Real Estate Vocabulary (Guide to Passing the PSI Real
Estate Exam) 340+ Terms & Certified Solutions / 2025.
Terms in this set (346)
acceleration clause 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 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 Increase or addition to land by the deposit of sand or soil
washed up naturally from a river, lake, or sea.
accrued depreciation 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 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.
The result of legal action originated by a lessor, by which a
actual eviction defaulted tenant is physically ousted from the rented
property pursuant to a court order.
,actual notice Express information or fact; that which is known; actual
knowledge.
ad valorem tax A tax levied according to value; generally used to refer to
real estate tax.
adjustable-rate mortgage A mortgage in which the interest changes periodically,
(ARM) according to corresponding fluctuations in an index. All are
tied to indexes.
adjustment date The date the interest rate changes on an adjustablerate
mortgage.
administrator The party appointed by the county court to settle the estate
of a deceased person who died without leaving a will.
adverse possession The actual, visible, hostile, notorious, exclusive, and
continuous possession of another's land under a claim to
title.
affidavit A written statement signed and sworn to before a person
authorized to administer an oath
agent 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.
agreement of sale 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 A designated airspace over a piece of land, like suface
property, may be transferred.
The right to use the open space above one's property. It can
air rights be sold to build a sky-walk or for the utility company to erect
power lines,
,alienation The act of transferring property to another. May be
voluntary, such as by sale, or involuntary, such as
through eminent domain.
alienation clause Clause in a mortgage instrument that does not allow the
borrower to sell (without lender approval) on assumption or
contract-for-deed.
alluvion The actual soil increase resulting from accretion.
amendments Changes to previously approved and adopted written agreements.
amenities Neighborhood facilities and services that enhance a property's
value, outside of the property (swimming pools, three-car
garages).
Americans with Disabilities A federal law (1992) designed to eliminate discrimination
Act (ADA) against individuals with disabilities.
amortization 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 A loan in which the principal and interest are payable in
monthly or other periodic installments over the term of
the loan
A table which shows how much of each payment will be
applied toward principal and how much toward interest over
amortization schedule
the life of the loan. It also shows the gradual decrease of the
loan balance until it reaches zero.
, annual percentage rate This is not the note rate on your loan. It is a value created
(APR) 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.
antitrust laws The laws designed to preserve the free enterprise of the
open marketplace by making illegal certain private
conspiracies and combinations formed to minimize
competition. Violations: price fixing (set fixed compensation
rates) or allocation of customers or markets (brokers
agreeing to limit their trades to certain areas or properties.
application The form used to apply for a mortgage loan, containing
information about a borrower's income, savings, assets,
debts, and more.
appraisal A written justification of the price paid for a property, primarily
based on an analysis of comparable sales of similar homes
nearby.
appraised value An opinion of a property's fair market value, based on an
appraiser's knowledge, experience, and analysis of the
property. Since an appraisal is based primarily on comparable
sales, and the most recent sale is the one on the property in
question, the appraisal usually comes out at the purchase
price.
An individual qualified by education, training, and
experience to estimate the value of real property and
appraiser
personal property. Although some work directly for
mortgage lenders, most are independent.
Estate Exam) 340+ Terms & Certified Solutions / 2025.
Terms in this set (346)
acceleration clause 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 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 Increase or addition to land by the deposit of sand or soil
washed up naturally from a river, lake, or sea.
accrued depreciation 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 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.
The result of legal action originated by a lessor, by which a
actual eviction defaulted tenant is physically ousted from the rented
property pursuant to a court order.
,actual notice Express information or fact; that which is known; actual
knowledge.
ad valorem tax A tax levied according to value; generally used to refer to
real estate tax.
adjustable-rate mortgage A mortgage in which the interest changes periodically,
(ARM) according to corresponding fluctuations in an index. All are
tied to indexes.
adjustment date The date the interest rate changes on an adjustablerate
mortgage.
administrator The party appointed by the county court to settle the estate
of a deceased person who died without leaving a will.
adverse possession The actual, visible, hostile, notorious, exclusive, and
continuous possession of another's land under a claim to
title.
affidavit A written statement signed and sworn to before a person
authorized to administer an oath
agent 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.
agreement of sale 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 A designated airspace over a piece of land, like suface
property, may be transferred.
The right to use the open space above one's property. It can
air rights be sold to build a sky-walk or for the utility company to erect
power lines,
,alienation The act of transferring property to another. May be
voluntary, such as by sale, or involuntary, such as
through eminent domain.
alienation clause Clause in a mortgage instrument that does not allow the
borrower to sell (without lender approval) on assumption or
contract-for-deed.
alluvion The actual soil increase resulting from accretion.
amendments Changes to previously approved and adopted written agreements.
amenities Neighborhood facilities and services that enhance a property's
value, outside of the property (swimming pools, three-car
garages).
Americans with Disabilities A federal law (1992) designed to eliminate discrimination
Act (ADA) against individuals with disabilities.
amortization 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 A loan in which the principal and interest are payable in
monthly or other periodic installments over the term of
the loan
A table which shows how much of each payment will be
applied toward principal and how much toward interest over
amortization schedule
the life of the loan. It also shows the gradual decrease of the
loan balance until it reaches zero.
, annual percentage rate This is not the note rate on your loan. It is a value created
(APR) 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.
antitrust laws The laws designed to preserve the free enterprise of the
open marketplace by making illegal certain private
conspiracies and combinations formed to minimize
competition. Violations: price fixing (set fixed compensation
rates) or allocation of customers or markets (brokers
agreeing to limit their trades to certain areas or properties.
application The form used to apply for a mortgage loan, containing
information about a borrower's income, savings, assets,
debts, and more.
appraisal A written justification of the price paid for a property, primarily
based on an analysis of comparable sales of similar homes
nearby.
appraised value An opinion of a property's fair market value, based on an
appraiser's knowledge, experience, and analysis of the
property. Since an appraisal is based primarily on comparable
sales, and the most recent sale is the one on the property in
question, the appraisal usually comes out at the purchase
price.
An individual qualified by education, training, and
experience to estimate the value of real property and
appraiser
personal property. Although some work directly for
mortgage lenders, most are independent.
