joint ventures.

DEBT: An obligation to repay some amount owed. This may or may not be monetary.

DEBT EQUITY RATIO: The ratio of the amount a mortgagor still owes on a property to the amount of equity they have in the home. Equity is calculated at the fair-market value of the home, less any outstanding mortgage debt.

Debt service: The outlay necessary to meet all interest and principal payments during a given period.

Debt service coverage ratio (DSCR): The annual net operating income from a property divided by annual cost of debt service. A DSCR below 1 means the property is generating insufficient cash flow to cover debt payments.

Dedicate: To appropriate private property to public ownership for a public use

Dedication: The offering of private land for a public use by an owner or developer, and its acceptance for such use by the governmental agency in charge of the public information for which it will be used. Dedications for roads, parks, school sites, or other public uses are often made conditions for the approval of a development by a planning commission.

Dedication, Payment in lieu of: Cash payments required as a substitute for a dedication of land by an owner or developer, usually at so many dollars per lot. This overcomes the two principal problems of land dedication requirements by applying the exactions on development more equitably and by allowing purchase of sites at the best locations rather than merely in places where the development is large enough to be required to dedicate a school or park (this is not legal in all states).

Deed: A legal instrument transferring title to real property from the seller to the buyer upon the sale of such property

Deed in lieu of foreclosure: A deed given by an owner/borrower to a lender to satisfy a mortgage debt and avoid foreclosure

DEED OF RECONVEYANCE: A document which transfers ownership of a property from a Trustee back to a borrower who has fulfilled the obligations of a mortgage.

DEED OF RELEASE: A document which dismisses a lien or other claim on a property.

DEED OF SURRENDER: A document used to surrender any claim a person has to a property.

Deed of trust: An instrument used in place of a mortgage by which real property is transferred to a trustee to secure repayment of a debt

DEED OF TRUST: A document which transfers title in a property to a trustee, whose obligations and powers are stipulated. Often used in mortgage transactions.

DEED-IN-LIEU (OF FORECLOSURE): A document given by a borrower to a lender, transferring title of the property. Often used to avoid credit-damaging foreclosure procedures.

Deepened Footing: A footing deeper than structurally necessary, used to conform to drainage patterns and maximum grade changes within a lot.

Deepened Water/Sewer/Storm Drain: Pipe whose invert is more than 12 feet deep

Default: The general failure to perform a legal or contractual duty or to discharge an obligation when due

DEFAULT: The condition in which a borrower has failed to meet the obligations of a loan or mortgage.

Deferred maintenance account: An account a borrower is required to fund that provides for maintenance of a property

Deficiency judgment: Imposition of personal liability on a borrower for the unpaid balance of mortgage debt after a foreclosure has failed to yield the full amount of the debt

Defined-benefit plan: An employee's benefits are defined, either as a fixed amount or a percentage of the beneficiary's salary at the time of retirement. Pension plans, Health and Welfare plans, and some Keogh plans are established as defined benefit plans.

Defined-contribution plan: An employee's benefits at retirement are determined by the amount contributed by the employer and/or the employee during his or her employment tenure, and by the actual investment earnings on those contributions over the life of the fund. Examples include 401(k), thrift plans and profit sharing plans.

DELINQUENCY: The state in which a borrow has failed to meet payment obligations on time.

Demising wall: The partition wall that separates one tenant's space from another or from the building's common areas

Density: The number of dwelling units per net acre for residential uses.

Density Bonuses: The awarding of bonus credits to a development in the form of allowing more intensive use of the land for developments furthering particular public interests. State law requires that such bonuses or similar incentives be granted for projects that include specified percentages of affordable housing.

Density Transfer: A technique for retaining open space by concentrating residential densities, usually in compact areas adjacent to existing urbanization and utilities. Outlying areas are left open so that the residential density of the entire community will average out at the same number of dwelling units as if the community were developed from end to end with large lots. A variation involves allowing density transfers by private developers who buy the developmental rights of outlying properties that are publicly desirable for open space and add the additional density to the bade number of units permitted in the zone which they propose to develop. Density transfers may also involve buying and selling the 'development rights' of any property and using those rights elsewhere by agreement.

Density, Control of: A limitation on the occupancy of land. Density can be controlled through zoning by one or more of the following methods: use restrictions (e.g., single- or multi-family dwellings), minimum lot-size requirements, floor area ratios, land use-intensity zoning, setback and yard requirements, minimum house requirements, establishing ratios between the number and types of housing units and land area, requirements for lot area per dwelling unit, and other means. The major distinction between different residential districts is often in their allowable density, customarily expressed in number of dwelling units per acre of land.

Department of Water and Power (DWP): No Def

DEPOSIT: Cash given along with an offer to purchase property, Also called EARNEST MONEY.

Depreciation: A decrease or loss in property value due to wear, age or other cause. In accounting, depreciation is a periodic allowance made for this real or implied loss.

DEPRECIATION: The natural decline in property value due to market forces or depletion of resources.

Derivative securities: Securities that are created artificially, i.e., derived from other financial instruments. In the context of CMBS, the most common derivative security is the interest-only strip.

Design Assistance/Design Review: The process of subjecting a developmental proposal to technical and public scrutiny and review, and to possible modification, in order to ensure that suitable attention is given to site planning and building design, landscaping and screening, preservation of natural resources, and preservation or architectural and significant historic resources. A 'design review board' may be authorized by the zoning ordinance to carry out the city's design assistance and review functions.

Design/build: A system in which a single entity is responsible for both the design and construction

DETACHED SINGLE-FAMILY HOME: A single building improvement intended to serve as a home for one family.

Detention Basin: A reservoir which temporarily holds storm water runoff and releases it gradually into a watercourse or storm water facility, designed to reduce or maintain downstream stormwater runoff.

Development: Development means, on land, in or under water, the placement or erection of any solid material or structure, discharge or disposal of any dredged material or any gaseous, liquid, solid, or thermal waste, grading, removing, dredging, mining, or extraction of any materials, change in the density or intensity of use of land, including, but not limited to, subdivision pursuant to the Subdivision Map Act (commencing with Section 66410 of the Government Code), and any other division of land, including lot splits, except where the land division is brought about in connection with the purchase of land by a public agency for public recreational use, change in the intensity of use of water or of acess thereto, constructuion, reconstruction, demolition, or alteration of the size of any structure, including any facility of any private, public, or municipal utility, and the removal or harvesting of major vegetation other than for agricultural purposes, kelp harvesting, and timber operations in accordance with a timber harvesting plan submitted pursuant to the provisions of the Z'berg-Nejedly Forest Practice Act of 1973

Development Agreement: A contract entered into between a governing agency and the holder of property development rights, the principal purpose of which is to negotiate and establish the development regulations that will apply to the subject property during the term of the agreement and to establish the conditions to which the development will be subject, including a schedule of impact fees.

Development Impact Fee: A fee charged to a developer by a governing agency with the purpose of mitigating the impact of the development on the surrounding area, as well as improving infrastructure such as water, sewer, or amenities in the surrounding area.

Development Rights: A broad range of less-than-fee-simple ownership interests, generally referring to easements. Thus, an owner can retain complete or absolute (fee-simple) rights his/her land and sell the development rights to another.

Dewatering: No Def

Direct Costs: Synonymous with hard costs, category of costs used to describe expenditures related to development or construction.

DISCOUNT POINTS: Points paid in addition to the loan origination fee to get a lower interest rate. One point is equal to one percent of the loan amount.

Discount rate: A yield rate used to convert future payments or receipts into present value

Disclaimer: The information contained herein has been obtained from sources we deem to be reliable and is based on data and facts that we believe to be reasonably accurate. However, the information contains no guarantees or warranties either written or implied.

Discretion: The level of authority granted to an adviser or manager over the investment and management of a client's capital. A fully discretionary account typically is defined as one in which the adviser or manager has total ability to invest and manage a client's capital without prior approval of the client.

Distraint: The act of seizing personal property of a tenant in default based on the right and interest a landlord has in the property

DISTRESSED PROPERTY: A mortgaged property which has been foreclosed on.

Diversification: The process of consummating individual investments in a manner that insulates a portfolio against the risk of reduced yield or capital loss, accomplished by allocating individual investments among a variety of asset types, each with different characteristics

Dividend: Cash or stock distribution paid to holders of common stock. REITs must pay at least 90 percent of their taxable income in the form of dividends.

Dividend yield: The annual dividend rate for a security expressed as a percent of its market price (annual dividend/price = yield)

Dividend-ex date: The first date on which a person purchasing the stock is no longer eligible to receive the most recently announced dividend

Dollar stop: An agreed dollar amount of taxes and operating expense each tenant will pay on a prorated basis

DOWN PAYMENT: An amount paid in cash for a property, with the intent to mortgage the remaining amount due.

DOWNREIT: An organizational structure that makes it possible for REITs to buy properties using partnership units. The effect is the same as an UPREIT, however, the DOWNREIT is subordinate to the REIT itself, hence the name.

DOWNSPOUT: The pipe that water moves through to reach the ground from the rain gutter.

Downzoning: A change in the zoning classification of land to a classification permitting development that is intensive or dense, such as from multi-family to single-family or from commercial to industrial to residential.

Dozer: Track-mounted bulldozer commonly equipped with a blade in front and rippers in back.

Drawing: DWG is an abbreviation for drawing as well as the file extension for CAD files.

Drip Line: An imaginary line on the soil around a tree that mirrors the circumference of the tree's canopy. The tree's roots usually extend well beyond this line, the farthest extended point around a foundation where water drips off the building onto the ground, including gutters, overhangs, soffits and porches.

Driveway: No Def

Dry Utilities: A term used to identify dry utilities such as electricity, cable, telephone and gas, as opposed to wet utilities such as water, sewer and storm drain.

Ductile Iron Pipe: Used in water lines, made of Iron. Relatively strong, heavy, use dependant on water district.

Due diligence: Activities carried out by a prospective purchaser or mortgager of real property to confirm that the property is as represented by the seller and is not subject to environmental or other problems. In the case of an IPO registration statement, due diligence is a reasonable investigation by the parties involved to confirm that all the statements within the document are true and that no material facts are omitted.

Due on sale: A covenant that makes a mortgage due if the property is sold before the maturity date

DUE-ON-SALE PROVISION: A clause in a mortgage giving the lender the right to demand payment of the full balance when the borrower sells the property.

DUPLEX: A single-building improvement which is divided and provides two units which serve as homes to two families.

DWELLING: A house or other building which serves as a home.

Dwelling Unit: Any room or group of rooms within a structure, forming a single habitable unit.

Each: No Def

EARNEST MONEY DEPOSIT: A cash deposit made to a home seller to secure an offer to buy the property. This amount is often forfeited if the buyer decides to withdraw his offer.

Easement: A right held by one person to make specific, limited use of land owned by another person. An easement is granted by the owner of the property for the convenience, or ease, of the person using the property. Common easements include the right to pass across the property, the right to construct and maintain a roadway across the property, the right to construct a pipeline under the land, or a power line over the land.

EASEMENT: The right of a non-owner of property to exert control over a portion or all of the property. For example, power companies often own an easement over residential properties for access to their power lines.

Easement, Conservation: A tool for acquiring open space for less than full-fee purchase, whereby a public agency buys only certain specific rights from the landowner. These may be positive rights (providing the public with the opportunity to hunt, fish, hike or ride over the land), or they may be restrictive rights (limiting the uses to which the landowner may devote the land in the future).

Easement, Scenic: A tool that allows a public agency to use, at nominal or no coat, private land for scenic enhancement, such as roadside landscaping or vista preservation.

Eastern Municipal Water District: A water district providing water and sewer service to portions of Riverside County.

EAVE: The part of the roof that extends beyond the exterior wall.

ECONOMIC DEPRECIATION: The decline in property value caused by external forces, such as neighborhood blight or adverse development.

Economic Development Agency: A department in some cities or counties that handles redevelopment and affordable housing requirements.

Economic feasibility: The feasibility of a building or project in terms of costs and revenue, with excess revenue establishing the degree of viability

ECONOMIC LIFE: The amount of time which any income-producing property is able to provide benefits to its owner.

Economic rent: The market rental value of a property at a given point in time

Edge of Gutter Pan: Interface between the edge of pavement and the gutter. Same as Lip of Gutter.

Edge of Pavement: Edge of the paved surface of a street.

EFFECTIVE AGE: The subjective, estimated age of a property based on its condition, rather than the actual time since it was built. Excessive wear and tear can cause a property's effective age to be greater than its actual age.

Effective date: The date on which a registration statement becomes effective and the sale of securities can commence

Effective gross income (EGI): The total income from a property generated by rents and other sources, less a vacancy factor estimated to be appropriate for the property. EGI is expressed as collected income before expenses and debt service.

Effective gross rent (EGR): The net rent generated, after adjusting for tenant improvements and other capital costs, lease commissions and other sales expenses

Effective rent: The actual rental rate to be achieved by the landlord after deducting the value of concessions from the base rental rate paid by a tenant, usually expressed as an average rate over the term of the lease

Effective rent: The actual rental rate to be achieved by the landlord after deducting the value of concessions from the base rental rate paid by a tenant, usually expressed as an average rate over the term of the lease

Electrical: No Def

Electronic Authentication: Any of several methods used to provide proof that a particular document received electronically is genuine, has arrived unaltered and came from the source indicated

Element: A chapter or section of the local general plan that addresses a specific topic and sets forth public policies and programs pertaining to that topic. California Planning Law mandates that each city and county prepare and adopt a general plan containing at least seven specified elements (land use, circulation, open space, conservation, noise, safety, and housing).

Elsinore Valley Municipal Water District: A water district providing water and sewer service to the Lake Elsinore and the surrounding area.

Eminent Domain: The right of the government to 'take' private property for public use or benefit upon payment of just compensation to the owner. (See Condemnation.)

EMINENT DOMAIN: The legal process whereby a government can take ownership of a piece of property in order to convert it to public use. Often, the property owner is paid fair-market value for the property.

Encroachment: The intrusion of a structure that extends, without permission, over a property line, easement boundary or building setback line

ENCROACHMENT: A building or other improvement on one property which invades another property or restricts its usage.

Encroachment Permit: A temporary permit to make use of land owned by another person or entity.

Encumbrance: A right to, or interest in, real property held by someone other than the owner that does not prevent the transfer of fee title

ENCUMBRANCE: A claim against a property. Examples are mortgages, liens and easements.

End Curb Return: The end of a curve joining two curb lines at an intersection. Given in terms of centerline stationing.

End Curve: The end of a horizontal circular curve of a road or utility line, given in terms of either centerline or utility stationing.

End Vertical Curve: The end of a parabolic vertical curve on a road or pressurized utility given in terms of either centerline or utility stationing.

ENERGY EFFICIENCY RATIO: An efficiency rating system for air conditioning units that corresponds to the number of BTU's output per watt of electricity used.

Engineering Geologist: A geologist who analyzes soil conditions. Similar to a Soils Engineer, but does not produce design criteria, only presents findings.

Engineering and other Soft Cost: This includes your engineering and architecture costs such structural, civil, mechanical, electrical, landscape, plumbing and building.

Entitlement: All those processes involved in development up to and including approval of a Tentative Tract Map.

Environment: Under CEQA, 'the physical condition which exists within the area which will be affected by a proposed project, including land, air, water, mineral, flora, fauna, noise and objects of historic or aesthetic significance.' This general plan defines environment to also include social and economic conditions.

Environmental Analysis or Environmental Review: The process mandated by the California Environmental Quality Act to ensure that state environmental policies are implemented, and that the impacts of the proposed project are systematically evaluated and subject to review, before the project is approved.

Environmental Impact: The California Environmental Quality Act requires an assessment of a proposed project or activity to determine whether it will have significant environmental effects on the natural and mad=man-made environments, subject to certain exemptions. If there is no substantial evidence that a significant environmental impact will result, the city adopts a 'negative declaration'. However, if a project may have a significant environmental impact, an Environmental impact Report must be prepared that describes the potential impacts and possible mitigation measures and alternatives to lessen or avoid those impacts. If a federal agency is involved, federal law may require the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement instead of, or in combination with, the EIR.

Environmental Impact Report: A large document detailing existing environmental conditions and the environmental impacts of the proposed development

Environmental impact statement: Documents required by federal and state laws to accompany proposals for major projects and programs that will likely have an impact on the surrounding environment

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA): The US agency responsible for efforts to control air and water pollution, radiation and pesticide hazards, ecological research, and solid waste disposal, it is an executive branch agency run by an appointed administrator, with a budget of $7.5 billion.

Environmental Sensitive Area: Any area in which a plant or animal life of their habitats are either rare or especially valuable because of their special nature or role in an ecosystem and which could be easily disturbed or degraded by human activities and development.

EQUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY ACT (ECOA): U.S. federal law requiring that lenders afford people equal chance of getting credit without discrimination based on race, religion, age, sex etc

Equity: The residual value of a property beyond mortgage or liability

EQUITY: The difference between the fair market value of a property and that amount an owner owes on any mortgages or loans secured by the property.

EQUITY BUILDUP: The natural increase in the amount of equity an owner has in a property, accumulated through market appreciation and debt repayment.

Equity in Home: The money you would have in your property if you were to sell it.

Equivalent Meter Size: A factor assigned to a water meter relative to a standard meter size for a single-family home. (5/8 inch, 3/4 inch) (Example: 1.5 inch meter = 3.33 EMS)

ERISA (Employee Retirement Income Security Act): Legislation passed in 1974 and administered by the Department of Labor that controls the investment activities primarily of corporate and union pension plans. More public pension funds are adopting ERISA-like standards.

Erosion Control Plan: A plan developed in conjunction with the grading plan for a project site, used to identify the methods by which to control or prevent erosion.

ERRORS AND OMISSIONS INSURANCE: An insurance policy taken out by appraisers to cover their liability for any mistakes made during the appraisal process.

Escalation clause: A clause in a lease that provides for the rent to be increased to reflect changes in expenses paid by the landlord such as real estate taxes and operating costs

ESCROW: An amount retained by a third party in a trust to meet a future obligation. Often used in the payment of annual taxes or insurance for real property.

ESCROW ACCOUNT: An account setup by a mortgage servicing company to hold funds with which to pay expenses such as homeowners insurance and property taxes. An extra amount is paid with regular principal and interest payments that go into the escrow account each month.

Escrow agreement: A written agreement made between an escrow agent and the parties to a contract setting forth the basic obligations of the parties, describing the money (or other things of value) to be deposited in escrow, and instructing the escrow agent concerning the disposition of the monies deposited

ESCROW ANALYSIS: An analysis performed by the lender usually once each year to see that the amount of money going into the escrow account each month is correct for the forecasted expenses.

ESCROW DISBURSEMENTS: The payout of funds from an escrow account to pay property expenses such as taxes and insurance.

ESTATE: The total of all property and assets owned by an individual.

Estoppel certificate: A signed statement certifying that certain statements of fact are correct as of the date of the statement and can be relied upon by a third party, including a prospective lender or purchaser

Exaction: A contribution or payment required as a condition of receiving a development permit. It usually refers to fees, dedications, or requirements to make public improvements.

EXAMINATION OF TITLE: The report on the title of a property from the public records or an abstract of the title.

Excavator: A track-mounted backhoe commonly used for trenching. Can also refer to a track-mounted shovel often used in mining.

Exclusive agency listing: A written agreement between a real estate broker and a property owner in which the owner promises to pay a fee or commission to the broker if specified real property is leased during the listing period

EXCLUSIVE LISTING: An agreement between the owner of a property and a real estate agent giving the agent exclusive right to sell the property.

EXECUTOR: The person named in a will to administer the estate.

Exit strategy: Strategy available to investors when they desire to liquidate all or part of their investment

FAA Pt 77: Code section of the FAA regulating law that controls setbacks and flight paths.

FACADE: The front exposure of any building. Often used to describe an artificial or false front which is not consistent with the construction of the rest of the building.

Face of Curb or Front Face of Curb: The face of the curb from the Top of Curb to Gutter Flow Line.

Face rental rate: The asking rental rate published by the landlord

Face rental rate: The asking rental rate published by the landlord

Facility space: The floor area in hospitality properties dedicated to operating departments such as restaurants, health clubs and gift shops that service multiple guests or the general public on an interactive basis not directly related to room occupancy

Facility space: The floor area in hospitality properties dedicated to operating departments such as restaurants, health clubs and gift shops that service multiple guests or the general public on an interactive basis not directly related to room occupancy

FAD (funds available for distribution): Funds from operations less deductions for cash expenditures for leasing commissions and tenant improvement costs

FAD (funds available for distribution): Funds from operations less deductions for cash expenditures for leasing commissions and tenant improvement costs

FAD multiple: Share price of a REIT divided by its funds available for distribution

FAD multiple: Share price of a REIT divided by its funds available for distribution

FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT: A federal law regulating the way credit agencies disclose consumer credit reports and the remedies available to consumers for disputing and correcting mistakes on their credit history.

Fair market value: The sale price at which a property would change hands between a willing buyer and willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell and both having reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts

Fair market value: The sale price at which a property would change hands between a willing buyer and willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell and both having reasonable knowledge of the relevant facts

FAIR MARKET VALUE: The price at which two unrelated parties, under no duress, are willing to transact business.

FANNIE MAE: A private, shareholder-owned company that works to make sure mortgage money is available for people to purchase homes. Created by Congress in 1938, Fannie Mae is the nation's largest source of financing for home mortgages.

Fannie Mae (FNMA): The Federal National Mortgage Association - A quasi-governmental corporation authorized to sell debentures in order to supplement private mortgage funds by buying and selling FHA (Federal Housing Administration) and VA (Veterans Affairs) loans at market prices.

Fannie Mae (FNMA): The Federal National Mortgage Association - A quasi-governmental corporation authorized to sell debentures in order to supplement private mortgage funds by buying and selling FHA (Federal Housing Administration) and VA (Veterans Affairs) loans at market prices.

FASCIA: The boards that enclose the eaves.

Fault: A break in the rocks of the Earth's crust along which movement may occur, causing earthquakes.

Federal Aviation Administration: The federal agency that is responsible for the safe and efficient movement o aircraft through the National Airspace System. It has broad legislative authority to create and enforce Federal Aviation Regulations.

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION (FDIC): The U.S. Government agency created in 1933 which maintains the stability of and public confidence in the nation's financial system by insuring deposits and promoting safe and sound banking practices.

FEDERAL HOUSING ADMINISTRATION (FHA): A sub-agency of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development created in the 1930's to facilitate the purchase of homes by low-income, first-time home buyers. It currently provides federally-subsidized mortgage insurance for private lenders.

FEE APPRAISER: A certified, professional appraiser who forms an opinion of the fair market value of property and receives a set fee in exchange.

FEE SIMPLE: A complete, unencumbered ownership right in a piece of property.

FEE SIMPLE ESTATE: A form or ownership, or holding title to real estate. It is the most complete form of title, having an unconditional and unlimited interest of perpetual duration.

Fee simple interest: When an owners owns all the rights in a real estate parcel

Fee simple interest: When an owners owns all the rights in a real estate parcel

Fees: Costs incurred during a development project and charged by a governing agency such as a City or County to cover costs or mitigation measures the governing agency deems necessary as a result of the development, including, but not limited to, Development Impact Fees (DIFs), Plan Check and Inspection Fees, Permit Fees, and Environmental Fees.

FFO (funds from operations): A ratio intended to highlight the amount of cash generated by a company's real estate portfolio relative to its total operating cash flow. FFO is equal to net income, excluding gains (or losses) from debt restructuring and sales of property, plus depreciation and amortization.

FFO (funds from operations): A ratio intended to highlight the amount of cash generated by a company's real estate portfolio relative to its total operating cash flow. FFO is equal to net income, excluding gains (or losses) from debt restructuring and sales of property, plus depreciation and amortization.

FFO multiple: Share price of a REIT divided by its funds from operations

FFO multiple: Share price of a REIT divided by its funds from operations

FHA MORTGAGE: A mortgage that is insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA).

Fiduciary: The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) defines a fiduciary as any person who exercises any discretionary authority or control over a plan's asset management, administration or disposition, or renders investment advice for a fee or other compensation with respect to a plan's assets. Fiduciaries may include staff, trustees, investment board members, administrators, consultants, actuaries and investment managers. ERISA permits civil action to be brought by a beneficiary against any fiduciary that has breached its fiduciary duty. Fiduciaries can be held personally liable for any losses to a plan resulting from such breach.

Fiduciary: The Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) defines a fiduciary as any person who exercises any discretionary authority or control over a plan's asset management, administration or disposition, or renders investment advice for a fee or other compensation with respect to a plan's assets. Fiduciaries may include staff, trustees, investment board members, administrators, consultants, actuaries and investment managers. ERISA permits civil action to be brought by a beneficiary against any fiduciary that has breached its fiduciary duty. Fiduciaries can be held personally liable for any losses to a plan resulting from such breach.

Final Subdivision Map (Or Plat): A map of an approved subdivision filed in the county recorder's office. It shows surveyed lot lines, street-rights-of-way, easements, monuments, and distances, angles, and bearings, pertaining to the exact dimensions of all parcels, street lines and so forth.

Final Tract Map: Final recorded map showing legal boundaries, easements, and other encumbrances of a subdivision in accordance with the Subdivision Map Act.

FINAL VALUE ESTIMATE: The opinion of value of a piece of property resulting from an appraisal following the USPAP guidelines.

Financing: Indicate what type of loan you will need

Financing Fees: This includes loan origination fees, interest reserve, appraisal costs and other lender costs.

Findings: The formal determinations or conclusions of a city in support of decision. Findings must be based on the evidence presented and prepared by the decision maker. A requirement to produce findings of fact is often found in due process rules of state legislation and in California applies to most discretionary permits.

Fine Grading: Also known as precise grading, this is the finishing process for building pads and roads created during the rough grading process. This process also ensures proper drainage per the design drawings.

Finished Grade: The elevation of a point on a site after grading is complete.

Finished Lot: A term used to describe the extent of development of a property. A typical definition would be development of raw land to include streets, curb and gutter, wet utilities and laterals. The buyer (homebuilder) would build houses on a finished lot. The definition of a finished lot may vary based on the transaction between a buyer and a seller.

Finished Surface: The elevation of a point on a site after grading is complete.

Fire Hydrant: Reference to a fire hydrant depicted on a map

First mortgage: The senior mortgage that, by reason of its position, has priority over all junior encumbrances. The holder has a priority right to payment in the event of default.

First mortgage: The senior mortgage that, by reason of its position, has priority over all junior encumbrances. The holder has a priority right to payment in the event of default.

FIRST MORTGAGE: The primary loan or mortgage secured by a piece of property.

First refusal right, or right of first refusal: A lease clause giving a tenant the first opportunity to buy a property or lease additional space in a property at the same price and on the same terms and conditions as those contained in a third-party offer that the owner has expressed a willingness to accept

First refusal right, or right of first refusal: A lease clause giving a tenant the first opportunity to buy a property or lease additional space in a property at the same price and on the same terms and conditions as those contained in a third-party offer that the owner has expressed a willingness to accept

First-generation space: Generally refers to new space that is currently available for lease and has never before been occupied by a tenant

First-generation space: Generally refers to new space that is currently available for lease and has never before been occupied by a tenant

First-loss position: The position in a security that will suffer the first economic loss if the underlying assets lose value or are foreclosed on. The first-loss position carries a higher risk and a higher yield.

First-loss position: The position in a security that will suffer the first economic loss if the underlying assets lose value or are foreclosed on. The first-loss position carries a higher risk and a higher yield.

Fixed costs: Costs that do not fluctuate in proportion to the level of sales or production

Fixed costs: Costs that do not fluctuate in proportion to the level of sales or production

Fixed rate: An interest rate that remains constant over the term of the loan

Fixed rate: An interest rate that remains constant over the term of the loan

FIXED-RATE MORTGAGE (FRM): A mortgage which has a fixed rate of interest over the life of the loan.

FIXTURE: Any piece of personal property which becomes permanently affixed to a piece of real property.

Flared End Section: A pipe fitting placed at the discharge point of a pipe, used to dissipate flow velocity and thereby reduce erosion.

FLASHING: The metal used around the base of roof mounted equipment, or at the junction of angles used to prevent leaking.

Flat fee: A fee paid to an adviser or manager for managing a portfolio of real estate assets, typically stated as a flat percentage of gross asset value, net asset value or invested capital

Flat fee: A fee paid to an adviser or manager for managing a portfolio of real estate assets, typically stated as a flat percentage of gross asset value, net asset value or invested capital

Flex Coupling: Rubber coupling used to join two pieces of pipe. Can be used to connect PVC to clay or cast iron above or below ground. Also used for repairs, and attached by use of steel band clamps.

Flex space: A building that provides a configuration allowing occupants a flexible amount of office or showroom space in combination with manufacturing, laboratory, warehouse, distribution, etc.

Flex space: A building that provides a configuration allowing occupants a flexible amount of office or showroom space in combination with manufacturing, laboratory, warehouse, distribution, etc.

Float: The number of freely traded shares in the hands of the public

Float: The number of freely traded shares in the hands of the public

Floating Zone (or Design District): A zoning district that is described in the text of the zoning ordinance but not yet mapped as a specific district in a specific location. The zone would be mapped (and cease to 'float') when the city enacts an amendment to the zoning ordinance applying the district to a particular area.

FLOOD INSURANCE: Supplemental insurance which covers a home owner for any loss due to water damage from a flood. Often required by lenders for homes located in FEMA-designated flood zones.

Flood, 100-Year: The magnitude of a flood expected to occur on the average of every 100 years, based on historical data. The 100-year flood has a 1/100, or one percent, chance of occurring in any given year.

Floor Area Ratio: The formula set by local ordinance that establishes the maximum permitted building volume as a multiple of the area of the lot. For example, a ratio of six on a 5,000-square-foot lot would allow a three-story building with 10,000 square feet on each floor, or a six-story building with 5,000 square feet on each floor, or a variety of similar combinations as long as the total floor area did not exceed 30,000 square feet.

Floor area ratio (FAR): The ratio of the gross square footage of a building to the square footage of the land on which it is situated

Floor area ratio (FAR): The ratio of the gross square footage of a building to the square footage of the land on which it is situated

Floor Area, Gross: The enclosed area of a building measured from an exterior surface to exterior surface, but excluding the following: exterior balconies and galleries covered, but not enclosed, a patio, an atrium, and the like, if not covered, common-use areas for all tenants, garages and carports, and major mechanical equipment rooms.

FLOOR PLAN: The representation of a building which shows the basic outline of the structure, as well as detailed information about the positioning of rooms, hallways, doors, stairs and other features. Often includes detailed information about other fixtures and amenities.

Flow Line: Same as invert elevation, typically used for storm drain

FLUE: The furnace exhaust pipe, usually going through the roof.

FLUSH VALVE: The valve between the toilet bowl and the tank.

Footing: The base or bottom of a foundation pier, wall, or column that is usually wider than the upper portion of the foundation. The added width at the bottom spreads the load over a wider area and distributes the load into the soil or supporting piles and prevents overturning.

FOOTING: The partially buried support for a vertical structural member such as a post.

Force Main: A pressurized sewer line fed by a lift station, carries pumped wastewater to a point where other pumps or gravity can take over.

Force majeure: A force that cannot be controlled by the parties to a contract and prevents them from complying with the provisions of the contract. This includes acts of God such as a flood or a hurricane, or acts of man such as a strike, fire or war.

Force majeure: A force that cannot be controlled by the parties to a contract and prevents them from complying with the provisions of the contract. This includes acts of God such as a flood or a hurricane, or acts of man such as a strike, fire or war.

Foreclosure: The process by which the trustee or servicer takes over a property from a borrower on behalf of the lender

Foreclosure: The process by which the trustee or servicer takes over a property from a borrower on behalf of the lender

FORECLOSURE: The process whereby a lender can claim the property used by a borrower to secure a mortgage and sell the property to meet the obligations of the loan.

FORFEITURE: The loss of property or money due to the failure to meet the obligations of a mortgage or loan secured by that property.

Forward commitments: Contractual obligations to perform certain financing activities upon the satisfaction of any stated conditions. Usually used to describe a lender's obligation to fund a mortgage.

Forward commitments: Contractual obligations to perform certain financing activities upon the satisfaction of any stated conditions. Usually used to describe a lender's obligation to fund a mortgage.

Foundation: A type of footing, the base of a building that transmits loads from the building to the underlying ground.

FOUNDATION: The solid structural element upon which a structure is built.

Freddie Mac (FHLMC): Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. - a corporation established by the Federal Home Loan Bank to issue mortgage-backed securities

Freddie Mac (FHLMC): Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. - a corporation established by the Federal Home Loan Bank to issue mortgage-backed securities

French Drain: A trench filled with permeable gravel sloping to an outlet.

FRONTAGE: The segment of a property that runs along a point of access, such as a street or water front.

Fuel Modification: The removal of vegetation in the vicinity of a structure to prevent the spread of fire. There are different levels of removal based on proximity to a structure.

Full recourse: A loan on which an endorser or guarantor is liable in the event of default by the borrower

Full recourse: A loan on which an endorser or guarantor is liable in the event of default by the borrower

Full-service rent: An all-inclusive rental rate that includes operating expenses and real estate taxes for the first year. The tenant is generally still responsible for any increase in operating expenses over the base year amount.

Full-service rent: An all-inclusive rental rate that includes operating expenses and real estate taxes for the first year. The tenant is generally still responsible for any increase in operating expenses over the base year amount.

Fully diluted shares: The number of shares of common stock that would be outstanding if all convertible securities were converted to common shares

Fully diluted shares: The number of shares of common stock that would be outstanding if all convertible securities were converted to common shares

FUNCTIONAL OBSOLESCENCE: A decrease in the value of property due to a feature or lack thereof which renders the property undesirable. Functional obsolescence can also occur when the surrounding area changes, rendering the property unusable for its originally intended purpose.

Future proposed space: Space in a proposed commercial development that is not yet under construction or where no construction start date has been set. It also may refer to the future phases of a multi-phase project not yet built.

Future proposed space: Space in a proposed commercial development that is not yet under construction or where no construction start date has been set. It also may refer to the future phases of a multi-phase project not yet built.

GABLE ROOF: A steeply angled, triangular roof.

Gallons per Day: Used in measurement of flow of water and wastewater.

GALVANIZED PIPE: Iron pipe with a galvanized (zinc) coating.

GAMBREL ROOF: A ''barn-like'' roof, where the upper portion of the roof is less-steeply angled than the lower part.

Garage Finished Floor: Finished surface elevation of a garage. Typically the lowest point in a house with no basement.

Gate Valve: A valve in water lines that opens by sliding a gate out of the path of the fluid within the pipe. Typically acts as an on-off valve, but may also be used for regulation of fluid flow.

General contractor: The prime contractor who contracts for the construction of an entire building or project, rather than just a portion of the work. The general contractor hires subcontractors, coordinates all work and is responsible for payment to subcontractors.

GENERAL LIEN: A broad-based claim against several properties owned by a defaulting party.

General partner: A member of a partnership who has authority to bind the partnership and shares in the profits and losses of the partnership

General Plan: A document developed by a city or county containing a statement of development policies including a map and text setting forth the objectives of the plan. The general plan must include certain state mandated elements related to use, circulation, housing, conservation, open-space, noise, and safety.

Geo-grid: One of many plastic mats commonly used to increase slope stability or to stabilize the bottom of a wet excavation.

Geologic Contact Lines: Geologic Contact Lines

Geologic Map: A special purpose map showing subsurface geologic features, such as locations of rock formations, alluvium/colluvium, in the U.S., geologic maps are usually superimposed over a topographic map.

Geologic Review: The analysis of geologic hazards, including all potential seismic hazards, surface ruptures, liquefaction, landsliding, mudsliding, and the potential for erosion and sedimentation.

GEORGIAN: A classic, English-style hose characterized by simple rectangular shape and multiple stories.

GFI: Ground Fault Interrupter. A type of circuit breaker required in areas where water is present.

GINNIE MAE: A wholly owned corporation created in 1968 within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to serve low-to moderate-income homebuyers.

GIRDER: A main supporting beam.

Going-in capitalization rate: The capitalization rate computed by dividing the projected first year's net operating income by the value of the property

GOVERNMENT MORTGAGE: Any mortgage insured by a government agency, such as the FHA or VA.

GRADE: The slope of land around a building. Also ground level.

Grade Break: A change in the slope of a road or utility.

Grade-checker: Normally an operating engineer whose purpose is to verify elevations throughout the site so that finished grades match planned grades within a given tolerance.

Grading Takeoff: Calculating the volumetric difference between the existing terrain and design terrain

Graduated lease: A lease, generally long-term in nature, in which rent varies depending upon future contingencies

Granny' Unit: A dwelling unit for the sole occupancy of one adult or two adult persons who are age 62 or over. 'Granny units' are authorized by and subject to Section 65852.1 of the California Government Code.

Grant: To bestow or transfer an interest in real property by deed or other instrument

Grantee: One to whom a grant is made

GRANTEE: Any person who is given ownership of a piece of property.

Grantor: The person making the grant

GRANTOR: Any person who gives away ownership of a piece of property.

Gross Acreage: Total acreage related to the project including buildable acreage, open space, and commercial acreage.

GROSS AREA: The sum total of all floor space, including areas such as stairways and closet space. Often measured based on external wall lengths.

Gross building area: The sum of areas at each floor level, including basements, mezzanines and penthouses included within the principal outside faces of the exterior walls and neglecting architectural setbacks or projections

Gross investment in real estate (historic cost): The total amount of equity and debt invested in real estate investments, including the gross purchase price, all acquisition fees and costs, plus subsequent capital improvements, less proceeds from sales and partial sales

Gross leasable area: The portion of total floor area designed for tenants' occupancy and exclusive use, including storage areas. It is the total area that produces rental income.

Gross lease: A lease in which the tenant pays a flat sum for rent out of which the landlord must pay all expenses such as taxes, insurance, maintenance, utilities, etc.

Gross real estate asset value: The market value of the total real estate investments under management in a fund or individual accounts. It typically includes the total value of all equity positions, debt positions and joint venture ownership positions, including the amount of any mortgages or notes payable related to those assets.

Gross real estate investment value: The market value of real estate investments held in a portfolio without regard to debt, equal to the total of real estate investments as shown on a statement of assets and liabilities on a market-value basis

Gross returns: Returns generated from the operation of real estate without dilution for adviser or manager fees

Ground rent: Rent paid to the owner for use of land, normally on which to build a building. Generally, the arrangement is that of a long-term lease (e.g. 99 years) with the lessor retaining title to the land.

GROUTING: Material used around ceramic tile.

Growth Management (Growth Control, Land Use Development Management): The use by a community of a wide range of techniques in combination to permit it to determine its own amount, type, and rate of growth and to channel it into designated areas.

Guarantor: One who makes a guaranty

Guaranty: Agreement whereby the guarantor assures satisfaction of the debt of another or performs the obligation of another if and when the debtor fails to do so

GUTTER: The trough around the edge of the roof that catches and diverts rain.

Gutter Flow Line: The point where the gutter and curb face meet.

Habitat: The physical location or type of environment in which an organism or biological population lives or occurs.

HALF-SECTION: 320 acres.

Handicapped: A person determined to have a physical impairment or mental disorder expected to be of long or indefinite duration. Many such impairments or disorders are of such nature that a person's ability to live independently can be improved by appropriate housing conditions.

Hard cost: The cost of actually constructing property improvements

Hard Costs: Costs directly associated with construction (site prep, water, streets, etc)

HAZARD INSURANCE: Insurance covering damage to a property caused by hazards such as fire, wind and accident.

Hazardous Material: AN injurious substance, including (among others) pesticides, herbicides, poisons, toxic metals and chemicals, liquefied natural gas, explosives, volatile chemicals, and nuclear fuels.

HEADER: The framing elements above an opening such as a window or door.

HEARTH: The floor of a fireplace or the area immediately in front of it.

HEIGHT ZONING: A municipal restriction on the maximum height of any building or other structure.

HIDDEN AMENITIES: Assets of a property which contribute to its value, but are not readily apparent. Examples might include upgraded or premium building materials.

High Density Polyethylene: A type of plastic pipe used for private storm drain, (give examples of private storm drain)

High Point: The highest point of elevation in a road, utility, or graded area.

Highest and best use: The reasonably probable and legal use of vacant land or an improved property that is physically possible, appropriately supported, financially feasible and that results in the highest value

HIGHEST AND BEST USE: The most profitable and likely use of a property. Selected from reasonably probable and legal alternative uses, which are found to be physically possible, appropriately supported and financially feasible to result in the highest possible land value.

High-rise: In the central business district, this could mean a building higher than 25 stories above ground level, but in suburban markets, it generally refers to buildings higher than seven or eight stories.

Historic Preservation: The preservation of historically significant structures and neighborhoods in as near authentic form and design as possible.

Holdbacks: A portion of a loan commitment that is not funded until an additional requirement is met, such as completion of construction

Holding period: The length of time an investor expects to own a property from purchase to sale

Hold-over tenant: A tenant retaining possession of the leased premises after the expiration of a lease

HOME EQUITY CONVERSION MORTGAGE (HECM): Also known as a reverse annuity mortgage. It allows home owners (usually older) to convert equity in the home into cash. Normally paid by the lender in monthly payments. HECM's typically do not have to be repaid until the borrower is no longer occupying the home.

HOME EQUITY LINE OF CREDIT: A type of mortgage loan that allows the borrower to draw cash against the equity in his home.

HOME INSPECTION: A complete examination of a building to determine its structural integrity and uncover any defects in materials or workmanship which may adversely affect the property or decrease its value.

HOME INSPECTOR: A person who performs professional home inspections. Usually, with an extensive knowledge of house construction methods, common house problems, how to identify those problems and how to correct them.

Home Occupation: A use, which may be commercial enterprise, conducted in a residential area by the inhabitants of the dwelling. The commercial use should be clearly incidental and secondary to the use of the premises for dwelling purposes and must not change the character of the dwelling, premises, or neighborhood, or cause significant impact or nuisance.

HOMEOWNER'S ASSOCIATION: An organization of home owners in a particular neighborhood or development formed to facilitate the maintenance of common areas and to enforce any building restrictions or covenants.

HOMEOWNER'S INSURANCE: A policy which covers a home owner for any loss of property due to accident, intrusion or hazard.

HOMEOWNER'S WARRANTY: An insurance policy covering the repair of systems and appliances within the home for the coverage period.

Hook: The large hook on the rear stinger of a twin-engine scraper.

Housing and Community Development Department of the State of California: The state agency principally charged with assessing whether, and planning to insure that, communities meet the housing needs of very-low, low-, and moderate-income households.

Housing and Urban Development, U.S. Dept. of: A cabinet-level department of the federal government which administers federal housing and community development programs.

Housing Authority, Local: Local housing agency established in state law, subject to local activation and operation. Originally intended to manage certain federal subsidies, but vested with broad powers to develop and manage other forms of affordable housing.

Housing Need: A local share of the regional housing units assumed by each Council of Governments to be 'needed'. Housing need is distinguished from housing demand, which is a function of marketing activities. Housing projections represent probable levels of housing construction activity in each jurisdiction of each county.

HUD MEDIAN INCOME: Median family income for a particular county or metropolitan statistical area (MSA), as estimated by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

HUD-1 STATEMENT: A standardized, itemized list, published by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), of all anticipated CLOSING COSTS connected with a particular property purchase.

HVAC: The acronym for heating, ventilating and air conditioning

Hybrid debt: A mortgage position with equity-like participation features in both cash flow and the appreciation of the property at the time of sale or refinance

Hydraulic Grade Line: The static head of water. For storm drains under pressure flow, it can be represented by the height relative to the invert of the storm drain to which water would rise if a tube were inserted in the storm drain soffit. A measure of pressure within the pipe.

Hydrology Report: A report, prepared by a registered civil engineer, outlining all existing and proposed storm water flows on a development site. The report contains recommendations for conveying flows through the site and the need to retain or detain the increase in flows.

Hydroseed: A mixture of water and plant seeds, sprayed from a pump truck onto a surface to be landscaped. Generally requires irrigation only until the seeds take root.

Impact Fees: Fees levied on the developer of a project by the city as compensation for unmitigated impacts the project will produce.

Implied cap rate: Net operating income divided by the sum of a REIT's equity market capitalization and its total outstanding debt

Import (Borrow) & Export: Trucking of dirt to or from a site is one of the least desirable things to do from an engineering standpoint. Trucking is expensive and often is an indication of poor planning, although, it is sometimes unavoidable. Import of fill material from an outside source to a site in order to achieve a ?balanced? finish product occurs more often than its counter-part, export. In most instances a location can be found for any excess materials by a slight change in design elevations to areas such as parks, golf courses, open spaces, commercial sites, etc. Often, once the site has been certified for line and grade by the agency, export is created with spoils from utility trenches, footings/foundations and driveway/sidewalk/fine grading. Some owners use the area between back of curb and front yards to accommodate these spoils. Each lot will create between 200 to 300 cubic yards of spoil depending on lot/structure design depicted on the precise grading plan. Measurement and payment for import/export is generally performed using theoretical quantities or by the comparison of topos of the cut area before and after operations.

IMPROVED LAND: Any parcel of land which has been changed from its natural state through the creation of roads, buildings or other structures.

Improvement Drawings: Detailed construction plans, smaller in scale than a tract map, and subject to ministerial approval only

IMPROVEMENT RATIO: The comparative value of an improved piece of land to its natural, unaltered state.

Improvements: In the context of leasing, the term typically refers to the improvements made to or inside a building but may include any permanent structure or other development, such as a street, sidewalk, utilities, etc.

IMPROVEMENTS: Any item added to vacant land with the intent of increasing its value or usability.

Incentive fee: Applies to fee structures where the amount of the fee that is charged is determined by the performance of the real estate assets under management

INCOME APPROACH: The process of estimating the value of property by considering the present value of a stream of income generated by the property.

Income capitalization value: The indication of value derived for an income-producing property by converting its anticipated benefits into property value through direct capitalization of expected income or by discounting the annual cash flows for the holding period at a specified yield rate

Income property: Real estate that is owned or operated to produce revenue

INCOME PROPERTY: A piece of property whose highest and best use is the generation of income through rents or other sources.

Income return: The percentage of the total return that is generated by the income from operations of a property, fund or account

Incorporated [City]: An area of land that is under the jurisdiction of a city government.

INDEPENDENT APPRAISAL: An estimation of value created by a professional, certified appraiser with no vested interest in the value of the property.

Indirect costs: Development costs other than direct material and labor costs that are directly related to the construction of improvements, including administrative and office expenses, commissions, architectural, engineering and financing costs

Indirect Costs: Synonymous with soft costs, category of costs used to describe expenditures related to all consultants, impact fees, plan check and inspection, and bonds.

Individual account management: Accounts established for individual plan sponsors or other investors for investment in real estate, where a firm acts as an adviser in acquiring and/or managing a direct real estate portfolio

Infill Development: Development or reuse of land within an area already largely developed.

Inflation: The annual rate at which consumer prices increase

Inflation hedge: An investment that tends to increase in value at a rate greater than inflation and helps contribute to the preservation of the purchasing power of a portfolio

Infrastructure: Streets, water and sewer lines, and other public facilities necessary to the functioning of an urban area.

Initial public offering (IPO): The first time a private company offers securities for sale to the public

Initial Study: A preliminary analysis by the city of a proposed project that is intended to determine whether an Environmental Impact Report must be prepared or if a Negative Declaration will be sufficient. The term is more fully defined in CEQA.

Inlet Grate: A grate on top of an inlet.

Inlet Structure: Usually a headwall, or a headwall with wingwalls that accepts storm drain water into a culvert

INSPECTION: The examination of a piece of property, its buildings or other amenities.

Institutional-grade property: Various types of real estate properties generally owned or financed by tax-exempt institutional investors. Core investments typically include office, retail, industrial and apartments. Specialty investments include hotels, congregate care facilities, land beneath existing improvements, vacant land, mixed-use properties (i.e., a property containing at least two property types) and mobile home parks.

INSURABLE TITLE: The title to property which has been sufficiently reviewed by a title insurance company, such that they are willing to insure it as free and clear.

Insurance company separate account: A real estate investment vehicle that may only be offered by life insurance companies. This ownership arrangement enables an ERISA-governed fund to avoid the creation of unrelated taxable income for certain types of property investments and investment structures.

Interest: The price paid for the use of capital

INTEREST RATE: Interest rate is set by your lender and dependent upon the amount of risk involved in issuing a loan.

Interest Paid: This shows the total interest cost over the life of the loan and dependent upon outstanding balance.

Interest-only strip: A derivative security consisting of all or part of the interest portion of the underlying loan or security

Interior Block Wall: Masonry block wall separating lots and structures. This cost is typically incurred by a merchant builder.

Internal rate of return (IRR): A discounted cash-flow analysis calculation used to determine the potential total return of a real estate asset during an anticipated holding period

In-Tract: Improvements directly attributable to any individual phase or planning area that are not necessary for construction of another phase or planning area. (Better definition?)

Inventory: All space within a certain proscribed market without regard to its availability or condition

Invert Elevation: The flow line elevation of a pipe, the inside bottom of a culvert or other conduit

Investment committee: The governing body overseeing corporate pension investments. Also, the subcommittee of a board of trustees charged with developing investment policy for board approval.

Investment manager: Any company or individual that assumes discretion over a specified amount of real estate capital, invests that capital in assets via a separate account, co-investment program or commingled fund, and provides asset management

Investment policy: A document that formalizes an institution's guidelines for investment and asset management. An investment policy typically will contain goals and objectives

INVESTMENT PROPERTY: Any piece of property that is expected to generate a financial return. This may come as the result of periodic rents or through appreciation of the property value over time.

Investment strategy: The investment parameters used by the manager in structuring the portfolio and selecting the real estate assets for a fund or account. This includes a description of the types, locations and sizes of properties to be considered, the ownership positions that will be used, and the stages of the investment lifecycle.

Investment structures: Unleveraged acquisitions, leveraged acquisitions, traditional debt, participating debt, convertible debt, triple-net leases and joint ventures

Investment-grade CMBS: Commercial mortgage-backed securities with ratings of "AAA," "AA," "A" or "BBB"

Investor status: In reporting to clients and consultants, all investors are divided into two categories

Irrigation: The practice of watering vegetation.

JAMB: The side of a door frame.

Joint Powers Authority: A legal arrangement that enables two or more units of government to share authority in order to plan and carry out a specific program or set of programs that serves both units.

JOINT TENANCY: A situation where two or more parties own a piece of property together. Each of the owners has an equal share, and may not dispose of or alter that share without the consent of the other owners.

Joint venture: An investment entity formed by one or more entities to acquire or develop and manage real property and/or other assets

JOISTS: Horizontal beams laid on edge to support flooring or a ceiling.

JUDGMENT: An official court decision. If the judgment requires payment from one party to another, the court may put a lien against the payee's property as collateral.

JUDICIAL FORECLOSURE: A type of foreclosure conducted as a civil suit in a court of law.

JUMBO LOAN: A mortgage loan for an amount greater than the limits set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Often called non-conforming loans.

Junction Structure: Any structure built to connect two or more lengths of storm drain, may or may not have an access manhole

Just compensation: Compensation that is fair to both the owner and the public when property is taken for public use through condemnation (eminent domain)

LALLY COLUMN: A concrete filled steel pipe used to support beams.

Land: This refers to the land, any current improvements and fees for the subject property.

Land Residual Analysis: This calculates the net value of a land parcel after factoring in the costs required to build a home on it. The information contained herein has been obtained from sources we deem to be reliable and is based on data and facts that we believe to be reason.

Land Residual Value: The net value of a parcel of land after factoring in the costs required to bring it to a finished lot status.

Land Use Element: A mandatory component of a general plan, the land use element designates the proposed distribution and intensity of uses of land within the jurisdiction's planning area. This element is the central framework for the entire plan and must be correlated with the other elements.

Land Use Plan: A component of a Local Coastal Program. (See 'Local Coastal Program') Subjects required in the land use plan include: coastal access, marine/water resources, sensitive habitats, hazard areas, recreational/commercial boating, public works/agriculture, recreation/visitor-serving facilities, industrial/energy facility development, housing, visual resources, planning/locating new development, and diking, dredging, and filling.

Landlord's warrant: A warrant from a landlord to levy upon a tenant's personal property (e.g., furniture, etc.) and to sell this property at a public sale to compel payment of the rent or the observance of some other stipulation in the lease

Landmark: Refers to a building or site having historic, architectural, social, or cultural significance that is designated for the preservation by the local, state, or federal government. A significant tree may also be designated as a landmark.

Landscape architecture plans: Plans detailing the design of landscaping for a project, created by a licensed landscape architect, which require approval by the local government.

Landscaping Budget: This includes front, side, backyard landscaping and hard scape, pools, water features, bbq, and additional costs not included.

LATE CHARGE: An extra charge, or penalty added to a regular mortgage payment when the payment is made late by an amount of time specified in the original loan document.

LATENT DEFECTS: Any defect in a piece of property which is not readily apparent, but which has an impact of the value. Structural damage or termite infestation would be examples of latent defects.

Lead manager: The investment banking firm that handles the principal responsibilities for coordinating the new issuance of securities

Leapfrog Development: Development that occurs well beyond the existing limits of urban development and thus leaves intervening vacant land behind. This pattern of development is often a component of 'urban sprawl'.

Lease: An agreement whereby the owner of real property gives the right of possession to another for a specified period of time and for a specified consideration

LEASE: A contract between a property owner and a tenant specifying the payment amount, terms and conditions, as well as the length of time the contract will be in force.

Lease agreement: The formal legal document entered into between a landlord and a tenant to reflect the terms of the negotiations between them

Lease commencement date: The date usually constitutes the commencement of the term of the lease, whether or not the tenant has actually taken possession, so long as beneficial occupancy is possible.

Lease expiration exposure schedule: A listing of the total square footage of all current leases that expire in each of the next five years, without regard to renewal options

LEASE OPTION: A lease agreement that gives the tenant an option to buy the property. Usually, a portion of the regular monthly rent payment will be applied towards the down payment.

LEASEHOLD ESTATE: A type of property ''ownership'' where the buyer actually has a long-term lease on the property.

Leasehold interest: The right to hold or use property for a fixed period of time at a given price, without transfer of ownership

Left: Often seen on improvement plans, denotes left of centerline.

Legal description: A geographical description identifying a parcel by government survey, metes and bounds, or lot numbers of a recorded plat including a description of any portion that is subject to an easement or reservation

LEGAL DESCRIPTION: The description of a piece of property, identifying its specific location in terms established by the municipality or other jurisdiction in which the property resides. Often related in specific distances from a known landmark or intersection.

Legal owner: The legal owner has title to the property, although the title may actually carry no rights to the property other than as a lien.

LENDER: The person or entity who loans funds to a buyer. In return, the lender will receive periodic payments, including principal and interest amounts.

Letter of credit: A commitment by a bank or other person that the issuer will honor drafts or other demands for payment upon full compliance with the conditions specified in the letter of credit. Letters of credit are often used in place of cash deposited with the landlord in satisfying the security deposit provisions of a lease.

Letter of intent: A preliminary agreement stating the proposed terms for a final contract

Level of Service: A scale that measures the operating capacity likely to be encountered on a roadway or at the intersection of roadways, based on the volume-to-capacity ratio, with levels ranging from A to F. LOS A represents the lowest volume-to-capacity ratio and the best level of service. LOS F indicates that volume exceeds capacity and severe traffic congestion.

Leverage: The use of credit to finance a portion of the costs of purchasing or developing a real estate investment. Positive leverage occurs when the interest rate is lower than the capitalization rate or projected internal rate of return. Negative leverage occurs when the current return on equity is diminished by the employment of debt.

LIABILITIES: A person's outstanding debt obligations.

LIABILITY INSURANCE: Insurance that covers against potential lawsuit brought against a property owner for alleged negligence resulting in damage to another party.

LIBOR (London InterBank Offered Rate): The interest rate offered on Eurodollar deposits traded between banks, also called swaps

Lien: A claim or encumbrance against property used to secure a debt, a charge or the performance of some act

Lien: A legal hold or claim of one person on the property of another as security for a debt, (i.e. Tax lien, mechanics lien, mortgage)

LIEN: Any claim against a piece of property resulting from a debt or other obligation.

Lien waiver: Waiver of a mechanic's lien rights that is often required before the general contractor can receive a draw under the payment provisions of a construction contract. It may also be required before the owner can receive a draw on a construction loan.

LIFE CAP: A limit on how far the interest rate can move for an Adjustable Rate Mortgage.

Lifecycle: The various developmental stages of a property

Lift Station: An assembly of a wet well, a level control, and one or more pumps designed to take the flow from a gravity sewer system and boost it over a grade where the installation of gravity sewer lines is impossible or impractical.

Like-kind property: A term used in an exchange of property held for productive use in a trade or business or for investment. Unless cash is received, the tax consequences of the exchange are postponed pursuant to Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code.

LIKE-KIND PROPERTY: Any property which is substantially similar to another property.

Limited partnership: A type of partnership comprised of one or more general partners who manage the business and are personally liable for partnership debts, and one or more limited partners who contribute capital and share in profits but who take no part in running the business and incur no liability above the amount contributed

LINE OF CREDIT: An extension of credit for a certain amount for a specific amount of time. To be used by the borrower at his discretion.

Liquefaction: Process by which saturated, unconsolidated soil or sand is converted into a suspension. It can be caused when flowing water reduces the friction between sand particles or when a sudden change in pressure or repeated shock acting on water saturated or supersaturated sediments (as in an earthquake).

LIQUID ASSET: Any asset which can be quickly converted into cash at little or no cost, or cash itself.

Liquidity: The ease with which assets can be converted to cash without loss in value

Listing agreement: An agreement between the owner of a property and a real estate broker giving the broker authorization to attempt to sell or lease the property at a certain price and terms in return for a commission, set fee or other form of compensation

Loader: Generally refers to a rubber-tired tractor equipped with a hydraulic bucket of 2 to 15 cubic yards.

LOAN: Money borrowed, to be repaid with interest, according to the specific terms and conditions of the loan.

Loan Amount: A loan amount is dictated by the total loan to value and loan to cost.

Loan Fee: Loan Fees are typically upfront fees that go to cover costs of originating the loan, appraisals, documentation fees, and other ancillary fees.

LOAN OFFICER: A person that "sells" loans, representing the lender to the borrower, and the borrower to the lender.

LOAN ORIGINATION: How a lender refers to the process of writing new loans.

LOAN SERVICING: The processing of payments, mailing of monthly statements, management and disbursement of escrow funds etc Typically carried out by the company you make payments to.

Loan to Value: This is ratio of the loan amount issued divided by the future value of the property.

Loan-to-value ratio (LTV): The ratio of the value of the loan principal divided by the property's appraised value

LOAN-TO-VALUE RATIO (LTV): The comparison of the amount owed on a mortgaged property to its fair market value.

Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO): An independent, regulatory, state-mandated legislative agency working at the county level, the purpose of which is to assist the legislature in promoting orderly development and in balancing development with competing state interests, such as: discouraging urban sprawl, preserving agricultural, open space land and extending government services efficiently. LAFCO carries out it's duties through the consideration and approval or denial of boundary changes proposed by individuals or the local agencies themselves.

Loan to Cost: This is ratio of the loan amount issued divided by the total costs to construct the proposed property.

Local Coastal Program: A collection of plans and programs mandated by the California Coastal Act. These plans may be prepared and adopted by each coastal city and county and should be certified by the California Coastal Commission.

Lock-box structure: A structure whereby the rental or debt-service payments are sent directly from the tenant or mortgagor to the trustee

LOCK-IN: An agreement between a lender and a borrower, guaranteeing an interest rate for a loan if the loan is closed within a certain amount of time.

LOCK-IN PERIOD: The amount of time the lender has guaranteed an interest rate to a borrower.

Lockout: The period during which a loan may not be prepaid.

Long-term lease: In most markets, this refers to a lease whose term is at least three years from initial signing to the date of expiration or renewal.

Loss severity: The percentage of principal lost when a loan is foreclosed

Lot: Generally one of several contiguous parcels of land making up a fractional part or subdivision of a block, the boundaries of which are shown on recorded maps and plats

Lot Details (DR Budget): A sheet, within the master model, which is the primary input area for product type, number of units, acres, and quantities related to storm drain, sewer, water, and streets. This sheet drives the cost detail page.

Lot Details Page (DR Budget): The primary data entry sheet, which contains information such as units, acreage, and quantities related to direct improvement costs.

Lot, Non-Conforming: Any lot existing and shown as a separate parcel in the office of the county assessor at the effective date of the zoning ordinance that does not conform to the land use requirements of the local jurisdiction.

Low Point: The lowest point of elevation in a road, utility, or graded area.

Low-Income Household: Households with income of 51 to 80% of the area's median household income. Median household income is determined by a survey of incomes conducted by the city or county or, in the absence of such a survey, based on the latest available findings provided by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Low-rise: A building with fewer than four stories above ground level

Lump-sum contract: A type of construction contract requiring the general contractor to complete a building or project for a fixed cost normally established by competitive bidding. The contractor absorbs any loss or retains any profit.

Magic page: Included in the offering prospectus, the magic page is a projected growth story, describing how a new REIT will accomplish its future expectations for funds from operations or funds available for distribution.

MAJOR DEFICIENCY: A deficiency that strongly impacts the usability and habitability of a house. Or a deficiency that may be very expensive to repair.

Maker: One who creates or executes a promissory note and promises to pay the note when it becomes due

Manhole: A 4 ft or greater cylindrical concrete structure that allows access to an underground utility system

Manufactured Housing: Houses constructed entirely in the factory which, since 1976, have been regulated by the federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards under the administration of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

MANUFACTURED HOUSING: Once known as ''mobile homes,'' manufactured housing is any building which has been constructed off site, then moved onto a piece of real property.

MARGIN: The difference between the interest rate and the index on an adjustable rate mortgage.

MARGINAL LAND: Land whose value has been diminished due to some internal defect or external condition. In most cases, the cost to correct the flaw or condition is as much or more than the expected return from the property.

Mark to market: The process of increasing or decreasing the original investment cost or value of a property asset or portfolio to a level estimated to be the current market value

Market capitalization: One measure of the value of a company

Market rental rates: The rental income that a property most likely would command in the open market, indicated by the current rents asked and paid for comparable space

Market study: A forecast of future demand for a certain type of real estate project that includes an estimate of the square footage that can be absorbed and the rents that can be charged

Market value: The highest price a property would command in a competitive and open market under all conditions requisite to a fair sale

Marketable title: A title free from encumbrances that could be readily marketed to a willing purchaser

Market-Rate Units: Dwelling units available at prices or rents at or above the market rate, at prices determined by the market demand.

Mass Excavation: Also known as common excavation, it consists of the cutting and filling of all materials (other than rock) to designed grades. It is measured and paid by measuring the cut yardage moved by a comparison of original topo to design topo. The costs to load, haul, dump, compact, and shape are most often included in the price per cubic yard.

MASTER ASSOCIATION: An umbrella organization that is made up of multiple, smaller home owner's associations. Often found in very large developments or condominium projects.

Master lease: A primary lease that controls subsequent leases and may cover more property than subsequent leases

Master servicer: An institution that acts on behalf of a trustee for the benefit of security holders in collecting funds from a borrower, advancing funds in the event of delinquencies and, in the event of default, taking a property through foreclosure

MATURITY: The date on which the principal balance of a financial instrument becomes due and payable.

Maturity date: The date when the total principal balance comes due

Mechanic's lien: A claim created for the purpose of securing priority of payment of the price and value of work performed and materials furnished in constructing, repairing or improving a building or other structure

Meeting space: In hotels, space made available to the public to rent for meeting, conference or banquet uses

MERGED CREDIT REPORT: A credit report derived from data obtained from multiple credit agencies.

Metes and bounds: The boundary lines of land described by listing the compass directions and distances of the boundaries. Originally, metes referred to distance and bounds referred to direction.

Metes and Bounds: A system of describing and identifying land by measures (metes) and direction (bounds) from an identifiable point of reference such a s a monument or other marker, the corner of intersecting streets, or, in rural areas, a tree or other permanent feature.

METES AND BOUNDS: A traditional way of describing property, generally expressed in terms of distance from a known landmark or intersection, and then following the boundaries of the property back to its origin.

METROPOLITAN AREA: The accumulated land in and around a city or other municipality which falls under the political and economic influence of that entity.

Mezzanine financing: Mezzanine financing is somewhere between equity and debt. It is that piece of the capital structure that has senior debt above it and equity below it. There is both equity and debt mezzanine financing, and it can be done at the asset or company level, or it could be unrated tranches of CMBS. Returns are generally in the mid- to high-teens.

Mid-rise: A building with four to eight stories above ground level. In a central business district this might extend to buildings up to 25 stories.

Million Gallons per Day: A common unit of flow measurement in a wastewater treatment plant. (133,680.56 cubic feet per day, 1.5472 cubic feet per second, 3.0689 acre-feet per day)

MINERAL RIGHTS: The legal right to exploit and enjoy the benefits of any minerals located below the surface of a parcel of land.

Minipark: Small neighborhood park of approximately one acre or less. It may also be referred to as a 'tot lot' when reserved for very young children.

Ministerial Approval: Opposite of discretionary approval, ministerial approval requires little or no judgment by a public official and includes things like automobile registrations, dog licenses, and marriage licenses. Other examples are issuance of building permits, grading permits, issuance of building licenses, approval of final subdivision maps, and approval on individual utility service connections and disconnections.

MISREPRESENTATION: A statement by one party in a transaction that is incorrect or misleading. Most misrepresentations are deemed to be intentional and thus may constitute fraud. Others, however, some are rendered through simple mistakes, oversights or negligence.

Mitigate: To ameliorate, alleviate, or avoid to the extent of reasonably feasible. According to CEQA, mitigations include: (a) avoiding an impact by not taking a certain action or parts of an action, (b) minimizing an impact by limiting the degree or magnitude of the action and its implementation, (c) rectifying an impact by repairing, rehabilitating, or restoring the environment affected, (d) reducing or eliminating an impact by preserving and maintaining operations during the life of the action, (e) compensating for an impact by replacing or providing substitute resources or environments.

Mitigated Negative Declaration: A document developed and adopted in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), which states that the proposed project will have minimal impact on the environment, and details mitigation measures for those impacts

Mixed-use: Space within a building or project providing for more than one use

Mixed-Use: Properties on which various issues- such as office, commercial, institutional, and residential- are combined in a single building or on a single site in an integrated development project.

Moderate-Income Household: Households with incomes of 81 to 120% if the area's median income. (See Low-income household.)

Modern portfolio theory (MPT): An approach to quantifying risk and return in a portfolio of assets. Developed in 1959 by Harry Markowitz, MPT is the foundation for present-day principles of investment diversification. It emphasizes the portfolio rather than individual assets, and how assets perform in relation to each other based on the assumption that investors can benefit from diversification when asset class returns do not move in lock step with one another. Overall investment strategy that seeks to construct an optimal portfolio by considering the relationship between risk and return, especially as measured by alpha, beta, and R-squared. This theory recommends that the risk of a particular stock should not be looked at on a standalone basis, but rather in relation to how that particular stock's price varies in relation to the variation in price of the market portfolio. The theory goes on to state that given an investor's preferred level of risk, a particular portfolio can be constructed that maximizes expected return for that level of risk. also called modern investment theory.

Moratorium: A temporary freeze on new development activities usually pending the completion and adoption of a general plan or growth control ordinance. Building moratoria have recently been instituted by water and sewer agencies when sewage treatment facilities are inadequate, or when water shortages are threatened. They have also been voted into being by residents of communities whose schools and other public facilities have been overwhelmed by rapid growth.

Mortgage: A legal document by which real property is pledged as security for repayment of a loan until the debt is repaid in full

MORTGAGE: A financial arrangement wherein an individual borrows money to purchase real property and secures the loan with the property as collateral.

MORTGAGE BANKER: A financial institution that provides primary and secondary mortgages to home buyers.

MORTGAGE BROKER: A person or organization that serves as a middleman to facilitate the mortgage process. Brokers often represent multiple mortgage bankers and offer the most appropriate deal to each buyer.

Mortgage constant: The ratio of an amortizing mortgage payment to the outstanding mortgage balance

MORTGAGE INSURANCE: A policy that fulfills those obligations of a mortgage when the policy holder defaults or is no longer able to make payments.

MORTGAGE INSURANCE PREMIUM (MIP): A fee that is often included in mortgage payments that pays for mortgage insurance coverage.

MORTGAGE LIFE INSURANCE: A policy that fulfills the obligations of a mortgage when the policy holder dies.

MORTGAGEE: The entity that lends money in a real estate transaction.

MORTGAGOR: The entity that borrows money in a real estate transaction.

MULTI-FAMILY PROPERTIES: Any collection of buildings that are designed and built to support the habitation of more than four families.

Multi-family Residential: A land use designation describing a development area made up of buildings that are designed to house more than one family. Also can refer to the buildings themselves.

Multi-Family Usable Open Space: Any usable outdoor area of a multi-family residential project in a multiple-zoned area, reserved and designed for common use by the project's occupants. This space is in addition to space provided for required yards and off-street parking, and for private patios and decks.

Multiple Species Habitat Conservation Plan: A plan developed by multiple agencies and organizations that identifies species in nearby areas that should be protected through habitat conservation measures. The plan also identifies these conservation measures. As a result of an MSHCP or similar plan, and as a prerequisite for developing in an area covered by such a plan, developers must either pay a fee or accomplish certain mitigation measures to reduce the development's impact upon an animal included in the plan. The MSHCP fee is considered an impact fee for DR Analysis purposes.

NAREIT (National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts): The national, not-for-profit trade organization that represents the real estate investment trust industry

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF MASTER APPRAISERS (NAMA): A non profit professional association organized in 1982, dedicated to the advancement of professionalism in real estate appraisal.

NATIONAL SOCIETY OF REAL ESTATE APPRAISERS: An organization founded in 1956 which promotes standards of professionalism in its members.

NATURAL VACANCY RATE: The percentage of vacant properties in a given area that is the result of natural turnover and market forces.

NCREIF (National Council of Real Estate Investment Fiduciaries): An association of real estate professionals who serve on working committees, sponsor research articles, seminars and symposiums, and produce the NCREIF Property Index

NCREIF Property Index (NPI): The index reports quarterly and annual returns consisting of income and appreciation components. The index is based on data collected from the voting members of NCREIF. Specific property-type subindices include apartment, office, retail, industrial and hotel

Negative amortization: The accrual feature found in numerous participating debt structures that allows an investor to pay, for an initial period of time, an interest rate below the contract rate stated in loan documents.

NEGATIVE AMORTIZATION: When the balance of a loan increases instead of decreases. Usually due to a borrower making a minimum payment on an Adjustable Rate Mortgage during a period when the rate fluctuates to a high enough point that the minimum payment does not cover all of the interest.

Negative Declaration (Neg Dec): A document developed and adopted in accordance with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), stating that the proposed project will not have a negative impact on the environment.

NEIGHBORHOOD: A subsection of a municipality that has been designated by a developer, economic forces or physical formations.

NEIGHBORHOOD LIFE-CYCLE: The evolution of neighborhood use and demographics over time. Economic fluctuations, municipal zoning changes and population shifts can effect the life cycle.

Net Acreage: The acreage related to the project typically excluding open space, streets, and commercial acreage. Typically synonymous with buildable acres.

Net asset value (NAV): The value of an individual asset or portfolio of real estate properties net of leveraging or joint venture interests

Net asset value per share: The current value of a REIT's assets divided by shares outstanding

Net assets: Total assets less total liabilities on a market-value basis

Net cash flow: Generally determined by net income plus depreciation less principal payments on long-term mortgages

Net investment in real estate: Gross investment in real estate less the outstanding debt balance

Net investment income: The income or loss of a portfolio or entity resulting after deducting all expenses, including portfolio and asset management fees, but before realized and unrealized gains and losses on investments

NET LEASABLE AREA: The space in a development, outside of the common areas, that can be rented to tenants.

Net operating income (NOI): A before-tax computation of gross revenue less operating expenses and an allowance for anticipated vacancy. It is a key indicator of financial strength.

Net present value (NPV): Net present value usually is employed to evaluate the relative merits of two or more investment alternatives. It is calculated as the sum of the total present value of incremental future cash flows plus the present value of estimated proceeds from sale. Whenever the net present value is greater than zero, an investment opportunity generally is considered to have merit.

Net purchase price: Gross purchase price less associated debt financing

Net real estate investment value: The market value of all real estate less property-level debt

Net returns: Returns to investors net of fees to advisers or managers

Net sales proceeds: Proceeds from the sale of an asset or part of an asset less brokerage commissions, closing costs and market expenses

Net square footage: The space required for a function or staff position

NEW ENGLAND COLONIAL: An architectural style dating from early American history typified by a two-story building with clapboard siding.

NO-COST LOAN: Many lenders offer loans that you can obtain at "no cost." You should inquire whether this means there are no "lender" costs associated with the loan, or if it also covers the other costs you would normally have in a purchase or refinance transactions, such as title insurance, escrow fees, settlement fees, appraisal, recording fees, notary fees, and others. These are fees and costs which may be associated with buying a home or obtaining a loan, but not charged directly by the lender. Keep in mind that, like a "no-point" loan, the interest rate will be higher than if you obtain a loan that has costs associated with it.

Nominal yield: The yield to investors before adjustments for fees, inflation or risk

Non-compete clause: A clause that can be inserted into a lease specifying that the business of the tenant is exclusive in the property and that no other tenant operating the same or similar type of business can occupy space in the building. This clause benefits service-oriented businesses desiring exclusive access to the building's population.

Nonconforming Use: A structure or use legal at its commencement but subsequently forbidden by a change in the zoning ordinance. Most ordinances provide that this use may be continued but not enlarged. Many ordinances permit the restoration of the nonconforming premises when damaged by fire, earthquake, or some other catastrophe. Some provide for the cessation of particular nonconforming uses at the end of a prescribed amortization period equivalent to the life of the structure.

NON-CONFORMING USE: The use of land for purposes contrary to the applicable municipal zoning specifications. Often occurs when zoning changes after a property is in use.

Non-discretionary funds: Funds allocated to an investment manager requiring the investor's approval on each transaction

Non-investment-grade CMBS: Securities rated "BB" or "B," also referred to as high-yield CMBS

NONLIQUID ASSET: Any asset which can not be quickly converted into cash at little or no cost.

Non-performing loan: A loan that is unable to meet its contractual principal and interest payments

Non-recourse debt: A loan that, in the event of a default by the borrower, limits the lender's remedies to a foreclosure of the mortgage, realization on its assignment of leases and rents, and acquisition of the real estate

NO-POINT LOAN: A loan with no "points". The interest rate on such a loan will be higher than a loan with points paid. Also sometimes refers to a refinance loan where closing costs are included in the loan.

NOTE: A legal document that obligates a borrower to repay a mortgage loan at a stated interest rate during a specified period of time.

NOTE RATE: The interest rate stated on a mortgage note.

NOTICE OF DEFAULT: Formal written notice from a lender to a borrower that default has occurred.

Nuisance: Anything interfering with the use or enjoyment of property, endangering personal health or safety, or offensive to the senses. There are many types of nuisances, and the law can be invoked to determine when, in fact, a nuisance exists and should be abated.

OBSOLESCENCE: The process of an assets value diminishing due to the development of more desirable alternatives or because of the degradation of its capabilities.

OCCUPANCY: A physical presence within and control of a property.

OCCUPANCY RATE: The percentage of properties in a given area that are occupied.

OCTOPUS RECEPTACLE: An outlet with too many devices plugged into it, using a power strip or other device to multiply the outlets.

Offer: Term used to describe a stated price or spread to sell whole loans or securities

OFF-SITE IMPROVEMENTS: Buildings, structures or other amenities which are not located on a piece of property, but are necessary to maximize the use of the property or in some way contribute to the value of the property.

OFF-STREET PARKING: Designated parking spaces associated with a particular building or other structure which are not located on public streets.

OLD TERMITE ACTIVITY: Where no termites are currently active, but indications of past activity can be seen.

ON-SITE IMPROVEMENTS: Buildings, structures or other amenities that are erected on a piece of property and contribute to its value.

Open space: An area of land or water dedicated for public or private use or enjoyment

Open Space: Generally, undeveloped land. Open space is considered desirable for preservation in its natural state for ecological, historical, or outdoor recreational purposes, or in its cultivated state to preserve agricultural, forest, or urban greenbelt areas, or reserved for public safety purposes. A few types of improved lands may also be considered open space, such as golf courses.

OPEN SPACE: Any land which has not had any significant buildings or structures erected on it. Most often used to describe desirable neighborhood features like parks.

OPEN SPLICE: An uncovered electrical connection.

Open-end fund: A commingled fund that does not have a finite life, continually accepts new investor capital and makes new property investments

Operating cost escalation: Although there are many variations of escalation clauses, all are intended to adjust rents by reference to external standards such as published indexes, negotiated wage levels, or expenses related to the ownership and operation of a building.

Operating expense: The actual costs associated with operating a property, including maintenance, repairs, management, utilities, taxes and insurance

Opportunistic: A phrase generally used by advisers and managers to describe investments in underperforming and/or undermanaged assets that hold the expectation of near-term increases in cash flow and value. Total return objectives for opportunistic strategies tend to be 20 percent or higher. Opportunistic investments typically involve a high degree of leverage - typically 60 percent to 100 percent on an asset basis and 60 percent to 80 percent on a portfolio basis.

ORIGINAL EQUITY: The amount of cash a home buyer initially invests in the home.

ORIGINAL PRINCIPAL BALANCE: The total amount of principal owed on a mortgage loan at the time of closing.

ORIGINATION FEE: Refers to the total number of points paid by a borrower at closing.

Originator: A company that sources and underwrites commercial and/or multifamily mortgage loans

Outlet Structure: Usually a headwall, or headwall with wingwalls that outlets storm drain water from a culvert

Out-parcel: Individual retail sites in a shopping center

Overallotment: A practice through which underwriters offer and sell more shares than they have agreed to buy from the issuer

Over-Excavation: Performed in cut areas and additionally in daylight areas where elevations of cut and OG (original ground) or fill are identical. The purpose of over-excavation is to create a pad of material that is homogenous. When such pads are created, they reduce the probability of differential settlement, which can occur over extended periods of time and cause cracking/displacement of slabs, foundations, and footings.

Overhead: Usually describes overhead utility.

OWNER FINANCING: A transaction where the property owner provides all or part of the financing.

OWNER OCCUPIED: The state of property wherein the owner occupies at least some portion of the property.

Pad Over-Excavation: Pad Over-Excavation

Paper Lot Condition: The condition and costs associated with final map recordation, not including any costs associated with actual construction.

Parcel: A recorded lot or parcel of real property under single ownership, lawfully created as required by the Subdivision Map Act and City ordinances

Parcel Map: A map depicting the establishment of up to four lots through subdivision of property. Parcel maps are subject to the California Subdivision Map Act and the city's subdivision regulations.

PARGING: The cement coat applied to block foundations.

Parking ratio: Dividing the total rentable square footage of a building by the building's total number of parking spaces provides the amount of rentable square feet per each individual parking space.

Parkway Landscaping: Landscaping typically located between the road and a sidewalk, located within the right-of-way, which runs parallel to a road.

PARTIAL INTEREST: A shared ownership in a piece of property. May be divided among two or more parties.

PARTIAL PAYMENT: A payment of less than the regular monthly amount. Usually, a lender will not accept partial payments.

Partial sales: The sale of an interest in real estate that is less than the whole property. This may include a sale of easement rights, parcel of land or retail pad, or a single building of a multi-building investment.

Partial taking: The taking of part of an owner's property under the laws of eminent domain

Participating debt: In addition to collecting a contract interest rate, participating debt allows the lender to have participatory equity rights through a share of increases in income and/or increases in residual value over the loan balance or original value at the time of loan funding.

Party in interest: Under ERISA's 2002 Modernization Act

Pass-through certificate: Payments of principal and interest from the underlying pool of mortgages are passed through to the holders of the certificates.

Pavement: A general term used to describe a road surface. (i.e. Asphalt, Concrete, Stamped Concrete, etc.)

Payout ratio: The percentage of the primary earnings per share, excluding extraordinary items, paid to common stockholders in the form of cash dividends during the trailing 12 months

Peak Hour: The period of the day during which any given highway carries its highest volume of traffic. Usually this occurs during the morning and/or evening commute hours.

Pension liability: The total amount of capital required to fund vested pension fund benefits

Percentage rent: Rent payable under a lease that is equal to a percentage of gross sales or gross revenues received by the tenant. It is commonly used in retail center leases.

Perched Groundwater: Local saturated zones above the water table which exist above an impervious layer of earth of limited extent, collection of water trapped in an area above the water table.

Performance: The quarterly changes in fund or account values attributable to investment income, realized or unrealized appreciation, and the total gross return to the investors both before and after investment management fees. Formulas for calculating performance information are varied, making comparisons difficult.

Performance bond: A surety bond posted by a contractor guaranteeing full performance of a contract with the proceeds to be used to complete the contract or compensate for the owner's loss in the event of nonperformance

Performance measurement: The process of measuring an investor's real estate performance in terms of individual assets, advisers/managers and portfolios. The scope of performance measurement reports varies among managers, consultants and plan sponsors.

Performance Standards: Zoning regulations limiting land use activities by setting acceptable levels of such matters as noise, air pollution, emissions, odors, fire hazards, traffic generation, and visual impacts. These standards may also limit new development unless the capacity of public facilities and infrastructure at specified levels are assured. Most common are standards specifying that traffic facilities operate at particular levels of service and standards for sewer, water, and recreational facilities.

Performance-based fees: Fees paid to advisers or managers based on returns to investors, often packaged with a modest acquisition and asset-management fee structure

Perimeter Wall: Walls surrounding the perimeter of a project and adjacent to backbone improvements

PERIODIC PAYMENT CAP: The limit on how much regular monthly payments on an Adjustable Rate Mortgage can change during one adjustment period.

PERIODIC RATE CAP: The limit on how much the interest rate on an Adjustable Rate Mortgage can change during any one adjustment period.

Permanent loan: The long-term mortgage on a property

Permit Fees: This includes building permits, school fees, municipality fees, connection fees and any other fees that may not have been paid for the subject property.

PERSONAL PROPERTY: Owned items which are not permanently affixed to the land.

PERSONAL RESIDENCE: The primary domicile of a person or family.

Phase: Reference to an area of a land development project identified for construction timing purposes. Phases can be constructed sequentially or with overlap.

Phase 1 Report: Initial study to determine if a project meets CEQA requirements for an EIR or negative declaration.

Phase 2 Report: More in-depth study to determine if a project requires an EIR or negative declaration.

Phase I Analysis: An environmental analysis that identifies existing conditions visible from the surface.

Phase II Analysis: A subsurface study to further investigate issues identified in a Phase 1 Analysis Report.

Plan assets: The assets of a pension plan

Plan sponsor: The entity that establishes, contributes to and is responsible for the administration of an employee benefit plan, often used interchangeably to describe staff who administer the plan and trustees or investment board members who govern it

Planned Community: A large-scale development whose essential features are a definable boundary, a consistent, but not necessarily uniform, character, overall control during the development process by a single development entity, private ownership of recreation amenities, and enforcement of covenants, conditions, and restrictions by a master community association.

Planned Unit Development: A self-contained development, often with a mixture of housing types and densities, in which the subdivision and zoning controls are applied to the project as a whole rather than to individual lots, as in most subdivisions. Densities and lot sizes are calculated for the entire development, usually permitting a trade-off between clustering of houses and provision of a common open space or other amenities.

PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT (PUD): A coordinated, real estate development where common areas are shared and maintained by an owner's association or other entity.

Planning Area: The area under a city's jurisdiction or otherwise subject to the city's planning concerns.

Planning Area 1: Reference to the first planning area of a land development project.

Plat: Map of a specific area, such as a subdivision, that shows the boundaries of individual lots together with streets and easements

PLAT: A plan or chart of a piece of land which lays out existing or planned streets, lots or other improvements.

POINT: A percentage of a mortgage amount (one point = 1 percent).

Point of Curb Return: The beginning or end of a curved curb line joining the curbs of two intersecting streets.

Point of Intersection: The theoretical point used in surveying, at which two streets or utility lines would intersect if there were no horizontal curve used to join them.

Point of Reverse Curve: The point at which the direction of curve changes without a straight run connecting the curves in a street.

Point of Tangency: Same as End of Curve.

Point of Vertical Intersection: The theoretical point used in surveying, at which two streets or utility lines would intersect if there were no parabolic vertical curve used to join them.

Police Power: The reserved right of a city to regulate use of property in order to protect the health, safety, welfare, and morals of the community.

Polyvinylchloride: A common plastic pipe used in sewer, water, and sometimes storm drain applications

Portfolio management: The portfolio management process involves formulating, modifying and implementing a real estate investment strategy in light of an investor's broader overall investment objectives. It also can be defined as the management of several properties owned by a single entity.

Portfolio turnover: The average time from the funding of an investment until it is repaid or sold

Poured in Place Pipe: A storm drain construction method where the pipe is formed in the pipe trench. The process is accomplished with a slip form and requires soils that are stable at steep slopes. CIPP construction methods are generally less expensive than manufacture and installation of RCP, unfortunately, the proper soil conditions for CIPP construction are rare.

Power of sale: Clause inserted in a mortgage or deed of trust giving the mortgagee (or trustee) the right and power, upon default in the payment of the debt secured, to advertise and sell the property at public auction

Power Pole: No Def

Pre-Acquisition Costs: Costs incurred as part of the decision-making process to purchase real property.

PRE-APPROVAL: The process of applying for a mortgage loan and becoming approved for a certain amount at a certain interest rate before a property has been chosen. Pre-approval allows the borrower greater freedom in negotiations with sellers.

Precise Grading: No Def

PREFABRICATED: Any building or portion thereof which is manufactured and assembled off site, then erected on a property.

Preferred shares: Stocks that have prior claim on distributions (and/or assets in the event of dissolution) up to a definite amount before the common shareholders are entitled to anything. As a form of ownership, preferred shareholders fall behind all creditors in dissolutions.

Preleased: Space in a proposed building that has been leased before the start of construction or in advance of the issuance of a certificate of occupancy

PREPAYMENT: Payment made that reduces the principal balance of a loan before the due date and before the loan has become fully amortized.

PREPAYMENT PENALTY: A fee that may be charged to a borrower who pays off a loan before it is due.

Prepayment rights: Rights given to the borrower to make partial or full payment of the total principal balance prior to the maturity date without penalty

PRE-QUALIFICATION: Less formal that pre-approval, pre-qualification usually means a written statement from a loan officer indicating his or her opinion that the borrower will be able to become approved for a mortgage loan.

Pressure-reducing station: A structure designed to reduce pressure in a water system to an acceptable level as mandated by the governing water agency.

Pressure-reducing Valve: A valve located on a water service lateral feeding a property to reduce the pressure in that line to an acceptable level.

Price to earnings ratio: This ratio is calculated by dividing the current share price by the sum of the primary earnings per share from continuing operations, before extraordinary items and accounting changes, over the past four quarters.

Primary issuance: The initial financing of an issuer

PRIME RATE: The interest rate that banks and other lending institutions charge other banks or preferred customers.

Prime space: Typically refers to first-generation space that is available for lease

Prime tenant: The major tenant in a building, or the major or anchor tenant in a shopping center

PRINCIPAL: The amount owed on a mortgage which does not include interest or other fees.

PRINCIPAL BALANCE: The outstanding balance of principal on a mortgage. Does not included interest due.

Principal payments: The return of invested capital to the lender

Principal Use: The main as distinguished from a secondary or accessory use. A house is a principal use of land or structures in a residential area, a garage or pool is an accessory use.

PRINCIPAL, INTEREST, TAXES, AND INSURANCE (PITI): The most common constituents of a monthly mortgage payment.

Private equity - Direct real estate investments acquired privately

Private equity - Direct real estate investments acquired privately

PRIVATE MORTGAGE INSURANCE (PMI): A form of mortgage insurance provided by private, non-government entities. Normally required when the LOAN TO VALUE RATIO is less that 20%.

Private placement: A sale of a security in a manner that is exempt from the registration rules and requirements of the Securities and Exchange Commission. An example would be a REIT directly placing an issue of stock with a pension fund.

Private REIT: An infinite- or finite-life real estate investment company structured as a real estate investment trust. Shares are placed and held privately rather than sold and traded publicly.

Pro rata: In the case of a tenant, the proportionate share of expenses for the maintenance and operation of the property

Pro Rata: Refers to the proportionate distribution of the cost of infrastructure improvements associated with new development to users of the infrastructure on the basis of projected use.

Product Type: Defined usually as minimum lot size/housing type, (i.e. single family, multi-family, senior housing)

Production acres: The area of land that can be used in agriculture or timber operations to produce income, not including areas used for crop or machinery storage, or other support areas

Pro-Forma: Projected project costs and revenues.

Prohibited transaction: ERISA defines the following transactions as prohibited between a pension plan and a party in interest

PROPERTY: Any item which is owned or possessed.

Property Frontage: The front or frontage is that side of a parcel or development site abutting on a street

Property Line: No Def

Protection Zone Radius: The distance used to identify a zone that cannot be infringed upon for various reasons.

Prudent man rule: The standard to which a fiduciary is held accountable under ERISA. "Act with the care, skill, prudence and diligence under the circumstances then prevailing that a prudent man, acting in a like capacity and familiar with such matters, would use in the conduct of an enterprise of a like character and with like aims."

Public: No Def

Public debt - Commercial mortgage-backed securities and other securitized forms of whole loan mortgage interests

Public debt - Commercial mortgage-backed securities and other securitized forms of whole loan mortgage interests

Public equity - REITs and other publicly traded real estate operating companies

Public equity - REITs and other publicly traded real estate operating companies

Public Utility Easement: An easement created for the purpose of installing public utilities such as power lines, cable, phone, gas, etc.

Pull Box: An access point used to facilitate the installation of new underground dry utilities.

Punch list: An itemized list documenting incomplete or unsatisfactory items after the contractor has notified the owner that the tenant space is substantially complete

PURCHASE AGREEMENT: A written contract signed by the buyer and seller stating the terms and conditions under which a property will be sold.

QUADRAPLEX: Any building designed to accommodate four families.

Qualified plan: Any employee benefit plan that is qualified by the IRS as a tax-exempt plan. Among other requirements, the plan's assets must be placed in trust for the sole benefit of the employees covered by the plan.

QUALIFYING RATIOS: Two ratios used in determining credit worthiness for a mortgage loan. One is the ratio of a borrower's monthly housing costs to monthly income. The other is a ratio of all monthly debt to monthly income.

Quantity Takeoff: The act of recording the quantifiable aspects of a map

Quimby Fee: A fee unique to California, created by the 1975 Quimby Act, which authorizes local Parks and Recreation departments to charge a fee to mitigate the impact of a development on open space by providing a source of funds to construct parks.

Quitclaim deed: A deed operating as a release that is intended to pass any title, interest or claim that the grantor may have in the property, but not guaranteeing such title is valid

QUITCLAIM DEED: A legal document which transfers any ownership an individual has in a piece of property. Often used when the amount of ownership is not known or is unclear.

Radius/Ridge: No Def

RAFTER: A structural element of the roof, sloping from the peak to the outer walls.

RANCH HOUSE: An architectural style typified by a single-story, low-roof construction. Popular in the western U.S.

Rare or Endangered Species: A species of animal, fish, wildlife or plant designated as a rare or endangered listed in: Sections 670.2 or 670.5, Title 14, California Administration Code, or Title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 17.11 or Section 17.2, pursuant to the Federal Endangered Species Act.

RATE LOCK: A guarantee from a lender of a specific interest rate for a period of time.

Rating: Grade, assigned by a rating agency, designating the credit quality or creditworthiness of the underlying assets

Rating agencies: Independent firms engaged to rate the creditworthiness of securities for the benefit of investors. The major rating agencies are Fitch Ratings, Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service.

Raw land: Unimproved land that remains in its natural state

Raw space: Unimproved shell space in a building

REAL ESTATE: A piece of land and any improvements or fixtures located on that land.

REAL ESTATE AGENT: A licensed professional who facilitates the buying and selling of real estate.

Real estate fundamentals: The factors driving the value of real property (i.e., the supply, demand and pricing for land and/or developed space in a given geographic or economic region or market)

REAL ESTATE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURES ACT (RESPA): A federal law requiring lenders to give full disclosure of closing costs to borrowers.

Real property: Land, and generally whatever is erected or affixed to the land that would be personal property if not attached

REAL PROPERTY: Land, improvements and appurtenances, and the interest and benefits thereof.

Real rate of return: Yield to investors net of an inflationary factor. The formula for calculating the real rate of return is [(1 + nominal yield) / (1 + inflation rate)] - 1.

REALTOR�: A real estate agent or broker who is a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION of REALTORS®.

Recapture: When the IRS recovers the tax benefit of a deduction or a credit previously taken by a taxpayer, which is often a factor in foreclosure because there is a forgiveness of debt. As used in leases, it is a clause giving the lessor a percentage of profits above a fixed amount of rent

RECEPTACLE: An electrical outlet to plug into.

Rechargeable Groundwater: No Def

Reclaimed Water: Treated, recycled wastewater commonly used for irrigation, non-potable.

RECORDER: A local government employee whose role it is to keep records of all real estate transactions within the jurisdiction.

RECORDING: The filing of a real estate transaction with the appropriate government agent (normally the RECORDER). A real estate transaction is considered final when it is recorded.

Recourse: The right of a lender, in the event of default by the borrower, to recover against the personal assets of a party who is secondarily liable for the debt

Red herring: The preliminary prospectus for an initial public offering. Before the registration statement becomes effective, underwriters may use the preliminary prospectus to market the offering. The preliminary prospectus, however, must bear a legend printed in red ink stating that the offering has been filed but is not yet effective.

Redevelopment: The legally authorized process of rehabilitating or rebuilding a deteriorated section of the city using municipal powers and finances to assemble properties, replace the infrastructure, or otherwise assist in creating new facilities and stimulating private development.

Redevelopment Agency: A department in some cities or counties that handles redevelopment.

REFINANCE TRANSACTION: A new loan to pay off an existing loan. Typically to gain a lower interest rate or convert equity into cash.

Regional diversification: Definitions for what constitute various regions, for diversification purposes, vary among managers, consultants and plan sponsors. Some boundaries are defined based purely on geography

REGISTER: Where air from a furnace or air conditioning system enters the room.

Registration statement: Forms filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (or the appropriate state regulatory agency) in connection with a proposed offering of new securities or the listing of outstanding securities on a national exchange

Rehab: Extensive renovation intended to cure obsolescence of a building or project

Reimbursement Agreement: No Def

Reinforced Concrete Box: A concrete box (opened on both ends) used for the conveyance of surface drainage water under a roadway, railroad, or other impediment supporting heavy loads, a rectangular pipe.

Reinforced Concrete Pipe: A type of durable concrete pipe, reinforced with rebar, used for storm drain

REIT (Real estate investment trust): A business trust or corporation that combines the capital of many investors to acquire or provide financing for real estate. A corporation or trust that qualifies for REIT status generally does not pay corporate income tax to the IRS. Instead, it pays out at least 90 percent of its taxable income in the form of dividends.

Relative Compaction: The measurement (by percentage) of compaction achieved vs. the optimum compaction achievable.

Relief: Local changes in elevation

RELOCATION SERVICE: Any company or agency that assists corporate employees in relocating from one place to another. Services may include hiring and coordinating real estate agents, moving companies, utilizes and the like.

REMAINING BALANCE: The amount of principal, interest and other costs that has not yet been repaid.

REMAINING TERM: The amount of time remaining on the original amortization schedule.

Remedial Grading: Grading required to prepare the site for final grading. A type of excavation that includes the following: Buttress, stabilization fill, alluvium, colluvium, over-excavation (cut/transition), and unsuitable excavation.

REMIC (Real estate mortgage investment conduit): A product of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, REMICs are designed to hold a pool of mortgages for the exclusive purpose of issuing multiple classes of mortgage-backed securities in a way that avoids a corporate double tax.

REMODEL: An activity designed to improve the value or desirability of a property through rebuilding, refurbishing, redecorating or adding on to it.

Removal Depth: No Def

Renewal option: A clause giving a tenant the right to extend the term of a lease

Renewal probability: Used to estimate leasing-related costs and downtime, it is the average percentage of tenants in a building that are expected to renew at market rental rates upon the expiration of their leases.

Rent: Compensation or fee paid for the occupancy and use of any rental property, land, buildings, equipment, etc.

Rent commencement date: The date on which a tenant begins paying rent

Rentable/usable ratio: A building's total rentable area divided by its usable area. It represents the tenant's pro-rata share of the building's common areas and can determine the square footage upon which the tenant will pay rent. The inverse describes the proportion of space that an occupant can expect to actually use.

Rental concession: What landlords offer tenants to secure their tenancy. While rental abatement is one form of a concession, there are many others such as increased tenant improvement allowance, signage, below-market rental rates and moving allowances.

Rental growth rate: The expected trend in market rental rates over the period of analysis, expressed as an annual percentage increase

Rent-up period: The period following construction of a new building when tenants are actively being sought and the project is approaching its stabilized occupancy

REO (Real estate owned): Real estate owned by a savings institution as a result of default by borrowers and subsequent foreclosure by the institution

REPAYMENT PLAN: A plan to repay delinquent payments, agreed upon between a lender and borrower, in an effort to avoid foreclosure.

Replacement cost: The estimated current cost to construct a building with utility equivalent to the building being appraised, using modern materials and current standards, design and layout

REPLACEMENT RESERVE FUND: An account, or fund, setup for the replacement of short life items, such as carpeting, in the common areas of a cooperative property.

Replacement reserves: An allowance that provides for the periodic replacement of building components that wear out more rapidly than the building itself and must be replaced during the building's economic life

Request for proposal (RFP): A formal request, issued by a plan sponsor or its consultant, inviting investment managers to submit information on their firms' investment strategy, historical investment performance, current investment opportunities, investment management fees, other pension fund client relationships, etc. Firms that meet the qualifications are requested to make a formal presentation to the board of trustees and senior staff members. Finalists are chosen at the completion of this process, and contract negotiation begins.

Reserve account: An account that a borrower has to fund to protect the lender. Examples include capital expenditure accounts and deferred maintenance accounts.

Residential Care Facility: Housing that is usually licensed by the state Health and Welfare Agency, Department of Social Services, typically for residents who need supervision but no nursing care.

RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY: A piece of property whose highest and best use is the maintenance of a residence.

Resilient Seated Gate Valve: Same as gate valve.

Resolution Trust Corp. (RTC): The RTC was established by Congress in 1989 to contain, manage and sell failed savings institutions and recover taxpayer funds through the management and sale of the institutions' assets.

Resources, Non-Renewable: Refers to natural resources, such as fossil fuels and natural gas, which, once used, cannot be replaced and used again.

Rest Home (Group Homes for Adults): Residential homes of any capacity providing services to adults who need or desire care or supervision, which do not provide medical services.

Restrained Joints: Rigid joints in a pressurized pipe system used to prevent coupling separation due to thrust.

Retail investor: When used to describe an investor, retail refers to the nature of the distribution channel and the market for the services - selling interests directly to consumers.

Retention Basin: A stormwater management basin that captures storm water runoff and does not discharge directly to a surface water body. The water is discharged by infiltration or evaporation.

Retention rate: The percent of trailing 12-month earnings that have been ploughed back into the company. It is calculated as 100 minus the trailing 12-month payout ratio.

Retrofit: The addition of materials and/or devices to an existing building or system to improve its operation or efficiency.

Return on assets: The income after taxes for the trailing 12 months divided by the average total assets, expressed as a percentage

Return on equity: The income available to common stockholders for the trailing 12 months divided by the average common equity, expressed as a percentage

Return on investments: The trailing 12-month income after taxes divided by the average total long-term debt, other long-term liabilities and shareholders equity, expressed as a percentage

Reverse Frontage: Landscaping on the right-of-way side of a private screen wall that is required to be maintained by someone other than the property owner (HOA, LMD, City, etc).

Reversion capitalization rate: The capitalization rate used to determine reversion value

Reversion value: A lump-sum benefit that an investor receives or expects to receive at the termination of an investment

REVOLVING DEBT: A type of credit that allows the borrower/customer to make charges against a predetermined line of credit. The customer then pays monthly installments on the amount borrowed, plus interest.

RevPAR (Revenue per available room): Total room revenue for the period divided by the average number of available rooms in a hospitality facility

RIDGE BOARD: The structural member of a roof where the rafters join at the top.

Right: Often seen on improvement plans, denotes right of centerline.

RIGHT OF FIRST REFUSAL: An agreement giving a person the first opportunity to buy or lease a property before the owner offers it for sale to others.

Right-of-Way: A path or thoroughfare over which passage is made, a strip of land over which facilities such as highways, roads, railroads or power lines are built.

Rip Rap: Large stones placed on soil surfaces or stream beds to reduce the velocity of flowing water, thereby reducing erosion.

Riparian Buffer Zone: The portion of a riparian corridor directly adjacent to a stream or creek, a specified number of feet outward from its center line, regulated by local zoning ordinances.

Riparian Corridor: A general term for lands running parallel to and along a creek, constituting the ecosystem and potentially sensitive habitat for its animal and plant life, which should be depicted on official maps.

Riser: A pipe, usually CMP, that collects water from a detention basin during peak flow periods, risers are considered a type of inlet structure and ultimately drain to an offsite storm drain system

Risk management: A systematic approach to identifying and separating insurable risks from non-insurable risks, and evaluating the availability and costs of purchasing third-party insurance

Risk-adjusted rate of return: Used to identify investment alternatives that can be expected to deliver a positive premium, after taking into consideration the expected volatility. The risk-adjusted rate of return is defined as the expected rate of return of a given asset, less the expected return for T-bills, divided by the expected standard deviation of the returns for the assets.

Road show: A tour made by executives of a company that plans to go public, where they travel to various cities to meet with underwriters and analysts and make presentations regarding their company and IPO. The road show takes place during the marketing period before the registration statement becomes effective.

Rock (drill/shoot) Excavation: A drill pattern is established based on the hardness of the rock and holes are typically placed to a depth of 25-30 feet. Once all the holes are drilled, they are set with appropriate charges and electronically fired in a sequence that maximizes the cracking of the rock. The shot rock is then loaded by a loader/excavator and moved by rock trucks to the compacted fill. Measurement and payment for rock excavation is performed in the same manner as common excavation.

Rock (rippable) Excavation: Includes foliated (cracked/aged) rock masses that can be productively ripped. They are typically loaded by loader/excavator and moved to the fill by rock trucks. More common in the mountains and foothills.

Roll-over risk: The risk that a tenant's lease will not be renewed

ROOF PITCH: The degree of slope in a roof.

RURAL: An area outside of an established urban area or metropolitan district.

SALE PRICE: The actual price a property sells for, exclusive of any special financing concessions.

Sale-leaseback: An arrangement by which the owner-occupant of a property agrees to sell all or part of the property to an investor, then lease it back and continue to occupy space as a tenant

SALES COMPARISON APPROACH: An appraisal practice which estimates the value of a property by comparing it to comparable properties which have sold recently.

Sales comparison value: A value indication derived by comparing the property being appraised to similar properties that have been sold recently

San Diego County Water Authority: A public agency serving the San Diego region as a wholesale supplier of water.

San Diego Gas and Electric: A regulated public utility that provides energy service to San Diego and southern Orange counties.

Sanitary Sewer: Reference to a sewer pipe on a map

SCARCITY: An economic principal that dictates the price of a good or service through the interaction of supply and demand. When an item is scarce, its price tends to rise, given a constant demand. Real Estate is a classic example of scarcity.

Scraper: Also called an earthmover or pan in other parts of the U.S.

Second Dwelling Unit: A technical term defined in the California Government Code (Section 65852.2) as a legal second residential unit in a residential zone on an existing lot that contains an existing single-family dwelling conforming to all local codes. The second unit may be rented but not sold and, if attached, must not exceed 30% of an existing living area or 1200 square feet of the floor area if the structure is detached.

SECOND MORTGAGE: A loan secured by the equity in a home, when a primary mortgage already exists.

Secondary financing: A loan on real property secured by a lien junior to an existing first mortgage loan

Secondary market: A market where existing mortgage loans are securitized and then bought and sold to other investors

SECONDARY MORTGAGE MARKET: An economic marketplace where mortgage bankers buy and sell existing mortgages.

Secondary, or follow-on, offering: A stock offering made by an existing public company

Second-generation or secondary space: Previously occupied space that becomes available for lease, either directly from the landlord or as sublease space

Section 8 Rental Assistance Program: A federal (HUD) rent-subsidy program that is a principal source of federal housing assistance for low-income households.

SECURED LOAN: A loan that is backed by collateral. In the case of a mortgage loan, the collateral is the house.

Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC): The federal agency that supervises and oversees the issuance and exchange of public securities

Securitization: The process of converting an illiquid asset, such as a mortgage loan, into a tradable form, such as mortgage-backed securities

SECURITY: The property used as collateral for a loan.

Security deposit: A deposit of money by a tenant to a landlord to secure performance of a lease. It also can take the form of a letter of credit or other financial instrument.

Seisen (seizen): Possession of real property under claim of freehold estate

Seismic Lines: No Def

Self-administered REIT: When members of the management are employees of the REIT or an entity having essentially the same economic ownership as the REIT

Self-managed REIT: A REIT whose employees are responsible for performing property management functions

SEMIDETACHED HOUSING: Two residences which share a common wall.

Senate Bill 375: SB 375 provides incentives for creating attractive, walkable and sustainable communities and revitalizing existing communities. The bill allows home builders to get relief from certain environmental reviews under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) if they build projects consistent with the new sustainable community strategies. It will also encourage the development of more alternative transportation options, which will promote healthy lifestyles and reduce traffic congestion. SB 375, which was signed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, builds on Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 AB 32. AB 32 established a first-in-the-world comprehensive program of regulatory and market mechanisms to achieve real, quantifiable, cost-effective reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. The law will reduce carbon emissions in California to 1990 levels by 2020.

Senior classes: With regard to securities, describes the classes with the highest priority to receive the payments from the underlying mortgage loans

Sensitive Habitat Area: Areas in which plant or animal life or their habitats are either rare or especially valuable because of their special nature or role in the ecosystem.

Separate account: A relationship where an investment manager or adviser is retained by a single pension plan sponsor to source real estate product under a stated investment policy exclusively for that sponsor

Servicer: An organization that acts on behalf of a trustee for the benefit of security holders

SERVICER: A financial institution which collects mortgage payments from borrowers and applies the appropriate portions to principal, interest and any escrow accounts.

SERVICING: The processing of payments, mailing of monthly statements, management and disbursement of escrow funds etc Typically carried out by the company you make payments to.

Setback: The distance from a curb, property line or other reference point, within which building is prohibited

Setback Regulations: The requirements of building or zoning laws that a building be a certain distance from the street or lot line either on the street level or at a prescribed height.

Settlement Monuments: Steel plates set to known elevations, then monitored for settlement.

Sewer Manhole: Reference to a manhole in a sewer system on a map.

Shared Living: The occupancy of a dwelling unit by persons of more than one family in order to reduce housing expenses and provide social contact, mutual support, and assistance. Shared living facilities serving six or fewer persons are permitted in all residential districts by Section 1566.3 of the California Health and Safety Code.

Shares outstanding: The number of shares of common stock currently outstanding, less the shares held in treasury

SHEATHING: The covering on outside walls beneath the siding or exterior finish such as stucco.

SHEETROCK: Also called drywall, the gypsum board commonly used on interior walls.

SILL COCK: Garden hose pipe connection.

SILL PLATE: The lumber used around the foundation to support exterior wall framing.

SINGLE-FAMILY PROPERTY: A property designed and built to support the habitation of one family.

Single-family Residential: A land use designation describing a development area made up of buildings that are designed to house one family. Also can refer to the buildings themselves.

Site analysis: Determines the suitability of a specific parcel of land for a specific use

Site development: The installation of all necessary improvements made to a site before a building or project can be constructed on the site

Site improvements and Dev Fees: This line item includes costs to get your property ready before you can build vertically. This typically includes the completion of street improvements such as curb, gutter, storm drains, utilities such as gas, water, electric, and cable; grading, offsi

Site plan: A detailed plan that depicts the location of improvements on a parcel

Slab: The exposed wearing surface laid over the structural support beams of a building to form the floor(s) of the building

Slope: Land gradient described as 100 times the vertical rise divided by the horizontal run. For example, a hill or road which rises in elevation 15 feet in a horizontal length of 100 feet has a slope of 15 percent.

Slope Stabilization: The stabilization of slopes through such measures as stabilization landscaping, buttressing, retaining walls, geogrid.

Social investing: Investments driven in whole or in part by social or political (non-real estate) objectives. Under ERISA, social investing is economically justified only if proper real estate fundamentals are considered first.

SOFFIT: The underside of a cornice at the eaves.

Soft cost: The portion of an equity investment other than the actual cost of the improvements themselves that may be tax-deductible in the first year

Soft Costs: Costs other than those directly associated with construction (civil engineering, fees, consulting, etc)

Soils Engineer: An engineer licensed to analyze soil conditions and produce design criteria used by the structural engineer in designing the structural systems for a building.

Soils Report: A report detailing geologic conditions and soil properties on a project site

Solar Access: The provision of direct sunlight to an area specified for solar energy collection.

Solid Waste: General category that includes organic wastes, paper products, metals, glass, plastics, cloth, brick, rock, soil, leather, rubber, yard wastes, and wood.

Southern California Edison: As of 2006, the largest subsidiary of Edison International, which serves electricity to many parts of central, coastal, and southern California.

Southern California Gas: A utility serving gas to many parts of southern California.

Space plan: A graphic representation of a tenant's space requirements, showing wall and door locations, room sizes and sometimes furniture layouts

Special assessment: Special charges levied against real property for public improvements that benefit the assessed property

Special servicer: A firm that is employed to work out mortgages that are either delinquent or in default

Specific Plan: A plan which shows the future physical development to be implemented within a specifically defined area. The Specific Plan will show the types of land uses to be developed on each parcel, circulation in and adjacent to the area, as well as written standards, regulations and policies for items such as zoning, architectural design, open spaces, preservation of existing structures and other relevant factors.

Specified investing: Investment in individually specified properties or portfolios, or investment in commingled funds whose real estate assets are fully or partially specified prior to the commitment of investor capital

Speculative space: Any tenant space that has not been leased before the start of construction on a new building

Sphere of Influence: The probable ultimate physical boundaries and service area of the city as determined by the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) of each county.

Spot Zoning: The awarding of a use classification to a single parcel of land considered detrimental or incompatible with surrounding area uses, particularly when the act favors a particular owner. This type of zoning is generally disfavored unless justified by a special circumstance such as historical or scenic value, or environmental importance.

Stabilization Fill: Much the same (on a lesser scale) as a buttress. Built with a key and, generally speaking, replace unstable areas in the surface of a cut slope. Measured and paid based on theoretical design quantities.

Stabilization Landscaping: Vegetation planted on a slope, used to stabilize the slope and prevent erosion.

Stabilized net operating income: Projected income less expenses that are subject to change but have been adjusted to reflect equivalent, stable property operations

Stabilized occupancy: The optimum range of long-term occupancy that an income-producing real estate project is expected to achieve after exposure for leasing in the open market for a reasonable period of time at terms and conditions comparable to competitive offerings

Standards: While often used loosely to refer to all requirements in a zoning ordinance, the term usually means physical site design regulations such as lot area, height limits, frontage, landscaping, yards, and floor area ratio- as distinguished from use restrictions.

Station: A numbering system, shown on a map, used by engineers and surveyors to graphically represent physical locations for construction purposes. Stations are typically shown in 100-foot increments. (i.e. STA 25+57,38)

Step-up lease (graded lease): A lease specifying set increases in rent at set intervals during the term of the lease

Steven's Kangaroo Rat: A protected species in parts of California, fees are generally required if a development will result in the disruption of the rat's habitat

Storm Drain: The system of pipes that carries rain water from developed areas to a natural water course. Storm drain water is sometimes treated before it is discharged through the use of storm water separator (CDS Unit), bioswales, catch basin filters. Storm drain systems must be separate from sewer systems.

Storm Drain Manhole: No Def

Straight lease (flat lease): A lease specifying a fixed amount of rent that is to be paid periodically, typically monthly, during the entire term of the lease

Street Light: No Def

Strip center: Any shopping area comprised of a row of stores but smaller than a neighborhood center anchored by a grocery store

Structure, Accessory: A detached building or structure, other than a sign, the use of which is incidental to that of a main building or use, any building or structure which is incidental to the conducting of any agricultural use.

STUCCO: A textured plaster exterior (and occasionally interior) wall finish.

STUD: A vertical framing piece in a wall, generally 2x4 lumber in interior walls.

Subcontractor: A contractor working under and being paid by the general contractor, often a specialist in nature, such as an electrical contractor, cement contractor, etc.

Subdivision: An act or instance of subdividing a tract of land surveyed and divided into lots for purposes of sale.

SUBDIVISION: A residential development that is created from a piece of land which has been subdivided into individual lots.

Subdrain: A drain placed at the flow line of a canyon to be filled as part of a grading operation.

SUBJECT PROPERTY: A term which indicates a property which is being appraised.

Sublessee: A person or identity to whom the rights of use and occupancy under a lease have been conveyed, while the original lessee retains primary responsibility for the obligations of the lease

Subordinated classes: With regard to CMBS, describes those classes with the lowest priority to receive payments from the underlying mortgage loans

Subordination: The process of sharing the risk of credit losses disproportionately among two or more classes of securities

Subsidence: The lowering of the Earth's surface, caused by such factors as compaction, consolidation of clay soils, a decrease in groundwater, or the pumping of oil.

Substandard Housing: Residential dwellings which, because of their physical condition, do not provide safe and sanitary housing.

SUMP: A basin into which water drains and from which the water is pumped out.

Surety: One who voluntarily binds himself to be obligated for the debt or obligation of another

Surety Bond: A bond issued by an entity on behalf of a second party, guaranteeing that the second party will fulfill an obligation or series of obligations to a third party. In the event that the obligations are not met, the third party will recover its losses via the bond.

Surface rights: A right or easement granted with mineral rights, enabling the possessor of the mineral rights to drill or mine through the surface

SURVEY: A specific map of a piece of property which includes the legal boundaries and any improvements or features of the land. Surveys also depict any rights-of-way, encroachments or easements.

Swale: An elongated depression in the land surface that is at least seasonally wet. Swales conduct stormwater into primary drainage channels and may provide some groundwater recharge, can be made of various materials, including dirt, concrete, grass-lined, etc.

SWEAT EQUITY: The method whereby a home owner develops equity in a property, either during the purchase or throughout its life, by personally constructing improvements rather than paying to have them built.

Synthetic lease: A transaction that appears as a lease from an accounting standpoint but as a loan from a tax standpoint

Taking: The appropriation by government of private land for public use. Under the U.S. Constitution, property cannot be taken without just compensation. The 'taking issue' becomes quit complex when land use regulations considerably diminish the value of property (as in inverse condemnation), or when permit conditions require dedications of property.

Tax base: The assessed valuation of all real property that lies within a taxing authority's jurisdiction. When multiplied by the tax rate, it determines the amount of tax due.

Tax lien: A statutory lien for nonpayment of property taxes that attaches only to the property upon which the taxes are unpaid

Tax roll: A list or record containing the descriptions of all land parcels located within the county, the names of the owners or those receiving the tax bill, assessed values and tax amounts

TAX-EXEMPT PROPERTY: Any property which is not taxed.

Tax-Increment Financing: A technical term that refers to a method available to cities for financing a redevelopment project.

Temporary: No Def

TENANCY: The right to occupy a building or unit.

TENANCY IN COMMON: A form of holding title, whereby there are two or more people on title to a property, ownership does not pass on to the others upon the death of one individual.

Tenant (lessee): One who rents real estate from another and holds an estate by virtue of a lease

Tenant at will: One who holds possession of premises by permission of the owner or landlord. The characteristics of the lease are an uncertain duration and the right of either party to terminate on proper notice.

Tenant improvement (TI): Improvements made to the leased premises by or for a tenant

Tenant improvement (TI) allowance: Defines the fixed amount of money contributed by the landlord toward tenant improvements. The tenant pays any of the costs that exceed this amount.

Tenant mix: A phrase used to describe the quality of a property's income stream. In multi-tenanted properties, institutional investors typically prefer a mixture of national credit tenants, regional credit tenants and local non-credit tenants.

Tentative Tract Map: A preliminary map depicting a proposed subdivision of land.

Term: Length of time that loan will be amortized over.

Test Pit: An exploratory excavation used for obtaining soil samples and investigating subsurface materials, may also reveal the presence of an archaeologically significant site.

The accumulating deposition of eroded material, the gradual filling in of streams and other bodies of water with sand, silt, and clay.

THIRD PARTY ORIGINATION: When a lender uses a third party to originate and package loans for sale to the secondary market (Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac).

Thomas Bros Guide: Third-party area maps used by Developers Research for identifying project areas

Thrust Block: Concrete reinforcement poured around a pipe where a direction change occurs. The block supports the pipe and prevents it from moving under the force of the moving liquid inside.

Time and Materials: A method of costing a job in which the work is agreed on between the contractor/consultant and client with payment based on the actual cost to the contractor for equipment, labor and materials, plus overhead and profit.

Time-weighted average annual rate of return: The constant annual return over a series of years that would compound to the same return as compounding the actual annual returns for each year in the series

Title: The means whereby the owner has the just and full possession of real property

TITLE: A specific document which serves as proof of ownership.

TITLE COMPANY: An organization which researches and certifies ownership of real estate before it is bought or sold. Title companies also act at the facilitator ensures all parties are paid during the real estate transaction.

Title insurance: A policy issued by a title company that insures against loss resulting from defects of title to a specifically described parcel of real property, or from the enforcement of liens existing against it at the time the title policy is issued

Title Insurance: A policy that protects a property owner against errors, omissions, or defects in the title of the property

TITLE INSURANCE: A policy which insures a property owner should a prior claim arise against the property after the purchase has been completed. This also covers a lender should a question of ownership arise.

Title Report: A document indicating the current state of title. The report includes information on the current ownership, outstanding deeds of trust or mortgages, liens, easements, covenants, restrictions, any defects, and a legal description of property boundaries.

Title search: A review of all recorded documents affecting a specific piece of property to determine the present condition of title

Toe of Slope: The base or bottom of a slope at the point where the ground surface abruptly changes to a significantly flatter grade.

Top of Bank: Top of the bank of a watercourse.

Top of Curb: Top of the front face of a curb.

Top of Footing: The top of the footing for a given structure, such as a wall or building.

Top of Grate: The top of a grate where storm water enters a drainage structure.

Top of Pipe: Top of the outside diameter of a pipe.

Top of Wall: The top of a wall, not including any decorative capping materials.

Topography: A depiction of the earth's surface that includes reference to elevation, usually by means of contour lines

Total acres: All land area contained within a real estate investment

Total assets: The sum of all gross investments, cash and equivalents, receivables, and other assets presented on the balance sheet

Total commitment: The full mortgage loan amount that is obligated to be funded if all stated conditions are met

Total inventory: The total square footage of a type of property within a geographical area, whether vacant or occupied

Total principal balance: The total amount of debt, including the original mortgage amount adjusted for subsequent fundings, principal payments and other unpaid items (e.g., interest) that are allowed to be added to the principal balance by the mortgage note or by law

Total retail area: Total floor area of a retail center less common areas. It is the area from which sales are generated and includes any department stores or other areas (such as banks, restaurants or service stations) not owned by the center.

Total return: The sum of quarterly income and appreciation returns

Townhouse, Townhome: A one-family dwelling in a row of at least three such units in which each unit has its own front and rear access to the outside, no unit is located over another unit, and each unit is separated from any other unit by one or more common and fire-resistant walls. Townhouses usually have separate utilities. However, in some situations, common areas are maintained by utilities purchased by a homeowners association on behalf of all owners in the project.

Toxicity Report: No Def

Tract Number: A number that identifies a tract, assigned by the governing agency.

Tract/Tract Map: Any subdivision of land created by a final map or parcel map, per the subdivision map act

Trade fixtures: Personal property that is attached to a structure that is used in the business. Because this property is part of the business and not deemed to be part of the real estate, it is typically removable upon lease termination.

Traffic Impact Report: A report prepared by a licensed traffic engineer, detailing the traffic impacts resulting from a development project and necessary mitigation measures.

Traffic Uniform Mitigation Fee: A traffic impact fee in Riverside County, which provides a supplemental revenue stream to augment traditional funding sources for regional transportation facilities (capital facilities only, no operation and maintenance) and mitigates the impact of new developments on the regional system of highways and arterials, it complements measure A revenues.

Tranche: A class of securities. CMBS offerings are generally divided into rated and unrated classes, or tranches, according to seniority and risk. Higher-rated tranches allow for internal credit enhancements

TRANSFER OF OWNERSHIP: Any means by which the ownership of a property changes hands.

TRANSFER OF TAX: Taxes payable when title passes from one owner to another.

Transitional Housing: Shelter provided to the homeless for an extended period, often as long as 18 months, and generally integrated with other social services and counseling programs to assist in the transition to self-sufficiency through the acquisition of a stable income and permanent housing.

TRAP: A bend in water pipe.

Trenches (soils report): An exploratory excavation used for obtaining soil samples and investigating subsurface materials, may also reveal the presence of an archaeologically significant site.

Trip Generation: The dynamics that account for people making trips in automobiles or by means of public transportation. Trip generation is the basis for estimating the level of use for a transportation system and the impact of additional development or transportation facilities on an existing local transportation system.

Triple net lease: A lease that requires the tenant to pay all expenses of the property being leased in addition to rent. Typical expenses covered in such a lease include taxes, insurance, maintenance and utilities.

Trustee: The trustee oversees the flow of funds through the CMBS structure on behalf of the bondholders. The trustee is responsible for collecting principal and interest from the servicer, distributing payments to bondholders and reporting to bondholders.

TRUSTEE: A fiduciary that holds or controls property for the benefit of another.

TRUTH IN LENDING: A federal law requiring full disclosure by lenders to borrowers of all terms, conditions and costs of a mortgage.

TUDOR: A style of architecture typified by exposed stone, wood and brick construction. Similar in style to English manor homes.

Turn key project: The construction of a project in which a third party is responsible for the total completion of a building, or for the construction of tenant improvements to the customized requirements and specifications of a future owner or tenant

TV Test: During a TV. Test, a small video camera is inserted into the sewer line to verify adequacy of construction, to include slope, structural integrity.

Typical: No Def

Under construction: The period of time after construction has started but before the certificate of occupancy has been issued

Under contract: The period of time after a seller has accepted a buyer's offer to purchase a property and during which the buyer is able to perform its due diligence and finalize financing arrangements. During this time, the seller is precluded from entertaining offers from other buyers.

UNDER IMPROVED LAND: A piece of land which has been improved, but not to the full extent of its potential.

Underwriter: A company, usually an investment banking firm, that guarantees or participates in a guarantee that an entire issue of stocks or bonds will be purchased

Unencumbered: Property that is free of liens and other encumbrances

UNENCUMBERED PROPERTY: Any property which has no outstanding claims or liens against it.

UNIFORM STANDARDS OF PROFESSIONAL APPRAISAL PRACTICE (USPAP): Developed in 1986 by the Ad Hoc Committee on Uniform Standards and copyrighted in 1987 by The Appraisal Foundation, USPAP forms the guidelines followed by every licensed and certified real estate appraiser in the United States. The purpose of these Standards is to establish requirements for professional appraisal practice, which includes appraisal, appraisal review, and appraisal consulting. The intent of these Standards is to promote and maintain a high level of public trust in professional appraisal practice.

Unimproved land: Most commonly refers to land without improvements or buildings but also can mean land in its natural state

Unincorporated [County]: An area of land that is not under the jurisdiction of a city government and is therefore under the jurisdiction of a County government.

United States Fish and Wildlife Service: A bureau with the Department of the Interior, the purpose of which is to manage and preserve wildlife. It includes the following units: National Wildlife Refuge System, Bird Habitat Conservation, Federal Duck Stamp, National Fish Hatchery System, Endangered Species program.

Unrated classes: Typically the most subordinated classes of CMBS

UPREIT (Umbrella partnership real estate investment trust): Organizational structure where a REIT's assets are owned by a holding company for tax purposes

Urban Limit Line (Urban Service Area): A line established to mark the outer limits or urban development during a specified time period. Beyond this line, development is prohibited or strongly discouraged by a variety of growth management tools such as acreage zoning and limits on capital improvements.

Usable square footage: The area contained within the demising walls of the tenant space that equals the net square footage multiplied by the circulation factor

Use: The specific purpose for which a parcel or a building is intended to be used or for which it has been designed or arranged

Use by Right: Refers to land uses and activities which are designated in a zoning ordinance as acceptable and legally permissible within a particular zoning district or land use category.

Use, Principal Permitted: The primary use of land (or a main building) permitted in the zone. If listed in a specific zone as a principal permitted use, it means that the owner, lessee, or other person with a legal right to use the land has a right to conduct this principal permitted use in accordance with other zoning regulations without securing special permission. The use is therefore subject only to procedures by design and environmental review.

USEFUL LIFE: The span of time over which a property can be used or can provide benefits to its owner.

Utility Corridors: Rights-of-way or easements for utility lines on either publicly or privately owned property. (See Right-of-way or Easement.)

VA MORTGAGE: A mortgage that is guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Vacancy factor: The amount of gross revenue that pro forma income statements anticipate will be lost because of vacancies, often expressed as a percentage of the total rentable square footage available in a building or project

Vacancy rate: The total amount of available space compared to the total inventory of space and expressed as a percentage

VACANCY RATE: The current percentage of vacant properties in a given area, regardless of why they are vacant.

Vacant space: Existing tenant space currently being marketed for lease excluding space available for sublease

Value-added: A phrase generally used by advisers and managers to describe investments in underperforming and/or undermanaged assets. The objective is to generate 13 percent to 18 percent returns.

Variable-rate: A loan interest rate that varies over the term of the loan, usually tied to a predetermined index. Also called adjustable-rate.

Variance: An exception from compliance with the physical development requirements of a building or zoning regulation. A variance may not be granted to authorize the use or activity not otherwise allowed by the zoning ordinance. A variance may allow deviations from the ordinance's physical standards (such as setback or lot sizes) if the property owner would otherwise suffer a hardship caused by the property's unique circumstances, and if the deviation or exception would not have a detrimental impact on adjacent properties.

VENT PIPE: A pipe allowing gas to escape.

Vertical Construction Cost Per sq ft: This refers to the costs to build vertically such as framing, interior, exterior finishes, plumbing, electrical, appliances, etc

Vertical Curve: A parabolic curve used to join two sloping segments of a street or pipeline.

Very Low-Income Household: Households with incomes not exceeding 50% of the area median income. (See Low-Income Household.)

VESTED: Having the right to use a portion of a fund such as an IRA. Typically vesting occurs over time. If you are 100% vested, you have a right to 100% of the fund.

VETERANS AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF (VA): The successor to the Veteran's Administration, this government agency is responsible for ensuring the rights and welfare of our nation's veterans and their dependents. Among other duties, the VA insures home loans made to veterans.

Virtual storefront: An online business presence for sales

VOLTAGE: An expression of electric force, or pressure. One volt being the force needed to move one amp against one ohm resistance.

Waiting period: The time between the initial filing of a registration statement and its effective date

WALK-THROUGH INSPECTION: A process whereby an appraiser examines a property in preparation for estimating its value. Also, the process of inspecting a property for any damage prior to that property being bought or sold.

WARRANTY: An affidavit given to stipulate the condition of a property. The person giving the warranty assumes liability if the condition turns out to be untrue.

WATT: An expression of amount of electrical power. Volt times amps equals watts.

WEAR AND TEAR: A term used to indicate the normal damage inflicted on a property through every-day use.

WEATHER STRIPPING: Material used around windows and doors to prevent drafts.

WEEP HOLE: Drainage hole that allows water to escape.

Weighted-average coupon: The weighted average of the gross interest rates of the mortgages underlying a pool as of the issue date, with the balance of each mortgage used as the weighting factor

Weighted-average equity: The denominator of the fraction used to calculate investment-level income, appreciation and total returns on a quarterly basis, consisting of net assets at the beginning of the period adjusted for weighted contributions and distributions

Weighted-average rental rates: The average proportion of unequal rental rates in two or more buildings within a market

Wetlands: Lands covered periodically or permanently with shallow water, such as marshes, open or closed brackish water, swamps, mudflats, and fens. Usually, the on-site moisture is sufficient to either: promote the formation of (hydric) soils whose properties reflect dominant wetness characteristics near the surface, or support the growth of hydrophytic plants which grow in water or wet habitats. State and federal wetland laws and regulations define wetlands more precisely.

Will-Serve Letter: A letter written by a utility to a developer stating that the utility is willing to serve the proposed land development under agreed upon conditions, such as the amount of potable water required per day, or the amount of wastewater estimated to be created by the development.

Working drawings: The set of plans for a building or project that comprise the contract documents that indicate the precise manner in which a project is to be built

Workout: The process by which a borrower attempts to negotiate with a lender to restructure the borrower's debt rather than go through foreclosure proceedings

Write-down: The accounting procedure used when the book value of an asset is adjusted downward to better reflect current market value

Write-off: The accounting procedure used when an asset has been determined to be uncollectible and is therefore charged as a loss

Yield: The effective return on an investment, as paid in dividends or interest

Yield maintenance premium: A penalty, paid by the borrower, designed to make investors whole in the event of early redemption of principal

Yield spread: The difference in yields between a commercial mortgage and a benchmark value, typically U.S. Treasuries of the same maturity

ZERO LOT LINE: A municipal zoning category wherein a building or other fixture may abut the property line.

ZONE: A specific area within a municipality or other jurisdiction which conforms to certain guidelines regarding the use of property in the zone. Typical zones include single-family, multi-family, industrial, commercial and mixed-use.

Zoning: The partitioning of land by ordinance into sections reserved for different purposes, such as residential, commercial, industrial, retail, parks, and open space.

Zoning ordinance: The set of laws and regulations controlling the use of land and construction of improvements in a given area or zone

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