LEGAL TERMINOLOGIES

IN APPRAISAL
ATTY. REY D. CARTOJANO, REC,REA,REB
COMPREHENSIVE AGRARIAN
REFORM LAW
1. Agrarian Reform - redistribution of
lands, regardless of crops or
fruits produced;
- irrespective of tenurial
arrangement;
2. Agriculture, Agriculture Enterprise or
Agricultural Activity
- cultivation of the soil, planting
of crops, growing of fruit trees
- including the harvesting
of such farm products
- other farm activities
performed by a farmer in conjunction
with such farming operations. (as
amended by Section 1, RA 7881)
3. Agricultural lessee - person who
cultivates the land, belonging to or
lawfully possessed by another with the
latter’s consent for purposes of
agricultural production

4. Award - conferment of Certificate of

Land Ownership Award (CLOA) title to
qualified agrarian reform beneficiaries.
5. Rural women - engaged directly or
indirectly in farming and/or fishing as
their source of livelihood, whether paid
or unpaid, regular or seasonal, or in food
preparation, managing the household,
caring for the children, and other similar
activities. (as added by Section 2, RA
9700)
6. Landless Beneficiary - any
farmer/tiller who owns less than three
(3) hectares of agricultural land.
AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES
MODERNIZATION ACT (RA 8435)
1. Sustainable Development - State shall
promote development that is complete
with the preservation of the ecosystem
in areas where agriculture and fisheries
are carried.
2. Agrarian Reform Community - a
barangay where there is a critical mass
of farmers
- features the main thrust of agrarian
development; land tenure improvement
and effective delivery of support
services.
3. Agricultural Lands - lands suitable for
the cultivation of the soil, planting of
crops, raising of livestock, poultry,
aquaculture production.
4. Agricultural Land Use Conversion -
process of changing the use of
agricultural land to non-agricultural uses.

5. Farm to Market Road - roads linking

the agriculture and fisheries production
sites, to the market and arterial roads
and highways.
6. Gross Value-Added - total value,
excluding the value of non-agricultural
or fishery intermediate inputs, of goods
and services contribution by the
agriculture and fisheries sectors.

7. Headworks - composite parts of the

irrigation system that divert water from
natural bodies of water.
8. Industrial Dispersal - encouragement
given to manufacturing enterprises to
establish their plants in rural areas.

9. Irrigable Lands - lands which display

marked characteristics justifying the
operation of an irrigation system.
10. Irrigated Lands - lands serviced by
natural irrigation or irrigation facilities.

11. Land Use Planning - act of defining the

allocation, utilization, development and
management of all lands itself and
supportive of sustainable, economic,
demographic, socio-cultural and
environment objectives as an aid to
decision-making and legislation.
12. Premature Conversion of Agricultural
Land - undertaking of any development
activity, the results of which modifies or
alters the physical characteristics of the
agricultural lands to render them suitable
for non-agricultural purposes, without an
approved order of conversion from the
DAR.
13. Rural Industrialization - process by
which the economy is transformed from
one that is predominantly agricultural to
one that is dominantly industrial and
services-oriented.
14. Strategic Agriculture and Fisheries
Development Zones (SAFDZ) - areas
within the NPAAAD identified for
production, agro-processing and
marketing activities to help develop and
modernize the agriculture and fisheries
sectors in an environmentally and sound
manner.
URBAN DEVELOPMENT AND
HOUSING ACT (RA7279)
1. Affordable cost - most reasonable
price of land and shelter based on the
needs and financial capability of
Program beneficiaries and appropriate
financing schemes.
2. Areas for priority development (APD) -
areas declared as such under existing
statutes and pertinent executive
issuances;
3. Blighted areas - areas where the
structures are dilapidated, obsolete and
unsanitary.
4. Idle lands - no- agricultural lands in
urban and urbanizable areas on which
no improvements have been made by
the owner.

5. Improvements - all types of buildings,

structures or construction of all kinds of
a fixed character which are adhered to
the soil.
6. Joint venture - agreement by two (2) or
more persons to carry out a single
business enterprise for their mutual
benefit.

7. Land assembly or consolidation -

acquisition of lots or varying ownership
through purchase or expropriation for
the purpose of planned and rational
development and socialized housing
programs without individual property
boundary restrictions;
8. Land banking - acquisition of land at
values based on existing use in advance of
actual need to promote planned
development and socialized housing
programs.

9. Land swapping - process of land

acquisition by exchanging land for another
piece of land of equal value.
10. Land use plan - allocating available land
resources as equitably as possible among
competing user groups and for different
functions consistent with the
development plan area and the Program
under this Act;

11. On-site development - process of

upgrading and rehabilitation of blighted
and slum urban areas.
12. Professional squatters- individuals or
groups who occupy lands without the
express consent of the landowner and
who have sufficient income for legitimate
housing.

13. Resettlement areas - areas identified by

the appropriate national or local agency
which shall be used for the relocation of
the underprivileged and homeless
citizens;
14. Security of tenure - degree of protection
afforded to qualified Program
beneficiaries against infringement or
unjust eviction.

15. Slum Improvement and Resettlement

Program or SIRP - program of the
National Housing Authority of upgrading
blighted squatter areas outside of Metro
Manila.
16. Small property owners - those whose
only real property not exceeding three
hundred square meters (300 sq. m.) in
highly urbanized cities and eight hundred
square meters (800 sq. m.) in other
urban areas;

17. Socialized housing - housing programs

undertaken by the Government or the
private sector for the underprivileged and
homeless citizens
18. Squatting syndicates - groups engaged
in the business of squatter housing for
profit or gain;

19. Underprivileged and homeless citizens –

individuals/families residing in urban
whose income or combined household
income falls within the poverty threshold.
20. Unregistered or abandoned lands -
lands in urban and urbanizable areas
which are not registered with the Register
of Deeds, or with the city or municipal
assessor’s office concerned, or which are
uninhabited by the owner and have not
been developed or devoted for any useful
purpose, or appears unutilized for a
period of three (3) consecutive years …
(cont)
(cont)... immediately prior to the issuance
and receipt or publication of notice of
acquisition by the Government as
provided under this Act.

21. Urban areas - cities regardless of their

population density and to municipalities
with a population density of at least five
hundred (500) persons per square
kilometer.
22. Urbanizable areas - lands which,
considering present characteristics and
prevailing conditions, display marked and
great potential of becoming urban areas
within the period of five (5) years.

23. Zonal Improvement Program or ZIP -

program of the National Housing
Authority of upgrading and improving
blighted squatter areas within the cities
and municipalities of Metro Manila .
24. The Community Mortgage Program
(CMP) - mortgage financing program of
the National Home Mortgage Finance
Corporation which assists legally
organized associations of underprivileged
and homeless citizens to purchase and
develop a tract of land under the concept
of community ownership.
 PD 957 and RA 4276

1. HLURB - Housing and Land Use

Regulatory Board.

2. Block - parcel of land bounded on the

sides by streets or alleys or pathways or
other natural or man-made features, and
occupied by or intended for buildings.
3. Commercial Condominium group of
buildings, used for office, businesses,
professional services owned and
maintained as a condominium.

4. Community Facilities - intended to serve

common needs and for the benefit of the
community.
5. Condominium - A building or group of
buildings, in which units are owned
individually, and the structure, common
areas and facilities are owned by the
owners on a proportional undivided basis.

6. Condominium Project - entire parcel of

real property divided or to be divided in
condominium, including all structures
thereon.
7. Dealer – person directly engaged as
principal in the business of buying, selling
or exchanging real estate.

8. Dwelling Unit - structure designed or

used as residence

9. Firewall - wall which subdivides a

building so as to resist the spread of fire.
10. Frontage – the side of a lot which abuts
a street.

11. Living Unit – a dwelling, or portion

thereof, providing complete living
facilities for one family, including
provisions for living, sleeping, cooking,
eating, bathing and toilet facilities and
laundry facilities, the same as a single-
family dwelling.
12. Lot – portion of a subdivision or any
parcel of land intended as a unit for
transfer or ownership for building
development.

Types of Lots – Lots shall be defined as

follows:
1. Corner lot - situated at the intersection of
two or more steers.
2. Regular lot - fronting on one street and
the remaining sides bounded by lot lines.
3. Interior lot –located at the inner portion
of a block with a minimum of three-
meter (3-m) wide access which forms
part of the lot.
4. Through lot –bounded on two opposite
sides by road.
5. Irregular lot – any lot which is not
rectangle nor square-shaped.
13. Medium Cost and Open Market –
housing projects where prices of house
and lot packages are within the suggested
price ranges as determined through
HUDCC resolution and falling under the
standards prescribed in these rules.
14. Open Space –area reserved exclusively
for parks, playgrounds, recreational uses,
schools, roads, places of worship,
hospitals, health centers, barangay
centers and other similar facilities and
amenities.
15. Project –entire parcel of real property
divided or to be divided in
condominiums, including all structures
thereon.

16. Subdivision Project –parcel of land

registered under Act. No. 496 which is
partitioned primarily for residential
purposes into individual lots with or
without improvements thereon, and
offered to the public for sale, in cash or in
instalment terms.
17. Subdivision Lot –any of the lots,
whether residential, commercial,
industrial, or recreational, in a
subdivision project.

18. Complex Subdivision Plan –

subdivision plan of a registered land
wherein a street, passageway or open
space is delineated on the plan.
BP 220
1. Alley – a public way width of 2.0 meters
intended to break a block and to serve
both pedestrian and for emergency
vehicles, both ends connecting to streets.

2. Cluster Housing – single-family detached

dwelling unit containing three or more
separate living units grouped closely
together to form relatively compact
structures.
3. Community facilities –structures
intended for the benefit of the
community, such as neighbourhood or
multi-purpose center, drugstore, school,
livelihood center, and the like.

4. Single Detached- a dwelling for 1 family

which is completely surrounded by
permanent open spaces, with
independent access, services, and use of
land.
5. Duplex/Single Attached- a dwelling
containing 2 or more separate living units
each of which is separated from another
by party or lot lines walls and provided
with independent access, services, and
use of land. Such dwelling shall include
duplexes, quadruplex or terraces, and
cluster housing.
6. Row house- a sing-attached dwelling
containing 3 or more separate living units
designed in such a way that they each
other at the sides, as in a row, and are
separated from each other by party walls;
provided with independent access, and
use of land.
7. Sing-family dwelling- shall mean single
family per lot.

8. Multi Family Dwelling – a dwelling on 1

lot containing separate living units for 3
or more families, usually provided with
common access, services and use of
land.
9. Shell house – a habitable dwelling unit
which meets the minimum
requirements for a housing core with the
following additional components being
included as part thereof

10. Complete House – a habitable

dwelling unit which meets the minimum
requirements for a shell house with the
following additional components being
included as part thereof.
11. Economic Housing – a type of housing
project provided to average income
families.

12. Fire Resistive Time Period Rating – fire

resistive time period is the length of time
a material can withstand being burned
which may be 1 hour, 2 hours, 3 hours, 4
hours or more.
13. Firewall –separates 2 abutting living
units and extends vertically from the
lowest portion of the wall which adjoins
the 2 living units up to a minimum height
of 0.30 meter above the highest portion
of the roof attached to it.

14. Frontage – that part or end of a lot

which abuts a street.
15. Living unit- a dwelling, or portion
thereof, providing complete living
facilities for a family.

16. Lot –any parcel of land intended as a

unit for transfer of ownership or for
building development
17. Lot Line Wall –used only by the party
upon whose lot the wall is located,
erected at a line separating two parcels
with common access, services and use of
land.

18. Multi Family Dwelling – a dwelling on

one lot containing separate living units
for 3 or more families, usually provided
with common access, services and use of
land.
19. Occupancy – the purpose for which a
building is used or intended to be used.
20. Party Wall –used jointly by two parties
under easement agreement, erected
upon a line separating 2 parcels of land
each of which is a separate real estate.
21. Path walk – a public way intended to be
used only as pedestrian access to
property for socialized housing projects.
22. Parks and Playgrounds – that portion
of the subdivision which is generally not
built on and intended for passive or active
recreation.

23. Socialized Housing –housing programs

lots and home lots only undertaken by
the government or the private sector for
the underprivileged and homeless
citizens which shall include sites and
services development, … (cont.)
… (cont.) long term financing, liberalized
terms on interest payments, and such
other benefits in accordance with the
provisions of R.A. 7279 or the urban
development and housing act of 1992.
 LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE
1. Acquisition Cost - refers to the actual cost
of the machinery to its present owner,
plus the cost of transportation, handling,
and installation at the present site.

2. Ad Valorem Tax - a levy on real property

determined on the basis of a fixed
proportion of the value of the property.
3. Agricultural Land -devoted principally to
the planting of trees, raising of crops,
livestock and poultry, dairying, salt
making, inland fishing and similar aqua
cultural activities, and other agricultural
activities.

4. Appraisal - process of determining the

value of property as of a specified date for
a specific purpose;
5. Assessment - process of determining the
value of a property, or proportion thereof
subject to tax, including the discovery,
listing, classification, and appraisal of
properties;

6. Assessment Level - percentage applied to

the fair market value to determine the
taxable value of the property;
7. Assessed Value - fair market value of the
real property multiplied by the
assessment level.
8. Commercial Land -devoted principally
for the object of profit and is not
classified as agricultural, industrial,
mineral, timber, or residential land;
9. Depreciated Value - value remaining
after deducting depreciation from the
acquisition cost;
10. Economic Life - estimated period
over which it is anticipated that a
machinery or equipment may be
profitability utilized;

11. Fair Market Value - price at which a

property may be sold by a seller who is
not compelled to sell and bought by a
buyer who is not compelled to buy;
 12. Improvement - valuable addition
made to a property or an amelioration in
its condition, amounting to more than a
mere repair or replacement of parts
involving capital expenditures and labor.

13. Industrial Land -devoted principally

to industrial activity as capital investment
and is not classified as agricultural,
commercial, timber, mineral or residential
land.
14. Mineral lands - lands in which
minerals, metallic or non-metallic, exist in
sufficient quantity or grade to justify the
necessary expenditures to extract and
utilize such materials.

15. Reassessment - assigning of new

assessed values to property, particularly
real estate, as the result of a general,
partial, or individual reappraisal of the
property.
 16. Remaining Economic Life - period of
time expressed in years from the date of
appraisal to the date when the machinery
becomes valueless.

17. Remaining Value - value

corresponding to the remaining useful life
of the machinery.
18. Replacement or Reproduction Cost -
cost that would be incurred on the basis
of current prices, in acquiring an equally
desirable substitute property, or the cost
of reproducing a new replica of the
property on the basis of current prices
with the same or closely similar material.

19. Residential Land - land principally

devoted to habitation
OTHER LEGAL TERMINOLOGIES
1. Abstract of Title – a summary of the
condition of the title based on an
examination of public records.

2. Abutting owner – Owner whose land

touches a street or highway.
3. Acceleration clause –used in instalment
notes that permits the payee to declare
the entire unpaid balance immediately
due on default in payment.

4. Alienation - or due-on-sale, clause.

5. Accession- addition to property by

natural increase or growth; also, by the
installation of improvements.
6. Acknowledgement – a declaration by the
party executing an instrument that it is his
act and deed.

7. Acquisition – the act or process by

which a person obtains title to property.

8. Action in Rem – a court action, which

seeks a judgement against property, such
as an action to quiet title to real property.
 9. Act of God (force majeure) – Any
irresistible disaster, the result of natural
causes.

10. Administrator – a person appointed

by the probate court as the
representative of a decedent’s estate
where the decedent left no will.

11. Ad valorem – According to the value

 12. Ad valorem tax – A levy on real
property determined on the basis of a
fixed proportion of the value of the
property.

13. Adverse possession (prescription) – A

method of acquisition of property based
on an adverse or hostile and continued
use of another person’s property for a
prescribed period of time.
 14. Air rights – The right to exclusive use
and control of an area above a specific
parcel of land (as defined in the legal
description) Air rights partition the rights
to allow multilevel uses of the same
parcel land.

15. Alienation – A provision in a note and

deed of trust calling for authority maturity
at the sale or transfer of the real property
to a third party.
16. Alluvion – soil deposited by accretion.
Also called alluvium.

17. Amortization – Provision for the

payment of the debt or obligation on an
instalment basis.
18. Annexation – The addition to
property by adding or attaching other
property to it, such as fixture. Also, the
addition of unincorporated territory in a
country to a city or town.

19. Antichresis –the creditor acquires the

right to receive the fruits of an immovable
of the debtor, with the obligation to apply
them to the payment of interest, if any,
and then to the principal of the debt.
20. Appurtenance – Anything incidental
or belonging to land, which is considered
part of the real property.

21. Arm’s length – A transaction in which

the buyer and seller have no other
relationship no advantage over each
other, and no other factors that would
cause an unusual effect on a sale price.
 22. Assessments level – The percentage
applied to the market value to determine
the taxable value of property.

23. Assessments – Special impositions on

property to pay for the cost of a local
work of improvement.
19. Antichresis –the creditor acquires the right to receive the fruits of an
immovable of the debtor, with the obligation to apply them to the payment
of interest, if any, and then to the principal of the debt.

20. Appurtenance – Anything incidental or belonging to land, which is

considered part of the real property.

21. Arm’s length – A transaction in which the buyer and seller have no other
relationship no advantage over each other, and no other factors that would
cause an unusual effect on a sale price.

22. Assessments level – The percentage applied to the market value to

determine the taxable value of property.

23. Assessments – Special impositions on property to pay for the cost of a local
work of improvement.

24. Assumption of mortgage – agreement by buyer where-in he assumes

liability for payment of an existing note secured by a mortgage or deed of
trust against the property.
25. Assurance of fund – To compensate a person injured because he is divested
of what he thought was his interest in real estate he had purchased.

26. Attachment – A seizure of property by judicial process during the pendency

of an action, to have it available after a judgement is obtained.

27. Attorney-in-fact – A person who is authorize to perform certain acts for

another person under a power of attorney.

28. Avigation easement –gives airport owners the right to fly aircraft at low
altitudes over a property for the approach and landing of aircraft.

29. Avulsion – The sudden tearing away of land by the violent action of a river
or other water course.

30. Balloon payment – The final payment on an instalment note which is

greater than the preceding payments and which pays the note in full.
31. Bearing wall – A wall or partition which supports a part of a building, usually
a roof or floor above.

32. Beneficiary – One entitled to the benefit of the trust; as used in a trust
deed, the lender is designated as the beneficiary that is he obtains the
benefit of the security.

33. Blanket mortgage or trust deed – A mortgage or trust deed which covers
more than one lot or parcel of real property; it often covers an entire
subdivision.

34. Bona fide purchases – One who buys property in good faith, for a fair value,
and without notice of any adverse claim or right of third parties.

35. Building Line – A line set by law certain distance from the street and
beyond which an owner cannot build on his lot.

36. Certificate of sale –issued to the purchaser at an execution sale.

37. Certificate of title – A certified statement regarding the ownership of land,
based on an examination of the record title.

38. Cession –assignment of properties of the benefit of his creditors for them
to sell and apply proceeds to satisfy the debts.

39. Chain of title – A chronological list of recorded instruments affecting the

title land, beginning with the earliest in point of time and concluding with
the latest evidence of ownership.

40. Chaplan – An indentation along a corner lot to allow better visibility to

perpendicular traffic.

41. Chattel real – Interest in real estate less than free hold, such as an estate for
years.

42. Civil Law – Law of the Roman Empire, based on the code of Justinian it is
the basis of the law in many European countries and RP today but not
England, where the common law applies.
43. Cloud of title – A semblance of title or a claim appearing in some legal form
but which is in fact invalid.

44. Codicil – a change or amendment to a will.

45. Color of title – that which the appearance of title, but is not title in fact.

46. Commercial acre – A term applied to the remainder of an acre of

subdivided land after the area devoted to the streets, sidewalks, curbs, and
the like has been deducted from the acre.

47. Condemnation (US term) (Expropriation in RP) – The exercise of the power
of eminent domain, that is the taking of property for a public purpose on
payment of just compensation.

48. Confirmation of sale – court approval of the sale of property by an

executor, administrator, guardian, or conservator.
49. Contiguous – In actual or close contact; adjoining or trusting on.

50. Conversion – Change from one character or use to another.

51. Cotenancy (Co-ownership) – Ownership of property by two or more

persons.

52. Courtesy– The common law of interest of a husband in estate of deceased

wife.

53. Dedication – A donation of land by the owner for the use of the public.

54. Deed – Written instrument by which the ownership of the land is

transferred to the trustee as security for a debt or other obligation.
55. Default – Failure to perform a duty or to discharge an obligation.

56. Defeasance Clause – The clause in a mortgage that gives the mortgagor the
right to redeem his property on the payment of his obligation to the
mortgagee.

57. Delegation – Takes place when the creditor accepts a third person to take
the place of the debtor at the request of the debtor.

58. Descent – Succession to a property by an heir.

59. Diluvian – The gradual washing away and loss of soil along the banks of a
river.

60. Dominant tenement or estate – The land obtaining the benefit of an

easement appurtenant.
61. Easement appurtenant – An easement created for the benefit of a parcel of
land. Such as easement belongs with the land.

62. Easement in gross – An easement created for the benefit of an individual

apart from ownership of land.

63. Encumbrance – A lien or charge on land. It includes anything that affects or

limits the ownership of property, such as mortgages, easements restrictions.

64. Escalator clause – A clause in a contract providing for the upward or

downward adjustments of certain items of cost and expense to cover
specified contingencies.

65. Escheat – The reverting of land to the state in cases where no heirs,
devisees, or legatees of a deceased owner.

66. Escrow – The deposit by contracting parties of a deed or other instruments

and funds with a neutral third party for delivery to the respective parties on
performance of a condition.
67. Estate for years – A lease that has a definite period; also known as estate
for term.

68. Executory- A contract or agreement that has not yet been performed.

69. Ex parte – A judicial proceeding, order, injunction is said to be ex parte

when it is taken for granted at the request and for the benefit of one party
only and may be without notice to any person.

70. Expropriation (Condemnation in US) – The taking by the national

Government or any political subdivision, any private property for public use
on payment of just compensation.

71. Fee simple absolute – An estate in real property which gives the owner the
greatest power over the title.

72. Fee simple defeasible – A fee simple estate that can be lost of defeated by
the happening of some event subsequent to the initial granyt, such as
breach of a condition contained in deed restrictions.
73. First mortgage – The pledge of collateral that is older than any
other mortgage lien against the property.

74. Fixed-rate mortgage – A mortgage in which the interest rate stays

the same throughout the term.

75. Foreshore land – A strip of land along seashore, the use of which
may or, may not be granted by the government to private persons
or corporations.

76. Forfeiture – A loss of some right, title, estate, or interest in property

or of money in consequence of a default.

77. Freehold – An estate of inheritance (fee estate) or for life.

78. Freehold estate – An estate of indeterminable duration. Freehold

estates include fee simple, defeasible fee, conventional life, and
legal life estates.
79. Gratitude lease – Lease which provides for a varying rental rate,
often based on periodic simple determinations; used largely in long-
term commercial leases.

80. Gratitude payment mortgage – A type of mortgage in which the

lender and buyer agree to pay less in the beginning and more at the
end of the term.

81. Ground lease – A lease covering the land only and not the
improvements which are to be installed by the lessee.

82. Gross lease – Lease in which the landlords pays most of the
operating expenses, typical for office buildings or other high-
expense operations.

83. Ground rent – Earnings of improved property credited to the

earnings of the land itself after allowance is made for earnings from
the improvements.

84. Hypothecate- to give a thing as security without parting with

possession.
85. Judgment lien – A statutory lien created by recording an abstract or
certified true copy of a judgement for money.

86. Junior lien – A subordinate or inferior lien, e.g. second mortgage or

trust deed.

87. Jurat – A certified evidencing the fact that an affidavit was properly
made before an authorized officer.

88. Laches – Inexcusable delay in asserting a right; an equitable statute

of limitations.

89. Lateral support – The support which the soil of an adjoining owner
gives to the neighbors land.

90. Lesion – Any damage caused by the fact that the price is unjust or
inadequate.
91. Levy – A seizure of property by judicial process.

92. Lien – A charge on a property for the payment of a debt or

performance of an obligation.

93. Life estate – The right to use and occupy real estate for the duration
of the life of the beneficiary or another person.

94. Line-of-sight easement – A legal agreement not to restrict or inhibit

the view from one parcel across another, which can be important in
areas where the view amenity is valuable.

95. Littoral – Pertaining to the shore.

96. Littoral rights – The rights of adjacent owners to enjoy access to the
shoreline of a body of water.
97. Lock-in clause – A loan provision specifying a period during which
repayment is not allowed.

98. Mechanic’s lien – A statutory lien in favour of contractors,

subcontractors, laborer’s and material men who have performed
work or furnished materials or supplies to a work of improvement.

99. Merger of title – The absorption of one estate in another; a uniting

of different interests in a parcel of property into one ownership.

100. Moratorium – temporary suspension by statute of the

enforcement of liability to a debt.

101. Monuments of title – deeds and other original documents showing

a chain of title to a parcel of property into one ownership.

102. Net lease – A lease in which the tenants pays all the expenses of
operations including taxes insurance, utilities, and maintenance;
commonly used for industrial properties.
103. Open end-mortgage – A mortgage (or deed of trust) which, in addition
to the original obligation, secures additional advances made by the
lender after the date of execution of the mortgage.
104. Option – A right given for a consideration of a purchase or lease a
parcel of property within a specified time and on specified terms.
105. Pacto de retro – This is a contract of a sale with the stipulation that the
vendor has the right to buy back or redeem property within a given
period of time.
106. Partition action – A court action by which co-owners by which co-
owners can sever their joint ownership, either by a division of the land
into separate parcels if practical, or by a sale of the property and a
division of the proceeds in accordance with the respective interest of
the owners.
107. Pendent lite – Pending suit
108. Per capita – By the head. In the distribution of an estate, persons are
said to take per capita, when each one claims in his own right, based on
an equal degree of kinship, an equal share of the estate; compared with
the term stripes, which means by right of representation (according to
the roots)
109. Percentage lease – A lease, usually in the case of commercial
property, where the rental is determined by the amount of business
done by the lessee.

110. Perjury – The intentional making of a false statement under oath,

it is a felony.

111. Pre-emptive right – The right of the owner to buy property on the
same terms y a third party in an owner chooses to sell as offered.

112. Prescription lease – A lease given to a cooperative investor that

entitles the investor to perpetual occupancy in the cooperative
project.

113. Quantum meruit – Recovery for reasonable value of services; it

means “as much as he deserves”

114. Quiet title – A court action brought to establish title to property or

to remove a cloud on the title.
115. Reverse annuity mortgage (RAM) – A type of mortgage popular
with the people who have a large amount of equity in a property and
want to take the equity out slowly over the years.

116. Reformation – A court action to correct a mistake in a deed or

other document.

117. Release cause – A clause in a mortgage providing for release of

specified portions of the property payment of a specific sum of
money.

118. Relocation – Gradual recession of water from the usual watermark,

exposing more dry land for productive use.

119. Rescind – To cancel a contract or other instrument.

120. Rescission – A court action brought to cancel or annual the effect

executing a contract or other document.
121. Reservation – A right or interest retained by a grantor in conveying
property.

122. Riparian – Pertaining to the bank of a river, of a lake, or tide water.

123. Riparian rights – A common law principle stating that the owner of
land to a non-navigable body of water may own to the center of the
body of water.

124. Sale and lease back – A situation where the owner of a parcel of
property sells it to a third party and retains possession by
simultaneously leasing it from the buyer.

125. Sandwich lease – A leasehold interest which lies between the

primary leases. It is created when the lessee enters a sublease.

126. Shared appreciation mortgage (SAM) – a mortgage, which an

investor shares in, the increase of property values in return for a
lower interest rate.
127. Seizin – A possession of land under a claim of freehold also spelled
seisin.

128. Servient tenement or estate – An estate burdened by an

easement. CF dominant tenement.

129. Servitude – A right in another person’s property in the nature of

the easement.

130. Specific performance – A court action to compel performance of

an agreement for the sale of land.

131. Status – The standing of a person before the law; that is whether
an adult, a married sale of land, be in writing to be enforceable.

132. Statute of limitations – law which prescribes various times within

which court actions to enforce a right of for other relief must be led.
133. Subpoena – A process issued by a court to cause a witness to
appear at a hearing and give testimony.

134. Subpoena duces tecum – A subpoena which directs a witness to

bring specified documents and filed with him.

135. Subsurface rights – mineral right i.e. the right to extract oil, gas, or
coal; may also the right to build roads, tunnels, or train track.

136. Summons- court process which directs a defendant to make an

appearance in an action led against him.

137. Tenancy – The state of being a tenant; a holding of land by any

kind of title, tenure, occupancy of land, or the like.

138. Tender – An unconditional offer to pay a debt or perform a

contract.
139. Tenements – All rights in land which pass with a conveyance of the
land or in a real estate, the holding of land or other real property as a
possession.

140. Title – Evidence of a person’s right or the extent of his interest on

property.

141. Triple net lease – in many markets, a lease arrangement in which

the tenant pays all the expenses associated with maintenance of the
building, taxes, utilities, and other expenses.

142. Trust – A system of property mortgages in which the title to a

property is place with a trustee until the mortgage is paid off.

143. Trustee- The person who has been entrusted with responsibilities
for or title to a property for the benefit of others.

144. Ultra vires – Beyond their powers. A corporation is said to act ultra
vires when it exceeds the authority given it by its charter and by –
laws.
145. Undivided interests – The unsegregated interest of co-owners in
the entire property owned in common.

146. Unenforceable – A contact or a law that cannot be legally

enforced.

147. Unjust enrichment – A legal doctrine designed to prevent a person

from taking advantage of another person’s mistake, such as on
overpayment of an amount due.

148. Usufruct – It is that right to the temporary use and enjoyment of

property of another, including the fruits of the property.

149. Utility easement- An easement that gives utility companies,

municipal agencies and others the right to cross a property to get or
to repair a utility line or pipe.

150. Venue – The place in which a lawsuit is brought or tried, or the

place in which an acknowledgement is taken.