An opinion of value for a defined property interest as of an effective date, supported by analysis.

A licensee who holds broker qualifications but works in the capacity of a salesperson or sales associate under another broker, rather than operating a brokerage.

Acting for another, for a fee or other valuable consideration, in listing, selling, buying, exchanging, renting or collecting rent on real property. Offering or attempting to negotiate counts, even if no transaction closes.

Rules that set construction safety standards, separate from zoning's regulation of use.

Brokering the transfer of a business enterprise or opportunity, which may involve leased premises rather than ownership of a building.

The physical building work on a project. A developer may hire a contractor rather than build personally.

Advising clients on real estate choices, such as whether to keep, improve, or sell a property, without arranging a transaction.

A builder who builds for an identified customer according to plans agreed with that customer.

Coordinating the creation or improvement of a real estate project: studying feasibility, assembling land and financing, obtaining approvals, and arranging construction and sale or leasing.

The operation of real estate for an owner: collecting rent, arranging maintenance, coordinating leasing, paying authorized expenses and reporting results.

A licensee who performs brokerage acts under the direction, control, or management of another person, the sponsoring broker, as defined in Florida Statutes section 475.01.

A builder who starts a project without a committed buyer and bears the risk of finding one.

The division of land into lots, reviewed through plats. Review has distinct steps: preliminary review, conditional approval, final approval and filing.

A drawing that establishes boundaries and locates improvements. It does not evaluate ground conditions.

A builder who produces multiple homes within one development, often from a limited set of designs.

Public land-use control, exercised under the police power, that divides land into districts and regulates permitted uses and development such as height and density.

An association's standards of professional conduct. They create membership obligations and discipline but do not replace the law.

Department of Business and Professional Regulation

The Florida state agency, abbreviated DBPR, that contains the Division of Real Estate and regulates many licensed professions.

A credential from a professional organization showing completion of its requirements; it is not a government license.

Division of Real Estate

The division within DBPR that houses the Florida Real Estate Commission and the Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board and provides their administrative support.

Federal protections against discrimination in housing, one of the federal government's influences on real estate alongside lending, consumer protection, and taxation.

Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board

A board established within the Division of Real Estate with a separate professional focus on appraisers, distinct from FREC's licensing role.

Florida Real Estate Commission

FREC, the body within the Division of Real Estate that performs the real estate licensing regulatory function under Chapter 475, Part I.

The level of government that commonly manages zoning, land-use planning, building permits, and code enforcement.

Professional association

A private membership organization offering education, networking, advocacy, and ethics processes; it has no power to issue or revoke a state license.

A member of the National Association of REALTORS, not simply any real estate licensee. A licensed sales associate may hold a license without being a REALTOR.

A regulation adopted by an agency such as FREC within delegated statutory authority to implement a law; it cannot override that law.

A separate credential from a sales associate license; requirements for one cannot be transferred to the other merely because both appear in Chapter 475.

The Florida Statutes chapter supplying general provisions for professions regulated by DBPR.

The part of the Florida Statutes that serves as the real estate practice act for brokers and sales associates.

The part of the Florida Administrative Code containing the Florida Real Estate Commission's implementing rules.

Power the legislature gives an agency to adopt rules implementing a law. Section 475.05 authorizes FREC rules implementing its statutory powers and duties.

Examination content allocation

Rule 61J2-2.029 divides the sales associate examination into 45 points for law, 45 for principles and practices, and 10 for mathematics.

The result needed to pass the Florida sales associate examination: 75 out of 100 points under Rule 61J2-2.029.

A statute that regulates a licensed profession's qualifications and conduct; Chapter 475, Part I is Florida's for real estate brokers and sales associates.

A law enacted by the legislature. A commission rule cannot override a statute.

Application supplement

An update to a pending application, required when a material change might affect the decision.

The 63-hour Florida sales associate prelicensure course, of 50-minute hours including the examination; a score of at least 70% on its end-of-course exam is required.

Biometric records an applicant must provide with the application to DBPR for the background investigation.

Honesty, truthfulness, trustworthiness, and fair dealing, which Florida investigates in every applicant for a sales associate license.

The educational minimum for a sales associate applicant, along with being at least 18 years old; a high school equivalent also satisfies it.

The name that must appear on the Florida license; specified authorized entity forms are permitted but do not let the associate register as a firm's officer or other listed operator.

The status of a license when required postlicensure education is not completed by the first renewal; the licensee must requalify through prelicensure education and the state examination.

Postlicensure education

Education a new licensee must complete before the first renewal: 45 hours for sales associates.

The education required before taking the state examination; completing it and passing the exam are separate requirements, and neither alone confers a license.

Real estate degree exemption

An accredited four-year or higher real estate degree exempts its holder from the initial education course and postlicensure education requirements, not from licensure itself.

Reportable criminal matter

A plea or conviction an applicant must disclose, regardless of adjudication, such as a no contest plea with adjudication withheld.

The two-year renewal period over which Florida continuing education hours are counted.

Broker prelicensing course

The education a former broker must complete, with the broker examination, to return as a broker after the license became null and void.

The 3-hour continuing education component on ethical business practice.

Coursework a real estate licensee must complete to renew an active license, abbreviated CE. Each state sets the required hours and topics, which usually include law updates and ethics or agency.

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Florida Real Estate Sales Agent License exam terms flashcards

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953 terms from the Florida exam outline, sorted by exam module. Flip a card for its definition and the lessons that teach it.

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Appraisal: An opinion of value for a defined property interest as of an effective date, supported by analysis. — The real estate business · Taught in Real estate specialties, brokerage, and development and construction
Broker associate: A licensee who holds broker qualifications but works in the capacity of a salesperson or sales associate under another broker, rather than operating a brokerage. — The real estate business · Taught in Real estate specialties, brokerage, and development and construction
Brokerage: Acting for another, for a fee or other valuable consideration, in listing, selling, buying, exchanging, renting or collecting rent on real property. Offering or attempting to negotiate counts, even if no transaction closes. — The real estate business · Taught in Real estate specialties, brokerage, and development and construction
Building code: Rules that set construction safety standards, separate from zoning's regulation of use. — The real estate business · Taught in Real estate specialties, brokerage, and development and construction, Government restrictions and deed restrictions
Business brokerage: Brokering the transfer of a business enterprise or opportunity, which may involve leased premises rather than ownership of a building. — The real estate business · Taught in Real estate specialties, brokerage, and development and construction
Construction: The physical building work on a project. A developer may hire a contractor rather than build personally. — The real estate business · Taught in Real estate specialties, brokerage, and development and construction
Counseling: Advising clients on real estate choices, such as whether to keep, improve, or sell a property, without arranging a transaction. — The real estate business · Taught in Real estate specialties, brokerage, and development and construction
Custom builder: A builder who builds for an identified customer according to plans agreed with that customer. — The real estate business · Taught in Real estate specialties, brokerage, and development and construction
Development: Coordinating the creation or improvement of a real estate project: studying feasibility, assembling land and financing, obtaining approvals, and arranging construction and sale or leasing. — The real estate business · Taught in Real estate specialties, brokerage, and development and construction
Property management: The operation of real estate for an owner: collecting rent, arranging maintenance, coordinating leasing, paying authorized expenses and reporting results. — The real estate business · Taught in Real estate specialties, brokerage, and development and construction
Sales associate: A licensee who performs brokerage acts under the direction, control, or management of another person, the sponsoring broker, as defined in Florida Statutes section 475.01. — The real estate business · Taught in Real estate specialties, brokerage, and development and construction
Speculative builder: A builder who starts a project without a committed buyer and bears the risk of finding one. — The real estate business · Taught in Real estate specialties, brokerage, and development and construction
Subdivision: The division of land into lots, reviewed through plats. Review has distinct steps: preliminary review, conditional approval, final approval and filing. — The real estate business · Taught in Real estate specialties, brokerage, and development and construction, Lot and block descriptions and recorded plats
Survey: A drawing that establishes boundaries and locates improvements. It does not evaluate ground conditions. — The real estate business · Taught in Real estate specialties, brokerage, and development and construction
Tract builder: A builder who produces multiple homes within one development, often from a limited set of designs. — The real estate business · Taught in Real estate specialties, brokerage, and development and construction
Zoning: Public land-use control, exercised under the police power, that divides land into districts and regulates permitted uses and development such as height and density. — The real estate business · Taught in Real estate specialties, brokerage, and development and construction, Government restrictions and deed restrictions, Zoning laws, variances, and code enforcement
Code of Ethics: An association's standards of professional conduct. They create membership obligations and discipline but do not replace the law. — The real estate business · Taught in The role of government and professional organizations in real estate
Department of Business and Professional Regulation: The Florida state agency, abbreviated DBPR, that contains the Division of Real Estate and regulates many licensed professions. — The real estate business · Taught in The role of government and professional organizations in real estate
Designation: A credential from a professional organization showing completion of its requirements; it is not a government license. — The real estate business · Taught in The role of government and professional organizations in real estate
Division of Real Estate: The division within DBPR that houses the Florida Real Estate Commission and the Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board and provides their administrative support. — The real estate business · Taught in The role of government and professional organizations in real estate, The Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the Division of Real Estate
Fair housing: Federal protections against discrimination in housing, one of the federal government's influences on real estate alongside lending, consumer protection, and taxation. — The real estate business · Taught in The role of government and professional organizations in real estate
Florida Real Estate Appraisal Board: A board established within the Division of Real Estate with a separate professional focus on appraisers, distinct from FREC's licensing role. — The real estate business · Taught in The role of government and professional organizations in real estate, The Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the Division of Real Estate, Appraisal regulation and USPAP
Florida Real Estate Commission: FREC, the body within the Division of Real Estate that performs the real estate licensing regulatory function under Chapter 475, Part I. — The real estate business · Taught in The role of government and professional organizations in real estate
Local government: The level of government that commonly manages zoning, land-use planning, building permits, and code enforcement. — The real estate business · Taught in The role of government and professional organizations in real estate
Professional association: A private membership organization offering education, networking, advocacy, and ethics processes; it has no power to issue or revoke a state license. — The real estate business · Taught in The role of government and professional organizations in real estate
REALTOR: A member of the National Association of REALTORS, not simply any real estate licensee. A licensed sales associate may hold a license without being a REALTOR. — The real estate business · Taught in The role of government and professional organizations in real estate
Administrative rule: A regulation adopted by an agency such as FREC within delegated statutory authority to implement a law; it cannot override that law. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in History of Florida real estate license law and the statutes and rules that govern it
Appraiser credential: A separate credential from a sales associate license; requirements for one cannot be transferred to the other merely because both appear in Chapter 475. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in History of Florida real estate license law and the statutes and rules that govern it
Chapter 455: The Florida Statutes chapter supplying general provisions for professions regulated by DBPR. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in History of Florida real estate license law and the statutes and rules that govern it
Chapter 475, Part I: The part of the Florida Statutes that serves as the real estate practice act for brokers and sales associates. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in History of Florida real estate license law and the statutes and rules that govern it
Chapter 61J2: The part of the Florida Administrative Code containing the Florida Real Estate Commission's implementing rules. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in History of Florida real estate license law and the statutes and rules that govern it
Delegated authority: Power the legislature gives an agency to adopt rules implementing a law. Section 475.05 authorizes FREC rules implementing its statutory powers and duties. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in History of Florida real estate license law and the statutes and rules that govern it
Examination content allocation: Rule 61J2-2.029 divides the sales associate examination into 45 points for law, 45 for principles and practices, and 10 for mathematics. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in History of Florida real estate license law and the statutes and rules that govern it
Passing score: The result needed to pass the Florida sales associate examination: 75 out of 100 points under Rule 61J2-2.029. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in History of Florida real estate license law and the statutes and rules that govern it
Practice act: A statute that regulates a licensed profession's qualifications and conduct; Chapter 475, Part I is Florida's for real estate brokers and sales associates. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in History of Florida real estate license law and the statutes and rules that govern it
Statute: A law enacted by the legislature. A commission rule cannot override a statute. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in History of Florida real estate license law and the statutes and rules that govern it
Application supplement: An update to a pending application, required when a material change might affect the decision. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in General licensing provisions and sales associate qualifications
Course I: The 63-hour Florida sales associate prelicensure course, of 50-minute hours including the examination; a score of at least 70% on its end-of-course exam is required. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in General licensing provisions and sales associate qualifications
Fingerprints: Biometric records an applicant must provide with the application to DBPR for the background investigation. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in General licensing provisions and sales associate qualifications
Good character: Honesty, truthfulness, trustworthiness, and fair dealing, which Florida investigates in every applicant for a sales associate license. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in General licensing provisions and sales associate qualifications
High school diploma: The educational minimum for a sales associate applicant, along with being at least 18 years old; a high school equivalent also satisfies it. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in General licensing provisions and sales associate qualifications
Legal name: The name that must appear on the Florida license; specified authorized entity forms are permitted but do not let the associate register as a firm's officer or other listed operator. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in General licensing provisions and sales associate qualifications
Null and void: The status of a license when required postlicensure education is not completed by the first renewal; the licensee must requalify through prelicensure education and the state examination. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in General licensing provisions and sales associate qualifications
Postlicensure education: Education a new licensee must complete before the first renewal: 45 hours for sales associates. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in General licensing provisions and sales associate qualifications
Prelicensure course: The education required before taking the state examination; completing it and passing the exam are separate requirements, and neither alone confers a license. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in General licensing provisions and sales associate qualifications
Real estate degree exemption: An accredited four-year or higher real estate degree exempts its holder from the initial education course and postlicensure education requirements, not from licensure itself. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in General licensing provisions and sales associate qualifications
Reportable criminal matter: A plea or conviction an applicant must disclose, regardless of adjudication, such as a no contest plea with adjudication withheld. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in General licensing provisions and sales associate qualifications
Biennium: The two-year renewal period over which Florida continuing education hours are counted. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Post-licensing and continuing education
Broker prelicensing course: The education a former broker must complete, with the broker examination, to return as a broker after the license became null and void. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Post-licensing and continuing education
Business ethics: The 3-hour continuing education component on ethical business practice. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Post-licensing and continuing education
Continuing education: Coursework a real estate licensee must complete to renew an active license, abbreviated CE. Each state sets the required hours and topics, which usually include law updates and ethics or agency. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Post-licensing and continuing education
Core Law: The 3-hour continuing education component covering the law that governs real estate practice. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Post-licensing and continuing education
Florida Bar exemption: An otherwise qualified active Florida Bar member in good standing is exempt from the continuing education rule, unlike the degree exemption for postlicensure. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Post-licensing and continuing education
Involuntarily inactive: The status of a license that was not renewed on time. It authorizes no practice and expires automatically if it continues beyond the two-year limit. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Post-licensing and continuing education
Physical hardship extension: An exception allowing an additional six months to complete post-licensing for individual physical hardship; ordinary scheduling problems are not a grace period. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Post-licensing and continuing education
Post-licensing education: Approved courses required before the first renewal: 45 hours for sales associates and 60 for brokers. Inactive status does not remove the requirement. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Post-licensing and continuing education
Reactivation education: Education required to reactivate a license: at least 14 hours if involuntarily inactive 12 months or less, and 28 hours for more than 12 but fewer than 24 months. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Post-licensing and continuing education
Specialty hours: The remaining continuing education hours, at least 8, chosen from approved subject areas. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Post-licensing and continuing education
Active license: A license in current status authorizing practice in the properly registered capacity. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Broker requirements, registration, and license status
Broker: A licensee qualified by experience, broker education, and the broker examination who may operate a brokerage. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Broker requirements, registration, and license status
Group license: A license letting an associate work for affiliated owner-developer entities under substantially common ownership or control; it does not authorize work for unrelated brokers. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Broker requirements, registration, and license status, Kickbacks, rebates, and a sales associate's change of employer
Involuntary inactivity: The status of a license that was not renewed. Beyond two years it causes automatic expiration and null-and-void status (section 475.183). — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Broker requirements, registration, and license status
Mailing address: The address for postal mail; a change in mailing or email address must be reported to the department in writing within 10 days. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Broker requirements, registration, and license status
Multiple broker license: A license a broker needs to operate for more than one brokerage entity; it is a different concept from a group license. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Broker requirements, registration, and license status
Owner-developer: An entity that develops and sells its own property; a sales or broker associate may work for one broker or one owner-developer. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Broker requirements, registration, and license status
Place of practice: The brokerage's physical office, which is distinct from a licensee's mailing address. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Broker requirements, registration, and license status
Registration: Recording of a licensee's business or employment relationship. It does not replace qualification for a license or make an inactive license active. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Broker requirements, registration, and license status
Renewal: Reissuing an active license by application, fee, and evidence of required continuing education; first renewal carries distinct postlicensure requirements. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Broker requirements, registration, and license status
Voluntarily inactive: A status chosen by the licensee. It can be renewed while remaining inactive and authorizes no brokerage practice. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Broker requirements, registration, and license status
Attorney in fact: A person authorized by power of attorney to act for another; exempt only for executing contracts or conveyances, not for compensated brokerage negotiations. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Real estate services and who is exempt from a real estate license
Comparative market analysis: A license holder's analysis of comparable sales and listings to help a seller set an asking price or a buyer decide on an offer. Abbreviated CMA; it is not an appraisal. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Real estate services and who is exempt from a real estate license, Comparative market analysis and broker price opinions
Compensation: Anything of value paid for a real estate service. A payment labeled a referral can still pay for a regulated service. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Real estate services and who is exempt from a real estate license
License exemption: A specific statutory exclusion from the license requirement, such as for attorneys at law or public officers performing official duties. It depends on a person's legal capacity and activity, not on a job title or the brevity of an assignment. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Real estate services and who is exempt from a real estate license
Onsite apartment leasing employee: A salaried employee of the owner or a registered broker who leases units at the property; covered by an exemption in section 475.011(4). — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Real estate services and who is exempt from a real estate license, Trade names and what unlicensed personal assistants may do
Own-property exemption: Under section 475.011(2), an entity or individual may sell, exchange, or lease its own property, but not through transaction-paid agents in its ordinary public-facing business. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Real estate services and who is exempt from a real estate license
Power of attorney: A document granting another person authority to act for the principal, limited to the powers its text specifies; it is not necessarily universal. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Real estate services and who is exempt from a real estate license
Price opinion: An opinion of price given by a real estate licensee in ordinary business, which may not be called an appraisal. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Real estate services and who is exempt from a real estate license
Procuring prospects: Finding people interested in a transaction; it can itself be brokerage work for which a license is required. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Real estate services and who is exempt from a real estate license
Public utility employee exemption: Section 475.011(3) covers specified public utility, cooperative, railroad, and government employees acting for the employer within salaried employment. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Real estate services and who is exempt from a real estate license
Tenant referral benefit: A payment, including rent credit, of no more than $50 per transaction that an apartment owner or property manager may give a tenant in the complex for a referral. — License law and qualifications for licensure · Taught in Real estate services and who is exempt from a real estate license
Bylaws: The internal rules a body adopts to run itself. A condominium's or community association's bylaws address its board, operations and charges and rank below the declaration and articles of incorporation. A state real estate commission may also adopt bylaws for its own operations. — Real estate license law and Commission rules · Taught in The Florida Real Estate Commission: composition, powers, and rulemaking
Chairperson: The member elected by the Commission to lead it; the chair may exercise delegable powers without a resolution. — Real estate license law and Commission rules · Taught in The Florida Real Estate Commission: composition, powers, and rulemaking
Commission composition: Seven Governor-appointed members: four active brokers of five years, one active broker or sales associate of two years, and two never-licensed members, with at least one aged 60 or older. — Real estate license law and Commission rules · Taught in The Florida Real Estate Commission: composition, powers, and rulemaking
Delegation: Under section 475.03, the Commission may delegate powers and duties to a member by resolution, except disciplinary powers and rule adoption. — Real estate license law and Commission rules · Taught in The Florida Real Estate Commission: composition, powers, and rulemaking, Assignment and novation, and contract categories
Independent counsel: An attorney the Commission may retain for a specific matter with prior Attorney General approval, who cannot also prosecute that matter. — Real estate license law and Commission rules · Taught in The Florida Real Estate Commission: composition, powers, and rulemaking
Probable cause: A preliminary determination that a violation likely occurred, distinct from final disciplinary action. — Real estate license law and Commission rules · Taught in The Florida Real Estate Commission: composition, powers, and rulemaking, The seven-step complaint process
Probable cause panel: A panel that decides whether probable cause exists that Chapter 475, Part I, or Commission rules were violated; it includes at least one Commission member. — Real estate license law and Commission rules · Taught in The Florida Real Estate Commission: composition, powers, and rulemaking, The seven-step complaint process
Quasi-judicial: The description of the Commission's disciplinary decision-making, an administrative function rather than a judicial office. — Real estate license law and Commission rules · Taught in The Florida Real Estate Commission: composition, powers, and rulemaking
Quasi-legislative: The description of the Commission's rulemaking function, an administrative function rather than a grant of legislative office. — Real estate license law and Commission rules · Taught in The Florida Real Estate Commission: composition, powers, and rulemaking
Rulemaking: The process by which the Commission adopts rules implementing statutes through the prescribed administrative process, without authority to rewrite the law. — Real estate license law and Commission rules · Taught in The Florida Real Estate Commission: composition, powers, and rulemaking
Senate confirmation: Approval by the Florida Senate required after the Governor appoints Commission members. — Real estate license law and Commission rules · Taught in The Florida Real Estate Commission: composition, powers, and rulemaking
DBPR secretary: The department head, appointed by the Governor subject to Senate confirmation, who serves at the Governor's pleasure. — Real estate license law and Commission rules · Taught in The Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the Division of Real Estate
Division director: The official who administers the Division of Real Estate and answers to the DBPR secretary; appointed by the secretary with approval of a majority of FREC. — Real estate license law and Commission rules · Taught in The Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the Division of Real Estate
Examination services: Testing activities involving the department, divisions, and boards; a testing vendor does not become the regulator by providing them. — Real estate license law and Commission rules · Taught in The Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the Division of Real Estate
Professional Regulation Trust Fund: The fund receiving fees, fines, and court-awarded costs collected by DBPR, kept in a separate account for each profession. — Real estate license law and Commission rules · Taught in The Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the Division of Real Estate
Technical advice: Input boards give DBPR on investigations, inspections, and application evaluation under departmental procedures. — Real estate license law and Commission rules · Taught in The Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the Division of Real Estate
Uniform application forms: Standard forms and certificates DBPR may establish, which cannot change substantive statutory licensing requirements. — Real estate license law and Commission rules · Taught in The Department of Business and Professional Regulation and the Division of Real Estate
Accounting: The fiduciary duty to safeguard money and property entrusted by a client and keep accurate records of them. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in The law of agency and fiduciary duties, No brokerage relationship: duties and disclosure
Agent: A person authorized to act on behalf of a principal within the scope of authority the principal grants. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in The law of agency and fiduciary duties
Apparent authority: Authority a third party reasonably believes an agent has because of manifestations attributable to the principal. An agent's own unsupported claim does not create it. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in The law of agency and fiduciary duties
Confidentiality: The fiduciary duty to protect a client's confidential information, such as a bargaining limit, unless disclosure is authorized or required. It generally survives the end of the agency. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in The law of agency and fiduciary duties, Single agent relationships: duties and disclosure
Dual agency: Representation of both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction by one licensee or brokerage. States treat it differently: some permit it with the informed written consent of both parties, some use an intermediary or transaction-broker arrangement instead, and some prohibit it. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in The law of agency and fiduciary duties, Transaction brokerage: the duties owed and the statutory presumption, Single agent relationships: duties and disclosure, Transition from single agent to transaction broker, and designated sales associates
Express authority: Authority an agent has because the principal stated it, such as permission to advertise a property at a given price. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in The law of agency and fiduciary duties
Fiduciary: Describes the relationship of trust in which an agent owes a client duties of loyalty, confidentiality, accounting, reasonable care, disclosure and obedience. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in The law of agency and fiduciary duties
Full disclosure: The fiduciary duty to keep the client informed of material information and conflicts. An agent must also disclose known facts materially affecting the property's value or desirability, except as otherwise provided by law. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in The law of agency and fiduciary duties, Single agent relationships: duties and disclosure
General agent: An agent authorized to handle a continuing range of activities in a business or property operation, such as a property manager running rentals within an agreed scope. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in The law of agency and fiduciary duties
Implied authority: Authority covering acts reasonably necessary to carry out the authorized task, even if unstated. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in The law of agency and fiduciary duties
Loyalty: The fiduciary duty to put the client's interests above the agent's own, such as a larger fee. It never permits deceiving a customer. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in The law of agency and fiduciary duties, Single agent relationships: duties and disclosure
Material fact disclosure: The duty to disclose known facts affecting a residential property's value that the buyer cannot readily observe. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in The law of agency and fiduciary duties, Transaction brokerage: the duties owed and the statutory presumption, No brokerage relationship: duties and disclosure, Misrepresentation, fraud, professional ethics, and the sales associate's duties to the broker
No brokerage relationship: A status in which the licensee represents neither party but still owes honesty, fairness, disclosure of known material residential facts, and accounting for funds. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in The law of agency and fiduciary duties, No brokerage relationship: duties and disclosure
Obedience: The fiduciary duty to follow the client's lawful instructions within the agency. It does not extend to unlawful instructions such as lying. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in The law of agency and fiduciary duties, Single agent relationships: duties and disclosure
Principal: The person who authorizes an agent to act on the principal's behalf. Also called the client. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in The law of agency and fiduciary duties, Single agent relationships: duties and disclosure
Single agent: A Florida licensee who represents either the buyer or the seller, never both, as a fiduciary. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in The law of agency and fiduciary duties, Single agent relationships: duties and disclosure, Transition from single agent to transaction broker, and designated sales associates
Special agent: An agent authorized for a particular transaction or limited assignment, such as a broker hired to market one home without power to sign the sale contract. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in The law of agency and fiduciary duties
Transaction broker: A licensee who assists with a transaction without representing either party as a fiduciary agent. Also called a nonagent facilitator. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in The law of agency and fiduciary duties, Transaction brokerage: the duties owed and the statutory presumption
Limited confidentiality: The transaction broker's duty to protect bargaining information, such as price flexibility and motivations, unless waived in writing. It does not excuse disclosing known material property facts. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Transaction brokerage: the duties owed and the statutory presumption
Limited representation: Representation in which the buyer or seller is not responsible for the licensee's acts and gives up undivided loyalty. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Transaction brokerage: the duties owed and the statutory presumption, Transition from single agent to transaction broker, and designated sales associates
Mutually agreed duties: Additional duties a transaction broker owes only because the licensee and a party have agreed to them. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Transaction brokerage: the duties owed and the statutory presumption
Offer presentation: The duty to present all offers and counteroffers in a timely manner, unless a party previously directed otherwise in writing; an oral instruction is not enough. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Transaction brokerage: the duties owed and the statutory presumption
Prior written consent: The principal's written agreement obtained before a single agent may transition to transaction brokerage. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Transaction brokerage: the duties owed and the statutory presumption, Transition from single agent to transaction broker, and designated sales associates
Skill, care, and diligence: The duty of competent, careful work in a transaction, listed among the transaction broker's statutory duties. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Transaction brokerage: the duties owed and the statutory presumption
Statutory presumption: Florida presumes licensees act as transaction brokers unless a single agent or no brokerage relationship is established in writing. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Transaction brokerage: the duties owed and the statutory presumption
Written waiver of confidentiality: A signed written statement giving up a protection, such as limited confidentiality; an oral waiver does not satisfy the statute. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Transaction brokerage: the duties owed and the statutory presumption
Conspicuous notice: A disclosure incorporated into another document must stand out, in type at least as large as the other provisions, with its first statutory sentence in uppercase bold. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Single agent relationships: duties and disclosure
Residential sale: For Florida's disclosure rules: improved property of four units or fewer, unimproved residential property intended for four units or fewer, and agricultural property of ten acres or fewer. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Single agent relationships: duties and disclosure, No brokerage relationship: duties and disclosure, Transition from single agent to transaction broker, and designated sales associates
Single agent notice: The statutory written disclosure fully describing a single agent's duties. It must be given before or at entry into the listing or representation agreement, or before showing property, whichever occurs first. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Single agent relationships: duties and disclosure
Transition disclosure: The prescribed written notice and consent a single agent must obtain from the principal before becoming a transaction broker. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Single agent relationships: duties and disclosure, Transition from single agent to transaction broker, and designated sales associates
Customer: A party the agent does not represent. Customers are still owed honest treatment and required disclosures, but not fiduciary loyalty. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in No brokerage relationship: duties and disclosure
Disclosure exception: A situation where the written notice is not required, such as known single agent or transaction broker representation, nonresidential transactions, and qualifying open houses or casual conversations. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in No brokerage relationship: duties and disclosure
Honest and fair dealing: The duty an agent owes everyone in a transaction, including people the agent does not represent, to treat them truthfully and without deception. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in No brokerage relationship: duties and disclosure, Misrepresentation, fraud, professional ethics, and the sales associate's duties to the broker
No Brokerage Relationship Notice: The statutory written notice listing the three duties, identifying the entity and its associates, with date and signature spaces. It must be given before showing property in a covered sale. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in No brokerage relationship: duties and disclosure
Open house exception: A casual open house encounter is excepted from the notice requirement unless the licensee elicits confidential information, executes an offer or representation agreement, or negotiates sale terms. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in No brokerage relationship: duties and disclosure
Option to purchase: An option on property improved with four or fewer residential units is an exception to the exemption for rentals, so the disclosure applies to it. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in No brokerage relationship: duties and disclosure
Asset threshold: The requirement that the buyer and seller each have assets of $1 million or more for designated sales associates; it is not a purchase-price requirement. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Transition from single agent to transaction broker, and designated sales associates
Designated sales associate: A sales associate the broker designates as a single agent for a customer, with different associates serving different customers in an eligible transaction other than a residential sale (section 475.2755). — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Transition from single agent to transaction broker, and designated sales associates
Special confidentiality notice: The disclosure designated associates use in place of the transition notice, describing how confidential information may be shared with the broker. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Transition from single agent to transaction broker, and designated sales associates
Transition to transaction broker: A single agent's change to transaction brokerage, allowed at any time but only after the principal's prior written consent using the statutory transition disclosure. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Transition from single agent to transaction broker, and designated sales associates
Concealment: Hiding a known material defect, such as covering signs of an active leak, which can create liability like a false statement. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Misrepresentation, fraud, professional ethics, and the sales associate's duties to the broker
Fraud: Deliberate deception, such as a knowingly false statement of material fact or a promise made with no intent to perform, that induces another's reliance. Fraud inducing assent can make a contract voidable. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Misrepresentation, fraud, professional ethics, and the sales associate's duties to the broker
Independent contractor agreement: A payment arrangement that does not authorize the associate to practice brokerage independently of the registered employer. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Misrepresentation, fraud, professional ethics, and the sales associate's duties to the broker
Intentional misrepresentation: A knowingly false or reckless statement of material fact intended to induce reliance, on which the other party justifiably relies to its harm. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Misrepresentation, fraud, professional ethics, and the sales associate's duties to the broker
Misrepresentation: A false or misleading communication of fact, whether by a false statement or by withholding information that must be disclosed. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Misrepresentation, fraud, professional ethics, and the sales associate's duties to the broker
Negligent misrepresentation: False factual information given carelessly, without intent to deceive, such as a misread floor-area figure. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Misrepresentation, fraud, professional ethics, and the sales associate's duties to the broker
Puffing: Subjective praise, such as calling a garden beautiful, that a reasonable person would not take as a verifiable fact. A measurable claim like acreage is not puffing. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Misrepresentation, fraud, professional ethics, and the sales associate's duties to the broker
Registered employer: The broker with whom the associate is registered. A sales associate may perform brokerage only through that employer and collect money only in its name. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Misrepresentation, fraud, professional ethics, and the sales associate's duties to the broker, Kickbacks, rebates, and a sales associate's change of employer
Secret profit: Undisclosed gain an agent makes in a transaction, which a licensee must avoid along with competing side arrangements. — Authorized relationships, duties, and disclosures · Taught in Misrepresentation, fraud, professional ethics, and the sales associate's duties to the broker
Branch office: An additional office of a broker, other than the principal office, which the broker must supervise. States set the licensing or registration, fee and relocation rules. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Brokerage offices, branch offices, and office signs
Branch registration: Registration of a branch location; it cannot transfer to a new location, though the original may reopen in the same license period without an additional fee. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Brokerage offices, branch offices, and office signs
Brokerage office: An enclosed room in a building of stationary construction that an active broker must maintain; a mailing address alone is insufficient. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Brokerage offices, branch offices, and office signs
Entrance sign: A sign at the principal office and each branch, easily readable by people entering, identifying the broker or firm and the words licensed real estate broker or lic. real estate broker. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Brokerage offices, branch offices, and office signs
Out-of-state office: An office outside Florida, permitted if the broker agrees in writing to cooperate with investigations and actually cooperates. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Brokerage offices, branch offices, and office signs
Principal office: The broker's main registered business office, which must display the required entrance sign. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Brokerage offices, branch offices, and office signs
Registered office: The office in the employer's name from which sales associates must be registered and work. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Brokerage offices, branch offices, and office signs
Residential office: A home office permitted only if local zoning allows it, minimum office requirements are met, and the required sign is displayed. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Brokerage offices, branch offices, and office signs
Temporary shelter: A temporary structure on a subdivision the broker is selling that is not a branch if it protects people, no transactions close there, and no one is permanently assigned. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Brokerage offices, branch offices, and office signs
Trade name: A business name used by a broker, which appears on the entrance sign together with the broker's identification. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Brokerage offices, branch offices, and office signs, Trade names and what unlicensed personal assistants may do
Advertisement: Communication to the public that must include the brokerage firm's licensed name and must not be fraudulent, false, deceptive, or misleading. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Advertising rules for brokers and sales associates
Brokerage firm name: The licensed name that every real estate advertisement must include so the public knows it is dealing with a licensee. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Advertising rules for brokers and sales associates
Contact information: Mailing and street addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers, and fax numbers, beside which the brokerage name must appear online. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Advertising rules for brokers and sales associates
Designated advertising licensee: The licensee each team files with its broker to be responsible for advertising compliance. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Advertising rules for brokers and sales associates
Internet advertising: Online advertising in which the brokerage name must be adjacent to, or immediately above or below, the contact information. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Advertising rules for brokers and sales associates
Professional designation: An association's real estate identification or designation, usable in advertising only when the licensee is entitled to it. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Advertising rules for brokers and sales associates
Registered name: The name under which a licensee is registered with FREC; if a personal name appears in an ad, at least the last name must be used as registered. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Advertising rules for brokers and sales associates
Team: Licensees working under the same broker or brokerage who present themselves as a team or group, often under a shared name or logo. States define the term differently and set its advertising rules. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Advertising rules for brokers and sales associates
Team name: A name identifying one or more license holders under the same broker, ending in team or group and not implying independent brokerage. The broker registers it before advertising. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Advertising rules for brokers and sales associates
Team roster: The current written record of team members the registered broker must maintain at least monthly. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Advertising rules for brokers and sales associates
Business day for deposits: A day other than a Saturday, Sunday, or legal holiday, used to count deposit deadlines. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Escrow deposits held by the broker: timing, accounts, and records
Commingling: Mixing a client's entrusted funds with the agent's personal or business funds, even if the money is not spent. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Escrow deposits held by the broker: timing, accounts, and records, Deposits held by a title company or attorney, and commingling, The Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act: security deposits and advance rent
Deposit: Money or other items of value, such as checks or drafts, delivered toward a purchase or to secure a transaction. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Escrow deposits held by the broker: timing, accounts, and records
Escrow account: An insured trust account at an eligible Florida depository in which the broker, as signatory, holds deposits. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Escrow deposits held by the broker: timing, accounts, and records
Immediately: In Florida's escrow rule, by the end of the third business day following the brokerage's receipt of the deposit. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Escrow deposits held by the broker: timing, accounts, and records
Interest-bearing escrow: An escrow account earning interest, which requires all parties' written permission on placement, interest recipient, and disbursement timing. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Escrow deposits held by the broker: timing, accounts, and records
Monthly reconciliation: A written comparison of total trust liability with reconciled bank balances, reviewed, signed, and dated by the broker each month. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Escrow deposits held by the broker: timing, accounts, and records
Property management escrow account allowance: Up to $5,000 of personal or brokerage funds may be kept in a property management escrow account; it does not enlarge the sales account allowance. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Escrow deposits held by the broker: timing, accounts, and records, Deposits held by a title company or attorney, and commingling
Sales escrow account allowance: A broker may keep up to $1,000 of personal or brokerage funds in a sales escrow account. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Escrow deposits held by the broker: timing, accounts, and records, Deposits held by a title company or attorney, and commingling
Securities intended for conversion: Securities received as a deposit that must be converted at the earliest practical time, with proceeds immediately deposited. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Escrow deposits held by the broker: timing, accounts, and records
Trust liability: The total of deposits received, pending, and held, which the monthly reconciliation compares to bank balances. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Escrow deposits held by the broker: timing, accounts, and records
Arbitration: Submitting an escrow dispute to an arbitrator, which requires the consent of all parties. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Conflicting demands on escrowed funds: notice and settlement procedures
Commission notification: Written notice to FREC that the broker must give within 15 business days of the last party's demand or of having good faith doubt. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Conflicting demands on escrowed funds: notice and settlement procedures
Condominium cancellation: An authorized written residential condominium cancellation, an exception permitting return of a deposit without notice or settlement procedures. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Conflicting demands on escrowed funds: notice and settlement procedures
Conflicting demands: Competing claims, such as a buyer and seller both demanding a deposit still in escrow, which trigger the broker's notice and settlement duties. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Conflicting demands on escrowed funds: notice and settlement procedures
Escrow disbursement order: A FREC order determining entitlement to escrowed funds, one of the four statutory settlement choices. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Conflicting demands on escrowed funds: notice and settlement procedures
Escrow entitlement: The right to receive the funds. Holding them or claiming a commission does not establish entitlement. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Conflicting demands on escrowed funds: notice and settlement procedures
Financing clause failure: A buyer's good faith failure to satisfy the contract's financing clause, one exception permitting return of the deposit without notice or settlement procedures. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Conflicting demands on escrowed funds: notice and settlement procedures
Good faith doubt: A licensee's genuine uncertainty about who is entitled to escrowed funds, which triggers the same duties without competing demands. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Conflicting demands on escrowed funds: notice and settlement procedures
Interpleader: A court action in which the holder of disputed funds asks a court to decide who is entitled to them. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Conflicting demands on escrowed funds: notice and settlement procedures
Mediation: A settlement method requiring all parties' written consent; it must be successfully completed within 90 days following the last demand. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Conflicting demands on escrowed funds: notice and settlement procedures
Settlement procedure: One of the four statutory methods of resolving an escrow dispute, which the broker must institute within 30 business days of the last demand or doubt. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Conflicting demands on escrowed funds: notice and settlement procedures
Conversion: Using a client's entrusted funds or property for an unauthorized purpose, such as paying the agent's own expenses. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Deposits held by a title company or attorney, and commingling
Earnest money: A buyer's deposit made under a purchase contract. It is distinct from the mutual promises that supply consideration and is not required for a contract to exist. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Deposits held by a title company or attorney, and commingling, Essentials of a valid contract
Escrow error correction: Florida allows correcting errors within 30 days of when the last reconciliation was or should have been performed, if no shortage and no significant threat of economic harm. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Deposits held by a title company or attorney, and commingling
Operating account: The broker's business account; depositing customer earnest money there is improper even with a separate ledger. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Deposits held by a title company or attorney, and commingling
Seller's nomination: A written nomination of the holder by the seller or seller's agent, which removes the verification request duty but not the contract identification requirement. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Deposits held by a title company or attorney, and commingling
Third-party deposit holder: A title company or attorney holding a deposit, whose name, address, and telephone number the licensee must enter on the sales contract. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Deposits held by a title company or attorney, and commingling
Written verification of receipt: Written confirmation from the holder that a deposit was received, which the broker must request within 10 business days after each deposit is due. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Deposits held by a title company or attorney, and commingling
Bid rigging: An unlawful agreement among competitors to manipulate who wins a bid or at what price. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Broker's commission: antitrust law, commission liens, and sales associate compensation
Commercial leasing lien: A lien reaching the obligated owner's interest (the landlord's interest or the tenant's leasehold), which belongs to the named broker, not the associate. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Broker's commission: antitrust law, commission liens, and sales associate compensation
Commercial sales commission lien: A Florida lien that reaches the owner's net proceeds of a commercial sale, not the real estate itself; it does not apply to ordinary residential sales. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Broker's commission: antitrust law, commission liens, and sales associate compensation
Commission: The broker's compensation for brokerage services, earned as the brokerage agreement provides, often as a percentage of the price. Rates are negotiable. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Broker's commission: antitrust law, commission liens, and sales associate compensation
Earned and payable: A commission is earned when the broker performs, but may not be payable until a stated condition is met; a failed payment condition can prevent enforcement. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Broker's commission: antitrust law, commission liens, and sales associate compensation
Group boycott: Competitors coordinating a refusal to deal with someone, such as a discount brokerage, to suppress competition. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Broker's commission: antitrust law, commission liens, and sales associate compensation
Independent pricing: A brokerage setting its own rates and negotiating with customers on its own, which is lawful, unlike coordinated restraint. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Broker's commission: antitrust law, commission liens, and sales associate compensation
Market allocation: Competitors dividing territories or customers among themselves instead of competing. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Broker's commission: antitrust law, commission liens, and sales associate compensation
Net proceeds: The amount remaining for an owner after deductions, such as a seller's price less payoffs, charges and adjustments, or a manager's collected rents less authorized expenses and fees. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Broker's commission: antitrust law, commission liens, and sales associate compensation
Price fixing: Competitors agreeing on commissions, minimum fees or other price terms. Similar prices set independently are not price fixing. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Broker's commission: antitrust law, commission liens, and sales associate compensation
Recording a lien: Filing the lien in the public records; priority dates from recording, not from the brokerage agreement. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Broker's commission: antitrust law, commission liens, and sales associate compensation
Sherman Act: The federal law, 15 U.S.C. section 1, prohibiting agreements that unlawfully restrain interstate or foreign trade. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Broker's commission: antitrust law, commission liens, and sales associate compensation
Collecting transaction money: An associate may collect transaction money only in the employer's name and with the employer's express consent. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Kickbacks, rebates, and a sales associate's change of employer
Compensation action: An associate's suit for commission, brought against the person registered as employer when the services were performed, not the customer. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Kickbacks, rebates, and a sales associate's change of employer
Employer change notification: A sales associate whose employer changes must notify the commission on its form within 10 days; this is not a grace period to practice. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Kickbacks, rebates, and a sales associate's change of employer
Federal referral restriction: A federal settlement-service law that may prohibit a payment even when Florida disclosure rules are met. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Kickbacks, rebates, and a sales associate's change of employer
Full disclosure of a kickback: Advising the principal, if any, and all affected parties of all facts about the arrangement before the placement or favor occurs. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Kickbacks, rebates, and a sales associate's change of employer
Independent contractor status: An arrangement that does not remove licensing duties or authorize a sales associate to work for someone other than the registered employer. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Kickbacks, rebates, and a sales associate's change of employer
Kickback: A thing of value given or accepted under an agreement or understanding, written or not, to refer settlement business. Disclosure does not make it lawful. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Kickbacks, rebates, and a sales associate's change of employer, Federal mortgage lending laws: RESPA, Truth in Lending, and equal credit
Rebate: A return of part of a payment, such as sharing brokerage compensation with a party to the transaction, allowed with full disclosure under Rule 61J2-10.028(2). — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Kickbacks, rebates, and a sales associate's change of employer
Automatic cancellation: Under section 475.15, an entity's registration is canceled during any period when no active broker member's license or registration remains in force. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Business entities that may and may not register as brokerages
Brokerage registration: Registration with FREC required of entities acting as brokers; it is separate from the entity's formation and from individual licensing. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Business entities that may and may not register as brokerages
Business trust: An ineligible form that may not register as a brokerage. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Business entities that may and may not register as brokerages
Corporate control test: The rule screening corporate control: more than 40 percent of voting stock owned or controlled, directly or indirectly, by a disqualified person or specified family member. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Business entities that may and may not register as brokerages
Corporation: A legal entity that can own real estate in its own name. Shareholders own stock, not a fractional deeded interest in each corporate asset. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Business entities that may and may not register as brokerages
Corporation sole: An ineligible form: it cannot register as a brokerage and is not a sole proprietorship or an ordinary corporation. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Business entities that may and may not register as brokerages
Foreign corporation: A corporation organized elsewhere; it may register if its qualifying active officer is authorized to transact Florida brokerage and bind it. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Business entities that may and may not register as brokerages
General partnership: A partnership that can own property for its business. Its general partners are personally liable for partnership obligations. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Business entities that may and may not register as brokerages
Limited liability company: A business entity that can hold real estate in its own name. Its members hold membership interests, not deeded interests in its property, and generally have limited liability. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Business entities that may and may not register as brokerages
Limited liability partnership: An LLP, an eligible form for registering as a brokerage with the Commission. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Business entities that may and may not register as brokerages
Limited partnership: A partnership that distinguishes general partners, who manage and are personally liable, from limited partners. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Business entities that may and may not register as brokerages
Sole proprietorship: A business with one individual owner and no separate entity liability shield, which can be an individual broker's own brokerage. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Business entities that may and may not register as brokerages
Unincorporated association: An ineligible form that may not register as a brokerage. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Business entities that may and may not register as brokerages
Clerical support: Permitted assistant work: answering and routing calls, scheduling appointments, organizing records, typing as directed, and routine bookkeeping. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Trade names and what unlicensed personal assistants may do
Commission contract invalidity: Section 475.41 makes commission contracts for licensed services invalid when the required license was lacking when the services were performed. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Trade names and what unlicensed personal assistants may do
Fictitious name: A name registered under section 865.09 for public notice; registration gives no ownership of the name and does not replace recording the trade name with the Commission. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Trade names and what unlicensed personal assistants may do
Identical name: A trade name the Commission refuses because it matches another registrant's or licensee's real or trade name. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Trade names and what unlicensed personal assistants may do
Inspection contingency: A contingency allowing termination for specified inspection results with timely notice. A mere right to inspect does not create a cancellation right. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Trade names and what unlicensed personal assistants may do, Sale and purchase contracts
Negotiation: Discussing and bargaining price or terms, which requires a license; an unlicensed assistant may not do it. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Trade names and what unlicensed personal assistants may do
Soliciting listings: Seeking property to list for sale, an activity requiring a license. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Trade names and what unlicensed personal assistants may do
Unlicensed personal assistant: A person doing clerical support for a brokerage who may not show listed property, solicit listings, negotiate, recommend an offer, or explain a contract's legal effect. — Real estate brokerage activities and procedures · Taught in Trade names and what unlicensed personal assistants may do
Administrative complaint: The formal charges DBPR files after probable cause is found, distinct from the original consumer complaint. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The seven-step complaint process
Administrative law judge: The official who hears disputed evidence in a contested case and ordinarily issues a proposal for decision. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The seven-step complaint process
Complaint: The first stage of discipline. DBPR screens it for legal sufficiency, meaning ultimate facts showing a violation of governing law or rules. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The seven-step complaint process
Disciplinary guidelines: The Commission's penalty ranges addressing severity and repetition; mitigating or aggravating findings can support a departure. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The seven-step complaint process
Final order: FREC's final agency action, subject to legal limits on reviewing a recommended order. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The seven-step complaint process
Formal hearing: A hearing before a Division of Administrative Hearings administrative law judge when material facts are disputed. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The seven-step complaint process
Informal hearing: A hearing before FREC when there are no disputed material facts. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The seven-step complaint process
Investigation: The stage in which DBPR gathers information; it is not a finding of guilt. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The seven-step complaint process
Judicial review: A court's review of a final agency decision after required administrative procedures are followed. It does not replace the investigation. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The seven-step complaint process
Legal sufficiency: A complaint's alleging ultimate facts that show a violation of law or rules, not mere dissatisfaction. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The seven-step complaint process
Letter of guidance: A non-disciplinary letter a panel may issue instead of finding probable cause. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The seven-step complaint process
Recommended order: The administrative law judge's proposed outcome, which is not the final disciplinary decision. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The seven-step complaint process
Administrative fine: A monetary sanction imposed in discipline. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in Grounds for denial, suspension, and revocation; penalties and disciplinary guidelines
Breach of trust: A violation of the duties owed to those who rely on the licensee, a disciplinary ground. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in Grounds for denial, suspension, and revocation; penalties and disciplinary guidelines
Broker supervision: A broker's duty to direct, control and oversee the licensees who work under them. Merely lending a name is not enough. Each state sets the specific standard and the records to keep. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in Grounds for denial, suspension, and revocation; penalties and disciplinary guidelines
Citation: A written finding of a specified, less serious violation, which can impose a fine and a correction order in place of other discipline. It is not just a warning. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in Grounds for denial, suspension, and revocation; penalties and disciplinary guidelines
Culpable negligence: Serious carelessness that can be a ground for discipline even without intent to steal or deceive. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in Grounds for denial, suspension, and revocation; penalties and disciplinary guidelines
Denial: Refusal of a license application. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in Grounds for denial, suspension, and revocation; penalties and disciplinary guidelines
License revocation: The withdrawal of a license as a disciplinary sanction, more severe than a reprimand or suspension. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in Grounds for denial, suspension, and revocation; penalties and disciplinary guidelines
Mitigating and aggravating circumstances: Specific findings that can justify a penalty lower or higher than the guideline range. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in Grounds for denial, suspension, and revocation; penalties and disciplinary guidelines
Notice of noncompliance: A lesser procedure for an initial offense of a listed minor violation with no economic or physical harm or significant threat to public welfare. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in Grounds for denial, suspension, and revocation; penalties and disciplinary guidelines
Probation: A sanction allowing practice subject to conditions set in the final order; extensions require a timely written request. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in Grounds for denial, suspension, and revocation; penalties and disciplinary guidelines
Reprimand: A formal, written expression of disapproval imposed as a license-law sanction, without removing authority to practice. It differs from an internal office warning. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in Grounds for denial, suspension, and revocation; penalties and disciplinary guidelines
Suspension: A temporary disciplinary bar on practicing under a license for a stated period. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in Grounds for denial, suspension, and revocation; penalties and disciplinary guidelines
Trust accounting review: The broker's duty to review the brokerage's trust accounting procedures; delegating bookkeeping does not remove it. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in Grounds for denial, suspension, and revocation; penalties and disciplinary guidelines
Actual or compensatory damages: Damages that cover the claimant's loss. Only these are payable from the fund; punitive damages, treble damages, costs, fees, and interest are not. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The Real Estate Recovery Fund and legal terms to know
Assignment of judgment: A paid claimant assigns judgment rights to the Commission to the extent of the payment. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The Real Estate Recovery Fund and legal terms to know
Defendant: The party who responds to a civil lawsuit. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The Real Estate Recovery Fund and legal terms to know
Escrow disbursement order route: The separate route covering a licensee ordered by a civil court to pay damages after a distribution that complied with a Commission escrow order. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The Real Estate Recovery Fund and legal terms to know
Injunction: A court order directing a party to stop doing something, such as continuing a violation of a restriction. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The Real Estate Recovery Fund and legal terms to know, Government restrictions and deed restrictions
Judgment: A court's determination of the parties' rights in a lawsuit. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The Real Estate Recovery Fund and legal terms to know
Plaintiff: The person who brings a civil lawsuit. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The Real Estate Recovery Fund and legal terms to know
Punitive damages: Damages that punish misconduct, as distinct from compensatory damages, which address injury. Housing discrimination may support them in appropriate cases. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The Real Estate Recovery Fund and legal terms to know
Qualifying violation: Conduct in a brokerage transaction involving Florida real property, with damages adjudged by a civil court, by a licensee holding a current, valid, active license who acted solely as a licensee. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The Real Estate Recovery Fund and legal terms to know
Real Estate Recovery Fund: A separate account in the Professional Regulation Trust Fund from which the Commission orders reimbursement of qualifying losses from licensee violations. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The Real Estate Recovery Fund and legal terms to know
Subpoena: A command to attend or to produce evidence. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The Real Estate Recovery Fund and legal terms to know
Subrogation: Putting the Commission in the claimant's position to recover the amount the fund paid. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The Real Estate Recovery Fund and legal terms to know
Unsatisfied judgment: The portion of a court judgment the wrongdoer has not paid; the fund pays at most this portion or $50,000, whichever is less. — Violations of license law, penalties, and procedures · Taught in The Real Estate Recovery Fund and legal terms to know
Blockbusting: Seeking profit by inducing owners to sell or rent through representations that members of a protected group are entering the neighborhood. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal and Florida fair housing law
Discriminatory advertising: Advertising or inquiries that express a preference or limitation based on a protected characteristic. It is prohibited even where an owner exemption applies. Describe the property, not a preferred class of customer. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal and Florida fair housing law
Emotional support animal: An assistance animal Florida requires be accommodated when approved for a disability-related need, without extra compensation for the animal. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal and Florida fair housing law
Fair Housing Act: The federal law that prohibits housing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status and disability. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal and Florida fair housing law
Familial status: A protected class that generally covers children under 18 living with a parent, legal custodian or authorized designee, plus pregnancy and people securing legal custody. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal and Florida fair housing law
Florida Commission on Human Relations: The state body receiving written, verified fair housing complaints, which must be filed within one year after the alleged practice. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal and Florida fair housing law
Housing for older persons: Housing exempt from familial-status restrictions, but not from other protected categories: qualifying government programs, housing solely occupied by persons 62 or older, or qualifying 55-and-over housing. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal and Florida fair housing law
Protected class: One of the seven characteristics federal and Florida law protect in housing: race, color, religion, sex, national origin, familial status, and disability. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal and Florida fair housing law
Reasonable accommodation: A change to a rule, policy or service needed for a person with a disability, such as an assistance-animal exception to a no-pets policy. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal and Florida fair housing law
Reasonable modification: A physical change to premises needed for a person with a disability, such as grab bars, generally at that person's expense under the Fair Housing Act. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal and Florida fair housing law
Redlining: Restricting lending or related services in a neighborhood because of its residents' protected characteristics. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal and Florida fair housing law
Section 1982: A federal law protecting citizens' equal property rights regardless of race, separate from the Fair Housing Act. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal and Florida fair housing law
Steering: Directing someone's housing choices based on a protected characteristic, such as showing homes only in certain neighborhoods. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal and Florida fair housing law
Americans with Disabilities Act: The federal law, abbreviated ADA, requiring equal access, reasonable policy modifications and auxiliary aids at public accommodations such as a brokerage office open to clients. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal laws on land, the environment, and accessibility
Architectural barrier: A physical feature of an existing facility that blocks access for people with disabilities, which must be removed when readily achievable. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal laws on land, the environment, and accessibility
CERCLA: The federal Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, or Superfund, which addresses hazardous substance releases and can impose strict, retroactive cleanup liability on responsible parties, including owners and operators. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal laws on land, the environment, and accessibility
Environmental due diligence: Appropriate environmental inquiry before acquisition, which can support certain landowner protections but is not blanket immunity. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal laws on land, the environment, and accessibility
Flood insurance: Insurance covering flood damage, required for covered loans in special flood hazard areas and available through the NFIP or private policies. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal laws on land, the environment, and accessibility
Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act: The federal law requiring a property report before signing when its requirement applies to a lot sale. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal laws on land, the environment, and accessibility
Potentially responsible parties: Those CERCLA can hold liable for cleanup: current owners and operators, owners and operators at the time of disposal, arrangers of disposal and certain transporters. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal laws on land, the environment, and accessibility
Property report: The printed report the federal interstate land sales law requires the purchaser to receive before signing a covered contract. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal laws on land, the environment, and accessibility
Public accommodation: A business open to the public, such as a brokerage or leasing office, covered by the ADA. An ordinary private dwelling interior is not one. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal laws on land, the environment, and accessibility
Readily achievable: Easily accomplishable without much difficulty or expense, the ADA standard for removing existing barriers. If removal is not readily achievable, alternative methods must be considered. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal laws on land, the environment, and accessibility
Revocation right: The purchaser's right to cancel a covered lot contract: until midnight of the seventh day after signing, or for two years if the required report was not delivered before signing. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal laws on land, the environment, and accessibility
Special flood hazard area: An area with a 1% annual chance of flooding, generally shown as zones beginning with A or V. Abbreviated SFHA; covered loans there generally require flood insurance. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal laws on land, the environment, and accessibility
Underground storage tank: A tank, such as for fuel, buried below the surface. Releases can contaminate soil and groundwater, and taking a tank out of service does not remove past contamination. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal laws on land, the environment, and accessibility
Wetlands: Areas saturated with water that may be federally regulated waters under the Clean Water Act. Wet ground alone does not establish federal jurisdiction. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal laws on land, the environment, and accessibility
Adverse action: A creditor's denial or other unfavorable action on a credit application, which entitles the applicant to specific reasons, supplied directly or on request. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal mortgage lending laws: RESPA, Truth in Lending, and equal credit
Amount financed: The credit provided to or for the consumer after applicable adjustments, such as subtracting prepaid finance charges. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal mortgage lending laws: RESPA, Truth in Lending, and equal credit
Annual percentage rate: The cost of credit expressed as a yearly rate, abbreviated APR. It includes interest and certain charges, so it can exceed the note rate, but it does not capture every closing expense. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal mortgage lending laws: RESPA, Truth in Lending, and equal credit, Qualifying the buyer and finance math, Mortgage fees: origination fees and discount points
Closing Disclosure: The final mortgage disclosure of loan terms and costs, which the consumer must receive at least three business days before consummation. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal mortgage lending laws: RESPA, Truth in Lending, and equal credit
Equal Credit Opportunity Act: Federal law, 15 U.S.C. § 1691, barring credit discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status or age, public-assistance income, or good-faith exercise of credit-protection rights. Public assistance itself is not a reason for denial. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal mortgage lending laws: RESPA, Truth in Lending, and equal credit, Qualifying the buyer and finance math
Escrow cushion: The limited reserve a mortgage escrow account may hold, generally one sixth of estimated annual charges, or two months. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal mortgage lending laws: RESPA, Truth in Lending, and equal credit
Federally related mortgage loan: A mortgage loan with the federal connection that brings a transaction under RESPA's settlement rules. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal mortgage lending laws: RESPA, Truth in Lending, and equal credit
Finance charge: The dollar cost of credit, including interest and certain other credit charges. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal mortgage lending laws: RESPA, Truth in Lending, and equal credit
Loan Estimate: The early mortgage disclosure of estimated loan terms, payments, closing costs and cash to close, delivered or mailed within three business days after application and at least seven business days before consummation. It is not loan approval. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal mortgage lending laws: RESPA, Truth in Lending, and equal credit
Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act: RESPA, the federal law addressing settlement services and prohibiting referral payments and unearned fee splits on federally related mortgage loans. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal mortgage lending laws: RESPA, Truth in Lending, and equal credit
Right of rescission: A federal right, on a qualifying nonpurchase loan secured by the principal dwelling, to cancel through midnight of the third business day after the latest of consummation, notice delivery or material disclosure delivery. A home-purchase mortgage has no such right. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal mortgage lending laws: RESPA, Truth in Lending, and equal credit
Truth in Lending: The federal law promoting meaningful disclosure of consumer credit costs, implemented by Regulation Z. Disclosure does not guarantee affordability or the lowest rate. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal mortgage lending laws: RESPA, Truth in Lending, and equal credit
Unearned fee split: Splitting a settlement charge with someone who performed no actual services, prohibited by RESPA. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in Federal mortgage lending laws: RESPA, Truth in Lending, and equal credit
Advance rent: Rent paid for a future rental period. Under section 83.49, advance rent beyond the next immediate period must be held like a deposit, and becomes disbursable when its rental period begins. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in The Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act: security deposits and advance rent
Claim on deposit: A landlord's written notice, due within 30 days after termination, stating the reason and amount of a deduction; the tenant has 15 days after receipt to object in writing. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in The Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act: security deposits and advance rent
Disclosure of deposit holding: For landlords renting five or more units, the lease or a notice within 30 days after receipt must state the depository, interest entitlement, and statutory disclosure. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in The Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act: security deposits and advance rent
Fee in lieu of a deposit: A written, nonrefundable fee in place of a deposit; it does not erase rent or damage liability or make the tenant insured under the landlord's coverage. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in The Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act: security deposits and advance rent
Forfeiture of claim: A landlord who misses the notice deadline loses the claim against the deposit, though a separate damages action remains possible. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in The Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act: security deposits and advance rent
Interest-bearing account: A separate Florida account paying at least 75% of the annualized average rate or 5% yearly simple interest, at the landlord's election. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in The Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act: security deposits and advance rent
Return of deposit: A landlord making no claim must return the deposit and required interest within 15 days after termination. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in The Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act: security deposits and advance rent
Security deposit: Money a tenant pays to secure lease obligations. It is not rent income and must be recorded separately, with deductions limited to lawful ones. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in The Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act: security deposits and advance rent
Surety bond: One of three Florida methods of securing deposits: a county bond is the lesser of funds held or $50,000, and a statewide bond is capped at $250,000. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in The Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act: security deposits and advance rent
Transfer of deposits: On sale of the property or change of rental agent, deposits, advance rent, earned interest, and accurate account records must be transferred. — Federal and state laws pertaining to real estate · Taught in The Florida Residential Landlord and Tenant Act: security deposits and advance rent
Air rights: Rights to the space above a parcel, which may be conveyed or leased separately for development but do not override height limits or navigable airspace. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in The nature of property: physical components, real and personal property, and fixtures, General property rights: the bundle of rights, air, mineral, and water rights
Annexation: The process by which personal property becomes part of the real estate, as when a sink is installed as a permanent plumbing fixture. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in The nature of property: physical components, real and personal property, and fixtures
Chattel: Another name for personal property: a movable item that has not become part of the real estate. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in The nature of property: physical components, real and personal property, and fixtures
Emblements: Cultivated annual crops. The doctrine lets a qualifying tenant return to harvest them when a tenancy of uncertain duration ends unexpectedly without the tenant's fault. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in The nature of property: physical components, real and personal property, and fixtures
Fixture: An item that began as personal property but became part of the real estate by being attached or adapted to it, such as a built-in cabinet. It normally transfers with the property. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in The nature of property: physical components, real and personal property, and fixtures
Fixture tests: The factors for deciding whether an item is a fixture: method of attachment, adaptation, relationship of the parties, objectively shown intent, and agreement. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in The nature of property: physical components, real and personal property, and fixtures
Personal property: Movable property that has not become part of the real estate, such as an ordinary sofa. Also called chattel. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in The nature of property: physical components, real and personal property, and fixtures
Real property: Land, everything permanently attached to it, and the ownership rights that go with it. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in The nature of property: physical components, real and personal property, and fixtures
Severance: The process by which something attached to the real estate is detached and becomes personal property again. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in The nature of property: physical components, real and personal property, and fixtures
Subsurface rights: Rights to what lies below a parcel's surface, including minerals. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in The nature of property: physical components, real and personal property, and fixtures
Subsurface rights disclosure: Under section 689.29, a seller in certain new residential dwelling transactions must disclose severed or retained subsurface rights or entry rights at or before contract execution. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in The nature of property: physical components, real and personal property, and fixtures, General property rights: the bundle of rights, air, mineral, and water rights
Trade fixture: A business item a tenant installs, such as a removable salon station. Under the general rule, the tenant may remove it within the permitted time and must repair removal damage. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in The nature of property: physical components, real and personal property, and fixtures
Accretion: The gradual addition of land through deposits of soil by water. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in General property rights: the bundle of rights, air, mineral, and water rights
Avulsion: A sudden change in land caused by water, such as an abrupt river shift. It generally leaves the legal boundary where it was. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in General property rights: the bundle of rights, air, mineral, and water rights
Bundle of rights: The rights of ownership: possession, control, enjoyment, exclusion and disposition. They can be divided, as when a lease transfers possession. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in General property rights: the bundle of rights, air, mineral, and water rights
Control: The right to decide how the property is used. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in General property rights: the bundle of rights, air, mineral, and water rights
Disposition: The right to transfer an interest by sale, gift, or lease. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in General property rights: the bundle of rights, air, mineral, and water rights
Enjoyment: The right to benefit from lawful use of the property. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in General property rights: the bundle of rights, air, mineral, and water rights
Erosion: The gradual wearing away of land by water or other natural forces. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in General property rights: the bundle of rights, air, mineral, and water rights
Exclusion: A word with two real estate meanings. As an ownership right, the right to keep out those with no right to enter. In tax, an amount of qualifying gain kept out of gross income, as with the principal residence exclusion. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in General property rights: the bundle of rights, air, mineral, and water rights
Littoral rights: Rights attached to land beside lakes, seas or oceans. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in General property rights: the bundle of rights, air, mineral, and water rights
Mineral rights: Rights to minerals below the surface, which can be severed from surface ownership so that a later surface buyer does not acquire them. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in General property rights: the bundle of rights, air, mineral, and water rights
Possession: The right to hold and occupy the property. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in General property rights: the bundle of rights, air, mineral, and water rights, Sale and purchase contracts
Reliction: The gradual exposure of land as water recedes. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in General property rights: the bundle of rights, air, mineral, and water rights
Riparian rights: Rights traditionally attached to land beside rivers or streams. They do not mean ownership of the whole water body. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in General property rights: the bundle of rights, air, mineral, and water rights
Defeasible fee: A freehold estate that can end on violation of a stated condition or ceasing of a stated use. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Freehold estates: fee simple and life estates
Estate tail: An entailed estate, which Florida prohibits; an attempted estate tail becomes a life estate in the first taker with a remainder to lineal descendants. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Freehold estates: fee simple and life estates
Fee simple absolute: The broadest estate: potentially perpetual, transferable during life and able to pass at death, though still subject to taxes, zoning and valid restrictions. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Freehold estates: fee simple and life estates
Fee simple determinable: A defeasible fee that ends automatically when its stated limitation occurs, as with land conveyed so long as it is used as a park. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Freehold estates: fee simple and life estates
Fee simple subject to a condition subsequent: A defeasible fee in which breach of a condition gives the grantor a right to end the estate; termination is not automatic. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Freehold estates: fee simple and life estates
Freehold estate: An ownership interest with no definite lease term, such as a fee simple or a life estate. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Freehold estates: fee simple and life estates
Life estate: An estate that lasts for the life of a measuring person and ends at that person's death, even if the life estate has been transferred. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Freehold estates: fee simple and life estates
Life tenant: The holder of a life estate, who may possess and use the property and collect rent but must avoid waste. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Freehold estates: fee simple and life estates
Pur autre vie: Describes a life estate measured by the life of someone other than its holder. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Freehold estates: fee simple and life estates
Remainder: A future interest under which possession passes to a designated third party when a prior estate ends. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Freehold estates: fee simple and life estates
Reversion: A future interest under which possession returns to the grantor when an estate ends. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Freehold estates: fee simple and life estates
Right of entry: The grantor's power to end a fee simple subject to a condition subsequent after a breach. Also called a power of termination. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Freehold estates: fee simple and life estates
Rule in Shelley's Case: An old rule abolished in Florida; a grant for life with remainder to the life tenant's heirs creates a life estate and a remainder to descendants. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Freehold estates: fee simple and life estates
Waste: Use or neglect by a life tenant that injures the property and the future interests in it. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Freehold estates: fee simple and life estates
Estate at sufferance: The status of a tenant who entered lawfully but stays after the right to possession ends without the landlord's consent. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Leasehold estates: estates for years, periodic tenancies, tenancy at will, and tenancy at sufferance
Estate at will: A leasehold that continues with both parties' permission, without a definite term or recurring rental period. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Leasehold estates: estates for years, periodic tenancies, tenancy at will, and tenancy at sufferance
Estate for years: A leasehold with a definite beginning and end, of any length; the name does not require a full year. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Leasehold estates: estates for years, periodic tenancies, tenancy at will, and tenancy at sufferance
Holdover: A tenant remaining after the term ends. A nonresidential holdover after a written fixed term without renewal is a tenancy at sufferance, and accepting rent does not renew the term. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Leasehold estates: estates for years, periodic tenancies, tenancy at will, and tenancy at sufferance
Leasehold estate: A tenant's possessory interest for a tenancy while the landlord retains ownership. Occupancy alone does not identify the estate. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Leasehold estates: estates for years, periodic tenancies, tenancy at will, and tenancy at sufferance
Lessee: The tenant under a lease. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Leasehold estates: estates for years, periodic tenancies, tenancy at will, and tenancy at sufferance
Lessor: The landlord under a lease, who keeps ownership and a reversion. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Leasehold estates: estates for years, periodic tenancies, tenancy at will, and tenancy at sufferance
Nonresidential notice periods: For Florida nonresidential tenancies at will, the minimums are 3 months for yearly, 45 days for quarterly, 15 days for monthly, and 7 days for weekly. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Leasehold estates: estates for years, periodic tenancies, tenancy at will, and tenancy at sufferance
Periodic tenancy: A leasehold that continues for successive periods, such as month to month, until properly terminated. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Leasehold estates: estates for years, periodic tenancies, tenancy at will, and tenancy at sufferance
Residential notice periods: For Florida residential tenancies without a set duration, termination notice is 60 days for yearly, 30 for quarterly, 30 for monthly, and 7 for weekly tenancies. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Leasehold estates: estates for years, periodic tenancies, tenancy at will, and tenancy at sufferance
Written renewal: A further written agreement needed to renew a fixed term; without it a holdover is a tenancy at sufferance. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Leasehold estates: estates for years, periodic tenancies, tenancy at will, and tenancy at sufferance
Concurrent ownership: Ownership in which multiple owners hold interests in the same property at the same time. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Concurrent ownership: tenancy in common, joint tenancy, and tenancy by the entireties
Cotenant: One of the owners of concurrent ownership, with a right to possess the whole subject to the other cotenants' equal rights. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Concurrent ownership: tenancy in common, joint tenancy, and tenancy by the entireties
Express survivorship language: Wording in the instrument that creates survivorship; without it Florida's default under section 689.15 is tenancy in common. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Concurrent ownership: tenancy in common, joint tenancy, and tenancy by the entireties
Four unities: The traditional requirements of joint tenancy: time, title, interest and possession. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Concurrent ownership: tenancy in common, joint tenancy, and tenancy by the entireties
Joint tenancy: Co-ownership with equal interests and a right of survivorship, traditionally requiring the four unities of time, title, interest and possession. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Concurrent ownership: tenancy in common, joint tenancy, and tenancy by the entireties
Right of survivorship: The right of a surviving co-owner to take a deceased co-owner's interest automatically, rather than under the deceased owner's will. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Concurrent ownership: tenancy in common, joint tenancy, and tenancy by the entireties
Severance of joint tenancy: A joint tenant's lifetime conveyance ends the joint tenancy as to that share, which the transferee holds as a tenant in common. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Concurrent ownership: tenancy in common, joint tenancy, and tenancy by the entireties
Tenancy by the entirety: Where recognized, a form of ownership by spouses that includes survivorship and restricts one spouse from transferring alone. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Concurrent ownership: tenancy in common, joint tenancy, and tenancy by the entireties
Tenants in common: Co-owners holding undivided interests, possibly unequal, each with a right to possess the whole. A share passes through the owner's estate at death, not by survivorship. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Concurrent ownership: tenancy in common, joint tenancy, and tenancy by the entireties
Undivided interest: A fractional ownership share in the whole property, not title to a particular physical portion of it. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Concurrent ownership: tenancy in common, joint tenancy, and tenancy by the entireties
Forced sale protection: Protection of a qualifying homestead owned by a natural person from ordinary judgment creditors, limited by acreage and subject to exceptions. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Florida homestead: protection from creditors and the tax exemption
Homestead: A Florida residence given two benefits: constitutional protection from forced sale by creditors and a property tax exemption. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Florida homestead: protection from creditors and the tax exemption
Homestead designation: A signed, recorded designation permitted before levy under Fla. Stat. 222.01(1). — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Florida homestead: protection from creditors and the tax exemption
Homestead exceptions: Debts that homestead does not defeat: taxes and assessments, obligations to purchase, improve, or repair the property, labor on it, and a valid mortgage. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Florida homestead: protection from creditors and the tax exemption
Homestead tax exemption: A reduction in taxable value for qualifying ownership and permanent residence. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Florida homestead: protection from creditors and the tax exemption
Permanent residence: The qualifying home where the owner lives and intends to remain; claiming a residency-based benefit in another state generally disqualifies. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Florida homestead: protection from creditors and the tax exemption
Portability: Transferring a qualifying assessment benefit, not a tax bill, to a new homestead if the owner received a homestead exemption as of January 1 in one of the three preceding years. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Florida homestead: protection from creditors and the tax exemption, Florida property taxes: assessment, exemptions, and tax certificates
Recapture: Back taxes, penalties, and liens imposed when a homestead exemption was improperly granted. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Florida homestead: protection from creditors and the tax exemption
Save Our Homes: A limit on annual increases in a qualifying homestead's assessed value; it does not freeze the tax bill. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Florida homestead: protection from creditors and the tax exemption, Florida property taxes: assessment, exemptions, and tax certificates
Assessment: A word with two real estate meanings. In a condominium or community, a charge on owners for common expenses, owed even by an owner who does not use an amenity. In property tax, the official determination of a property's value and whether it is taxable. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Cooperatives, condominiums, homeowners' associations, and time-sharing
Common elements: The parts of a condominium owned together by the unit owners, in which each unit owner holds an undivided interest. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Cooperatives, condominiums, homeowners' associations, and time-sharing
Condominium: Ownership of a unit, with exclusive possession of it, plus an undivided interest in the common elements, usually administered by an association. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Cooperatives, condominiums, homeowners' associations, and time-sharing
Cooperative: A property held by an entity; a resident generally acquires shares and an occupancy right, commonly a proprietary lease, not a deed to the apartment. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Cooperatives, condominiums, homeowners' associations, and time-sharing
Declaration of condominium: The recorded document that may impose lawful use, occupancy, and transfer restrictions on a Florida condominium. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Cooperatives, condominiums, homeowners' associations, and time-sharing
Homeowners association: An organization that commonly administers a development's private restrictions and maintains common property, often with mandatory membership and assessments. Abbreviated HOA. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Cooperatives, condominiums, homeowners' associations, and time-sharing
Limited common elements: Common elements reserved for the use of specified units. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Cooperatives, condominiums, homeowners' associations, and time-sharing
Multisite timeshare estate plan: A plan conveying an estate at one component site with access to other sites through reservations; if the reservation system ends, the purchaser keeps use at the component site. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Cooperatives, condominiums, homeowners' associations, and time-sharing
Proprietary lease: The lease from a cooperative corporation that accompanies shares in a cooperative and gives the shareholder the right to occupy a specific apartment. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Cooperatives, condominiums, homeowners' associations, and time-sharing
Timeshare: A right to recurring use periods of a property. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Cooperatives, condominiums, homeowners' associations, and time-sharing
Timeshare estate: A timeshare that conveys an ownership interest in real property. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Cooperatives, condominiums, homeowners' associations, and time-sharing
Timeshare license: A timeshare that provides use without a real property ownership interest. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Cooperatives, condominiums, homeowners' associations, and time-sharing
Timeshare resale warning: A conspicuous statement, required in Florida resale brokerage agreements and listing advertising, that a particular resale price or timing is not guaranteed. — Property rights: estates, tenancies, condominiums, HOAs, and time-sharing · Taught in Cooperatives, condominiums, homeowners' associations, and time-sharing
Adverse possession: A doctrine under which qualifying possession can establish ownership of land, as opposed to prescription, which establishes only a use right. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Title and how it is acquired: voluntary and involuntary alienation
Alienation: A transfer of ownership of real property, either voluntary, by the owner's choice, or involuntary, by operation of law. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Title and how it is acquired: voluntary and involuntary alienation
Color of title: A claim founded on a written instrument, judgment, or decree. Florida requires seven years of qualifying possession, with the instrument recorded. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Title and how it is acquired: voluntary and involuntary alienation
Deed: The document that conveys ownership of real estate, as opposed to a bill of sale, which transfers personal property. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Title and how it is acquired: voluntary and involuntary alienation, Deed requirements and deed clauses
Devise: A gift of real property made in a will. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Title and how it is acquired: voluntary and involuntary alienation
Devisee: The person who receives real property under a will. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Title and how it is acquired: voluntary and involuntary alienation
Eminent domain: Government's power to acquire private property for public use, provided it pays just compensation. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Title and how it is acquired: voluntary and involuntary alienation, Government restrictions and deed restrictions
Escheat: The passing of property to the state when an owner dies without a valid will and with no legal heirs. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Title and how it is acquired: voluntary and involuntary alienation, Government restrictions and deed restrictions
Foreclosure: The legal process of enforcing a lien by selling or taking the property. Default alone does not transfer title. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Title and how it is acquired: voluntary and involuntary alienation, Lien and title theory, promissory notes, and mortgages
Hostile possession: Possession inconsistent with the owner's rights; permissive use does not qualify. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Title and how it is acquired: voluntary and involuntary alienation
Intestate succession: The passing of a deceased owner's property to heirs under the law of descent and distribution when there is no valid will. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Title and how it is acquired: voluntary and involuntary alienation
Involuntary alienation: A transfer of ownership by operation of law, such as foreclosure, condemnation, escheat or adverse possession. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Title and how it is acquired: voluntary and involuntary alienation
Tax certificate: A lien on property for unpaid taxes; it is not ownership of the land. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Title and how it is acquired: voluntary and involuntary alienation, Florida property taxes: assessment, exemptions, and tax certificates
Tax deed: A deed issued after a tax sale, which may leave qualifying easements and use restrictions intact. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Title and how it is acquired: voluntary and involuntary alienation, Statutory deeds and special purpose deeds, Florida property taxes: assessment, exemptions, and tax certificates
Title to property: Ownership rights in property; a deed is the instrument that transfers them. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Title and how it is acquired: voluntary and involuntary alienation
Voluntary alienation: A transfer of ownership by the owner's choice, such as a sale, gift or devise. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Title and how it is acquired: voluntary and involuntary alienation
Abstract: A summary of the relevant recorded documents affecting a property's title. It is not insurance. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Actual and constructive notice, recording, and the condition of title
Actual notice: Direct knowledge of a fact, such as an unrecorded claim. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Actual and constructive notice, recording, and the condition of title
Chain of title: The sequence of ownership transfers leading to the current owner. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Actual and constructive notice, recording, and the condition of title
Cloud on title: A missing link or unresolved adverse claim that casts doubt on ownership. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Actual and constructive notice, recording, and the condition of title
Constructive notice: Knowledge the law attributes to a person, commonly from proper recording in the chain of title, whether or not the person looked. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Actual and constructive notice, recording, and the condition of title
Inquiry notice: Notice arising from facts that call for reasonable investigation, such as someone other than the seller occupying the property. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Actual and constructive notice, recording, and the condition of title
Marketable Record Title Act: A Florida law using a thirty-year record framework and a root of title to eliminate certain older claims, subject to exceptions and preservation notices. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Actual and constructive notice, recording, and the condition of title
Marketable title: Title reasonably free from doubt and litigation risk, though not necessarily free of permitted restrictions. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Actual and constructive notice, recording, and the condition of title
Quiet title action: A lawsuit to resolve competing claims and clear title. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Actual and constructive notice, recording, and the condition of title
Recording: Placing a document in the public records, which gives public notice and helps protect against competing claims. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Actual and constructive notice, recording, and the condition of title
Root of title: The recorded instrument that starts the period under the Marketable Record Title Act. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Actual and constructive notice, recording, and the condition of title
Subsequent purchaser: A later buyer for valuable consideration without notice, protected by section 695.01 against earlier unrecorded conveyances. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Actual and constructive notice, recording, and the condition of title
Title insurance: Insurance against covered title losses, usually from events before the policy date, paid for with a one-time premium. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Actual and constructive notice, recording, and the condition of title, Preparation of contracts and the unauthorized practice of law
Title opinion: An attorney's evaluation of the legal effect of the recorded documents affecting title. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Actual and constructive notice, recording, and the condition of title, Preparation of contracts and the unauthorized practice of law
Title search: A review of the public records that follows the chain of title and checks for mortgages, easements, judgments and releases. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Actual and constructive notice, recording, and the condition of title
Acknowledgment: A formal declaration before an authorized officer that authenticates a deed's signing for recording purposes. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Deed requirements and deed clauses
Covenant against encumbrances: A deed promise that there are no undisclosed burdens on the title. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Deed requirements and deed clauses
Covenant of quiet enjoyment: A deed promise that the grantee will not be disturbed by a lawful superior claim to title. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Deed requirements and deed clauses
Covenant of seisin: A promise that the grantor owns the property conveyed. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Deed requirements and deed clauses
Deed acceptance: The grantee's taking of the deed, which together with delivery completes the conveyance. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Deed requirements and deed clauses
Delivery: Transfer of a deed with intent that it take effect now, completed by the grantee's acceptance. Signing and keeping a deed is not delivery. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Deed requirements and deed clauses
Further assurances: A deed promise that the grantor will perform additional acts needed to perfect the grantee's title. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Deed requirements and deed clauses
Grantee: The party who receives a real property interest by deed. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Deed requirements and deed clauses
Granting clause: The part of a deed containing the words of conveyance. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Deed requirements and deed clauses
Grantor: The party who conveys a real property interest by deed. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Deed requirements and deed clauses
Habendum clause: The part of a deed that describes the estate being conveyed. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Deed requirements and deed clauses
Legal description: A description that identifies the exact land in a transaction, more reliably than a street address or tax parcel number. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Deed requirements and deed clauses, Purposes of legal descriptions, and metes and bounds
Quitclaim deed: A deed that releases whatever interest the grantor has, if any, without title warranties. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Deed requirements and deed clauses, Statutory deeds and special purpose deeds
Reddendum: A reservation clause identifying an interest the grantor retains, such as an easement. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Deed requirements and deed clauses
Witnesses: Florida generally requires the grantor to sign a deed in the presence of two subscribing witnesses; the grantee ordinarily need not sign. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Deed requirements and deed clauses
Bargain and sale deed: A deed that implies the grantor owns the property but, without express covenants, does not promise to defend title. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Statutory deeds and special purpose deeds
Clerk's certificate of title: The title-transfer instrument characteristic of a Florida mortgage foreclosure sale. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Statutory deeds and special purpose deeds
Corrective deed: A deed that addresses an error in an earlier conveyance; it does not authorize taking additional property. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Statutory deeds and special purpose deeds
Curative notice: A limited Florida procedure for qualifying single legal-description errors that relates the correction back to the first erroneous deed's recording date; it excludes quitclaim deeds. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Statutory deeds and special purpose deeds
General warranty deed: A deed with the broadest customary title covenants, covering defects arising before or during the grantor's ownership. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Statutory deeds and special purpose deeds
Guardian's deed: A deed by an authorized guardian conveying property for a ward. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Statutory deeds and special purpose deeds
Parcel identification number: A tax identifier with a space on Florida statutory forms; it cannot replace the legal description. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Statutory deeds and special purpose deeds
Personal representative's deed: A deed by which an authorized estate representative conveys estate property. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Statutory deeds and special purpose deeds
Sheriff's deed: A deed arising from an execution sale. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Statutory deeds and special purpose deeds
Special warranty deed: A deed whose warranty covers only claims arising by, through or under the grantor. Special means narrower, not stronger. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Statutory deeds and special purpose deeds
Statutory warranty deed: A Florida deed form that fully warrants title and carries full common-law covenants even if they are not written out. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Statutory deeds and special purpose deeds
Trustee's deed: A deed conveying property through a trustee acting under trust authority, which is different from a deed of trust used as security. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Statutory deeds and special purpose deeds
Dominant estate: The parcel that benefits from an easement appurtenant. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Easements and leases as limitations on ownership
Easement: A nonpossessory right to use another person's land for a specified purpose, such as access or utilities. The landowner keeps ownership. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Easements and leases as limitations on ownership
Easement appurtenant: An easement that benefits one parcel (the dominant estate) and burdens another (the servient estate). The benefit generally passes with the dominant land. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Easements and leases as limitations on ownership
Easement by necessity: An easement that can arise when dividing commonly owned land leaves a parcel without legally sufficient access. It ends when the necessity ends. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Easements and leases as limitations on ownership
Easement in gross: An easement that benefits a person or entity rather than a parcel, such as a utility company's right to maintain lines. Commercial ones may be transferable. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Easements and leases as limitations on ownership
Encumbrance: Any claim or right that burdens property, such as a lien securing a debt or an easement authorizing a use. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Easements and leases as limitations on ownership
Express easement: An easement created by a written grant or reservation. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Easements and leases as limitations on ownership
Implied easement: An easement that may arise when commonly owned land is divided and an existing, apparent, continuous use meets the legal requirements. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Easements and leases as limitations on ownership
Lease: An agreement giving a tenant (lessee) the right to possess and use property while the landlord (lessor) keeps ownership. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Easements and leases as limitations on ownership
License: Permission to use another's land, generally personal and revocable, such as permission to park for a weekend. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Easements and leases as limitations on ownership
Merger: The ending of an easement when the dominant and servient parcels come under the same ownership. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Easements and leases as limitations on ownership
Prescriptive easement: A use right that arises from open, notorious, adverse and continuous use for the required period. Permission defeats it while the permission continues. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Easements and leases as limitations on ownership
Servient estate: The parcel burdened by an easement, across which the use is exercised. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Easements and leases as limitations on ownership
Tenancy at will: Continuing permission to occupy with no agreed fixed term. State law sets the details, and some states treat one with monthly rent as month to month. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Easements and leases as limitations on ownership
Claim of lien: The recorded claim a construction lienor must record to acquire the lien, even where priority relates back to the notice of commencement. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in General and specific liens and lien priority
General lien: A lien that reaches the debtor's property generally, within its legal scope. It does not make exempt property available to creditors. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in General and specific liens and lien priority
Involuntary lien: A lien that arises through law, such as a property tax lien, a mechanic's lien or a judgment lien. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in General and specific liens and lien priority
Judgment lien: A lien arising from a court judgment that can reach the debtor's property within its legally defined scope; the usual example of a general lien. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in General and specific liens and lien priority
Lien: A claim against property that secures payment of an obligation, such as unpaid association assessments. It does not by itself transfer ownership. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in General and specific liens and lien priority
Lien priority: The order in which competing claims are paid from the same property, ordinarily by earlier recording unless a statute or agreement changes it. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in General and specific liens and lien priority
Mechanic's lien: A lien on improved property for qualifying unpaid construction work or materials, once properly perfected. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in General and specific liens and lien priority
Notice of commencement: A recorded notice that starts the priority date for certain Florida construction liens under section 713.07. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in General and specific liens and lien priority
Release of lien: Discharge of the lien itself, as distinct from subordination, which changes only its rank. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in General and specific liens and lien priority
Specific lien: A lien that burdens only identified property, such as a mortgage or a property tax lien on a parcel. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in General and specific liens and lien priority
Subordination agreement: An agreement by which a lienholder moves its lien behind another claim without releasing the debt. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in General and specific liens and lien priority
Tax lien: A claim against property for unpaid property taxes, which can ultimately lead to tax foreclosure through required procedures. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in General and specific liens and lien priority
Transfer to security: Under section 713.24, moving a construction lien from the real estate to qualifying cash or bond security. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in General and specific liens and lien priority
Voluntary lien: A lien created by agreement, such as a mortgage or deed of trust securing a loan. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in General and specific liens and lien priority
Comprehensive plan: A community's long-range development framework, which the enforceable zoning ordinance implements. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Government restrictions and deed restrictions, The local planning agency and Florida's Community Planning Act
Condemnation: The legal process by which government exercises eminent domain to take private property. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Government restrictions and deed restrictions
Deed restriction: A private limit on property use created in a deed, separate from government zoning and enforceable alongside it. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Government restrictions and deed restrictions
Police power: Government's power to regulate property use to protect public health, safety, morals and general welfare, through zoning, building codes and similar rules. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Government restrictions and deed restrictions, Zoning laws, variances, and code enforcement
Preservation notice: A notice recorded with the circuit court clerk under Florida's marketable record title law to preserve a covenant or restriction. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Government restrictions and deed restrictions
Restrictive covenant: A private restriction arising from an instrument rather than zoning legislation, such as a limit on building height, setbacks or uses. It may bind later owners and must be respected alongside zoning. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Government restrictions and deed restrictions
Taking: A regulation so burdensome it amounts to a taking, which requires compensation; ordinary land use regulation does not. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Government restrictions and deed restrictions
Taxation: The government's power to raise public revenue, including from real property. — Titles, deeds, and ownership restrictions · Taught in Government restrictions and deed restrictions
Bearing: The direction of a boundary call; N 30 degrees E means thirty degrees east of north. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Purposes of legal descriptions, and metes and bounds
Bounds: The boundary limits, often identified through monuments, adjoining land, or natural features. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Purposes of legal descriptions, and metes and bounds
Closure: Returning to the point of beginning; a closed shape can still be in the wrong location. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Purposes of legal descriptions, and metes and bounds
Metes: The measurements in a description, such as directions and distances. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Purposes of legal descriptions, and metes and bounds
Metes and bounds: A legal description method that traces boundary distances, directions and reference points from a point of beginning back to that point. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Purposes of legal descriptions, and metes and bounds
Monument: A natural or artificial object, such as a tree, stream or survey pin, used as a reference point in a boundary description. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Purposes of legal descriptions, and metes and bounds
Perimeter: The distance around a boundary, measured in linear units such as feet. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Purposes of legal descriptions, and metes and bounds, Legal description math: acreage and distances, Real estate math: percentages, area, and profit and loss
Point of beginning: The starting point of a metes-and-bounds boundary, to which the description must return to close. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Purposes of legal descriptions, and metes and bounds
Point of commencement: A reference point used to reach the point of beginning; it is not itself part of the parcel boundary. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Purposes of legal descriptions, and metes and bounds
Block: A group of lots in a subdivision, if blocks are used. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Lot and block descriptions and recorded plats
Lot: The individual parcel in a lot and block description. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Lot and block descriptions and recorded plats
Lot and block description: A description identifying a parcel by reference to a recorded subdivision plat. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Lot and block descriptions and recorded plats
Parent tract: The larger tract that may be described by metes and bounds or government survey before being subdivided. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Lot and block descriptions and recorded plats
Plat: A recorded map of a subdivision showing its lots and blocks, which lot-and-block descriptions refer to. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Lot and block descriptions and recorded plats
Plat book and page: The recording reference that locates the map in the public records. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Lot and block descriptions and recorded plats
Plat notice: The notice Florida requires recognizing that a plat is not a complete title report and restrictions may be recorded elsewhere. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Lot and block descriptions and recorded plats
Recorded plat: A plat filed in the public records; in Florida it establishes the identity of the lands shown and permits conveyance by reference to it. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Lot and block descriptions and recorded plats
Tax parcel identifier: A number supporting assessment records, distinct from a plat's parcel designations. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Lot and block descriptions and recorded plats
Acre: A unit of land area equal to 43,560 square feet. It measures area and does not prescribe a shape. — Legal descriptions · Taught in The government survey system: townships, ranges, and sections, Legal description math: acreage and distances, Real estate math: percentages, area, and profit and loss
Base line: An east-west reference line in the rectangular survey system; township designations locate land north or south of it. — Legal descriptions · Taught in The government survey system: townships, ranges, and sections
Government survey system: A rectangular survey method describing land by township, range, section, and fractional parts; also called the rectangular survey system. — Legal descriptions · Taught in The government survey system: townships, ranges, and sections
Nested fraction: A description such as the NE 1/4 of the SW 1/4, read from the containing tract inward, equal to 40 acres here. — Legal descriptions · Taught in The government survey system: townships, ranges, and sections
Principal meridian: A north-south reference line in the rectangular survey system; range designations locate land east or west of it. — Legal descriptions · Taught in The government survey system: townships, ranges, and sections
Quarter section: A quarter of a section, 160 acres. — Legal descriptions · Taught in The government survey system: townships, ranges, and sections
Range: In the rectangular survey system, a designation that locates land east or west of a principal meridian. — Legal descriptions · Taught in The government survey system: townships, ranges, and sections
Section: In the rectangular survey system, a standard area of one square mile, or 640 acres. A township contains 36 sections. — Legal descriptions · Taught in The government survey system: townships, ranges, and sections, Legal description math: acreage and distances
Section numbering: Section 1 is in the northeast corner of the township, numbering runs west to 6, then 7 to 12 east, alternating, ending at 36 in the southeast. — Legal descriptions · Taught in The government survey system: townships, ranges, and sections
Township: In the rectangular survey system, a standard square six miles on each side containing 36 sections. — Legal descriptions · Taught in The government survey system: townships, ranges, and sections
Area: The surface inside a boundary, measured in square units such as square feet or acres. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Legal description math: acreage and distances, Real estate math: percentages, area, and profit and loss
Excluded acreage: An expressly excluded acreage in a description, which is subtracted from the total. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Legal description math: acreage and distances
Fractional description: A description computed by multiplying the fractions, such as the NE 1/4 of the SW 1/4 of a section, which is 40 acres. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Legal description math: acreage and distances
Frontage: The length of a parcel along a street or water; area alone does not determine it. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Legal description math: acreage and distances
Mile: A distance of 5,280 feet. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Legal description math: acreage and distances
Square footage conversion: Square feet divided by 43,560 gives acres; acres multiplied by 43,560 gives square feet. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Legal description math: acreage and distances
Triangle area: One half times the base times the perpendicular height. — Legal descriptions · Taught in Legal description math: acreage and distances
Additional terms: A blank in a contract form for extra provisions; it does not authorize a licensee to draft custom legal language. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Preparation of contracts and the unauthorized practice of law
Contract preparation fee: A separate fee for preparing the contract, which the limited form-completion permission does not allow. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Preparation of contracts and the unauthorized practice of law
Form completion: A licensee's limited role of filling in an attorney-prepared contract form with the parties' agreed factual and business terms. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Preparation of contracts and the unauthorized practice of law
Legal advice: A judgment about legal rights, such as whether a contract is enforceable or title is valid. License holders refer such questions to the principal's attorney. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Preparation of contracts and the unauthorized practice of law
Legal drafting: Creating custom contract provisions, such as an indemnity clause, which only an attorney may do even if typed into an additional-terms blank. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Preparation of contracts and the unauthorized practice of law
Merchantable title: Title free from reasonable doubt; the licensee must advise a purchaser to consult an attorney about it or obtain title insurance. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Preparation of contracts and the unauthorized practice of law
Referral to counsel: Sending legal questions to an attorney before the parties rely on an answer or sign language requiring legal review. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Preparation of contracts and the unauthorized practice of law
Unauthorized practice of law: Performing legal work, such as drafting language that defines parties' rights or giving legal opinions, without being a licensed attorney. A real estate license does not authorize it. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Preparation of contracts and the unauthorized practice of law
Capacity: Legal ability to enter a contract. An adult who understands the transaction generally has it; a poor bargain alone does not show incapacity. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Essentials of a valid contract
Competent parties: Parties with the legal capacity to contract; a minor's ordinary contract is generally voidable by the minor, not automatically void. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Essentials of a valid contract
Consideration: A bargained-for exchange of legal value, such as a seller's promise to convey for a buyer's promise to pay. Immediate cash and equal value are not required. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Essentials of a valid contract, Florida documentary stamp taxes and the intangible tax on mortgages
Counteroffer: A reply that changes a material term of an offer. It is not an acceptance and rejects the original offer. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Essentials of a valid contract, Offer, counteroffer, and acceptance, and how contracts end, Sale and purchase contracts
Definite terms: Essential terms, such as the property and price, stated clearly enough to identify what was promised. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Essentials of a valid contract
Duress: Wrongful pressure that forces a party's assent, which can make a contract voidable by that party. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Essentials of a valid contract
Lawful purpose: The requirement that a contract's object be legal. Signatures and payment do not cure an illegal bargain. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Essentials of a valid contract
Mutual assent: Agreement by the parties to the same terms, shown objectively through words or conduct such as offer and acceptance rather than by secret intentions. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Essentials of a valid contract
Party to be charged: The person against whom enforcement of an agreement is sought, whose signature, or an authorized representative's, the required writing must bear. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Essentials of a valid contract, The statute of frauds and the statute of limitations
Statute of frauds: A law, found in every state, requiring certain contracts, including contracts for the sale of real property and most leases longer than one year, to be in a signed writing to be enforceable. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Essentials of a valid contract, The statute of frauds and the statute of limitations
Unenforceable: Describes an agreement that may otherwise satisfy formation requirements but that a court will not enforce because of a legal barrier, such as a missing required writing. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Essentials of a valid contract
Valid contract: A contract that meets the formation requirements: competent parties, mutual assent, consideration, a lawful purpose and sufficiently definite terms. Valid does not mean completed. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Essentials of a valid contract
Void: Describes an agreement that has no legal effect as a contract from the outset, such as one whose purpose is illegal. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Essentials of a valid contract
Voidable: Describes a contract that is binding unless a protected party, such as a minor or a victim of fraud or duress, chooses to avoid it. The other party has no equal right to escape. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Essentials of a valid contract
Accrual: The point when the last element of a cause of action occurs, from which limitation time generally runs, not merely contract signing. — Real estate contracts · Taught in The statute of frauds and the statute of limitations
Note or memorandum: A sufficient signed writing that can satisfy the statute of frauds in place of the full agreement. — Real estate contracts · Taught in The statute of frauds and the statute of limitations
Rescission: Unwinding a contract and generally restoring the benefits each party received, either by mutual agreement or on a legal ground such as fraud. — Real estate contracts · Taught in The statute of frauds and the statute of limitations
Shortened limitation clause: Under section 95.03, a contract provision shortening the statutory time to sue is void. — Real estate contracts · Taught in The statute of frauds and the statute of limitations
Specific performance: A discretionary equitable remedy in which a court orders a party to perform as promised, such as conveying land. Land's uniqueness can support it, but it is not guaranteed. — Real estate contracts · Taught in The statute of frauds and the statute of limitations, Offer, counteroffer, and acceptance, and how contracts end
Statute of limitations: A law setting the time allowed to start a lawsuit; filing promptly does not cure a missing required writing. — Real estate contracts · Taught in The statute of frauds and the statute of limitations
Tolling: Pausing a filing deadline; time during an administrative fair housing proceeding is excluded from the two-year civil action period. — Real estate contracts · Taught in The statute of frauds and the statute of limitations
Unwritten contract action: An action on a contract not founded on a written instrument generally has a four-year limit. — Real estate contracts · Taught in The statute of frauds and the statute of limitations
Written instrument action: Under section 95.11, an action founded on a written instrument generally has a five-year limit. — Real estate contracts · Taught in The statute of frauds and the statute of limitations
Assignee: The party who receives a transferred contractual right. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Assignment and novation, and contract categories
Assignment of contract rights: The transfer of a contractual right from the assignor to the assignee, subject to contract restrictions. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Assignment and novation, and contract categories
Assignor: The party who transfers a contractual right. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Assignment and novation, and contract categories
Bilateral contract: A contract that exchanges a promise for a promise, such as a seller's promise to convey for a buyer's promise to pay. Obligations arise before either performs. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Assignment and novation, and contract categories
Executed: In the performance sense, describes a contract fully performed by all parties. Executing a document can also mean signing it, so read the context. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Assignment and novation, and contract categories
Executory: Describes a contract that still has promised performance outstanding. An executory contract, such as one awaiting closing, can be fully valid. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Assignment and novation, and contract categories
Express contract: A contract whose terms are stated in spoken or written words. Express does not mean written; an oral exchange of promises is express. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Assignment and novation, and contract categories
Implied in fact contract: An actual agreement inferred from the parties' conduct and circumstances showing mutual assent, such as an established paid arrangement repeated without restating the terms. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Assignment and novation, and contract categories
Novation: Replacing an existing obligation with a new one by agreement of all necessary parties, which extinguishes the old obligation and releases the original party. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Assignment and novation, and contract categories, Buying mortgaged property (subject to, assumption) and other types of financing
Unilateral contract: A contract that invites acceptance through performing the requested act, not a return promise. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Assignment and novation, and contract categories, Buyer-broker agreements and option contracts
Valid, void, voidable, unenforceable: Classifications of an agreement's legal status: binding, without legal effect, avoidable by a protected party, or barred from judicial enforcement. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Assignment and novation, and contract categories
Acceptance: Unequivocal agreement to the offer's exact terms, given in the manner and time the offer requires. Silence or a private decision generally is not acceptance. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Offer, counteroffer, and acceptance, and how contracts end
Contingency: A contract term making a party's obligation depend on a condition, such as an inspection or financing. Adding one to a response is a counteroffer. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Offer, counteroffer, and acceptance, and how contracts end
Impossibility: True legal impossibility or later illegality can discharge duties; regret or a worse bargain does not. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Offer, counteroffer, and acceptance, and how contracts end
Inquiry: A question about possible different terms, such as a later closing, that keeps the offer under consideration and need not reject it. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Offer, counteroffer, and acceptance, and how contracts end
Liquidated damages: An amount or measure of damages the parties agree to in advance for a specified breach. It is enforceable only if it compensates rather than operating as a penalty. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Offer, counteroffer, and acceptance, and how contracts end
Material breach: A breach that substantially defeats the bargain and can excuse the other party's remaining performance. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Offer, counteroffer, and acceptance, and how contracts end
Mutual rescission: An agreement to unwind a contract and release obligations. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Offer, counteroffer, and acceptance, and how contracts end
Offer: A definite proposal to contract on stated terms. A listing price generally invites offers rather than being an offer itself. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Offer, counteroffer, and acceptance, and how contracts end
Offeree: The party who receives an offer and has the power to accept it. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Offer, counteroffer, and acceptance, and how contracts end
Offeror: The party who makes an offer. A counteroffer makes the original offeree the new offeror. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Offer, counteroffer, and acceptance, and how contracts end
Option: A right to buy on stated terms within a specified period, without an obligation to buy before exercise. Consideration supports the optionor's promise to keep it open. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Offer, counteroffer, and acceptance, and how contracts end, Buyer-broker agreements and option contracts
Release of claim: Relinquishing a contractual claim or right. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Offer, counteroffer, and acceptance, and how contracts end
Revocation: The withdrawal of something previously given, such as an offeror's withdrawal of an offer before acceptance or a principal's withdrawal of an agent's authority. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Offer, counteroffer, and acceptance, and how contracts end
Commission split: Division of a commission among parties. Apply each split to the correct share: on a $20,000 commission, a 50% brokerage share is $10,000 and a salesperson's 60% of that is $6,000. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Listing contracts and broker compensation, Real estate math: percentages, area, and profit and loss
Copy within 24 hours: Florida requires the principal to receive a legible, signed, true and correct copy of the listing within 24 hours. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Listing contracts and broker compensation
Definite expiration date: A date Florida requires in a written listing; a listing cannot require notice of cancellation after that date. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Listing contracts and broker compensation
Earning event: The event that earns compensation, distinct from when the commission becomes payable. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Listing contracts and broker compensation
Exclusive agency listing: A listing appointing one broker but preserving the owner's right to sell independently without paying that broker. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Listing contracts and broker compensation
Exclusive right to sell: A listing giving one brokerage the exclusive listing and its commission on any covered sale during the term, whoever finds the buyer, including the owner. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Listing contracts and broker compensation
Listing agreement: An agreement in which an owner employs a broker to market property, setting exclusivity, commission terms and duration. It creates express agency and is separate from the purchase contract. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Listing contracts and broker compensation
Net listing: A compensation method in which the broker keeps the sale proceeds above the owner's desired net amount. It does not decide exclusivity. Many states restrict or prohibit it because it sets the broker's interest against the seller's. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Listing contracts and broker compensation
Open listing: A nonexclusive listing that lets the owner engage several brokers and sell independently. Only the broker who is the procuring cause of the sale earns the commission. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Listing contracts and broker compensation
Procuring cause: The broker whose uninterrupted chain of efforts brings about the completed sale, not merely the first to advertise or mention the buyer. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Listing contracts and broker compensation
Protection clause: A provision preserving the broker's fee for specified acquisitions or sales after the agreement expires, such as listed properties the broker showed, if its conditions are met. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Listing contracts and broker compensation
Ready, willing, and able buyer: A buyer prepared to buy on the seller's required terms and with the funds or financing to do so. Producing one may earn a fee if the agreement says so. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Listing contracts and broker compensation
Buyer-broker agreement: An agreement engaging a brokerage to provide services to a buyer; it does not commit the buyer to purchase property. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Buyer-broker agreements and option contracts
Exclusive agency: An exclusive engagement of one brokerage that preserves the client's right to sell or acquire property independently, without any broker's help, without owing that brokerage's fee. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Buyer-broker agreements and option contracts
Exclusive right to represent: A buyer agreement committing the buyer to one brokerage and commonly providing a fee on any covered acquisition during the term, whoever finds the property. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Buyer-broker agreements and option contracts
Exercise of an option: Following the option's deadline and method to create the purchase obligations; it is not closing. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Buyer-broker agreements and option contracts
Nonexclusive agreement: A representation agreement that permits the client to have other brokerage relationships, subject to its terms. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Buyer-broker agreements and option contracts
Option consideration: Payment supporting the owner's commitment, ordinarily kept by the owner if the option expires unexercised. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Buyer-broker agreements and option contracts
Optionee: The holder of an option, usually the prospective buyer, who may choose to buy but has no obligation to do so before exercise. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Buyer-broker agreements and option contracts
Optionor: The party, usually the owner, who grants an option and is bound to keep the purchase opportunity open. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Buyer-broker agreements and option contracts
Right of first refusal: A right to buy on matching terms if the owner decides to sell. Unlike a purchase option, it gives no power to initiate a purchase. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Buyer-broker agreements and option contracts
Sham option: An option used to evade licensing requirements, prohibited in Florida unless backed by substantial consideration actually paid with no right to return it. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Buyer-broker agreements and option contracts
Single agent disclosure: In a covered residential transaction, the written disclosure due before or at the representation agreement or before showing property, whichever comes first. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Buyer-broker agreements and option contracts
As Is: A contract term under which the buyer accepts the property in its present condition. It does not by itself cancel inspection or termination rights the contract grants, and it generally does not protect a seller or licensee who conceals or misrepresents a known defect. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Sale and purchase contracts
Closing: The completion of a transaction, settling financial obligations and completing documents and title transfer. Signing, funding, recording and possession are separate milestones. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Sale and purchase contracts
Default remedies: Remedies for a breach that depend on the agreement and law; a failed closing alone does not decide deposit entitlement. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Sale and purchase contracts
Electronic signature: A signature in electronic form adopted with intent to authenticate a record. It does not supply missing assent, terms or signing authority. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Sale and purchase contracts
Financing contingency: A contingency that lets a buyer terminate if the specified loan cannot be obtained after the required efforts and notice. It does not require a lender to approve the loan. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Sale and purchase contracts
Military termination: Under section 689.27, a qualifying servicemember buying a primary residence may terminate before closing for specified military reasons, with funds refunded within seven days. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Sale and purchase contracts
Property tax disclosure: Under section 689.261, a residential property tax summary presented at or before contract execution, warning that the seller's taxes may not predict the buyer's. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Sale and purchase contracts
Prorations: Allocation of ongoing expenses such as taxes between buyer and seller as of closing. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Sale and purchase contracts
Sale and purchase contract: The agreement recording the buyer's and seller's obligations before closing; delivery of the deed at closing transfers title. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Sale and purchase contracts
As-is clause: A sale term that does not excuse concealment of a known material defect. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: material defects, radon gas, and lead-based paint
Duty to disclose: Obligations that stand apart: completing one disclosure does not satisfy the others, and an inspection clause or as-is provision does not replace them. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: material defects, radon gas, and lead-based paint
Lead hazard evaluation report: An available report about lead-based paint or hazards in the specific property, which the seller or landlord must supply even if not asked. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: material defects, radon gas, and lead-based paint
Lead hazard pamphlet: The approved federal pamphlet about lead hazards that must be given to buyers and tenants of target housing before they become obligated. It is general information, not a property report. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: material defects, radon gas, and lead-based paint
Lead inspection opportunity: A purchaser's 10-day period to assess or inspect for lead-based paint unless the parties mutually agree on a different period. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: material defects, radon gas, and lead-based paint
Lead Warning Statement: Required warning language about lead hazards that must appear in a contract to sell target housing, along with signed buyer acknowledgments. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: material defects, radon gas, and lead-based paint
Lead-based paint: Paint containing lead, common in housing built before 1978, which can seriously harm young children and poses particular risks during pregnancy. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: material defects, radon gas, and lead-based paint
Material defect: A term used in two settings. In seller disclosure, a known fact materially affecting property value that is not readily observable and not known to the buyer. Under a new home warranty, actual physical damage to specified load-bearing portions that makes the home unsafe or unlivable; cosmetic damage alone does not qualify. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: material defects, radon gas, and lead-based paint
Radon: A radioactive gas from natural uranium decay in soil and rock that can enter through ground-contact openings and accumulate indoors. It cannot be seen or smelled, so each home must be tested. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: material defects, radon gas, and lead-based paint
Radon notice: The prescribed Florida statement, required on a document executed at or before a building sale contract or rental agreement; it is not a test result. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: material defects, radon gas, and lead-based paint
Transient occupancy: Residential occupancy of 45 days or less, exempt from the radon notice. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: material defects, radon gas, and lead-based paint
CDD notice: The prescribed notice in initial parcel sale contracts under section 190.048, placed immediately before the buyer's signature space in bold type larger than the rest of the contract. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: energy efficiency, HOA, property tax, building code, and community development district
Code problem disclosure: A known, hidden code problem materially affecting residential value falls under the general residential disclosure duty. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: energy efficiency, HOA, property tax, building code, and community development district
Community development district: A special district whose taxes or assessments fund public facilities and services, set annually and additional to other taxes. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: energy efficiency, HOA, property tax, building code, and community development district
Energy-efficiency rating information: Information about the option of an energy-efficiency rating, due at or before the buyer signs; section 553.996 does not require completing a rating. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: energy efficiency, HOA, property tax, building code, and community development district
Facility fees: Possible HOA charges for use of community facilities, addressed in the mandatory HOA summary. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: energy efficiency, HOA, property tax, building code, and community development district
Florida Building Code: Statewide construction standards enforced by the specified local board or agency under section 553.73. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: energy efficiency, HOA, property tax, building code, and community development district
Mandatory homeowners' association summary: A disclosure summary given before signing under section 720.401, covering membership, covenants, assessments, liens, and governing documents. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: energy efficiency, HOA, property tax, building code, and community development district
Property appraiser: The county official to whom valuation questions are directed. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: energy efficiency, HOA, property tax, building code, and community development district, Florida property taxes: assessment, exemptions, and tax certificates
Reassessment: A change in assessed value triggered by an ownership change or improvements, which can raise taxes. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: energy efficiency, HOA, property tax, building code, and community development district, Florida property taxes: assessment, exemptions, and tax certificates
Residential property tax summary: The section 689.261 disclosure warning that the seller's tax bill is not a reliable prediction of the buyer's taxes. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: energy efficiency, HOA, property tax, building code, and community development district
Three-day cancellation right: A buyer's nonwaivable right to cancel within three days after receipt, or before closing if sooner, when the HOA summary was not timely delivered. — Real estate contracts · Taught in Mandatory disclosures: energy efficiency, HOA, property tax, building code, and community development district
Assignment of mortgage: A transfer of the lender's interest in a mortgage. It is different from a discharge, which records a paid mortgage's release. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Lien and title theory, promissory notes, and mortgages, Mortgage clauses: acceleration, due-on-sale, prepayment, defeasance, and subordination
Estoppel letter: A payoff statement giving the unpaid balance and daily interest. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Lien and title theory, promissory notes, and mortgages, Mortgage clauses: acceleration, due-on-sale, prepayment, defeasance, and subordination
Lien theory: The view that a borrower keeps title to mortgaged property while the lender holds only a lien. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Lien and title theory, promissory notes, and mortgages
Maker: The borrower who signs the promissory note. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Lien and title theory, promissory notes, and mortgages
Mortgage: A pledge of identified real property as security for a loan. It is a voluntary, specific lien. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Lien and title theory, promissory notes, and mortgages
Mortgage default: Failure to meet the loan obligations, which does not itself transfer ownership to the lender. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Lien and title theory, promissory notes, and mortgages
Mortgage release: Under Florida law, a release the mortgagee or servicer must execute and record within 60 days after full payment or payment under the estoppel letter; it does not discharge remaining personal liability. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Lien and title theory, promissory notes, and mortgages, Mortgage clauses: acceleration, due-on-sale, prepayment, defeasance, and subordination
Mortgagee: The lender who receives a mortgage as security for a loan. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Lien and title theory, promissory notes, and mortgages
Mortgagor: The borrower who gives a mortgage on property to secure a loan. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Lien and title theory, promissory notes, and mortgages
Payee: The party to whom payment under the note is promised. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Lien and title theory, promissory notes, and mortgages
Promissory note: The document stating the borrower's debt and promise to repay. A mortgage or deed of trust separately secures it with the property. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Lien and title theory, promissory notes, and mortgages
Title theory: The view that legal title is conveyed to the lender as security while the borrower keeps equitable title. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Lien and title theory, promissory notes, and mortgages
Acceleration: A clause letting the lender demand the entire remaining debt after a specified trigger, commonly default. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Mortgage clauses: acceleration, due-on-sale, prepayment, defeasance, and subordination
Alienation clause: Another name for the due-on-sale clause, which addresses transfer of the property. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Mortgage clauses: acceleration, due-on-sale, prepayment, defeasance, and subordination
Defeasance: A clause providing that the security interest ends when the debt is fully satisfied. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Mortgage clauses: acceleration, due-on-sale, prepayment, defeasance, and subordination
Due-on-sale clause: A loan provision letting the lender demand full payment when the property is transferred, which can limit assumptions and other existing-loan transfers. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Mortgage clauses: acceleration, due-on-sale, prepayment, defeasance, and subordination, Buying mortgaged property (subject to, assumption) and other types of financing
Prepayment: Paying a loan off early; a prepayment provision addresses whether a charge applies. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Mortgage clauses: acceleration, due-on-sale, prepayment, defeasance, and subordination
Satisfaction of the debt: Payment of the obligation in full, distinct from documenting the release of the lien. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Mortgage clauses: acceleration, due-on-sale, prepayment, defeasance, and subordination
Subordination: A change in lien priority, as when a lienholder agrees that another lien will rank ahead of its own. The debt itself remains. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Mortgage clauses: acceleration, due-on-sale, prepayment, defeasance, and subordination
Approved lender: A lender authorized to make FHA-insured loans. — Residential mortgages · Taught in FHA-insured loans
Assumption: A buyer's agreement to take on personal liability for the seller's existing loan. Buying subject to the loan does not by itself create that liability. — Residential mortgages · Taught in FHA-insured loans, Buying mortgaged property (subject to, assumption) and other types of financing
Federal Housing Administration: FHA, part of HUD, which insures mortgages made by approved lenders rather than ordinarily lending money itself. — Residential mortgages · Taught in FHA-insured loans
FHA appraisal: An appraisal addressing value and property acceptability requirements; it is not a home inspection and does not warrant the property is defect-free. — Residential mortgages · Taught in FHA-insured loans
FHA mortgage insurance: Insurance from the Federal Housing Administration that protects the lender's credit risk on qualifying loans. It includes mortgage insurance premiums and does not pay for physical damage to the house. — Residential mortgages · Taught in FHA-insured loans
FHA-insured loan: A mortgage made by an approved lender and insured by FHA against covered losses from borrower default. — Residential mortgages · Taught in FHA-insured loans
Mortgage insurance premium: An FHA charge, separate from interest, taxes, and homeowners insurance; ordinary purchase loans generally have an upfront premium and an annual premium paid monthly. — Residential mortgages · Taught in FHA-insured loans
Mortgage limits: Maximum loan amounts that depend on area and property size. — Residential mortgages · Taught in FHA-insured loans
Principal residence: The home the borrower occupies, generally required for FHA purchase financing. — Residential mortgages · Taught in FHA-insured loans, Federal income taxes on real estate: home sale exclusion, deductions, and exchanges
Release of liability: Freeing the original borrower from personal liability, a step separate from approving an assumption. — Residential mortgages · Taught in FHA-insured loans
Section 203(k): FHA rehabilitation financing combining qualifying repairs with a purchase or refinance of a one- to four-unit home. — Residential mortgages · Taught in FHA-insured loans
Underwriting: A lender's evaluation of the borrower's income, debts, credit and assets and of the property's value and condition. Program eligibility is not loan approval. — Residential mortgages · Taught in FHA-insured loans
Certificate of eligibility: A document helping establish a veteran's eligibility and entitlement; it is not loan approval. — Residential mortgages · Taught in VA-guaranteed loans
Entitlement: The amount of VA guaranty available to an eligible borrower. Eligibility and entitlement do not replace financial qualification. — Residential mortgages · Taught in VA-guaranteed loans
Funding fee: A fee charged on VA loans unless the borrower is exempt. VA loans have no monthly mortgage insurance. — Residential mortgages · Taught in VA-guaranteed loans
Guaranty: VA's promise to cover part of the lender's loss, not a gift or payment of the borrower's debt. — Residential mortgages · Taught in VA-guaranteed loans
Interest rate reduction refinance: A VA refinance under section 3710(e) in which certified previous occupancy can satisfy the occupancy provision. — Residential mortgages · Taught in VA-guaranteed loans
Manufactured home: A factory-built dwelling that may be owned separately from the land or, when permanently affixed, treated as real property under state law. Ownership of the home must be distinguished from ownership or rental of its site. — Residential mortgages · Taught in VA-guaranteed loans
No down payment financing: Financing without a down payment, available when entitlement, value, and lender requirements permit; closing costs can remain. — Residential mortgages · Taught in VA-guaranteed loans
Residual income: Money remaining for family living expenses after relevant obligations, used in VA underwriting. — Residential mortgages · Taught in VA-guaranteed loans
VA appraisal: An appraisal determining reasonable value and suitability as a dwelling; it is not a home inspection. — Residential mortgages · Taught in VA-guaranteed loans
VA-guaranteed loan: A loan made by a participating lender with the Department of Veterans Affairs backing part of the lender's risk; the borrower remains responsible for repayment. — Residential mortgages · Taught in VA-guaranteed loans
Automatic termination of PMI: PMI ends generally at scheduled 78% of original value if the borrower is current; paying the balance down early does not itself trigger it. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Conventional loans and private mortgage insurance
Conforming loan: A loan that meets applicable Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac purchase standards. Conforming and conventional describe different features. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Conventional loans and private mortgage insurance, The primary and secondary mortgage markets
Conventional loan: A mortgage loan that is not federally insured or guaranteed. It may be conforming or nonconforming and can have less than 20% down. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Conventional loans and private mortgage insurance
Down payment: The buyer's cash paid toward the purchase price at closing. Earnest money is commonly credited toward it but is not the whole down payment. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Conventional loans and private mortgage insurance
Final termination: PMI ends on the first day of the month after the amortization period's midpoint if the borrower is current. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Conventional loans and private mortgage insurance
Homeowners Protection Act: The federal law governing cancellation and automatic termination of covered borrower-paid PMI on conventional loans. FHA insurance follows different rules. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Conventional loans and private mortgage insurance
Jumbo loan: A loan too large to meet conforming standards. It can be conventional but nonconforming. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Conventional loans and private mortgage insurance
Lending value: The value base for LTV, generally the lower of the purchase price and the appraised value. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Conventional loans and private mortgage insurance
Loan-to-value ratio: The loan amount divided by underwriting value, times 100. Purchase lending commonly uses the lower of purchase price or appraised value; a $240,000 loan on $300,000 of value is 80%. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Conventional loans and private mortgage insurance, Qualifying the buyer and finance math
PMI cancellation: The borrower's written request to the servicer, once the balance reaches eighty percent of original property value, with a good payment history, current payments and any required evidence of no value decline and no subordinate lien. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Conventional loans and private mortgage insurance
Private mortgage insurance: Mortgage insurance on a conventional loan, abbreviated PMI, commonly used with less than 20% down. Covered borrower-paid PMI can be cancelled at 80% of original value and generally ends at 78%. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Conventional loans and private mortgage insurance
Unearned premiums: Premiums the servicer must return within 45 days after PMI cancellation or termination. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Conventional loans and private mortgage insurance
Balloon payment: A large final loan payment. Its presence alone does not establish predatory lending. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Buying mortgaged property (subject to, assumption) and other types of financing
Blanket mortgage: A single mortgage covering multiple parcels, often with partial releases as parcels are sold. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Buying mortgaged property (subject to, assumption) and other types of financing
Bridge loan: Temporary financing between transactions, such as before the old home's sale proceeds arrive. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Buying mortgaged property (subject to, assumption) and other types of financing
Construction loan: A loan that commonly releases funds in draws as work progresses. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Buying mortgaged property (subject to, assumption) and other types of financing
Contract for deed: Another name for an installment land contract: the seller retains legal title, and delivers a deed only after the buyer completes the agreed payments and performance. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Buying mortgaged property (subject to, assumption) and other types of financing
Home equity line of credit: A loan secured by home equity that allows draws up to an agreed limit during its draw period. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Buying mortgaged property (subject to, assumption) and other types of financing
Open-end mortgage: A mortgage that can secure later advances under its terms. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Buying mortgaged property (subject to, assumption) and other types of financing
Package mortgage: A mortgage covering real estate together with specified personal property, such as listed furniture. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Buying mortgaged property (subject to, assumption) and other types of financing
Payoff estoppel letter: A letter itemizing the unpaid balance and daily interest required by section 701.04; the payoff differs from the original loan amount. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Buying mortgaged property (subject to, assumption) and other types of financing
Purchase-money mortgage: A mortgage the buyer gives to secure financing of the purchase price, such as a seller's note. With it, the buyer receives legal title at closing. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Buying mortgaged property (subject to, assumption) and other types of financing
Sale-leaseback: A sale in which the owner becomes the buyer's tenant. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Buying mortgaged property (subject to, assumption) and other types of financing
Subject to: Taking property subject to an existing mortgage: the buyer acquires property exposed to the lien without personally assuming the seller's debt. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Buying mortgaged property (subject to, assumption) and other types of financing
Wraparound mortgage: A loan covering an existing loan balance plus additional financing, with the buyer paying the wrap lender who stays responsible for the underlying loan. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Buying mortgaged property (subject to, assumption) and other types of financing
Cash to close: The amount the buyer must bring to closing: closing costs plus items such as the down payment, minus the deposit and credits. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Qualifying the buyer and finance math
Discount point: A loan charge equal to one percent of the loan amount, not of the price. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Qualifying the buyer and finance math, Mortgage fees: origination fees and discount points
Gross monthly income: Annual gross income divided by 12, used in the monthly qualifying ratios. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Qualifying the buyer and finance math
Housing ratio: Monthly qualifying housing expense divided by gross monthly qualifying income. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Qualifying the buyer and finance math
Payment factor: The monthly payment per $1,000 borrowed for a given rate and term, used to convert a payment budget into a loan amount. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Qualifying the buyer and finance math
PITI: Principal, interest, taxes and insurance: the four parts of a typical monthly housing payment. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Qualifying the buyer and finance math
Preapproval: A more verified lender commitment that remains subject to conditions. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Qualifying the buyer and finance math
Prequalification: A lender's preliminary indication that a buyer may qualify for a loan. It is not a financing or appraisal contingency. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Qualifying the buyer and finance math
Total debt ratio: Housing expense plus other counted monthly debt payments, divided by gross monthly qualifying income. — Residential mortgages · Taught in Qualifying the buyer and finance math
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau: The agency administering and enforcing federal consumer financial protections, including mortgage protections. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in The mortgage market, the money supply, and federal regulatory bodies
Discount rate: The rate at which eligible depository institutions borrow from Reserve Banks, not a consumer mortgage rate. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in The mortgage market, the money supply, and federal regulatory bodies
Fannie Mae: A secondary-market company that, like Freddie Mac, purchases eligible mortgages and supports securitization. Their standards define conforming loans. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in The mortgage market, the money supply, and federal regulatory bodies, The primary and secondary mortgage markets
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation: The agency insuring eligible deposits at insured banks; deposit insurance does not protect a borrower from foreclosure. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in The mortgage market, the money supply, and federal regulatory bodies
Federal Housing Finance Agency: The agency regulating and supervising Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Bank System. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in The mortgage market, the money supply, and federal regulatory bodies
Federal Open Market Committee: The Federal Reserve body that directs open market policy. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in The mortgage market, the money supply, and federal regulatory bodies
Federal Reserve: The central bank, whose goals include maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in The mortgage market, the money supply, and federal regulatory bodies
Freddie Mac: A secondary-market institution that purchases mortgages and supports mortgage securitization. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in The mortgage market, the money supply, and federal regulatory bodies, The primary and secondary mortgage markets
Ginnie Mae: A federal entity that guarantees payments on eligible mortgage-backed securities. It does not originate home loans. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in The mortgage market, the money supply, and federal regulatory bodies, The primary and secondary mortgage markets
Mortgage banker: A firm that originates and funds loans and may sell them to investors. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in The mortgage market, the money supply, and federal regulatory bodies
Mortgage broker: A party who arranges financing by matching borrowers with lenders and submitting applications, without funding the loans. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in The mortgage market, the money supply, and federal regulatory bodies, The primary and secondary mortgage markets
Mortgage-backed security: A security backed by a pool of mortgages. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in The mortgage market, the money supply, and federal regulatory bodies
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency: The agency that charters and supervises national banks and federal savings associations. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in The mortgage market, the money supply, and federal regulatory bodies
Primary mortgage market: The market in which borrowers obtain new loans from originating lenders. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in The mortgage market, the money supply, and federal regulatory bodies, The primary and secondary mortgage markets
Secondary mortgage market: The market in which existing loans and mortgage-backed securities are bought and sold, replenishing originators' funds for new lending. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in The mortgage market, the money supply, and federal regulatory bodies, The primary and secondary mortgage markets
Servicing: Collecting loan payments and administering the account. Loan ownership and servicing can be separated, and a loan sale does not change the note's terms. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in The mortgage market, the money supply, and federal regulatory bodies
Liquidity: The ability to turn loans into funds; secondary market liquidity supports lending capacity but does not ensure approval. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in The primary and secondary mortgage markets
Loan servicing: Collecting payments and administering the account; a lender can sell the loan and keep servicing. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in The primary and secondary mortgage markets
Portfolio lending: Keeping a loan rather than selling it, which keeps the lender's capital committed. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in The primary and secondary mortgage markets
Securitization: Pooling mortgages into securities sold to investors. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in The primary and secondary mortgage markets
Break-even period: The extra upfront cost divided by monthly payment savings, giving the months needed to recover it. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in Mortgage fees: origination fees and discount points
Discount points: Upfront charges based on the loan amount; one point equals 1% of the loan. A point does not guarantee a one-percentage-point rate reduction. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in Mortgage fees: origination fees and discount points
Loan amount: Price minus down payment, the base for points and percentage origination fees. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in Mortgage fees: origination fees and discount points
Note rate: The contractual interest rate stated in the promissory note, which can be lower than the APR. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in Mortgage fees: origination fees and discount points
Origination fee: A charge compensating the lender for making the loan, either flat or a percentage of the loan amount. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in Mortgage fees: origination fees and discount points
Prepaid interest: Interest paid at closing for the period before the first regular payment, a charge that may change without a numerical tolerance cap but must be estimated in good faith. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in Mortgage fees: origination fees and discount points
Referral payment: A payment for settlement-service referrals, prohibited by 12 U.S.C. 2607 for federally related mortgage loans, as opposed to bona fide compensation for actual services. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in Mortgage fees: origination fees and discount points
Truth in Lending disclosure: 15 U.S.C. 1638 disclosures of credit costs, including the annual percentage rate and residential mortgage originator fees. — Types of mortgages and sources of financing · Taught in Mortgage fees: origination fees and discount points
Commission notice: A commercial commission notice under section 475.705(1)(e) may state the claimed commission as a dollar amount or a formula such as a percentage of sales price. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Real estate math: percentages, area, and profit and loss
Margin on selling price: Profit divided by selling price, a different denominator than profit on cost. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Real estate math: percentages, area, and profit and loss
Percentage problem: Part equals whole times decimal rate; to find the rate divide part by whole, and to find the whole divide part by the decimal rate. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Real estate math: percentages, area, and profit and loss
Price per square foot: Price divided by square footage; multiplying area by unit price gives the total price. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Real estate math: percentages, area, and profit and loss
Profit: Selling price minus cost; loss is cost minus selling price. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Real estate math: percentages, area, and profit and loss
Profit on cost: Profit divided by cost, as opposed to margin on selling price. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Real estate math: percentages, area, and profit and loss
Reverse percentage: Recovering cost by dividing resale price by one plus the profit rate or one minus the loss rate. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Real estate math: percentages, area, and profit and loss
Sales price from commission: Commission divided by the decimal commission rate gives the sale price. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Real estate math: percentages, area, and profit and loss
Square mile: A unit of area equal to 5,280 feet squared, or 27,878,400 square feet, which is 640 acres. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Real estate math: percentages, area, and profit and loss
Customary allocation: Sellers customarily pay deed stamps and borrowers loan stamps and intangible tax, though the contract can allocate otherwise; it differs from statutory liability. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Florida documentary stamp taxes and the intangible tax on mortgages
Documentary stamp tax on deeds: A Florida tax generally $0.70 for each $100 or fraction of consideration; Miami-Dade uses $0.60 plus a $0.45 surtax for transfers other than single-family residences. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Florida documentary stamp taxes and the intangible tax on mortgages
Documentary stamp tax on mortgages: A Florida tax of $0.35 for each $100 or fraction of the taxable debt; the units are rounded up to a whole unit. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Florida documentary stamp taxes and the intangible tax on mortgages
Intangible tax: Florida's nonrecurring tax of two mills, $0.002 per taxable dollar, on obligations secured by Florida real property; the principal is not rounded to $100 units. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Florida documentary stamp taxes and the intangible tax on mortgages
Mill: One dollar of tax per $1,000 of taxable value, or 0.001. Fifteen mills equals 1.5 percent, or $1.50 per $100. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Florida documentary stamp taxes and the intangible tax on mortgages, Property tax math: millage and exemptions
Note notation: A note and mortgage evidencing the same debt do not pay two full stamp taxes; the tax is paid on the recorded mortgage and noted on the note. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Florida documentary stamp taxes and the intangible tax on mortgages
Renewal relief: Florida's conditional relief from documentary stamps on renewals, and from intangible tax on certain previously taxed assignments, assumptions, and refinancings. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Florida documentary stamp taxes and the intangible tax on mortgages
Section 199.135: The Florida intangible tax provision making the taxpayer solely liable but permitting the charge to be passed to the borrower; it is due when the instrument is recorded or within 30 days. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Florida documentary stamp taxes and the intangible tax on mortgages
Taxable indebtedness: The secured debt that is the base for mortgage stamps and intangible tax. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Florida documentary stamp taxes and the intangible tax on mortgages
Accrued expense: An expense the seller owes up to closing but the buyer will pay later, creating a seller debit and buyer credit. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Prorations: 365-day and 360-day methods
Closing day ownership: The contract or problem states whether the buyer or seller owns the day of closing, which changes the seller's day count by one. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Prorations: 365-day and 360-day methods
Collected rent: Rent the seller collected that covers the buyer's ownership period, creating a seller debit and buyer credit. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Prorations: 365-day and 360-day methods
Credit: A settlement entry recognizing funds or an adjustment in a party's favor, such as loan proceeds or earnest money credited to the buyer. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Prorations: 365-day and 360-day methods
Day-count convention: The rule for counting days in a proration, such as a 360-day year of 30-day months or a 365-day year, along with who owns the closing day. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Prorations: 365-day and 360-day methods
Debit: A settlement entry charging a party, such as the price charged to the buyer or the seller's share of unpaid taxes. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Prorations: 365-day and 360-day methods
Early-payment discount: Section 197.162 discount of 4 percent in November, 3 in December, 2 in January, 1 in February, and none in March, distinct from the ownership-day calculation. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Prorations: 365-day and 360-day methods
Prepaid expense: An expense the seller paid that benefits the buyer after closing, creating a buyer debit and seller credit. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Prorations: 365-day and 360-day methods
Property taxes in arrears: Florida property taxes are paid after the year; at a closing before payment, the seller's share is ordinarily a seller debit and buyer credit. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Prorations: 365-day and 360-day methods
Proration: Allocating income or expenses, such as taxes or dues, between seller and buyer by their ownership periods. Unpaid taxes give a seller debit and buyer credit. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Prorations: 365-day and 360-day methods
Assumed debt: A balance the buyer takes over as part of the price, recorded as a buyer credit and seller debit, with no cash payoff. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Closing statements: debits and credits for buyer and seller
Buyer credit: An item that reduces the cash the buyer must bring, such as loan proceeds or an earnest-money deposit. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Closing statements: debits and credits for buyer and seller
Buyer debit: An item that increases the amount the buyer must provide, such as the sale price or a loan fee. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Closing statements: debits and credits for buyer and seller
Cash due from buyer: Buyer debits minus buyer credits. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Closing statements: debits and credits for buyer and seller
Closing statement: A record accounting for the purchase price, financing, adjustments, and expenses for the buyer and seller. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Closing statements: debits and credits for buyer and seller
Documentary stamps on the deed: Section 201.02 sets the general rate of seventy cents per $100 of consideration; if the contract assigns it to the seller, it is a seller debit with no buyer credit. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Closing statements: debits and credits for buyer and seller
Earnest money credit: A deposit already held and applied at closing, which is a buyer credit. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Closing statements: debits and credits for buyer and seller
Loan payoff: The seller's existing mortgage balance paid to the lender, a seller debit and not a buyer credit. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Closing statements: debits and credits for buyer and seller
Seller allowance: A concession from the seller that debits the seller and credits the buyer. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Closing statements: debits and credits for buyer and seller
Seller credit on closing statement: An item that increases the seller's proceeds, such as the sale price. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Closing statements: debits and credits for buyer and seller
Seller debit: An item that reduces the seller's proceeds, such as a mortgage payoff, a commission, or a deed tax the contract assigns to the seller. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Closing statements: debits and credits for buyer and seller
Seller proceeds: Seller credits minus seller debits. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Closing statements: debits and credits for buyer and seller
Settlement disclosure itemization: Under RESPA section 2603(a), the settlement statement clearly itemizes borrower and seller charges and identifies whose interest a title insurance premium insures. — Real estate related computations and closing of transactions · Taught in Closing statements: debits and credits for buyer and seller
Asking price: The price a seller requests for a property. — Real estate markets and analysis · Taught in Characteristics of the real estate market
Buyer's market: A condition where available supply is high relative to effective demand, giving buyers more alternatives and bargaining power. — Real estate markets and analysis · Taught in Characteristics of the real estate market
Durability: Land is durable and buildings serve for many years, though improvements wear out and become obsolete. — Real estate markets and analysis · Taught in Characteristics of the real estate market
Effective demand: Desire for property backed by the purchasing power to buy it. — Real estate markets and analysis · Taught in Characteristics of the real estate market
Heterogeneity: The uniqueness of every parcel in location, size, improvements, condition, and legal rights; also called nonhomogeneity. — Real estate markets and analysis · Taught in Characteristics of the real estate market
Illiquidity: The difficulty of converting real estate into cash promptly without a substantial price concession. — Real estate markets and analysis · Taught in Characteristics of the real estate market
Immobility: The physical characteristic that a parcel of land cannot be moved to another location. Moving a building does not move the land under it. — Real estate markets and analysis · Taught in Characteristics of the real estate market
Imperfect market: A market lacking uniform products and complete information, with negotiated transactions and infrequent trading. — Real estate markets and analysis · Taught in Characteristics of the real estate market
Inelastic supply: Short-run supply that responds slowly to demand because new buildings take time to plan, finance, approve, and construct. — Real estate markets and analysis · Taught in Characteristics of the real estate market
Local market: Real estate is traded in local markets divided by property use, price range, and buyer needs; strength in one segment does not establish it in another. — Real estate markets and analysis · Taught in Characteristics of the real estate market
Seller's market: A condition where available supply is low relative to effective demand, giving sellers more bargaining power. — Real estate markets and analysis · Taught in Characteristics of the real estate market
Supply: The properties available for a particular use, location, and price range. — Real estate markets and analysis · Taught in Characteristics of the real estate market
Appraisal Foundation: A private nonprofit organization whose boards develop appraisal standards (USPAP) and minimum appraiser qualification criteria. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Appraisal regulation and USPAP
Appraisal management company: A company that coordinates appraisal assignments and related services but does not replace the appraiser's independent judgment. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Appraisal regulation and USPAP
Appraisal report: A communication of an appraiser's opinion of value. A federally related transaction needs a written report, which generally identifies the property and rights, explains the procedures and reasoning, and states the effective date and report date. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Appraisal regulation and USPAP
Appraisal review: Evaluation of another appraiser's work, which may or may not include a new value opinion. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Appraisal regulation and USPAP
Certified general appraiser: A credentialed appraiser qualified to issue reports for any type of real property, still subject to assignment-specific competency. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Appraisal regulation and USPAP
Competency: An appraiser's duty to have or acquire the knowledge needed for a specific assignment. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Appraisal regulation and USPAP
Federally related transaction: A transaction with a qualifying federal regulatory connection that requires an appraiser's services under FIRREA. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Appraisal regulation and USPAP
Registered trainee: An appraiser trainee who works under a certified appraiser's direct supervision, with the supervisor fully responsible for the trainee's reports. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Appraisal regulation and USPAP
Scope of work: The type and extent of research and analysis needed for an appraisal to produce credible results. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Appraisal regulation and USPAP
Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice: USPAP, standards for ethical conduct and credible appraisal development and communication, adopted by the Appraisal Standards Board of The Appraisal Foundation. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Appraisal regulation and USPAP
Work file retention: Appraisers keep work files, and management companies order files, for five years or the USPAP period, whichever is greater, and at least two years after trial for litigation. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Appraisal regulation and USPAP
Anticipation: Present value reflects the future benefits a property is expected to provide, such as rent, enjoyment or resale proceeds. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Market value and the principles of value
Assemblage: Combining parcels into a larger one. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Market value and the principles of value
Conformity: Value tends to be supported when a property is compatible with neighborhood uses and market expectations, not necessarily identical in design. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Market value and the principles of value
Contribution: The principle that an improvement's worth is the value it adds to the whole, not its cost. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Market value and the principles of value
Cost: The amount spent to acquire or produce something. An improvement's cost does not establish what it adds to value. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Market value and the principles of value
Highest and best use: The reasonably probable use that is legally permissible, physically possible, financially feasible and maximally productive. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Market value and the principles of value
Investment value: Value to a particular investor based on that investor's own financing and return requirements, which can differ from market value. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Market value and the principles of value
Just value: The Florida tax-roll value, recorded separately from assessed and taxable values. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Market value and the principles of value, Florida property taxes: assessment, exemptions, and tax certificates
Market value: An opinion of the most probable price a property should bring in a competitive, open market under normal sale conditions as of a specified date. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Market value and the principles of value
Plottage: The excess of the combined value of assembled parcels over their separate values. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Market value and the principles of value
Price: The amount asked, offered or actually paid. A completed sale produces a transaction price. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Market value and the principles of value
Progression: The upward influence on a lesser property's value from superior surrounding properties. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Market value and the principles of value
Regression: The downward influence on a superior property's value from inferior surrounding properties. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Market value and the principles of value
Scarcity: The economic characteristic of limited supply relative to demand. Scarcity alone does not mean a high price; buyers must want the property. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Market value and the principles of value
Substitution: A buyer generally will not pay more for a property than the cost of an equally desirable substitute available without undue delay. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Market value and the principles of value, The sales comparison approach
Transferability: The ability to convey ownership rights; a title problem can impair it. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Market value and the principles of value
Utility: A property's capacity to satisfy a need, such as a useful floor plan. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Market value and the principles of value
Value in use: The value of a property's usefulness for a particular use. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Market value and the principles of value
Adjusted indication: A comparable's sale price after adjustments, read as evidence of the subject's value. It does not change what the comparable actually sold for. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The sales comparison approach
Adjustment: A dollar or percentage change made to a comparable's sale price for a difference from the subject: subtract for a superior feature, add for an inferior one. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The sales comparison approach, Comparative market analysis and broker price opinions
Comparable: A recently sold or listed property similar to the subject, used as evidence of the subject's value. Often called a comp. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The sales comparison approach
Financing concession: Unusual financing terms in a sale that may require adjustment. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The sales comparison approach
Inferior comparable: A comparable with worse features, which receives an addition. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The sales comparison approach
Paired sales: Sales differing mainly in one feature, used to isolate that feature's market contribution. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The sales comparison approach
Reconciliation: Weighing the indications from the valuation approaches by their reliability and relevance to reach a conclusion, rather than averaging them. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The sales comparison approach
Sales comparison approach: An approach using recent comparable sales and the principle of substitution, adjusting each comparable to the subject and never the subject to the comparable. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The sales comparison approach
Section 193.011: The Florida statute listing factors for just valuation, including arm's-length present cash value, use, location, size, cost, condition, and income. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The sales comparison approach
Subject property: The property being valued or priced. Comparables are adjusted toward it; the subject itself is held still. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The sales comparison approach
Superior comparable: A comparable with better features, which receives a subtraction. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The sales comparison approach
Time adjustment: An adjustment for market price changes between the sale date and the effective date. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The sales comparison approach
Accrued depreciation: The total loss in value of the improvements from all causes, compared with their cost new. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The cost-depreciation approach
Age-life method: A depreciation estimate that divides effective age by total economic life and multiplies the result by improvement cost new. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The cost-depreciation approach
Comparative unit method: Estimating cost using the cost per square foot or cubic foot of comparable construction. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The cost-depreciation approach
Cost approach: A valuation approach that adds land value to the current cost new of the improvements minus accrued depreciation. It is most useful for new or special-purpose buildings. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The cost-depreciation approach
Cost new: The current cost to construct the improvements as new, measured as reproduction or replacement cost, not the owner's historical spending. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The cost-depreciation approach
Curable depreciation: A deficiency whose correction adds value that justifies its cost. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The cost-depreciation approach
Direct costs: Construction costs for labor and materials that go into building the improvements. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The cost-depreciation approach
Economic life: The period over which improvements contribute value to the property. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The cost-depreciation approach
Effective age: A building's age as indicated by its condition and utility, which may be more or less than its actual age since construction. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The cost-depreciation approach
Entrepreneurial incentive: The amount a developer expects to earn for coordinating a project, included as a component of complete improvement cost new. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The cost-depreciation approach
External obsolescence: Loss in value from causes outside the property, such as neighboring industrial noise or reduced local demand. Also called economic obsolescence; generally incurable by the owner. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The cost-depreciation approach
Functional obsolescence: Loss in value from a problem within the property itself, such as an awkward layout or an expensive feature buyers do not value. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The cost-depreciation approach
Incurable depreciation: A deficiency whose correction costs more than it adds to value. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The cost-depreciation approach
Indirect costs: Construction costs other than labor and materials, such as design, permits and fees. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The cost-depreciation approach
Physical deterioration: Loss in value from wear, decay or damage to the improvements, such as a leaking roof or worn flooring. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The cost-depreciation approach
Quantity survey method: Itemizing materials, labor, and associated costs in detail. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The cost-depreciation approach
Replacement cost: The current cost to build a building with equivalent utility using modern materials, standards and design. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The cost-depreciation approach
Reproduction cost: The current cost to build an exact duplicate of a building with the same design and materials, including outdated features. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The cost-depreciation approach
Unit-in-place method: Estimating cost from installed components such as walls or roofing. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The cost-depreciation approach
Capitalization rate: The rate used to convert annual net operating income into value: value equals NOI divided by the rate. A higher rate gives a lower value. Also called a cap rate; it is not a mortgage interest rate. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The income capitalization approach, Real estate as an investment: analysis, risk, and leverage
Debt service: Mortgage principal and interest payments. They are not operating expenses, so financing does not change NOI. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The income capitalization approach, Real estate as an investment: analysis, risk, and leverage
Direct capitalization: Estimating value by dividing one year's net operating income by a capitalization rate expressed as a decimal. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The income capitalization approach
Discounted cash flow: Analysis of multiple future cash flows and resale proceeds instead of one stabilized NOI. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The income capitalization approach
Effective gross income: Potential gross income minus vacancy and collection losses, plus other income. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The income capitalization approach, Real estate as an investment: analysis, risk, and leverage
Gross rent multiplier: A comparable's sale price divided by its gross rent for a stated period, usually monthly. Abbreviated GRM; multiplying the subject's rent for the same period by it estimates value. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The income capitalization approach
Income capitalization approach: An appraisal approach estimating the value of income-producing property from expected earning power, based on anticipation. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The income capitalization approach
Low-income housing tax credit property: Property for which section 193.017 excludes the tax credits and financing they generate from income and recognizes actual rent-restricted rental income. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The income capitalization approach
Net operating income: Effective gross income minus operating expenses, before debt service. Abbreviated NOI; it is the income capitalized into value. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The income capitalization approach, Real estate as an investment: analysis, risk, and leverage
Operating expenses: Recurring costs of running a property, such as property taxes, insurance, management and routine maintenance. Mortgage payments, income taxes and accounting depreciation are excluded. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The income capitalization approach, Real estate as an investment: analysis, risk, and leverage
Potential gross income: A property's income at full occupancy, before vacancy and collection losses. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The income capitalization approach
Replacement reserves: Money set aside for periodically replacing building components; treatment in an income calculation follows the problem's stated rule. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The income capitalization approach
Stabilized income: Income estimated at normal sustained occupancy and expense levels. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The income capitalization approach
Vacancy and collection losses: Income lost to unoccupied units and to rent tenants owe but do not pay, subtracted from potential gross income. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in The income capitalization approach
Active listing: A property currently offered for sale, which shows competing asking prices but not completed sale prices. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Comparative market analysis and broker price opinions
Broker price opinion: An estimate of a property's likely selling price for a specified business purpose, such as marketing lender-owned property. Abbreviated BPO; it is not an appraisal. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Comparative market analysis and broker price opinions
Closed sale: A completed transaction, which supplies evidence of an actual sale price. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Comparative market analysis and broker price opinions
Expired listing: A listing that ended without a sale, which may suggest unsuccessful pricing or marketing, though failure to sell can have other causes. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Comparative market analysis and broker price opinions
Intended use: The purpose for which an opinion will be used, to identify before accepting an assignment because a CMA or BPO cannot substitute where an appraisal is required. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Comparative market analysis and broker price opinions
Opinion of value: An ordinary-course licensee opinion that must not be referred to or construed as an appraisal. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Comparative market analysis and broker price opinions
Pending listing: A listed property under contract but not yet closed, which may suggest market direction before its final price is known. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Comparative market analysis and broker price opinions
Valuation services: Florida permits licensees to provide valuation services for compensation without an appraiser credential if they do not claim to be certified, licensed, or registered appraisers. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Comparative market analysis and broker price opinions
Withdrawn listing: A listing taken off the market before it sold or expired, which documents an unsuccessful offering rather than a sale. — Real estate appraisal · Taught in Comparative market analysis and broker price opinions
Appreciation: An increase in property value, often expressed as a percentage of the starting value. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Real estate as an investment: analysis, risk, and leverage
Before-tax cash flow: Net operating income minus debt service, assuming no other cash adjustments. Tax depreciation is not subtracted. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Real estate as an investment: analysis, risk, and leverage
Capital improvement: A substantial addition or upgrade to a property, such as a new rental wing, which is separated from routine operating expenses. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Real estate as an investment: analysis, risk, and leverage, Federal income taxes on real estate: home sale exclusion, deductions, and exchanges
Cash-on-cash return: Annual before-tax cash flow divided by the initial cash invested. Unrealized appreciation is not added to it. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Real estate as an investment: analysis, risk, and leverage
Equity: Current property value minus the outstanding debt secured by it. It is not the same as net sale proceeds, and a higher LTV means less equity. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Real estate as an investment: analysis, risk, and leverage
Illiquidity risk: The risk that selling takes time and cannot readily convert to cash. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Real estate as an investment: analysis, risk, and leverage
Leverage: The use of borrowed money. It reduces the equity needed to control a property and magnifies gains and losses relative to that equity. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Real estate as an investment: analysis, risk, and leverage
Section 1031 exchange: Under 26 U.S.C. § 1031, nonrecognition of gain or loss for a qualifying exchange of real property held for investment or productive business use for like-kind real property held for those purposes. Property held primarily for sale is excluded, and the result is generally tax deferral. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Real estate as an investment: analysis, risk, and leverage
Asset purchase: A purchase of specified assets, with obligations addressed in the transaction. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Business opportunity brokerage
Balance sheet: A statement of assets, liabilities, and owner's equity at a date: assets minus liabilities equals equity. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Business opportunity brokerage
Business opportunity brokerage: Bringing buyers and sellers together for the transfer of a business, which Florida section 475.01 includes in the broker definition even without a land sale. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Business opportunity brokerage
Cash flow statement: A statement explaining cash movements; accounting profit is not the same as available cash. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Business opportunity brokerage
Going-concern value: Value recognizing an assembled, operating enterprise, as opposed to selling separate assets. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Business opportunity brokerage
Goodwill: Benefits such as reputation and repeat patronage that support earnings beyond identifiable assets. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Business opportunity brokerage
Income statement: A report of revenue and expenses over a period. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Business opportunity brokerage
Intangible assets: Nonphysical assets such as trade names and customer relationships. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Business opportunity brokerage
Leased premises: The location a business occupies under a lease, whose term, rent, renewals, and assignment provisions must be reviewed. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Business opportunity brokerage
Liquidation value: Value assuming a constrained sale, with a limited sale period and a motivated seller, which may mean selling assets separately. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Business opportunity brokerage
Normalized earnings: Earnings adjusted for unusual expenses, owner compensation, and nonrecurring income, without accepting unsupported add-backs. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Business opportunity brokerage
Ownership-interest purchase: A purchase of interests in the entity, which continues to hold its assets and liabilities. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Business opportunity brokerage
Successor liability: The possibility that a buyer takes on a seller's obligations, requiring qualified professional review. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Business opportunity brokerage
Tangible assets: Physical business assets such as inventory, furniture, and equipment. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Business opportunity brokerage
Working capital: Current assets minus current liabilities, assessing short-term operating resources. — Real estate investments and business opportunity brokerage · Taught in Business opportunity brokerage
Ad valorem tax: A tax based on value, calculated from taxable value and millage. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Florida property taxes: assessment, exemptions, and tax certificates
Assessed value: The value assigned to property for tax purposes, which can differ from market value and sale price. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Florida property taxes: assessment, exemptions, and tax certificates, Property tax math: millage and exemptions
Homestead exemption: A reduction in taxable value for a qualifying permanent residence, generally determined as of January 1. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Florida property taxes: assessment, exemptions, and tax certificates
Millage rate: The tax rate set by taxing authorities; one mill is one dollar per thousand dollars of taxable value. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Florida property taxes: assessment, exemptions, and tax certificates
Non-ad valorem assessment: A separately listed charge based on its own assessment units, not taxable value and millage. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Florida property taxes: assessment, exemptions, and tax certificates
Redemption: Paying off a claim against a property to recover or preserve ownership, such as satisfying a secured debt or paying off an awarded tax certificate. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Florida property taxes: assessment, exemptions, and tax certificates
Tax collector: The county official who collects the taxes. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Florida property taxes: assessment, exemptions, and tax certificates
Tax deferral: A postponement of payment that does not erase the obligation. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Florida property taxes: assessment, exemptions, and tax certificates
Taxable value: Assessed value minus applicable exemptions; the base to which the tax rate is applied. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Florida property taxes: assessment, exemptions, and tax certificates, Property tax math: millage and exemptions
Exemption: An amount subtracted from assessed value to find taxable value. It saves the exemption times the tax rate, not the exemption's full dollar amount. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Property tax math: millage and exemptions
Exemption savings: The exemption amount multiplied by the decimal tax rate. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Property tax math: millage and exemptions
Historic property exemption: Under section 196.1997, a qualifying local ordinance can exempt up to 100 percent of the assessed value attributable to qualifying improvements, for the granting government's taxes. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Property tax math: millage and exemptions
Levy: A tax imposed by a taxing authority, calculated separately when exemptions differ. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Property tax math: millage and exemptions
Millage conversion: Dividing mills by 1,000 gives the decimal rate; 18 mills is 0.018, or 1.8 percent. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Property tax math: millage and exemptions
Non-ad valorem charge: A separately supplied charge added after the value-based tax calculation. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Property tax math: millage and exemptions
Nonschool levy: Local government taxes that may use a different taxable value than the school levy. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Property tax math: millage and exemptions
School levy: A school tax that may have a different exemption amount, and so a different taxable value, than nonschool levies. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Property tax math: millage and exemptions
Adjusted basis: Cost plus capital improvements, less depreciation adjustments. Ordinary maintenance does not add to it. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Federal income taxes on real estate: home sale exclusion, deductions, and exchanges
Amount realized: Generally the sale price less selling expenses. A mortgage payoff reduces cash received but does not reduce gain. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Federal income taxes on real estate: home sale exclusion, deductions, and exchanges
Boot: Cash or nonqualifying property received in an exchange. It can trigger gain recognition up to the realized gain, and another party's assumption of the taxpayer's liability is treated as money received. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Federal income taxes on real estate: home sale exclusion, deductions, and exchanges
Deduction: An amount that reduces taxable income. It is not a dollar-for-dollar tax credit. A homeowner generally must itemize to deduct qualifying mortgage interest and real property taxes. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Federal income taxes on real estate: home sale exclusion, deductions, and exchanges
Deferral: Postponement of recognition of gain, as in a like-kind exchange. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Federal income taxes on real estate: home sale exclusion, deductions, and exchanges
Exclusion of gain: Removal of qualifying gain from income, such as the principal residence exclusion. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Federal income taxes on real estate: home sale exclusion, deductions, and exchanges
Gain: Amount realized minus adjusted basis, not the cash left after paying off the mortgage. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Federal income taxes on real estate: home sale exclusion, deductions, and exchanges
Like-kind exchange: Since 2018, a tax-deferred exchange available only for real property held for business or investment use, for other such real property. Personal residences and property held primarily for sale do not qualify, and U.S. and foreign real property are not like kind. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Federal income taxes on real estate: home sale exclusion, deductions, and exchanges
Ownership and use tests: Owning and using the property as a principal residence for periods aggregating 2 years or more during the 5-year period ending on the sale date. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Federal income taxes on real estate: home sale exclusion, deductions, and exchanges
Qualified residence interest: Mortgage interest that may be an itemized deduction, subject to limits; principal repayment is not deductible interest. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Federal income taxes on real estate: home sale exclusion, deductions, and exchanges
Section 121 exclusion: Up to $250,000 of gain on a principal residence sale, or $500,000 on a qualifying joint return. — Taxes affecting real estate · Taught in Federal income taxes on real estate: home sale exclusion, deductions, and exchanges
Capital improvements element: The plan element reviewed annually, a duty different from the seven-year evaluation. — Planning and zoning · Taught in The local planning agency and Florida's Community Planning Act
Community Planning Act: Florida's law organizing local comprehensive planning. — Planning and zoning · Taught in The local planning agency and Florida's Community Planning Act
Governing body: The local body that decides whether to adopt or amend the comprehensive plan; it may designate itself as the planning agency. — Planning and zoning · Taught in The local planning agency and Florida's Community Planning Act
Intergovernmental coordination: Coordination with neighboring jurisdictions and regional water supply planning, a major planning objective. — Planning and zoning · Taught in The local planning agency and Florida's Community Planning Act
Land development regulations: Rules that implement the comprehensive plan's policies. — Planning and zoning · Taught in The local planning agency and Florida's Community Planning Act, Zoning laws, variances, and code enforcement
Local planning agency: The body, established by ordinance of the governing body unless law already establishes it, with responsibility for the comprehensive planning program; it prepares plans and amendments and recommends adoption. — Planning and zoning · Taught in The local planning agency and Florida's Community Planning Act
Plan amendment: A change to the comprehensive plan, prepared by the agency and adopted by the governing body. — Planning and zoning · Taught in The local planning agency and Florida's Community Planning Act
Plan evaluation: Each local government must evaluate its comprehensive plan at least once every seven years. — Planning and zoning · Taught in The local planning agency and Florida's Community Planning Act
Public hearing: At least one noticed hearing the local planning agency must hold before its recommendation. — Planning and zoning · Taught in The local planning agency and Florida's Community Planning Act
School board representative: A nonvoting participant, unless granted voting status, in reviews of amendments or rezonings that would increase residential density. — Planning and zoning · Taught in The local planning agency and Florida's Community Planning Act
Code enforcement: Addressing violations through notice, an opportunity to respond, and potential corrective orders or penalties. — Planning and zoning · Taught in Zoning laws, variances, and code enforcement
Conditional use: A use the zoning ordinance allows only when stated criteria and required approval are met. Also called a special exception; it is not a hardship waiver. — Planning and zoning · Taught in Zoning laws, variances, and code enforcement
Development agreement: An agreement with a local government that a party or aggrieved person may enforce by injunctive relief in the circuit court where the local government is located. — Planning and zoning · Taught in Zoning laws, variances, and code enforcement
Legal nonconforming use: A use lawful when established but no longer conforming after a zoning change; continuation does not necessarily allow expansion, rebuilding, or resumption after abandonment. — Planning and zoning · Taught in Zoning laws, variances, and code enforcement
Private deed restrictions: Separate recorded obligations that zoning approval does not waive. — Planning and zoning · Taught in Zoning laws, variances, and code enforcement
Rezoning: A change to a property's zoning classification or to the zoning rules that govern it. — Planning and zoning · Taught in Zoning laws, variances, and code enforcement
Setback: The required distance between a structure and a specified boundary, such as a property line. — Planning and zoning · Taught in Zoning laws, variances, and code enforcement
Special exception: A use already contemplated by the ordinance, approved subject to specified standards; also called a conditional use. — Planning and zoning · Taught in Zoning laws, variances, and code enforcement
Variance: Specific relief from a zoning requirement, commonly a dimensional one such as a setback, granted when hardship standards are met. Wanting more profit is not enough. — Planning and zoning · Taught in Zoning laws, variances, and code enforcement

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