Real Estate
Glossary
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MAINTENANCE COSTS:
The expense of keeping a property in a
good state of repair.
MAINTENANCE FEE:
Charge to a unit holder in a condominium or
cooperative complex for that person's share of costs of keeping the
common-use portions of the complex in a good state of repair.
MAJORITY:
1. More than 50%.
2. The age of majority is the
age in years at which a community considers a human being capable of
handling his own affairs and legally liable for his actions.
MALL:
Commonly used to refer to the entire shopping complex
but properly a reference to the pedestrian area of the mall that connects
shopping areas.
MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT:
A contract between an owner of a
property and a property management firm in which the firm accepts periodic
payments for acting as supervisor of the affairs of the property.
MANAGEMENT FEE:
The property manager's compensation.
MANAGEMENT PLAN:
A written document in which the property
manager sets out its goals and the approaches it will use to accomplish
those goals in a given period of time for the property.
MANDATORY DELIVERY COMMITMENT:
A lender's written promise to
deliver certain funds at specified dates upon terms set out in the
commitment.
MANUFACTURED HOUSING:
Known
as "pre-fab" housing, any dwelling that is assembled out of components
(i.e. walls, floors, roof) constructed off-site and then brought to the
building lot.
MARGIN:
The difference or the added amount. In mortgages, the
difference between the index interest rate and the interest rate charged
on the variable or adjustable rate mortgage. Expressed in the contract as
a percentage (i.e. "prime plus three per cent").
MARGINAL LAND:
Land whose value is limited. The cost of
making it capable of producing income is generally very close to the
income it would produce.
MARINA:
A facility located on a body of water which provides
docking, storage, maintenance and other facilities for boats.
MARKET PRICE:
The consideration actually paid for an asset in
an arm's-length transaction.
MARKET RENT:
Also known as economic rent, the amount the
owner could charge and obtain for the lease of a property in the current
economic circumstances.
MARKET RENTAL RISK:
The possibility that the market rent for
a property will change due to changing market forces, making a long-term,
fixed rent lease more or less desirable.
MARKET SEGMENTATION:
Analyzing sub-markets within a greater
market.
MARKET STUDY:
An analysis of the reaction of the market to
influences such as location, demand, extra-market economic events, etc.
MARKET VALUE:
An estimation of the price that could be
obtained for a particular asset if it were sold in an arm's length
transaction on the current market.
MARKETABLE TITLE:
Ownership of land that is without competing
claims or other defects, such that it could be sold without complication.
MARKETING PLAN:
A written description of how a salesperson
intends to advertise a given property to obtain the best price within a
reasonable time.
MASTER ASSOCIATION:
An organization of homeowners in a large
condominium or planned unit development (PUD) which includes
representatives from other, smaller homeowner organizations.
MASTER LEASE:
The dominant lease in a property, under which
one or more sub-leases may exist.
MATERIAL BREACH:
A contravention of the terms of a contract
by one of the parties that is so large that it changes the very nature of
the agreement between the parties and allows the innocent party to treat
the contract as being at an end and pursue legal remedies (recision,
damages, specific performance) from the contravening party.
MATERIAL FACT:
An important fact about one or more of the
issues involved in the contract which, if known to all parties, may result
in a different contract or no contract at all.
MATURITY DATE:
The date upon which a mortgage loan comes due
and payable.
MEAN HIGH TIDE:
The level to which the water rose on an
average day over a previous period of time (years or decades).
MEANDER LINES:
A vivid description of the measurement used in
surveying to set out the boundary of a water course (i.e. a stream or
river).
MECHANIC'S AND MATERIALMAN'S LIENS:
A claim against property
that arises as a statutory right of any person who supplies work or
materials to a property and is not compensated for that work. See also "construction
lien".
MEETING OF THE MINDS:
In order for a contract to be
enforceable, the parties to it must come to a common understanding of the
terms of their agreement. If no such common understanding has occurred
with regard to a material clause in the contract, the contract may be
voidable. This common understanding is referred to at common law as a
"meeting of the minds".
MEGALOPOLIS:
A spiffy new term for urban sprawl, situations
where the expansion of several cities in a particular area has created one
continuous city, even if the different parts retain their own name
(Boston, New York, Philadelphia, etc.).
MENACE:
Coercion, pressure. A threatening act which is aimed
at forcing a person to act against their wishes.
MERGER:
The combining of two or more independent bodies into
a single body.
MERIDIANS:
Used in government survey method, lines which form
the north-south portion of the grid.
METER:
Also known as metre. The metric system's basic unit
for linear measurement, equal to 39.37 inches. 1/10th of a meter is a
decimeter; 1/100th is a centimeter; 1/100th is a millimeter.
METES AND BOUNDS:
An older way of describing land in
registered instruments. Starting at a recognizable point (the meeting of
two roads, the corner of a lot), the description then describes the
boundaries of the land by indicating distances and directions for each
boundary (i.e. "South 100 feet" or "South 73 degrees, five minutes west
for a distance of 100 feet"), returning at the end of the description to
the beginning point.
METROPOLITAN AREA:
The land which is located in a city and in
the surrounding areas which can be said to be still part of the economic
or political sphere of the city.
MIDDLEMAN:
A slang description for a person who acts to bring
together the parties to a transaction.
MILE:
Linear measurement equaling 5,280 feet, 1,760 yards,
1,609 kilometers, or 8 furlongs. Note, a nautical mile is equal to 6,080
feet.
MILITARY CLAUSE:
A term of a residential lease which allows a
tenant who is a member of the military to terminate the lease upon being
transferred to another place without suffering any penalty.
MILL:
10 per cent of a penny. In many jurisdictions, property
tax assessments are based on a mill rate.
MINERAL DEED:
An instrument which transfers to the purchaser
only an interest in the subsurface portion of the property, while
retaining to the vendor the surface and air rights.
MINERAL LEASE:
A contract between the owner of a property and
another party allowing the other party to explore and exploit any mineral
deposits found on the property for a limited period of time in return for
a periodic payment.
MINERAL RIGHTS:
The legal interest in the valuable items
found below the surface of a property.
MINIMUM DOWNPAYMENT:
The least amount of money a purchaser
can provide toward the purchase price of a house under a mortgage loan
program.
MINIMUM LOT SIZE:
The smallest size allowable for an
independent parcel of property under a zoning by-law or ordinance
provision.
MINIMUM PAYMENT:
The lowest amount a borrower is allowed to
pay toward a loan, line of credit or other debt in a given period of time.
MINIMUM PROPERTY STANDARDS:
The bare essentials in the way of
construction and lot location required by the Federal Housing
Administration (FHA) before it will underwrite a mortgage on a residential
property.
MINIMUM RENT:
The lowest amount the landlord will accept
under a lease contract with a variable rent.
MINIMUM-GUARANTEED PERCENTAGE LEASE:
A lease whereby the
landlord is paid periodic rent as a percentage of the gross (or net) sales
of the tenant of the premises but where the tenant agrees that the rental
payments shall not drop below a specified amount.
MINOR:
A person who is too young to be considered legally
competent according to the laws of the jurisdiction.
MISNOMER:
An error regarding a name.
MISREPRESENTATION:
A statement of a fact that turns out to be
false. May be innocent, negligent or fraudulent.
MISTAKE:
An innocent error. If a mistake is made by all
parties to a contract about a material fact, the contract may be voidable.
MIXED-USE COMMERCIAL PROJECT:
A development which is designed
to mix two or more "uses" of land together (i.e. a shopping center which
offers office space for dentists, etc.)
MOBILE HOME:
A dwelling that sits on wheels and may be moved,
often under its own power.
MOBILE HOME PARK:
An area specifically designed to allow for
permanent or semi-permanent stationing of mobile homes.
MODEL HOME:
A dwelling built first by a developer to allow
potential purchasers to see what the finished product will look like once
the other homes in the development are completed.
MODIFICATION:
A change to the terms of a contract.
MODULAR HOUSING:
See "manufactured housing".
MONUMENT:
Any kind of marker to indicate the boundary or
corner of a parcel of land, used by surveyors.
MONTHLY DEBT SERVICE:
The periodic payments required to
remain current on all outstanding loans.
MONTHLY FIXED INSTALLMENT:
Periodic payment that is applied
toward accumulated interest and reduction of principal.
MONTHLY HOUSING EXPENSE:
The total of the costs of
maintaining a home per month, including financing, realty taxes and house
insurance.
MONTHLY TOTAL EXPENSES:
The total when monthly housing
expense is added to monthly debt service.
MORATORIUM:
A temporary ban or halt to a specific activity.
MORE OR LESS:
A term used in metes and bounds descriptions
and in Agreements between Vendors and Purchasers of land to indicate that
the measurement given may not be exact.
MORTGAGE:
A loan which is secured
against property (i.e. registered on title as a claim or encumbrance on
the property). Often used to purchase the property itself.
MORTGAGE BACK:
Also known as a "vendor
take-back mortgage". Financing of a purchase of property whereby the
vendor accepts only a portion of the purchase price up front and accepts a
mortgage (with periodic payments and interest chargeable) for the
remainder.
MORTGAGE BANKER:
A firm that offers mortgages for property
purchases but, at times, may require financial support from larger
institutions to help cover the outlay of cash.
MORTGAGE BROKER:
A middleman who serves to bring borrowers
together with lenders. Offers the service of doing the shopping for the
borrower while often collecting a fee from the chosen lender rather than
from the borrower.
MORTGAGE COMMITMENT:
See "commitment letter".
MORTGAGE CORRESPONDENT:
An authorized agent of a lender for a
geographic area.
MORTGAGE DISABILITY INSURANCE:
A policy of insurance which
promises to pay periodic mortgage payments for the borrower during any
future period that borrower may be disabled from working and, therefore,
incapable of making the payments himself.
MORTGAGE INSURANCE:
A policy of insurance which promises to
pay out the amount owing in the event that the borrower defaults.
MORTGAGE INTEREST DEDUCTION:
A tax break for people who pay
mortgage interest on their homes.
MORTGAGE LIFE INSURANCE:
A policy of insurance which promises
to pay out the remaining balance owing on a mortgage should the borrower
die. The amount payable by the insurer declines as the mortgage is paid
down and the policy ends upon the paying out of the mortgage.
MORTGAGE LOAN SERVICING:
The lender's actions in collecting
mortgage payments, allocating payments to principal, interest and escrow
accounts, paying out property taxes and insurance over the life of the
loan.
MORTGAGE LOAN UNDERWRITING:
The action of reviewing an
application for a loan and then advising the lender as to the risk factor
in making the loan.
MORTGAGE PROGRAM:
The bundle of features of a particular kind
of mortgage offered to the public.
MORTGAGE VALUE:
The estimate worth of a particular asset
which is established for the purposes of obtaining financing secured
against that asset.
MORTGAGEE:
The lender in a mortgage
transaction. Also known as "chargee".
MORTGAGEE IN POSSESSION:
A lender that has taken over control
and occupancy of a property upon default of the borrower to collect income
from the property and prepare for foreclosure and sale.
MORTGAGOR:
The borrower, purchaser or homeowner in a mortgage
transaction. Also known as "chargor".
MOST PROBABLE SELLING PRICE:
An estimation of the price a
property is most likely to realize in a given market.
MULTI-DWELLING UNITS:
A property which may have one owner but
offers a number of homes for separate people or families.
MULTIFAMILY HOUSING:
Similar to multi-dwelling units, a
building which features two or more family dwellings within the same
structure. May require special zoning.
MULTIPLE DWELLING:
Also known as multi-dwelling unit.
MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE (MLS):
A service created and run by
real estate professionals which gathers all of the property listings into
a single place so that purchasers may review all available properties from
one source. The MLS also deals with commission splitting and other
relations between brokers and agents.
MUNICIPAL ADDRESS:
The city,
street and number on the street by which a property is known. Also known
as "mailing address" but not the same as "legal description".
MUNICIPAL ORDINANCE:
A rule set down by a local government.
MUNICIPALITY:
A generic name for any organized local
government (a city, town, etc.).
MUNIMENTS OF TITLE:
Written documents which may be used to
prove an owner's title to a property.
MUTUAL ASSENT:
A shared acceptance by two or more parties.
MUTUAL RESCISSION:
The act of ending a contract by obtaining
the agreement of all parties to the contract to treat the contract as
being at an end.