Archives: Glossary Terms

A freehold estate of inheritance limited so as to descend to a particular class of heirs of the person to whom it is granted.

An estate or a limited estate in which transfer of the property is restricted in that the property must pass to the descendants of the owner and which was originally used to insure the passing of land in a direct ancestral line..

A real property ownership system in which ownership rests with a sovereign who may grant lesser interests in return for service or loyalty and which is in contrast to allodial tenure.

Grants of land.

A loan made by an approved lender in accordance with the FHA’s regulations and insured by the Federal Housing Administration.

A recorded generic mortgage or trust deed that is not related to one specific transaction but is used as a reference mortgage or trust deed to avoid lengthy mortgages or trust deeds for each title transfer.

The duties or responsibilities that an agent owes to his or her principal or client of loyalty, obedience, disclosure of material facts, accountability for funds, confidentiality and to exercise the highest skill level to the principal and not to gain any personal advantage over the principal by even the slightest misrepresentation, concealment, duress or pressure..

1. The ability of a proposed land use or change of land use to justify itself from an economic point of view. 2. One of but not the only test of the highest and best use of land because it does not necessarily make it the best use of the land. Example: A proposed small office building will cost $1 million to build, including direct costs and indirect costs. It is expected to generate $150,000 in annual net operating income. Building investors require a 12% rate of return on the $1 million investment, or $120,000, so this project is financially feasible.

The organizations such as commercial banks, savings and loan associations, credit unions, savings banks and insurance companies that deal in money or claims to money and serve the function of channeling money from those who wish to lend to those who wish to borrow.

(FIRREA) A federal law passed in 1989 in response to the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s that restructured the regulatory and deposit insurance program for dealing with S&Ls and changed the rules under which federally-regulated S&Ls operate. See Federal Housing Finance Board, Office of Thrift Supervision, Resolution Trust Corporation. Example: The FIRREA was intended to address the major problem of failing S&Ls due to mounting nonperforming loans held in portfolio, as well as to make reforms that would prevent the problem from retuning. Often referred to as the “S&L bailout.” the law represents a large expenditure of federal funds to pay off depositors at failed associations. The law also created the Resolution Trust Corporation. which is charged with managing and liquidating the assets of associations seized by the government. The Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation was abolished by the law. and its insurance and regulatory responsibilities were brought under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which also insures commercial banks.