Abatement: The removal of a problem which is against public policy, or endangers others, such as a dilapidated structure or a yard full of weeds that might catch fire.

Abstract of Title: A chronological history of recorded documents affecting the title to a parcel of real property. It shows each change of ownership, easements, loans against the property, deeds of trust, liens, judgments and so forth.

Abut: When two parcels of real property touch each other.

Acceleration Clause: A clause in mortgage documents which allows the lender to demand payment of the entire outstanding loan balance at once upon certain events, such as if the borrower fails to make timely payments or transfers title to another individual.

Accretion: The increase or accumulation of land on a stream, lake or sea by natural causes. It is created by the action of water which deposits soil upon a shoreline.

Ad Valorem: A Latin adjective meaning "based on value," which applies to property taxes based on a percentage of the county's assessment of the property's value.

Adverse Possession: A means to acquire title to land through occupancy of the land. Arizona laws permit someone to acquire ownership of property which has been abandoned by its record title owner if the land is occupied by an adverse possessor for a certain number of years. The adverse possessor may be able to commence a court proceeding to declare that the property belongs to him.

Agent - One who has authority to act for another (that “other” being the “principal”).

Alienation: The voluntary transfer of title to real property.

Amortize: To reduce a debt by regular payments of both principal and interest.

Appraisal: A determination of the value of something, such as a house, jewelry or stock. A professional appraiser -- a qualified, disinterested expert -- makes an estimate by examining the property, and looking at the initial purchase price and comparing it with recent sales of similar property. Attorneys sometimes order appraisals in probate, condemnation, or foreclosure proceedings in order to determine the fair market value of property.

Appurtenant: A right or restriction which is attached to a piece of property, such as an easement to gain access across the neighbor's parcel which is considered an “appurtenant easement”. That right is attached to the property, and therefore only the owner of the subject property has the right to pass over the neighboring parcel.

Assessor: A public official who establishes the value of a property for taxation purposes.

Assignment of Contract: A process by which a person transfers his rights and obligations to another person.  For example, a lease may be assigned from a tenant to a subtenant.  The subtenant now has the right to possess the property, and also the obligation to pay rent to the landlord.

Assumption of Mortgage: Agreement by a buyer to take over the seller’s responsibility under a note.

Attractive Nuisance: Something on a piece of real estate that attracts children but also endangers their safety. For example, unfenced swimming pools, open pits, farm equipment and abandoned refrigerators have all qualified as attractive nuisances.

Chain of Title: The chronological succession of ownership of a parcel of land property over the years, from the original owner to the present owner.

Clear Title: Ownership of real estate that is free of liens, claims, or other legal clouds affecting the ownership of the property.

Cloud on Title: An uncertainty, doubt or claim against the true rights of the supposed owner of a piece of property.  This type of condition might be a recorded purchase contract, purchase option, or an old mortgage with no recorded release.

Collateral: Property that secures payment of a debt.

Common Area: The areas in a condominium or subdivision which are not owned by any individual owner, but rather shared by all the owners and managed by their community association. This includes elevators, stairwells, swimming pools, and parks.

Common Area Assessment: Charges paid to the community association by the owners of the individual units in a condominium or subdivision community. These funds are generally used to maintain the common areas. In some areas they are called homeowners association fees or dues.

Community Property:  Arizona as well as other states (CA, LA, TX, WI, ID, NV, NM, WA) consider money, property appreciation, and any other property acquired by either husband or wife acquired during a marriage to belong to both spouses equally, regardless of how it is titled. For example, Phil Phoenix’s paycheck from his employer is made out to Phil, but Arizona law considers that paycheck to belong equally to Phil and his wife, Phyllis Phoenix.

Community Property With Right of Survivorship: A way for married couples to hold title to property, available in Arizona as well as other community-property states. Like joint tenancy with right of survivorship, this form of ownership allows a deceased spouse's half-ownership in the property to automatically pass to the surviving spouse without probate.

Compensatory Damages: A type of damages issued against a defendant which are intended to reimburse the plaintiff for expenses incurred as a result of a tort of negligence; typically, these damages include hospital bills, doctor bills and lost wages. 

Condemnation - A legal process by which the government takes over ownership of private land for public use, paying the owners a fair price. For example, the front 15 feet of Michael Mesa’s office building might be taken by the City of Mesa for the purpose of widening the road.  Michael may choose to hire an attorney to negotiate with the City of Mesa to pay him a higher price for the 15-feet strip which the City is condemning. See also “eminent domain”.

Condominium: A type of ownership in real estate where a group of people each own their own units individually, and they also share ownership of common areas such as elevators, swimming pools, and parks.  The common areas are titled as a tenancy in common, and managed by a community association.

Consideration - The price bargained for and paid for in exchange for goods, services, or real estate. Every contract must include consideration in order to be enforceable. For example, if Gabby Glendale signs a contract to buy Gordon Glendale’s strip mall for $1 million, the “consideration” being provided by Gabby is $1 million and the “consideration” being provided by Gordon is the strip mall.

Construction Loan: A short-term mortgage for financing the cost of construction. The lender makes payments at periodic intervals as the work progresses.

Contingency: A condition that must be met before a contract is legally binding. For example, purchasers of commercial real estate often include a contingency in the purchase contract that specifies the contract is not binding until they have obtained a satisfactory zoning or inspection report.

Contingent Remainder: An ownership interest in real estate, which will pass to a certain person (called the “contingent remainderman”) upon a certain set of circumstances, such as when the current owner dies.

Contract:  verbal or written agreement between two or more individuals which creates an obligation to do or not to do a particular thing.

Convey: A catch-all term to describe the act of transferring ownership in real estate from one person (the grantor) to another (the grantee).  One may convey property via selling it to somebody, gifting it to somebody, or passing it to somebody in a will.

Copyright: A right granted by statute to the author or originator of literary, artistic productions and computer programs.

Co-tenancy: Another generic catch-all term to describe the situation when more than one person has a ownership in a piece of real estate. The two most common types of co-tenancy are tenancy in common and joint tenancy.

Co-tenant: Somebody who has partial ownership in a piece of real estate along with one or more others.

Counteroffer: A type of offer which will terminate the original offer because it is both a rejection of the original offer and the making of a new offer.

Covenant That Runs With the Land:  A contract which is described in a deed to land and which is binding upon the current owner as well as all future owners of that land. The most common types are CC&Rs and easements. See also “deed restriction”.

Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions (CC&Rs): Rules governing the use of real estate, usually enforced by a homeowners' association and passed onto any future owners of units within the community. For example, CC&Rs may limit how large a  house can be, or what type of plants may be used to landscape a yard. If property is subject to CC&Rs, any potential buyer must be notified before a sale can be finalized.

Creditor: A person to whom money is owed.

Deed: The legal document, usually drafted by an attorney, conveying title to a piece of real estate. A deed must sufficiently describe the land being transferred, name the party transferring the property (grantor or seller), and describe the person taking ownership (the buyer or grantee).

Defective Title: An apparent title to real property which actually is void.  Reasons for title being defective might be that the claimed seller never actually had valid ownership, and therefore any ownership transferred to the buyer was actually defective.

Deficiency: The difference between the amount owed to a creditor and the proceeds received from a foreclosure sale.  In Arizona, a creditor who held a foreclosure sale may then obtain a "deficiency judgment" against the borrower for the difference.

Disclose: To reveal information. For example, in Arizona, a seller of real must disclose  known physical defects in a building to any potential buyer.

Dominant Estate: A piece of property which provides its owner with the right to pass over or  use a neighboring parcel. That neighboring parcel is knows as the “subservient estate”. For example, property in the second row of a beach town that carries a right for its owner to access a trail across a property in the first row, is the dominant estate. The property in the first row is the subservient estate.

Double Closing: A transaction on a certain piece of real estate wherein the property is simultaneously being bought from one person and then sold to another.  Also called "double escrow" and "flipping." For example, Tom Tempe is leasing a retail plaza and is under contract to purchase that plaza from his landlord for $1 million on January 3. Tom also lines up Tammy Tempe, who will immediately purchase the plaza from Tom for $1.2 million.

Due-on-Sale Clause: A common provision in a mortgage or deed of trust that gives the lender an option to require payment in full of the entire indebtedness if the borrower sells or otherwise transfers title to the property which serves as security for the mortgage note.

Easement: A right of way.  The right of a certain property owner to pass over, access, or otherwise use some portion of a neighboring parcel. An easement might also belong to the public at large, to the government, or to a public utility. Property owners commonly grant easements for the placement of utility poles, utility trenches, water lines and sewer pipes. The owner of property that is subject to an easement is said to be "burdened" with the easement, because he or she is not allowed to interfere with its use.

Easement by Prescription: A right to use somebody’s property, which was created by a long tradition of open and obvious use. For example, if hikers have been using a trail through Phil Phoenix’s back yard for ten years in order to access Squaw Peak, then a public easement by prescription has likely come into being.

Egress: An exit. The opposite of “ingress”, which is an entrance.

Ejectment: A type of lawsuit initiated for the purpose of judicially removing a squatter or some other person who is wrongfully occupying real estate and wrongfully claims ownership to it. This is distinct from an eviction lawsuit against a non-paying or unsatisfactory tenant.

Eminent Domain: The government’s authority to acquire ownership of private property for public use via a process called condemnation. The power of eminent domain exists for all levels of government, including federal, state, county, and city.  However, any government body which condemns private property must pay the owner a fair-market price as compensation for the taking. A public use may include roads, parks, reservoirs, schools, or other public buildings.

Encroachment: A building, fence, or other structure which lies across and intrudes upon a neighboring property line. This may occur due to faulty surveys or miscalculations by builders when erecting a building or a fence. Solutions include paying the rightful property owner for the use of the property, or the court-ordered removal of the structure.

Encumbrance: A general term for any claim, lien, easement, mortgage, deed restriction, or other charge against real property.

Equity of Redemption: The right of a borrower on a mortgage note, after commencement of foreclosure proceedings, to "cure" his default by making payments to the lender.

Eviction: The expulsion of an occupant of real estate.

Exception in deed: A notation in a deed which states that certain interests, such as mineral rights, are being kept by the seller and are not included in the transfer to the buyer.

Exculpatory clause: A provision in a lease that absolves the landlord from responsibility for all damages, injuries or losses occurring on the property, including those caused by the landlord's actions. Arizona, and most other states, have laws that void exculpatory clauses which are too broad, which means that a court will not enforce them and declare them to be void.

Express Contract: A type of contract formed when the terms of the offer and acceptance are specifically stated, either verbally or in writing. 

Express Warranty: A seller’s guarantee regarding the quality of goods, real estate, services, or some other item being sold.

Fair Market Value: The amount of money for which property would sell on the open market between a willing buyer and willing seller. This is distinguished from "replacement value," which is the cost of duplicating or rebuilding the property.

Fee Simple: The most common, and the most extensive, type of ownership interest which a person can have in real estate. The fee-simple owner of real estate has unrestricted powers to dispose of the property, sell it, mortgage it, improve it by erecting structures on it, or leave it to somebody in a will. Also called “fee simple absolute”.

First Mortgage: The mortgage that is in first place among any loans recorded against a property. Usually refers to the date in which loans are recorded.