social factorsone of the four broad categories of factors affecting the value of real estate, which are - physical, social, economic and governmental. Social factors are changes in social norms, cultural beliefs, population, and family make-up can cause long-term changes in real estate markets. An example is the continual increase in the average age of the population. Markets have identified a demand for a type of housing that might not otherwise have been created. In the last 20 years there has been a proliferation of one-story detached condominiums or zero lot line homes. These accommodate the demand from senior citizens who prefer to have low maintenance one-story homes – that permit some privacy without the cost and trouble of maintaining a large yard. |
Sole proprietorA business where one person owns the entire business and reports all profits and losses on his or her personal income tax return.
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special agentis an agent who is authorized to represent the principal in one specific act or business transaction only and under very detailed instructions. |
special assessmentsA tax or levy customarily imposed against only those specific parcels of real estate that will benefit form a proposed public improvement like a street or sewer. |
specific lienA lien affecting or attaching only to a certain, specific parcel of land or piece of property. |
specific performanceis a legal remedy that allows the court to order the breaching party to perform as they agreed to in the contract. This remedy is reserved for contracts involving unique or irreplaceable items. Real estate is considered unique. A seller could be forced to sell their property if they tried to withdraw from or breach the contract. |
square foot methodis the least detailed of the cost estimating methods and is the one used by appraisers. In this method costs are established on a per unit basis such as the square foot or cubic foot. Appraisers will identify the “cost per square foot” associated with size and style of improvement being appraised and simply multiply the cost per unit times the number of units (square feet) in the structure. When using this method it is important to identify the cost of the main structure (GLA) and identify separately the cost associated with parts of the structure that vary from house to house. For example, not all houses have basements, garages, fireplaces, or screened porches. The cost of those items must be calculated separately so that the square foot method may be applied to variety of structures within a grouping of houses. |
Statute of Fraudsrequires certain agreements to be in writing and signed to be enforceable by court action. For example: deeds, real estate sales contracts, and certain leases. |
statutory lienA lien imposed on property by statute - tax lien, for example - in contrast to an equitable lien, which arises out of common law. |
steeringthe practice of directing buyers towards or away from certain neighborhoods based on their race or certain properties based on their status as a protected class. This involved two broad classes of conduct:
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