Real Estate Investment Funds,

BEQUEST
A gift of personal property by will.

CLOSING COSTS
Expenses of the sale which must be paid in addition to the purchase price (in the case of the buyer's expenses), or be deducted from the proceeds of the sale (in the case of the seller's expenses).

RENT CONTROL
Regulation by state or local governmental agencies restricting the amount of rent landlords can charge their tenants; such regulation is a valid exercise of the state's police power.

OFFER AND ACCEPTANCE
The two components of a valid contract; a "meeting of the minds."

LANDLORD
The lessor or the owner of leased premises. The landlord retains a reversion interest in the property so that when the lease ends the property will revert to the landlord.

REDUCTION CERTIFICATE
An instrument which shows the amount of the unpaid balance of a mortgage, the rate of interest and the date of maturity.

UNILATERAL CONTRACT
A contract in which one party makes an obligation to perform without receiving in return any express promise of performance from the other party, such as an open listing contract, where the seller agrees to pay a commission to the first broker who brings in a ready, willing and able buyer.

NOTE
A document signed by the borrower of a loan, stating the loan amount, the interest rate, the time and method of repayment and the obligation to repay. The note is the evidence of the debt. When secured by a mortgage, it is called a mortgage note.

CONVEYANCE
The transfer of title to real property by means of a written instrument such as a deed or an assignment of lease.

APR
See Annual Percentage Rate.

LEGAL NOTICE
That notice which is either implied or required by law. Constructive notice under the recording laws is also referred to as legal notice.

SPECIAL ASSESSMENT
A tax or levy customarily imposed against only those specific parcels of realty which will benefit from a proposed public improvement, as opposed to a general tax on the entire community.

VENDEE
The purchaser of realty; the buyer. The buyer under an agreement of sale.

GRANTEE
The person who receives from the grantor a grant of real property.

CAPS (INTEREST)
Consumer safeguards which limit the amount the interest rate on an adjustable rate mortgage can change in an adjustment interval and/or over the life of the loan. For example, if your per-period cap is 1% and your current rate is 7%, then your newly adjusted rate must fall between 6% and 8% regardless of actual changes in the index.

MORTGAGEE
The one who receives and holds a mortgage as security for a debt; the lender; a lender or creditor who holds a mortgage as security for payment of an obligation.

OPEN-END MORTGAGE
A mortgage in which the borrower is given a limit up to which he may borrow, with any incremental advances of money up to but not exceeding the original borrowing limit to be secured by the same mortgage.

FEDERAL HOUSING ADMINISTRATION (FHA)
The FHA was set up in1934 under the National Housing Act to encourage improvement in housing standards and conditions, to provide an adequate home financing system by insurance of housing mortgages and credit, and to exert a stabilizing influence on the mortgage market.

PUFFING
Exaggerated or superlative comments or opinions not made as representations of fact and thus not a grounds for misrepresentation. A statement such as "the apartment has a fantastic view," is puffing because the prospective buyer can clearly assess the view in each case.

CONVEYANCE
The document used to effect a transfer, such as a deed, or mortgage.

POWER OF ATTORNEY
A written instrument authorizing a person(the attorney-in-fact) to act as the agent on behalf of another to the extent indicated in the instrument.

JUNIOR MORTGAGE
A mortgage subordinate to the claim of a prior lien or mortgage. In the case of a foreclosure, a senior mortgage or lien will be paid first.

HOTEL
A building or group of attached or detached buildings containing dwelling or lodging units in which 50 percent or more of the units are lodging units, usually distinguished by a front desk, dining and other common facilities.

POSSESSION
The act of either actually or constructively possessing or occupying property.

INCOME APPROACH
An approach to the valuation or appraisal of real property as determined by the amount of net income the property will produce over its remaining economic life.

RANGE
A measurement, used in the government survey system, consisting of a strip of land six miles wide, running in a north-south direction.

ESCROW AGENT
A person with fiduciary responsibility to the buyer and seller, or the borrower and lender, to ensure that the terms of the purchase/sale or loan are carried out.

SURRENDER
A premature conveyance of a possessory estate to a person having a future interest, as when a lessee surrenders the leasehold interest to the owner of the reversion interest, the lessor, before the normal expiration of the lease.