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| Balloon Payment | The final payment of a note or obligation, which is substantially larger than the previous installment payments, and which repays the debt in full; the remaining balance which is due at the maturity of a note or obligation. |
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| Bankrupt | The condition or state of a person (individual, partnership, corporation, etc.) who is unable to repay it's debts as they are, or become, due. |
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| Bankruptcy | Proceedings under federal statures to relieve a debtor who is unable or unwilling to pay its debts. After addressing certain priorities and exemptions, the bankrupt’s property and other assets are distributed by the court to creditors as full satisfaction for the debt. See also: "Chapter 11". |
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| Bargain and Sale Deed | A deed which recites a consideration and conveys all of the grantor's interest in the property to the grantee. |
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| Base Line and Meridian | An imaginary set of lines used by surveyors to locate and describe land under the Rectangular Survey Method of property description used in most mainland states. |
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| Base Rent | Amount of money paid to the Landlord, usually quoted on an annual basis per foot or monthly amount. It typically does not include rental tax, but may include all other charges for expenses related to the building operation (electricity, water, insurance, janitorial, repair). See Overages and Escalation terms. |
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| Base Year | Actual taxes and operating expenses for a specified base year, most often the year in which the lease commences. Once the base year expenses are known, the lease essentially becomes a dollar stop lease. |
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| Basis | Method of measuring investment in property for tax purposes. Example: Original cost, plus improvements, minus depreciation taken. |
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| Below-Grade | Any structure or a portion of a structure located underground or below the surface grade of the surrounding land. |
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| Benchmark | A mark affixed to a permanent reference or monument, such as an iron post or a brass marker (usually embedded in a cement sidewalk), used to establish elevations and altitudes over a surveyed area. |
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| Beneficiary | A person who receives the benefits from the gifts or acts of another, such as one who is designated to receive the proceeds from a will, insurance policy or trust. |
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| Bilateral Contract | A contract in which each party promises to perform an act in exchange for the other party's promise to perform. |
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| Bill of Sale | A written agreement, by which one person sells, assigns or transfers his right to, or interest in, personal property to another. |
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| Blanket Mortgage | A mortgage which is secured by several structures or a number of lots. A blanket mortgage is often used to finance proposed subdivisions or development projects, especially cooperatives. |
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| Blue Sky Laws | State securities laws designed to protect the public from fraudulent practices in the promotion and sale of securities, e.g., through limited partnerships, syndications, bonds. |
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| Boot | Money or other property given to make up any difference in value or equity between two exchanged properties. |
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| Boundaries | The perimeters or limits of a parcel of land as fixed by legal description which is usually a metes and bounds description. |
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| Breach of Contract | Violation of any of the terms or conditions of a contract without legal excuse; default, non-performance, such as failure to make payment when due. |
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| Broker | One who acts as an intermediary between parties to a transaction. A real estate broker is a properly licensed person who, for a valuable consideration, serves as an agent to others to facilitate the sale or lease of real property. |
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| Brokerage | That aspect of the real estate business which is concerned with bringing together the parties and completing a real estate transaction. Brokerage involves exchanges, rentals, trade-ins and management of property, as well as sales. |
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| Budget Mortgage | A mortgage with payments set up to cover more than interest and principal reductions. |
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| Buffer Zone | A strip of land separating one parcel from another. |
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| Build Out | The construction or improvements of the interior of a space, including flooring, walls, finished plumbing, electrical work, etc. |
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| Building Classifications | Building classifications in most markets refer to Class "A", "B", "C" and sometimes "D" properties. While the rating assigned to a particular building is very subjective, Class "A" properties are typically newer buildings with superior construction and finish in excellent locations with easy access, attractive to credit tenants, and which offer a multitude of amenities such as on-site management or covered parking. These buildings, of course, command the highest rental rates in their sub-market. As the "Class" of the building decreases (i.e. Class "B", "C" or "D") one component or another such as age, location or construction of the building becomes less desirable. Note that a Class "A" building in one sub-market might rank lower if it were located in a distinctly different sub-market just a few miles away containing a higher end product. |
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| Building Code | The various laws set forth by the ruling municipality as to the end use of a certain piece of property and that dictate the criteria for design, materials and type of improvements allowed. |
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| Building or "Core" Factor | Represents the percentage of Net Rentable Square Feet devoted to the building's common areas (lobbies, rest rooms, corridors, etc.). This factor can be computed for an entire building or a single floor of a building. Also known as a Loss Factor or Rentable/Usable (R/U) Factor, it is calculated by dividing the rentable square footage by the usable square footage. See also "Rentable/Usable Ratio". |
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| Building Permit | A written permission granted by the County Building Department and required prior to beginning the construction of a new building or other improvement (including fences, fence walls, retaining walls and swimming pools). |
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| Building Residual Technique | A method of determining the value of an improvement normally used in appraising income property. |
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| Building Standard | A list of construction materials and finishes that represent what the Tenant Improvement (Finish) Allowance/Work Letter is designed to cover while also serving to establish the landlord's minimum quality standards with respect to tenant finish improvements within the building. Examples of standard building items are: type and style of doors, lineal feet of partitions, quantity of lights, quality of floor covering, etc. |
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| Build-out | The space improvements put in place per the tenant's specifications. Takes into consideration the amount of Tenant Finish Allowance provided for in the lease agreement. See also "Tenant Improvement Allowance" |
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| Build-To-Suit | An approach taken to lease space by a property owner where a new building is designed and constructed per the tenant’s specifications. |
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| Bulk Transfers | Any transfer in bulk, and not in the ordinary course of the seller's business, of a major part of the materials, inventory or supplies of an enterprise. |
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| Bullet Loan | Any short-term, generally five to seven years, financing option that requires a balloon payment at the end of the term and anticipates that the loan will be refinanced in order to meet the balloon payment obligation. Essentially, should the refinancing not be available, often due to the property not performing as anticipated, the borrower is "shot" and the property is subject to foreclosure. An example of this is when a developer borrows to cover the costs of construction and carry-costs for a new building with the expectation that it would be replaced by long-term (or "permanent") financing provided by an institutional investor once most of risk involved in construction and lease-up had been overcome resulting in an income-producing property. |
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| Bundle of Rights | An ownership concept describing all those legal rights which attach to the ownership of real property, including the right to sell, lease, encumber, use, enjoy, exclude, will, etc. |
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| Business Days | Days of the week excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays; normal working days. |
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| Business Opportunities | Any type of business which is for sale. |
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| Buyers Representative | A Licensed Real Estate Agent working solely for the Buyer, not the Seller. Most Sellers have their own Sellers agents working to get them the best price and terms. The parties to the transaction must be informed ahead of the negotiations of this status. |
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