Glossary of Real Estate Terms - T
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T –
TACKING:
Adding an extra period of time to the term of a contract.
TAKING:
1. Government acquisition of land through condemnation.
2. Restrictions on the use of land that are so harsh as to block any reasonable
use of the property.
TANDEM PLAN:
A joint program of the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) and the
Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) to provide low-interest home loans.
TANGIBLE PROPERTY:
Assets that can be touched, that have a physical existence.
TAX:
1. To strain or push to the point of exhaustion.
2. To levy an assessment against, usually by government powers. Unpaid taxes
usually form a special lien on property owned by the taxpayer, ahead of registered
mortgages.
3. The money charged as an assessment.
TAX AND INSURANCE ESCROW:
See "escrow
account".
TAX BASE:
The pool of property, value or income from which a government may draw
assessments.
TAX DEED:
The instrument of conveyance when a property is sold by a government body to pay
for arrears of taxes.
TAX FORECLOSURE:
The process leading up to the sale of a property to pay for arrears in taxes.
TAX LIEN:
A claim registered against a property by a government authority for non-payment of
assessed taxes.
TAX MAP:
A pictorial representation of the properties in a municipality, showing
dimensions and other information about each property for tax purposes.
TAX ROLL:
Also known as "assessment roll", the listing of all properties in a jurisdiction
that are subject to taxation, including owners’ names, assessed value of each
property, municipal addresses, legal descriptions and assessment roll number.
TAX SALE:
Sale of property by a governmental body for non-payment of taxes, ether by
tender or auction.
TAX-EXEMPT PROPERTY:
A property that is not subject to realty taxes.
TEASER RATE:
A lower interest rate charged on an adjustable or
variable rate mortgage for a brief, introductory period as an inducement to
the borrower to accept the loan from the lender.
TENANCY:
The right to use and occupy all or part of a property under a rental agreement.
TENANCY AT SUFFERANCE:
Form of tenancy created when a tenant remains in occupation of the premises
after the end of the lease. The landlord is at liberty to evict the tenant at
any time, subject only to the local tenancy laws.
TENANCY AT WILL:
Form of tenancy created by written agreement in which the landlord may evict the
tenant at any time.
TENANCY BY ENTIRETY:
See "joint
tenants".
TENANCY FOR LIFE:
See "life estate".
TENANCY FOR YEARS:
Form of tenancy created by a written agreement in which the tenant has the right
to occupy the premises for a stated period of time.
TENANCY FROM YEAR TO YEAR (MONTH TO MONTH):
A form of tenancy in which the tenant’s right to occupy the premises lasts for a
stated period of time but may be extended by mutual consent for another period.
TENANCY IN COMMON:
Ownership of property in which several owners each own a stated portion of the
property (a percentage). Each owner may deal with her portion of the property as
she wishes (giving it away, mortgaging it, selling it, bequeathing it, etc.)
and, upon her death, her share becomes part of her estate.
TENANCY IN SEVERALTY:
Ownership of property by a single person.
TENANT FIXTURES:
Items added to a leased premises by a tenant that might normally be considered
fixtures (and, therefore, part of the premises) but that, by contract or law,
the tenant is entitled to remove at the end of the lease period.
TENANT IN COMMON:
A person who owns property with one or more others, where each owns a stated
portion of the property and is free to deal with his portion as he wishes.
TENDER:
1. To deliver payment or an item one is obliged to deliver.
2. To produce evidence of one’s ability to meet one’s obligations under a
contract for the purposes of preserving one’s right to sue another party to the
contract who is not able to carry out the contract.
TENEMENTS:
1. A legal word for a property or fixed asset (see dominant or servient tenement
regarding easements).
2. Term for units in an aging apartment complex or building.
TENURE IN LAND:
The fashion in which an owner holds title to land.
TERM LOAN:
A loan that comes due on a given date, often before the periodic payments would
pay the loan out.
TERM, AMORTIZATION:
Term: The period of time during which the loan contract is active, during which
the borrower makes periodic payments to the lender and at the end of which the
balance of the loan becomes due and payable.
Amortization: The period of time after which, if all periodic payments are
made on time and in full, the loan will be paid out. Term may not be the same as
amortization: a normal mortgage may be amortized over 25 years with just a five
year term at which time the borrower has to re-finance.
TERMITE CLAUSE:
A term in an Agreement for sale which allows the Purchaser to inspect for
termites. If any are found, the Vendor may be required to treat the problem or the
Purchaser may rescind. Many clauses now refer more generally to "wood-damaging
or destroying insects".
TERMITE INSPECTION:
The examination of a building for wood destroying insects.
TERMS:
The various clauses that make up a contract. Sometimes used to described the
financial portions of the contract only.
TESTAMENT:
Another word for a will.
TESTAMENTARY DISPOSITION:
The transfer of ownership of an asset by way of a will.
TESTATE:
To die leaving a valid Will. Opposite of "intestate".
TESTATOR (TESTATRIX):
The person who makes a will.
TESTIMONIUM:
The clause in a legal instrument that sets out the date and other information
regarding the signing of the instrument.
THIRD PARTY:
A person who is not a party to a contract but may become involved in an indirect
way or be affected by it.
TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE:
A standard statement in a contract which ensures that all dates and times of day
noted in the contract are important and cannot be ignored by any of the parties
without the consent of the others except in breach of the contract.
TIME-SHARING:
A form of joint ownership of property where numerous owners share title and
enjoy use or occupation of the property according to a specific schedule.
TITLE:
The legal term for one’s ownership interest in land.
TITLE COMPANY:
Also known as "title insurance company" or "title insurer". A corporation which
is in the business of selling policies of insurance guaranteeing the ownership
and quality of title to land.
TITLE COVENANTS:
Clauses and promises inserted into instruments of conveyance which are designed
to give the Purchaser assurances that she is receiving good title.
TITLE DEFECT:
A claim against or competing interest in a property which affects the title of
the registered owner.
TITLE INSURANCE POLICY:
A form of insurance contract which guarantees to indemnify an owner or mortgagee
of property for damages suffered as a result of undiscovered title defects which arise
later.
TITLE PLANT:
Also known as "abstract
plant". An assemblage, available to the public, of information and documents
relating to title to a particular property.
TITLE REPORT:
A document which sets out the current state of title to a property.
TITLE SEARCH:
The act of examining in detail the public records relating to ownership of a
parcel of land to ensure that the current owner has clear title, free of any
liens, claims, mortgages or competing and adverse interests. Usually performed
by a lawyer, qualified title searcher, or title insurance company on behalf of a
proposed purchaser or mortgagee.
TITLE THEORY STATES:
Jurisdictions in which ownership of land is divided into two interests: legal
title and equitable title. When an owner registers a mortgage in favor of a
lender, legal title is transfer to the lender while the owner retains equitable
(or beneficial) title. Once the mortgage is paid out, legal title is transfer
back to the owner.
TOPOGRAPHY:
The form and structure of the surface of land (i.e. hilly, flat, etc.)
TORRENS SYSTEM:
Developed in Australia, a system of the registration of interests in land in
which documents are closely regulated, monitored and examined by the recording
authority to ensure that they are correct and that title is transfer without
flaw. Property may not be transfer if uncorrected title defects exist.
TOTAL DEBT RATIO:
Comparison of the total costs of living for a person (including debt, food,
utilities) over a given period with the gross income of that person.
TOTAL INTEREST PAYMENTS:
A calculation of all interest paid on a loan over its life.
TOWN HOUSE:
A type of dwelling which shares at least one common wall with neighboring
dwellings.
TRANSACTION FEE:
A charge for making a withdrawal on a line of cit or other bank account.
TRANSFER TAX:
See "land
transfer tax".
TRESPASS:
Entry onto or possession of the property owned by another without the owner’s
consent.
TRIPLE-NET LEASE:
A rental agreement which requires the tenant to pay all operating costs of the
building.
TRUST ACCOUNT:
A bank account held by a professional for the purposes of keeping money held on
behalf of clients separate from the funds of the professional or her business.
TRUST DEED:
An instrument of conveyance of title to property wherein the transferee will be
holding the title to the property on behalf of another person.
TRUSTEE:
A person who holds title to property on behalf of another (a "beneficiary of the
trust").
TRUSTEE’S SALE:
Sale conducted by a trustee (often the lender) under the terms of the deed of
trust.
TRUTH-IN-LENDING ACT:
A federal law which requires lenders to disclose all terms of a loan arrangement
to the borrower in a specified form.
TUDOR:
A heavy looking, fortress like style of home in the English style. Stone and
brick construction, may also feature stucco and exposed timbers. Windows feature
stone trim.
TWO-STEP MORTGAGE:
A mortgage contract in which the interest rate changes after a given period of
time, such that the rate charged is lower for the first part of the term of the
mortgage and then market rate or higher later in the term.
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