Washington Real Estate Investment Trust,

DISTRAINT
The right of a landlord, pursuant to a court order, to seize a tenants belongings for rents in arrears.

COVENANT
A written agreement or promise of two or more parties by which either pledges to perform or not to perform specified acts on a property, or which specifies certain uses or non-uses of the property.

RENTAL AGREEMENT
An agreement, written or oral, which establishes or modifies the terms, conditions, rules, regulations, or any other provisions concerning the use and occupancy of a dwelling unit and premises; a lease on residential property.

TRADE FIXTURES
Articles of personal property annexed to leased premises by the tenant, as a necessary part of the tenant's trade or business.

ESCROW ACCOUNT
An account held by the lender to which the borrower pays monthly installments, collected as part of the monthly mortgage payment, for annual expenses such as taxes and insurance. The lender disburses escrow account funds on behalf of the borrower when they become due. Also known as Impound Account.

MORTGAGOR
The one who gives a mortgage as security for a debt; the borrower; usually the landowner; the borrower or debtor who hypothecates or puts up his property as security for an obligation.

HABENDUM CLAUSE
That part of the deed beginning with the words "to have and to hold," following the granting clause and reaffirming the extent of ownership that the grantor is transferring.

COVENANTS RUNNING WITH THE LAND
Covenants which become part of the property and benefit or bind successive owners of the property.

COLOR OF TITLE
A condition which has the appearance of good title, but which in fact is not valid title, as where title is founded on some written document which on its face appears valid and effective, but which is actually invalid.

CONSIDERATION
An act or forbearance, or the promise thereof, which is offered by one party to induce another to enter into a contract; that which is given in exchange for something from another.

FLOOR DUTY
A frequent practice in real estate brokerage offices of assigning one sales agent the responsibility for handling all telephone calls and office visitors for a specified period of time.

FIRST MORTGAGE
A mortgage which is in first lien position, taking priority over all other liens. In the case of a foreclosure, the first mortgage will be repaid before any other mortgages.

SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE
A legal action brought in a court of equity to compel a party to carry out the terms of a contract.

FINDER'S FEE
A fee paid to someone for producing a buyer to purchase or a seller to list property; also called a referral fee.

PRIME RATE
The minimum interest rate charged by a commercial bank on short-term loans to its largest and strongest clients(those with the highest credit standings).

BARGAIN AND SALE DEED
A deed which recites a consideration and conveys all of the grantor's interest in the property to the grantee.

LIBOR (LONDON INTERBANK OFFERED RATE)
The interest rate charged among banks in the foreign market for short-term loans to one another. A common index for ARM loans.

FIRM COMMITMENT
A definite undertaking by a lender to loan a set amount of money at a specified interest rate for a certain term.

DEPRECIATION (TAX)
For tax purposes, depreciation is an expense deduction taken for an investment in depreciable property.

TITLE SEARCH
Examination of municipal records to ensure that the seller is the legal owner of a property and that there are no liens or other claims against the property.

LETTER OF CREDIT
An agreement or commitment by a bank("issuer") made at the request of a customer ("account party")that the bank will honor drafts or other demands of payment from third parties ("beneficiaries") upon compliance with the conditions specified in the letter of credit.

ABATEMENT
A reduction or decrease in amount, degree, intensity or worth.

RECORDING
The act of entering documents concerning title to a property into the public records.

PROSPECTUS
A printed statement distributed to describe, advertise and give advance information on a business, venture, project or stock issue.

SETTLEMENT COSTS
Also known as closing costs, these costs are for services that must be performed before your loan can be initiated. Examples include title fees, recording fees, appraisal fee, credit report fee, pest inspection, attorney's fees, taxes, and surveying fees.

EMBLEMENTS
Growing crops (called "fructus industriales"),such as rice and taro, which are produced annually through labor and industry.

CLOSING STATEMENT
A detailed cash accounting of a real estate transaction prepared by an escrow officer or other person designated to process the mechanics of the sale, showing all cash that was received, all charges and credits which were made, and all cash that was paid out in the transaction; also called a settlement statement.

BASE LINE AND MERIDIAN
An imaginary set of lines used by surveyors to locate and describe land under the Rectangular Survey Method of property description used in most mainland states.

LETTER OF CREDIT
An agreement or commitment by a bank("issuer") made at the request of a customer ("account party")that the bank will honor drafts or other demands of payment from third parties ("beneficiaries") upon compliance with the conditions specified in the letter of credit.