Real Estate Vocabulary (Guide to
Passing the PSI Real Estate Exam)
2026
acceleration clause - correct answer ✅ A provision in a written mortgage, note,
bond, or conditional sales contract that in the even of default, the whole amount
of the principal and the interest may be declared due and payable at once.
accession - correct answer ✅ Title to improvements or additions to real property
is acquired as a result of the accretion of alluvial deposits along the banks of
streams or as a result of the annexation of fixtures.
accretion - correct answer ✅ Increase or addition to land by the deposit of sand
or soil washed up naturally from a river, lake, or sea.
accrued depreciation - correct answer ✅ The actual depreciation that has
occurred to a property at any given date, the difference between the cost of
replacement new (as of the date of the appraisal) and the present appraised
value.
acknowledgement - correct answer ✅ A declaration made by a person to a notary
public or other pubic official authorized to take acknowledgments that an
instrument was executed by his or her as a free and voluntary act.
actual eviction - correct answer ✅ The result of legal action originated by a lessor,
by which a defaulted tenant is physically ousted from the rented property
pursuant to a court order.
actual notice - correct answer
known; actual knowledge.
✅Express information or fact; that which is
,Real Estate Vocabulary (Guide to
Passing the PSI Real Estate Exam)
2026
ad valorem tax - correct answer
to refer to real estate tax.
✅ A tax levied according to value; generally used
adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) - correct answer ✅ A mortgage in which the
interest changes periodically, according to corresponding fluctuations in an index.
All are tied to indexes.
adjustment date - correct answer
adjustable-rate mortgage.
✅ The date the interest rate changes on an
administrator - correct answer ✅ The party appointed by the county court to
settle the estate of a deceased person who died without leaving a will.
adverse possession - correct answer ✅ The actual, visible, hostile, notorious,
exclusive, and continuous possession of another's land under a claim to title.
affidavit - correct answer✅ A written statement signed and sworn to before a
person authorized to administer an oath
agent - correct answer ✅ One who represents or has the power to act for
another (principal). The authorization may be express, implied, or apparent. A
fiduciary relationship is created when a principal executes a listing agreement or
management contract authorizing a real estate broker to be his or her agent.
,Real Estate Vocabulary (Guide to
Passing the PSI Real Estate Exam)
2026
agreement of sale - correct answer ✅ A written agreement by which the
purchaser agrees to buy certain real estate and the seller agrees to sell, on the
terms and conditions set forth in the agreement.
air lot - correct answer✅ A designated airspace over a piece of land, like suface
property, may be transferred.
air rights - correct answer ✅ The right to use the open space above one's
property. It can be sold to build a sky-walk or for the utility company to erect
power lines,
alienation - correct answer ✅ The act of transferring property to another. May be
voluntary, such as by sale, or involuntary, such as through eminent domain.
alienation clause - correct answer ✅ Clause in a mortgage instrument that does
not allow the borrower to sell (without lender approval) on assumption or
contract-for-deed.
alluvion - correct answer ✅The actual soil increase resulting from accretion.
amendments - correct answer
written agreements.
✅ Changes to previously approved and adopted
amenities - correct answer ✅ Neighborhood facilities and services that enhance a
property's value, outside of the property (swimming pools, three-car garages).
, Real Estate Vocabulary (Guide to
Passing the PSI Real Estate Exam)
2026
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) - correct answer ✅A federal law (1992)
designed to eliminate discrimination against individuals with disabilities.
amortization - correct answer ✅ The liquidation of a financial burden by
installment payments, which include principal and interest. The loan payment
consists of a portion which will be applied to pay the accruing interest on a loan,
with the remainder being applied to the principal. Over time, the interest portion
decreases as the loan balance decreases, and the amount applied to principal
increases so that the loan is paid off in the specified time.
amortized loan - correct answer ✅A loan in which the principal and interest are
payable in monthly or other periodic installments over the term of the loan
amortization schedule - correct answer ✅ A table which shows how much of each
payment will be applied toward principal and how much toward interest over the
life of the loan. It also shows the gradual decrease of the loan balance until it
reaches zero.
annual percentage rate (APR) - correct answer ✅ This is not the note rate on your
loan. It is a value created according to a government formula intended to reflect
the true annual cost of borrowing, expressed as a percentage. It works sort of like
this, but not exactly, so only use this as a guideline: deduct the closing costs from
your loan amount, then using your actual loan payment, calculate what the
interest rate would be on this amount instead of your actual loan amount.
Because you are using the same payment on a smaller amount, it is always higher
than the actual not rate on your loan.
Passing the PSI Real Estate Exam)
2026
acceleration clause - correct answer ✅ A provision in a written mortgage, note,
bond, or conditional sales contract that in the even of default, the whole amount
of the principal and the interest may be declared due and payable at once.
accession - correct answer ✅ Title to improvements or additions to real property
is acquired as a result of the accretion of alluvial deposits along the banks of
streams or as a result of the annexation of fixtures.
accretion - correct answer ✅ Increase or addition to land by the deposit of sand
or soil washed up naturally from a river, lake, or sea.
accrued depreciation - correct answer ✅ The actual depreciation that has
occurred to a property at any given date, the difference between the cost of
replacement new (as of the date of the appraisal) and the present appraised
value.
acknowledgement - correct answer ✅ A declaration made by a person to a notary
public or other pubic official authorized to take acknowledgments that an
instrument was executed by his or her as a free and voluntary act.
actual eviction - correct answer ✅ The result of legal action originated by a lessor,
by which a defaulted tenant is physically ousted from the rented property
pursuant to a court order.
actual notice - correct answer
known; actual knowledge.
✅Express information or fact; that which is
,Real Estate Vocabulary (Guide to
Passing the PSI Real Estate Exam)
2026
ad valorem tax - correct answer
to refer to real estate tax.
✅ A tax levied according to value; generally used
adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) - correct answer ✅ A mortgage in which the
interest changes periodically, according to corresponding fluctuations in an index.
All are tied to indexes.
adjustment date - correct answer
adjustable-rate mortgage.
✅ The date the interest rate changes on an
administrator - correct answer ✅ The party appointed by the county court to
settle the estate of a deceased person who died without leaving a will.
adverse possession - correct answer ✅ The actual, visible, hostile, notorious,
exclusive, and continuous possession of another's land under a claim to title.
affidavit - correct answer✅ A written statement signed and sworn to before a
person authorized to administer an oath
agent - correct answer ✅ One who represents or has the power to act for
another (principal). The authorization may be express, implied, or apparent. A
fiduciary relationship is created when a principal executes a listing agreement or
management contract authorizing a real estate broker to be his or her agent.
,Real Estate Vocabulary (Guide to
Passing the PSI Real Estate Exam)
2026
agreement of sale - correct answer ✅ A written agreement by which the
purchaser agrees to buy certain real estate and the seller agrees to sell, on the
terms and conditions set forth in the agreement.
air lot - correct answer✅ A designated airspace over a piece of land, like suface
property, may be transferred.
air rights - correct answer ✅ The right to use the open space above one's
property. It can be sold to build a sky-walk or for the utility company to erect
power lines,
alienation - correct answer ✅ The act of transferring property to another. May be
voluntary, such as by sale, or involuntary, such as through eminent domain.
alienation clause - correct answer ✅ Clause in a mortgage instrument that does
not allow the borrower to sell (without lender approval) on assumption or
contract-for-deed.
alluvion - correct answer ✅The actual soil increase resulting from accretion.
amendments - correct answer
written agreements.
✅ Changes to previously approved and adopted
amenities - correct answer ✅ Neighborhood facilities and services that enhance a
property's value, outside of the property (swimming pools, three-car garages).
, Real Estate Vocabulary (Guide to
Passing the PSI Real Estate Exam)
2026
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) - correct answer ✅A federal law (1992)
designed to eliminate discrimination against individuals with disabilities.
amortization - correct answer ✅ The liquidation of a financial burden by
installment payments, which include principal and interest. The loan payment
consists of a portion which will be applied to pay the accruing interest on a loan,
with the remainder being applied to the principal. Over time, the interest portion
decreases as the loan balance decreases, and the amount applied to principal
increases so that the loan is paid off in the specified time.
amortized loan - correct answer ✅A loan in which the principal and interest are
payable in monthly or other periodic installments over the term of the loan
amortization schedule - correct answer ✅ A table which shows how much of each
payment will be applied toward principal and how much toward interest over the
life of the loan. It also shows the gradual decrease of the loan balance until it
reaches zero.
annual percentage rate (APR) - correct answer ✅ This is not the note rate on your
loan. It is a value created according to a government formula intended to reflect
the true annual cost of borrowing, expressed as a percentage. It works sort of like
this, but not exactly, so only use this as a guideline: deduct the closing costs from
your loan amount, then using your actual loan payment, calculate what the
interest rate would be on this amount instead of your actual loan amount.
Because you are using the same payment on a smaller amount, it is always higher
than the actual not rate on your loan.
