Concepts & Vocab Flashcards
Absorption schedule
The estimated schedule or rate at which properties for sale
or lease can be leased or rented in a given locality; usually used when
preparing a forecast of the sales or leasing rate to substantiate a development
plan and to obtain financing.
Axial theory
A theory of land use development that suggests that land uses tend to
develop in relation to time-cost functions of transportation axes that radiate
from the central business district.
Balloon loan
A loan that does not fully amortize over the term and requires a
lump-sum payment of remaining principal at maturity.
Basis point
One hundredth of one percent, used to express differences in interest
rates.
Binding constraint
Legally enforceable limit on the allowable development on a
given site.
Bonding
A guarantee of completion or performance, typically issued by an
insurance company that will back up the bonded party in any lawsuit. In real
estate, contractors, for example, are often bonded as assurance that they will
complete the work.
Bottom-up approach
An approach to developing an analysis based on the most
disaggregated data available.
Break-even ratio
In finance, the point at which total income is equal to total
expenses.
Brownfield.
site previously used for industrial or certain commercial uses and
possibly contaminated from those uses, but developable upon cleanup.
Building efficiency ratio.
The ratio of net leasable area to gross leasable area.
Building Owners and Managers Association International (BOMA)
A trade
association of owners and managers of apartment and office buildings.
Buildout.
Construction of specific interior finishes to a tenant’s specifications.
Business improvement district (BID)
A public/private partnership in which the
business owners in a district, through legislative approval, contribute funds
through a special tax to the maintenance, development, and marketing of their
commercial area.
Capital market.
Financial marketplace in which savings (from individuals,
companies, or pension funds) are aggregated by financial intermediaries and
allocated to real investors.
Capture rate.
Forecasted rate of absorption in a targeted market segment for a
proposed project, based on an analysis of supply and demand.
CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and
Liability Act of 1980)
Legislation adopted to provide partial funding for the
cleanup of environmentally contaminated sites by requiring the party
responsible for the contamination to undertake cleanup efforts or provide
compensation for cleanup costs; also known as the Superfund law.
Codevelopment.
Term that refers to the combined development of real estate by
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the private sector and government, where the public sector assumes risks or
costs normally borne by private developers.
Commercial paper
Short-term negotiable financial instruments, usually
unsecured, such as promissory notes, bank checks, bills, and acceptances.
Commitment letter
A written agreement by a lender to loan a specific amount of
money at a specified interest rate within a particular period of time.
Community development block grants (CDBGs).
Federal grants received by cities
that may be used for a variety of community development activities; based on
a formula that considers population, extent of poverty, and housing
overpopulation.
Community development corporations (CDCs)
Entrepreneurial institutions
combining public and private resources to aid in the development of
socioeconomically disadvantaged areas.
Community Reinvestment Act (CRA)
Legislation enacted in 1978 that directs
federal agencies with supervisory authority over depository lenders to
consider a lender’s record in serving local credit needs when making decisions
about the expansion plans of depository institutions.
Comparable property
Another property with which a subject property can be
compared to reach an estimate of market value.
Concentric zone theory
Urban development theory that holds that because
mobility is paramount to community growth, land uses tend to be arranged in
a series of concentric, circular zones around a city’s central business district.
Concession.
Discount given to prospective tenants to induce them to sign a lease,
typically in the form of some free rent, cash for improvements furnished by
the tenant, and so on.
Construction lender
Entity or individual providing interim financing during the construction phase(s) of the real estate development process.
Construction loan.
A loan made, usually by a commercial bank, to a builder to be
used for the construction of improvements on real estate and typically
running for six months to two years.
Contingent interest
A form of equity participation by lenders enabling them to
receive an additional return if the income property securing the loan exceeds
its projected profit or cash flow goals.
Convertible loan
A loan in which the lender, in addition to receiving a stated
interest rate, reserves the right to convert its debt on a project to equity and
thereby participate in the profits.
Covenant.
A restriction on real property that is binding, regardless of changes in
ownership, because it is attached to the title. Used generally in covenants,
conditions, and restrictions.
Covenants, conditions, and restrictions (CC&Rs)
Limitations or restrictions
placed on real estate (such as size of a building, character of landscaping, or
color of house paint), usually decided by a homeowners association.
Critical path method (CPM).
A network analysis method that visually displays the
activities involved in completing a project and shows the relationship between
the activities. This display can show how a delay in one activity will affect
other activities.
Debt (service) coverage ratio
The ratio of the annual net operating income of a
property to the annual debt service of the mortgage on the property.
Deed restrictions
Private form of land use regulation using covenants or
conditions placed on the title to a property; for example, minimum lot sizes.
Density bonus
A zoning tool that permits developers to build at a higher density
in exchange for providing some benefit to the community.
Discounted cash flow.
Present value of monies to be received in the future;
determined by multiplying projected cash flows by the discount factor.
Draw.
The lender’s release of construction loan funds in accordance with set
procedures for providing portions of the total amount as each stage of
construction is satisfactorily completed.
Effective rent
Rental income after deductions for financial concessions such as no-rent
periods during a lease term.
Enterprise concept
The idea that encouraging private enterprise will facilitate
economic revitalization or other socioeconomic goals. Encourages owners to
look at real estate as another type of private enterprise.
Equity.
That portion of an ownership interest in real property or other securities
that is owned outright, that is, above amounts financed.
Equity kicker
A provision in the loan terms that guarantees the lender a
percentage of the property’s appreciation over some specified time or a
percentage of income from the property or both.
Estoppel letter.
U.S. dollars deposited in European foreign banks and used as a
medium of international credit.