Real Estate Glossary

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BALLOON PAYMENT - The final payment of a note or obligation, which is substantially larger than the previous installment payments, and which repays the debt in full; the remaining balance which is due at the maturity of a note or obligation.

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

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.

BASIS - The financial interest which IRS attributes to the owner of an asset for purposes of determining annual depreciation and gain or loss on sale of the asset.

BENCH MARK - A mark affixed to a permanent reference or monument, such as an iron post or a brass marker (usually embedded in a cement sidewalk), used to establish elevations and altitudes over a surveyed area.

BENEFICIARY - A person who receives the benefits from the gifts or acts of another, such as one who is designated to receive the proceeds from a will, insurance policy or trust.

BILATERAL CONTRACT - A contract in which each party promises to perform an act in exchange for the other party's promise to perform.

BILL OF SALE - A written agreement by which one person sells, assigns or transfers his right to, or interest in, personal property to another.

BLANKET MORTGAGE - A mortgage which is secured by several structures or a number of lots. A blanket mortgage is often used to finance proposed subdivisions or development projects, especially cooperatives.

BLUE SKY LAWS - State securities laws designed to protect the public from fraudulent practices in the promotion and sale of securities, e.g., through limited partnerships, syndications, bonds.

BOOT - Money or other property given to make up any difference in value or equity between two exchanged properties.

BOUNDARIES - The perimeters or limits of a parcel of land as fixed by legal description which is usually a metes and bounds description.

BREACH OF CONTRACT - Violation of any of the terms or conditions of a contract without legal excuse; default, non-performance, such as failure to make payment when due.

BROKER - One who acts as an intermediary between parties to a transaction. A real estate broker is a properly licensed person who, for a valuable consideration, serves as an agent to others to facilitate the sale or lease of real property.

BROKERAGE - That aspect of the real estate business which is concerned with bringing together the parties and completing a real estate transaction. Brokerage involves exchanges, rentals, trade-ins and management of property, as well as sales.

BUDGET MORTGAGE - A mortgage with payments set up to cover more than interest and principal reductions.

BUFFER ZONE - A strip of land separating one parcel from another.

BUILDING PERMIT - A written permission granted by the County Building Department and required prior to beginning the construction of a new building or other improvement (including fences, fence walls, retaining walls and swimming pools).

BUILDING RESIDUAL TECHNIQUE - A method of determining the value of an improvement normally used in appraising income property.

BULK TRANSFERS - Any transfer in bulk, and not in the ordinary course of the seller's business, of a major part of the materials, inventory or supplies of an enterprise.

BUNDLE OF RIGHTS - An ownership concept describing all those legal rights which attach to the ownership of real property, including the right to sell, lease, encumber, use, enjoy, exclude, will, etc.

BUSINESS DAYS - Days of the week excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays; normal working days.

BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES - Any type of business which is for sale.

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