REI Glossary

We've curated some of the most-often searched real estate investor terms into an easy-to-navigate glossary. Missing a definition? Contact Us.

REI Glossary

We've curated some of the most-often searched real estate investor terms into an easy-to-navigate glossary. Missing a definition? Contact Us.

Absentee Owner

Absentee Owner

A property owner who does not live in the area in which a property is located. Also a good source for potential leads ...
Affordable Market Value (AMV)

Affordable Market Value (AMV)

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) defines affordable market value as the amount a buyer or tenant can pay to purchase or rent a property based on their income, not necessarily the appraised value of the property ...
After Repair Value (ARV)

After Repair Value (ARV)

The value of a property after repairs are made. ARV usually refers to the value of the property after it has been brought to a level comparable with other properties for sale in the area, but can simply indicate the value of a property after planned repairs are made. Investors must ...
Annual Percentage Rate (APR)

Annual Percentage Rate (APR)

The annual rate charged on borrowed money or earned through an investment. APR is usually expressed as a percentage representing the actual yearly cost of the funds over the term of a loan ...
Appraisal

Appraisal

An expert valuation of a house by a qualified appraiser ...
Assessed Value

Assessed Value

The value of a residence, usually for tax purposes. This value should involve comparable home sales in the area and property inspections, and is used to calculate property taxes. These are not always up-to-date ...
Asset Protection

Asset Protection

A collection of laws, strategies, and practices that make it difficult for one party to abuse the legal system to take things from another party ...
Bank-Owned Property

Bank-Owned Property

A piece of real estate owned by a bank or other lender that has foreclosed on the property. Bank-owned properties may also be referred to as REOs (real estate owned) ...
Bedroom Community

Bedroom Community

Residential suburb inhabited mostly by people who commute to a nearby city to work. In California, bedroom communities may be located an hour or more away from the commuter destination ...
Benchmark Data

Benchmark Data

Benchmark data is collected from industry sources to determine how businesses are performing. Typically, the most valuable data of this type comes from the highest-performing businesses ...
Benchmarking

Benchmarking

The practice of comparing one’s business processes and performance metrics to other companies in the same industry to establish industry standards and norms ...
Broker

Broker

n. A real estate broker has passed a state real estate broker license exam and can work as an independent real estate agent or have other agents working for them. v. Arranging the details of a deal ...
Buy and Hold

Buy and Hold

The process of purchasing real estate as a long-term investment. Buy-and-hold investing may involve simply purchasing a property and paying the mortgage in order to cash in on equity at a later date, buying turnkey or actively managed rental properties, or buying land outright and simply holding it until a ...
Calling a Note Due

Calling a Note Due

When a bank accelerates all payments on a loan to make the entire balance immediately due. Usually banks include the right to do this in their loan agreements ...
Cap Rate

Cap Rate

Capitalization (cap) rate is the rate of return on a real estate investment based on the income the investor expects the property to generate. Cap rate estimates potential return. Calculate your cap rate with our REI-optimized Think Realty calculator! ...
Capital Gains Tax

Capital Gains Tax

A tax levied on the profit from the sale of a property or investments. These taxes may be nearly 30 percent or more of the total profits on the investment ...
Carrying Costs

Carrying Costs

Also known as holding costs. These are the costs associated with owning a piece of real estate during a rehab. These costs may include monthly mortgage payments, insurance, utilities, and security ...
Cash Flowing Property

Cash Flowing Property

A property that is generating regular income at time of purchase ...
Cash For Keys

Cash For Keys

When a lender opts to pay a delinquent borrower a sum of money to help them relocate and, in return, the borrower vacates the property and signs over all interest in it to the lender ...
Cash-On-Cash Returns

Cash-On-Cash Returns

The annual return an investor makes on a purchase of real estate in relation to the down payment (cash) only ...
Cash-Out Refinance

Cash-Out Refinance

The process of tapping into a property’s equity during the refinancing process. Cash-out refinancing involves refinancing a loan for more than the amount originally owed so that their loan is larger than it was before the refinance. The difference goes to the borrower in cash. Also referred to as a ...
Checkbook LLC

Checkbook LLC

Checkbook LLCs allow “checkbook control,” which means if an IRA owns a checkbook LLC, the owner of that IRA has complete signing authority over the retirement funds in the retirement account. This is important if you use investing strategies like flipping or buying at auction that require you to make ...
Color Palette

Color Palette

A color palette is the color scheme that you use in the home. It can change from room to room or flow throughout the house. Most designers recommend color palettes that vary, but do not clash ...
Commercial Real Estate

Commercial Real Estate

Any property used exclusively for business purposes. Commercial real estate includes retail space, office space, hotels, dining space, banks, and independently standing stores and service providers. Some definitions include industrial real estate space in the commercial sector ...
Commercial Real Estate Loan

Commercial Real Estate Loan

A mortgage secured by a lien on a piece of commercial real estate rather than a piece of residential real estate. Commercial loans tend to be made to business entities and are frequently five years in length or fewer, with balloon payments made at the end of the term of ...
Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)

Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)

Evaluation of how properties in an area have sold conducted for the purpose of making predictions about how a specific property might sell in the future. CMAs use comparable properties (comps) in the local area to make predictions about price, time on market, and other strategic decisions when listing a ...
Conditional Offer

Conditional Offer

An agreement between a buyer and seller that the transaction (in real estate, usually the purchase of a piece of property) if certain conditions are met ...
Construction Loan

Construction Loan

Construction loans are intended to finance construction of a physical structure rather than to be long-term financing. Residential construction loans may be converted to permanent after a home is complete in some cases, while most commercial construction loans require refinancing in order to exit them. They tend to be a ...
Conventional Lender

Conventional Lender

A traditional bank lender offering conventional mortgage financing using traditional methods to evaluate credit risk. Conventional lenders tend to offer qualified mortgages based on credit rating, loan-to-value (LTV), and down payment ...
Conventional Mortgage

Conventional Mortgage

Conventional mortgages are not insured or guaranteed by the federal government (neither a VA nor FHA loan). Conventional mortgages adhere to guidelines set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and may have a fixed interest rate or an adjustable interest rate. While not included in the definition, a reference to ...
Corporate Housing

Corporate Housing

A solution for corporate employees who need monthly lodging, usually provided through businesses offering fully furnished private residences for stays of 30 or more days ...
Credit History

Credit History

The record of a borrower’s repayment of debts. The data included in this history includes every payment behavior, but not all of that data is legally available for inclusion in a credit report or usage by an entity evaluating a borrower’s credit risk ...
Credit Report

Credit Report

The compilation of eligible repayment information into a single report on a borrower’s past behavior regarding payment and nonpayment of debts. Credit reports may include information from banks, credit card agencies, collection agencies, government agencies, and other lenders. Not all information included in a credit report may be used to ...
Credit Score

Credit Score

A three-digit number used as a primary indicator by many lenders of how likely a borrower is to pay off a debt. Scores can range from 300 to 850. The higher the score, the more financially trustworthy a person is considered to be ...
Debtor/Credit Law

Debtor/Credit Law

The branch of law dealing with asset protection ...
Deed

Deed

n. a legal document that, when signed and delivered, conveys ownership of property or legal rights v. to transfer property rights via legal deed ...
Deed of Trust

Deed of Trust

A legal structure used in place of a mortgage to secure a loan by pledging real property. Deeds of trust involve three parties: the trustor (borrower), the lender (beneficiary), and the trustee, whose function it is to sell the property at auction if the trustor defaults on payments ...
Deed-in-Lieu

Deed-in-Lieu

When the borrower conveys all interest in their mortgaged property to the lender in order to satisfy a loan and avoid foreclosure ...
Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure

Deed-in-Lieu of Foreclosure

When the borrower conveys all interest in their mortgaged property to the lender in order to satisfy a loan and avoid foreclosure ...
Delinquent

Delinquent

Late. When a mortgage is delinquent, the borrower is late in making payments ...
Depreciation

Depreciation

Loss of value. In real estate, depreciation can be a negative or a positive, since it may be associated with tax deductions in some cases ...
Disqualified Person

Disqualified Person

The people and organizations with whom your IRA should never conduct transactions, including (but not limited to) yourself, most of your family and any business entities you control ...
Down Payment

Down Payment

The initial payment made when a property is purchased on credit. Down payments usually range in size from 5% to 25% of the value of the loan and may affect a lender’s decision to require mortgage insurance ...
Earnest Money

Earnest Money

Money paid to confirm a contract. If you back out of a contract on a property, you will likely lose your earnest money ...
Equity

Equity

Value found in an asset. In real estate, equity is the amount of value in an asset after the cost of the mortgage and other collateralized debts are deducted ...
Escrow

Escrow

When an impartial third party holds something of value (in real estate, usually earnest money) during the progress of a transaction. If a home is “in escrow,” that means that the third party is holding the earnest money while the contract is negotiated and the deal is closed. Lenders may ...
Exclusive Agency Listing

Exclusive Agency Listing

An agreement between a listing broker and a seller permitting the broker to represent the seller and the seller to also represent themselves. If the seller is able to make the sale without the assistance of the broker, then no commission is paid ...
Exit Strategy

Exit Strategy

Your exit strategy is the part of the deal where you cash out of the investment. Technically, buying and holding a property as a cash-flowing rental property is not an exit strategy, but a cash-flow strategy. However, as with an actual exit, you must determine how long it will be ...
Fair Market Value – FMV

Fair Market Value – FMV

An estimate of the market value of the property ...
Fannie Mae

Fannie Mae

The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) is a government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) established to stimulate the housing market by making mortgages more affordable to borrowers. Fannie Mae does not actually originate mortgages. Instead, it purchases and guarantees them after origination in order to create more liquidity for lenders and, by extension, ...
FHA Loan

FHA Loan

A government-backed mortgage issued by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). These loans tend to have lower interest rates and less-stringent qualification requirements than other industry loans. FHA borrowers pay for mortgage insurance to protect the lender from loss in the event of a default ...
Fix and flip

Fix and flip

The process of purchasing a property, adding value, then selling the property for a profit on a relatively short timeline. Also simply referred to as “flipping,” doing fix-and-flip deals may take a few weeks, a few months or, in some cases, upward of a year. However, this strategy involves selling ...
Flipping

Flipping

The process of purchasing a property, adding value, then selling the property for a profit on a relatively short timeline. Also simply referred to as “fix-and-flip,” flipping may take a few weeks, a few months or, in some cases, upward of a year. However, this strategy involves selling on a ...
FOIA Form

FOIA Form

You can fill out a FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) form for any agency record. There is no universal FOIA form, but most agencies and public authorities have their own form and their own department to service FOIA requests ...
Foreclosure

Foreclosure

The process by which a lender seizes collateral, in real estate usually a piece of physical property, on a loan as a result of nonpayment ...
Foreclosure Receivership

Foreclosure Receivership

The receivership process typically begins when a property owner stops making payments on a property. The receiver is responsible for controlling the property and maintaining its value. These can happen in commercial and residential properties ...
Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

A piece of legislation that grants public access to documents or other data in possession of a government agency or public authority. Real estate investors can leverage FOIA to get information on foreclosure properties ...
Fully Distributed

Fully Distributed

The contents of an IRA that is considered fully distributed may be taxed in their entirety. They are no longer tax-protected by the IRA ...
General Contractor

General Contractor

A home remodeling professional who manages and executes larger remodeling projects. General contractors (GCs) may work in commercial or residential construction and manage new construction as well as remodeling, renovations, and rehabs ...
Good-Faith Estimate

Good-Faith Estimate

Also referred to as a GFE, this document includes the breakdown of estimated payments due when a mortgage loan is closed. Lenders are required to provide these documents in order to help borrowers make good decisions and comparisons between loan offerings ...
Green Roofs

Green Roofs

Also called eco-roofs and rooftop gardens. A green, growing vegetative layer of grasses, shrubs, plants, and/or trees. Green roofs may reduce rooftop surface temperatures in addition to improving storm-water quality and management ...
Hard Money Lender

Hard Money Lender

A lender who makes loans based on the value of the collateral securing the loan rather than the borrower’s predicted likelihood or ability to repay the loan. Find out more about hard money loans (and find a reputable lender) with the American Association of Private Lenders ...
Hard Money Loan

Hard Money Loan

A loan made based on the value of the collateral securing the loan rather than the borrower’s predicted likelihood or ability to repay the loan. In hard money, the value of the collateral is the most important factor in the lending decision although many hard money lenders will check credit, ...
Heat Island

Heat Island

A loan made based on the value of the collateral securing the loan rather than the borrower’s predicted likelihood or ability to repay the loan. In hard money, the value of the collateral is the most important factor in the lending decision although many hard money lenders will check credit, ...
Home Staging

Home Staging

The act of improving a property’s appeal to buyers using art, accessories, lighting, greenery, carpet, furniture, and other home décor items to create an attractive first impression of the home ...
Hope Strategy

Hope Strategy

An investment “strategy” that relies more on an investor hoping there will be profits rather than strong numerical indications a deal will succeed ...
Horizontal Development

Horizontal Development

Also sometimes referred to as horizontal improvements. Includes zoning changes, mapping, clearing ground, cutting roads, installing utilities, and paving roads, sidewalks, and gutters ...
Income Price

Income Price

A calculated value that shows where home prices should be according to local income. Income price metrics are used to help determine whether a market is over- or underpriced, and are based on data from the FHFA Home Price Index and the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This metric was developed ...
Income Property

Income Property

a property purchased specifically to produce income via renting, leasing, or appreciation. Income properties may be commercial or residential ...
Inland Empire

Inland Empire

The term is usually used to refer to western Riverside County and southwestern San Bernardino County, but broader definitions include eastern Los Angeles County, the Pomona Valley, desert communities in Palm Springs, and Coachella Valley. The Inland Empire has more room for development than coastal areas of California ...
Institutional Real Estate Investor

Institutional Real Estate Investor

A large organization that makes substantial investments in real estate- based assets ...
Interest

Interest

Money paid regularly at a predetermined rate as payment for use of funds lent. Interest may also be paid as a fee for delaying repayment on a debt, as in an “interest only” loan ...
Investment Property

Investment Property

A property specifically purchased for the purpose of creating a return on the investment via rental income, future resale, or other strategy or combination of strategies. This includes flipping properties and buy-and-hold properties ...
Land Trust

Land Trust

An agreement between two or more parties whereby one party (the trustee) agrees to hold ownership of a piece of real estate for the benefit of another party (the beneficiary) ...
Landlord

Landlord

An individual who owns a rental property. Sometimes the term landlord is used to indicate a rental owner who actively manages their rental property, but the term includes both active and passive rental investors ...
Lease

Lease

The agreement between the owner of a property and a tenant (lessee) that defines how the property will be used by the tenant, for what period of time, and how the owner will be paid for that use. The lease also details the property owner’s obligations to the tenant and ...
Lease-Purchase Option

Lease-Purchase Option

A traditional rental agreement may include a first-refusal option for the tenant under certain circumstances. A lease-purchase may define a set time period within which the purchase may be made, pricing, and how the down payment will be obtained, since often tenants planning to exercise a lease-purchase will set a ...
Leverage

Leverage

Using borrowed capital for an investment and expecting the profits made to be greater than the cost of the loan ...
LIBOR-Index

LIBOR-Index

The world’s most widely used benchmark for short-term interest rates. LIBOR stands for London Interbank Offered Rate. It is based on the US dollar, the euro, the pound sterling, the Japanese yen, and the Swiss franc. When LIBOR rises, interest rates also tend to rise ...
Lien

Lien

A debt. In real estate, if a property has a lien against it, that property is serving as collateral for the debt in some form or fashion ...
Loan Origination

Loan Origination

The process of creating a new loan, from application to evaluation to disbursal of funds ...
Loan Workout

Loan Workout

An agreement between a lender and a delinquent borrower to either bring a loan back on track or resolve the delinquency in some other way. Workouts often include extensions of the payback period to lower monthly payments and other adjustments to the loan terms ...
Loan-To-Value (LTV) Ratio

Loan-To-Value (LTV) Ratio

A financial term used mainly by lenders to express the ratio of a loan to the value of the asset purchased using the loaned money or to the value of the asset serving as collateral on the loan. A borrower taking out a $65,000 loan to purchase a $100,000 property ...
Market Value

Market Value

The amount that a property may be sold for in the marketplace. Market value may be derived by comparing a property to other similar properties that have sold recently or by attempting to determine the price at which a property would sell immediately. While both may be referred to as ...
Minimum Distributions

Minimum Distributions

The minimum amount that an IRA account holder must withdraw each year. Generally, these distributions are required starting at age 70 1/2. Note: ROTH IRA’s do not require these withdrawals until after the death of the owner ...
Month-To-Month Tenancy

Month-To-Month Tenancy

An agreement between a tenant and property owner that permits the tenant to rent from the owner one month at a time rather than via a more extended lease agreement. Often month-to-month tenancies are more expensive since the landlord does not have the same stability that comes with an extended ...
Mortgage

Mortgage

A legal agreement between a lender and a homebuyer wherein the lender loans money for the purchase of the property and the property serves as collateral until the debt is paid ...
Mortgage Broker

Mortgage Broker

An intermediary party who brokers mortgage loans on behalf of individuals and businesses. Usually a mortgage broker is paid when the loan closes, and the lender or the borrower may be responsible for that fee ...
Mortgage Insurance (MI)

Mortgage Insurance (MI)

An insurance policy designed to protect lenders from losses due to default on a mortgage loan. Borrowers who put less than 20% down on a property are more likely to have to obtain mortgage insurance, which can be public or private. Mortgage insurance requirements often lapse when a property reaches ...
Mortgage Interest Deduction (MID)

Mortgage Interest Deduction (MID)

This IRS policy allows homeowners who meet certain requirements to deduct the cost of the interest on their mortgage loans from their taxable income. This can lower the amount of taxes an individual owes on their income and, indirectly, make owning a home more affordable since the home loan diminishes ...
Mortgage Lender

Mortgage Lender

A lender whose business includes making mortgage loans ...
Multi-Family Investing

Multi-Family Investing

The strategy of investing in properties that house two or more households. Multi-family, also known as multifamily, may include duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, etc. as well as larger developments such as apartment buildings and condominium buildings. Multi-family investment strategies often mimic single-family strategies at scale. These properties may be flipped, held, ...
Multi-touch Reminders

Multi-touch Reminders

Reminder notices sent to tenants via multiple communication avenues. For example, you might send a letter in the mail, an email, and a text message to a tenant to remind them that rent is due and make payment as easy as possible ...
Multifamily Properties

Multifamily Properties

The strategy of investing in properties that house two or more households. Multifamily, also known as multi-family, may include duplexes, triplexes, quadplexes, etc. as well as larger developments such as apartment buildings and condominium buildings. Multifamily investment strategies often mimic single-family strategies at scale. These properties may be flipped, held, ...
Multiple Listing Service (MLS)

Multiple Listing Service (MLS)

Multiple Listing Services are used by real estate brokers, agents, and other licensed professionals to cooperate on the purchase, sale, listing, and appraisal of homes. These services are often referred to as “The MLS,” but multiple listing services are often regional and do not include all properties for sale in ...
Net Monthly Income

Net Monthly Income

Multiple Listing Services are used by real estate brokers, agents, and other licensed professionals to cooperate on the purchase, sale, listing, and appraisal of homes. These services are often referred to as “The MLS,” but multiple listing services are often regional and do not include all properties for sale in ...
Net Operating Income (NOI)

Net Operating Income (NOI)

Net operating income (NOI) is the annual income generated by a rental property after subtracting all expenses from operations. Note: NOI does not factor in your financing costs. The cash flow left when you subtract all reasonable and necessary operating expenses from your property’s revenue, excluding principal and interest on ...
Non-Performing Note

Non-Performing Note

When a borrower falls behind on payments on a loan, the note is considered to be non-performing. A loan on which the borrower has stopped making payments. These note may also be called distressed notes ...
Note

Note

In real estate, the term note is shorthand for mortgage note, and refers to the promissory note secured by a specific mortgage loan with a piece of property as collateral ...
Off Market Deal

Off Market Deal

A property representing a potential deal for an investor located without the property being formally listed for sale. Off-market deals may include pocket listings, which are not listed on the MLS, as well as leads generated by mailings and other forms of motivated-seller solicitation ...
Owner-Occupied Property

Owner-Occupied Property

A property occupied by the owner of the property. Owner-occupied houses are primary residences in most cases, although you may hear some investors refer to vacation homes in this way if the vacation property is not leveraged for any other income-generating purposes ...
Pain-Per-Dollar

Pain-Per-Dollar

The amount of work that each dollar you invest “costs” you a property. For example, a typical vacation rental has a high PPD because it requires a great deal of maintenance. Corporate housing rentals tend to have lower PPD because the tenants take good care of the properties in most ...
Passive Investing

Passive Investing

Passive real estate investors power real estate investing transactions by providing funding for deals and allowing active investors to manage the actual investing process, be it leasing a property, renovating it, or selling it ...
Performing Note

Performing Note

When a borrower is making payments on time, the note on a loan is considered to be performing. A loan on which the borrower is making payments on time and in full ...
Personality Profile Assessment

Personality Profile Assessment

A short, standardized, objective assessment designed to help employers, managers, and team captains assess whether current and potential team members have the aptitude and affinity for specific tasks, projects, and roles in the company and on their specific team ...
Primary Mortgage Market

Primary Mortgage Market

The market where borrowers and mortgage originators (usually banks, mortgage brokers, or credit unions) come together to negotiate terms for loans and conduct mortgage transactions ...
Private Lender

Private Lender

A non-institutional lending entity that may be an individual or a company. Private lenders may also be called “non-bank lenders” and tend to lend based not only on conventional creditworthiness but also on the value of the collateral and other more custom considerations. Find out more about private lenders (and ...
Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)

Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)

Private mortgage insurance is designed to mitigate a lender’s risk on a loan. Borrowers with lower credit scores, lower down payments, and other potentially problematic issues with their loan could be required to purchase and pay PMI on their property until a certain equity threshold or payment history is established ...
Prohibited Transaction

Prohibited Transaction

Certain transactions within a retirement plan that violates Internal Revenue Code 4975. Prohibited transactions include, but not limited to, living or utilizing the property owned by your IRA, using your IRA to buy property from a disqualified person, and creating a situation where you or a disqualified person to you ...
Property Manager

Property Manager

An individual in charge of regular maintenance of a rental property ...
Purchase and Sale Agreement

Purchase and Sale Agreement

An agreement between a buyer and a seller of a piece of real estate defining the terms under which the transaction may be completed. In some cases, this agreement may be assigned to another party ...
Purchase Option

Purchase Option

A legally binding agreement that allows a buyer the option to purchase something at a predetermined price on or before a predetermined time. These options have real value and may be bought and sold independently of the purchase item in most cases unless the option excludes this ...
Quitclaim Deed

Quitclaim Deed

A legal instrument used to transfer interest in a property. A quitclaim deed does not necessarily ensure clear title, since a grantor can sign a quitclaim deed even if they have no interest in the property ...
Rate Cap

Rate Cap

A provision often included in adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) that limits how much the interest rate can increase over a predetermined period of time. Some ARMs have a lifetime cap as well as a cap for certain periods of adjustment ...
Real Estate

Real Estate

A unique piece of physical property, both the land and the buildings on it ...
Real Estate Investment Trust – REIT

Real Estate Investment Trust – REIT

A REIT is a company that owns, operates, and/or finances some type of income-producing real estate. REITs are available to investors in the form of shares that may be bought, sold, and traded much like stocks and other securities. REITs are designed to be more liquid than physical real estate ...
Real Estate IRA

Real Estate IRA

A self-directed individual retirement account holding real estate investments. These accounts can hold almost any alternative asset, but investors who focus on real estate often refer to them as real estate IRA’s instead of simply self-directed IRA’s ...
Real Estate Owned – REO

Real Estate Owned – REO

Property that is owned by a lender after a foreclosure ...
Real Estate Professional

Real Estate Professional

Any professional offering a service related to real estate or whose business model revolves around any part of the real estate investing process. Real estate professionals include agents, property managers, general contractors, and real estate investors ...
Real Estate Secured Promissory Notes

Real Estate Secured Promissory Notes

A promissory note, also known as a mortgage note, holds real estate as its collateral. The note, for short, details exactly how, when, and where a borrower will make payments and explains different payment default scenarios and potential outcomes. One of those outcomes if the note is secured by real ...
Real Estate Syndication

Real Estate Syndication

When investors pool financial and intellectual resources to invest in properties and real estate projects larger than they could afford or manage on their own, they are practicing real estate syndication. A partnership between two or more investors. In most real estate syndications, the sponsor puts the deal together and ...
Realtor

Realtor

A realtor, as defined by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) is a federally registered collective membership mark which identifies a real estate professional who is a member of the NAR and subscribes to its strict code of ethics. The NAR emphasizes that the term Realtor(R) may only be used ...
Receiver

Receiver

A person appointed to take temporary legal possession of a mortgaged property in order to pay expenses, maintain the property and any associated income, and turn accounts over to the court ...
Recycling

Recycling

The action or process of converting waste into reusable materials. These materials may be less expensive or more durable than new materials, but not always ...
Refinance

Refinance

Refinancing involves taking out a new loan on a property. Typically, a refinance involves consolidating debt, obtaining a lower interest rate, or otherwise procuring some advantage over the previous financing terms ...
Repurposing

Repurposing

The act of adapting something that was used for one purpose to serve a different purpose ...
Residential Assisted Living

Residential Assisted Living

A residential home that is used for the housing and care of elderly residents. The RAL provides room, board, housekeeping, supervision, and personal care and assistance with Activities of Daily Living (ADLs). Additionally, there is the “Golden Girls” model, which provides housing, but does not provide care ...
Residential Rental Property

Residential Rental Property

A type of property that generates the majority of its revenue from the rental of dwelling units. Not to be confused with single-family residential (SFR), although some investors use the terms interchangeably ...
Return on Investment (ROI)

Return on Investment (ROI)

Return on investment (ROI) measures how much you gained or lost on an investment property relative to how much you invested in the property up front. ROI is typically used to compare the efficiency of different investments ...
Revenue Management

Revenue Management

The use of analytics to predict consumer behavior on a micro-market level and optimize product availability and price to maximize revenue growth. In real estate, this involves identifying ways to “beat” market rental rates with unique offerings or to improve vacancy rates by “beating” competition ...
Right of First Refusal

Right of First Refusal

A contractual agreement that one party will have the first option to meet a predetermined set of conditions in order to conduct a transaction before those terms are offered elsewhere. For example, in a lease-option scenario, the tenant may have right of first refusal if the owner of the property ...
Roth IRA

Roth IRA

A tax-favored retirement account that accepts after-tax contributions and provides tax-free compounding of profits and tax-free withdrawals during retirement ...
Rural

Rural

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines rural areas as those that are nonmetropolitan and have “open countryside, rural towns (laces with fewer than 2,500 people) and urban areas with populations ranging from 2,500 to 49,999 ...
Sales and Purchase Agreement – SPA

Sales and Purchase Agreement – SPA

A legal contract delineating the terms of a transaction and obligating both buyer and seller to close the transaction if those terms are met ...
Sales Comparison Approach – SCA

Sales Comparison Approach – SCA

A comparison between recently sold local, similar properties and a property that you plan to list for sale. Usually, an SCA would be used to help determine a list price, but investors may use them to make predictions about market movements and decide whether a purchase is a good deal ...
Secondary Mortgage Market

Secondary Mortgage Market

The market where home loans and servicing rights to those loans may be bought and sold by lenders and investors. Most home loans are sold on this market at least one time and usually far more frequently, over the life of the loan ...
Self-Dealing

Self-Dealing

When a self-directed IRA investor takes advantage of their position in a transaction to act for their own interests instead of those of the self-directed IRA ...
Self-Directed IRA

Self-Directed IRA

A retirement account that allows the account holder to save money for retirement in a tax-advantaged way while investing their savings in nearly anything they like, including real estate ...
Seller-Financing

Seller-Financing

Seller financing involves the previous owner of the property, the seller, making a loan to the buyer so that this individual can purchase the home for sale. This is a legally binding note that usually holds the home as collateral. Sellers may do this in order to sell quickly, obtain ...
Short Sale (Real Estate)

Short Sale (Real Estate)

When a distressed homeowner sells a property for less than the amount due on a mortgage with the endorsement of the lender to a third party. All proceeds from the sale go to the lender and the seller is not permitted to experience financial gain from the short sale process ...
Single Family Investing

Single Family Investing

An investment strategy revolving around the purchase of single-family real estate. Single-family investing usually is assumed to involve the purchase of single-family residential real estate for rental purposes ...
Single-Family Residential (SFR)

Single-Family Residential (SFR)

A designation used to describe real estate used for living space by a single household ...
Starter Home

Starter Home

A relatively small, economical residence that meets the requirements of a first-time homebuyer. Usually these properties appeal to younger buyers, but the aesthetic requirements for starter homes have changed as millennial buyers often delay their first home purchase until they are in their 30’s ...
Subject to Deal

Subject to Deal

When a buyer purchases a property subject to the existing mortgage. The buyer agrees to make the payments on the property and the seller transfers ownership but is still legally responsible for making payments on the property ...
Supply Lines

Supply Lines

The connections in a kitchen that supply utilities including hot and cold water and natural gas. When you remodel a kitchen, you need to make sure that the supply lines are equipped to handle the volumes that upgraded appliances and layouts require ...
Tax Lien

Tax Lien

Government entities place liens against properties to compel the owners to pay back taxes. If the taxes remain unpaid, then that lien may be used to seize the collateral (property). When you buy a property tax lien, you pay for the right to collect the lien and associated fees and ...
Tax Sale

Tax Sale

An auction at which investors bid on properties with delinquent tax liens. In some states, investors pay a price for the lien, while in others, investors may bid down the interest rate on the lien ...
Term Financing

Term Financing

A loan with a specific repayment schedule and a fixed or floating interest rate ...
Title Insurance

Title Insurance

An insurance policy that protects the holder of the policy, who may be a real estate owner or a lender, from financial loss due to defects in the title of a property ...
Title Search

Title Search

The process of researching the history of legal ownership for a specific property and identifying any existing claims on that property. Claims may include ownership interests, judgments, and liens ...
Traditional IRA

Traditional IRA

A tax-favored retirement account that provides a tax deduction for contributions and tax-free compounding of profits. Income taxes are due when withdrawals are made ...
Turnkey Property

Turnkey Property

A turnkey property has historically been defined as a piece of real estate that can be purchased as-is and immediately rented out. Turnkey has expanded in recent years to include anything that can be conducted from a distance (i.e. a turnkey fix and flip) and generally refers to rental properties ...
Turnkey Provider

Turnkey Provider

An investment company that offers turnkey properties or transactions to other “passive” investors. Turnkey providers locate properties, renovate them, usually place tenants, and may provide property management after the purchase ...
Turnkey Rental

Turnkey Rental

A real estate investment purchase rent-ready, often with a tenant already in place paying rent. A property purchased for the express purpose of renting it out. A turnkey investment may already have a tenant in place, or a turnkey provider may sell a property with the promise of an appropriate ...
Underwriting

Underwriting

In real estate, the term underwriting is usually used in reference to underwriting a mortgage loan, specifically. Underwriting is the process a lender uses to determine if the risk associated with lending to a particular borrower is acceptable. Generally, loans are underwritten based on the borrower’s credit, the amount of ...
Upcycling

Upcycling

The reuse of discarded objects or materials in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original ...
Urban Sprawl

Urban Sprawl

The expansion of human populations away from central, urban areas into low-density, usually car-dependent communities. Also may be referred to as suburbanization ...
Vertical Development

Vertical Development

Also referred to as vertical construction. Usually used to refer to building design and construction ...
Wholesaling

Wholesaling

A real estate investing strategy wherein one party, the wholesaler, places a property under contract for attractive terms and then assigns that contract to another party who either assigns the contract again or transacts the deal. Usually wholesalers market to other investors and there are certain types of contract that ...
Zombie Title

Zombie Title

When the title to a property remains either with a homeowner who has deserted the home, believing they have lost it to foreclosure or in “limbo” with neither homeowner nor foreclosing lender taking ownership of the property. Zombie titles create neighborhood blight because there is no party responsible for the ...