A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q [R] S T U V W X Y & Z
Radon – A naturally occurring gas that is suspected of causing lung cancer.
Range – A strip of land six miles wide, extending north and south and numbered east and west according to its distance from the principal meridian in the rectangular (government) survey system of legal description.
Rate cap – The limit on the amount the interest rate can be increased at each adjustment period in an adjustable-rate loan. The cap may also set the maximum interest rate that can be charged during the life of the loan.
Ratification – Method of creating an agency relationship in which the principal accepts the conduct of someone who acted without prior authorization as the principal’s agent.
Ready, willing, and able buyer – One who is prepared to buy property on the seller’s terms and is ready to take positive steps to consummate the transaction.
Real estate – Land; a portion of the earth’s surface extending downward to the center of the earth and upward infinitely into space, including all things permanently attached to it, whether naturally or artificially.
Real estate investment syndicate – A business venture in which people pool their resources to own or develop a particular piece of property. See also syndicate.
Real estate investment trust (REIT) – Trust ownership of real estate by a group of individuals who purchase certificates of ownership in the trust, which in turn invests the money in real property and distributes the profits back to the investors free of corporate income tax.
Real estate license law – State law enacted to protect the public from fraud, dishonesty, and incompetence in the purchase and sale of real estate.
Real estate mortgage investment conduit (REMIC) – A tax entity that issues multiple classes of investor interests (securities) backed by a pool of mortgages.
Real estate recovery fund – A fund established in some states from real estate license revenues to cover claims of aggrieved parties who have suffered monetary damage through the actions of a real estate licensee.
Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) – The federal law that requires certain disclosures to consumers about mortgage loan settlements. The law also prohibits the payment or receipt of kickbacks and certain kinds of referral fees.
Reality of consent – A contract must be entered into as the free and voluntary act of each party.
Real property – The interests, benefits, and rights inherent in real estate ownership.
REALTOR® – A registered trademark term reserved for the sole use of active members of local REALTOR® boards affiliated with the National Association of REALTOR®.
Reconciliation – The final step in the appraisal process, in which the appraiser combines the estimates of value received from the sales comparison, cost, and income approaches to arrive at a final estimate of market value for the subject property.
Reconveyance deed – A deed used by a trustee under a deed of trust to return title to the trustor.
Recording – The act of entering or recording documents affecting or conveying interests in real estate in the recorder’s office established in each county. Until it is recorded, a deed or mortgage ordinarily is not effective against subsequent purchasers or mortgagees.
Rectangular (government) survey system – A system established in 1785 by the federal government, providing for surveying and describing land by reference to principal meridians and base lines.
Redemption – The right of a defaulted property owner to recover his or her property by curing the default.
Redemption period – A period of time established by state law during which a property owner has the right to redeem his or her real estate from a foreclosure or tax sale by paying the sales price, interest, and costs. Many states do not have mortgage redemption laws.
Redlining – The illegal practice of a lending institution denying loans or restricting their number for certain areas of a community.
Reduction certificate (payoff statement) – The document signed by a lender indicating the amount required to pay a loan balance in full and satisfy the debt; used in the settlement process to protect both the seller’s and the buyer’s interests.
Regression – An appraisal principle that states that, between dissimilar properties, the value of the better-quality property is affected adversely by the presence of the lesser-quality property.
Regulation Z – Implements the Truth-in-Lending Act requiring credit institutions to inform borrowers of the true cost of obtaining credit.
Release deed – A document, also known as a deed of reconveyance, that transfers all rights given a trustee under a deed of trust loan back to the grantor after the loan has been fully repaid.
Remainder interest – The remnant of an estate that has been conveyed to take effect and be enjoyed after the termination of a prior estate, such as when an owner conveys a life estate to one party and the remainder to another.
Rent – A fixed, periodic payment made by a tenant of a property to the owner for possession and use, usually by prior agreement of the parties.
Rent schedule – A statement of proposed rental rates, determined by the owner or the property manager or both, based on a building’s estimated expenses, market supply and demand, and the owner’s long-range goals for the property.
Repair – Activity that keeps a building’s equipment, utilities, and amenities functioning.
Replacement cost – The construction cost at current prices of a property that is not necessarily an exact duplicate of the subject property but serves the same purpose or function as the original.
Reproduction cost – The construction cost at current prices of an exact duplicate of the subject property.
Rescission – The practice of one party canceling or terminating a contract, which has the effect of returning the parties to their original positions before the contract was made.
Resolution Trust Corporation – The organization created by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) to liquidate the assets of failed savings and loan associations.
Restrictive covenants – A clause in a deed that limits the way the real estate ownership may be used.
Retroactive liability – Liability is not limited to the current owner, but includes people who have owned the site in the past.
Reverse-annuity mortgage (RAM) – A loan under which the homeowner receives monthly payments based on his or her accumulated equity rather than a lump sum. The loan must be repaid at a prearranged date, or upon the death of the owner, or upon the sale of the property.
Reversionary interest – The remnant of an estate that the grantor holds after granting a life estate to another person.
Reversionary right – The return of the rights of possession and quiet enjoyment to the lessor at the expiration of a lease.
Right of survivorship – Upon death of a joint tenant, his or her interest does not pass to heirs or according to a will. Rather, the entire ownership remains in the surviving joint tenant(s). See also joint tenancy.
Right-of-way – The right given by one landowner to another to pass over the land, construct a road way, or use as a pathway, without actually transferring ownership.
Riparian rights – An owner’s rights in land that borders on or includes a stream, river, or lake. These rights include access to and use of the water.
Risk management – Evaluation and selection of appropriate property and other insurance.
Routine maintenance – Day-to-day duties as cleaning common areas, performing minor carpentry and plumbing adjustments, and providing regularly scheduled upkeep of hearing , air-conditioning, and landscaping. Good routine maintenance is similar to good preventive maintenance.
Rules and regulations – Real estate licensing authority orders that govern licensees’ activities; they usually have the same force and effect as statutory law.
