Abandonment - The relinquishment of all rights and title to a property with no intention of reclaiming ownership.

Abstract - A disclosure statement to initial condo purchasers.

Abstract Of Title - A condensed history or digest of the title to a parcel of land consisting of a summary of every recorded instrument, together with a statement of all liens, charges or encumbrances affecting title to that land.

Abutting Owner - An owner whose land touches a highway or other public place.

Acceleration Clause - A clause in a mortgage or agreement of sale stating that upon default of a payment due, immediate and full payment of the balance of the obligation becomes due and payable.

Access Right - The right of a property owner to have ingress and egress to and from his property.

Accession - Acquisition of property by its joining or union with other property.

Accretion - Gradual additions to land by deposits of sand or soil by bordering waters through natural causes.

Acknowledgement - A formal declaration made before a notary public or other authorized person, by a person who has executed an instrument, that such execution is hi free act and deed.

Acre - A measure of land equal to 160 square rods, 4,840 square yards, or 43,560 square feet.

Accrued Depreciation - In appraisal, any loss of utility that causes the actual value of a property to be less than the reproduction cost new.

Actual Authority - Such authority that a principal intentionally gives his agent.

Adjoining Owner - One whose property is contiguous; to he next to.

Administrator - A person appointed by the court to administer the estate of a deceased person who died intestate, or left no will; a personal representative.

Administrator’s Deed - A deed given by an administrator.

Ad Valorem - Tax according to valuation.

Adverse Possession - The means of acquiring title to land against the real owner, where possession has been actual, open, hostile, exclusive, continuous, and under claim of right for the statutory period of 20 years.

Affidavit - A statement reduced to writing and sworn to before a notary public or some other authorized officer.

Affirm - To confirm or to ratify.

Agency - The legal relationship resulting from an agreement that the agent if authorized by a principal to perform certain acts on behalf of the principal in dealing with a third party.

Agreement of Sale - A written agreement in which the buyer agrees to buy certain realty and the seller agrees to sell upon terms and conditions set forth therein. Title remains with the seller until terms and conditions are fulfilled; buyer has equitable title; there are two closings.

Air Rights - The rights vested by a grant of an estate in real property to all or any portion of the space above the property.

Alienation - The transferring of real property from one person to another.

Allegation - The assertion or declaration of a party setting out what he expects to prove.

Alluvion - That increase of soil on a shore or bank or a river as the result of accretion.

American Land Title Association (ALTA) - An extended coverage title insurance policy usually protecting the mortgagee against loss due to errors in the public records.

Amortization - The gradual paying off of a debt on an installment basis.

Anchor Tenant - Major tenant in a shopping center that serves as a magnet to attract customers to the center.

Annexation - The act of attaching, adding, joining, or uniting one thing to another.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR) - The effective annual cost of credit calculated on the basis of procedures specified by Regulation Z (Truth-in-Lending).

Annuity - A sum of money that constitutes one of a series of periodic payments.

Anti-Trust Laws - Federal and state laws prohibiting conduct which interferes with business competition, such as price fixing, group boycotts and tying agreements.

Appraisal - An estimate of value of real estate; the report stating and supporting the estimated value of realty.

Appraisal By Capitalization - Determine the value of property by dividing net annual income by the capitalization rate. Used on income producing properties.

Appraisal By Cost Approach - Estimating the value of a piece of property by adding to the estimated land value the estimate of the replacement cost or reproduction cost of the building less depreciation. Also called summation or reproduction cost approach.

Appraisal By Market Comparison - An appraisal of property through the examination and comparison of actual sales of comparable properties. Also called a “comparable.”

Appreciation - An increased value of property due to economic or related causes which may prove to be either temporary or permanent.

Appurtenance - That which has been added to a property, which becomes an inherent part of the property, and will pass with it when conveyed; includes improvements.

As Is - A phrase indicating the property is sold in its present conditions with no warranties.

Assemblage - Putting together two or more lots to form a large parcel. To be distinguished from plottage, which is the resulting value.

Assessment - A charge against real estate made by a unit of government or a condo association to cover the proportionate cost of improvement.

Assignee - The person to whom an agreement or contract is transferred.

Assignor - A party who assigns or transfers an agreement or contract to another.

Assignment - The method or manner by which a right, or contract is transferred from one person to another.

Assumption Of Mortgage - Taking of title to property by assuming liability for payment of an existing note secured by a mortgage.

Attachment - The act of taking realty by judicial order and placing it within the custody of the court.

Attestation - The act of witnessing in writing another’s execution of an instrument; to affirm to be true or genuine.

Attorney In Fact - One who is authorized to perform certain acts for another under a power of attorney.

Avulsion - The sudden removal of land of one owner and depositing on the land of another when a stream changes its channel.