balanceThe principle of balance requires the appropriate blend of the four factors of production. For maximum value to be achieved land, labor, capital, and management must be in the proper proportion to each other. |
Balloon paymentLoans set each monthly payment to cover interest requires and some principal payback. The final payment at the end of the term would handle any remaining principal and be larger than any prior payment. Also called a partially amortized loan. |
base lineThe main imaginary line running east and west and crossing a principal meridian at a definite point, used by surveyors for reference in locating and describing land under the rectangular (government) survey system. |
benchmarksA permanent reference mark or point established for use by surveyors in measuring differences in elevation, |
beneficiary(1) The person for whom a trust operates or in whose behalf the income from a trust estate is drawn. (2) A lender in a deed of trust loan transaction. |
bilateral contractA contract where all parties are legally bound to act as the contract states. |
blanket loan |
blockbustingAn illegal practice where one person gets another to enter a real estate transaction where the first person could benefit financially by showing that a change may occur in the neighborhood including race, sex, religion, color, handicap, familiar status or ancestry of the occupants, a change possibly resulting in the lowering of the property values a decline in the quality of schools, or an increase in the crime rate. |
breach of contractViolation of terms in a contract without a legal excuse. For example: not paying on time. The person who did not breach has three options:
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break-even ratioidentifies the percentage of EGI necessary to pay for all operating expenses and debt service. It is the point where cash flow begins. It is also the occupancy necessary to pay all expenses and debt service. Since the BER describes the occupancy necessary to break-even, it can also be used as an indicator of the risk posed by such an investment. A lower break-even ratio means that a lower occupancy will satisfy the operating expenses and debt service and that would mean lower risk. The break-even ratio is calculated by dividing the total of the operating expenses and annual debt service by the effective gross income |
BRETTAThe Georgia Brokerage Relationships in Real Estate Transactions Act, Title 10, Chapter 6A of the Georgia Code. Provides laws for agency relationships. |
brokera professional who brings buyers and sellers together within a market for the purpose of exchanging goods and or services for a fee. A real estate broker who represents buyers or sellers (or landlords and tenants) usually earns a commission which is a percentage of the financial transaction. |
brokeragethe bringing together of parties interested in making a real estate transaction. |
brokerage engagementa written contract in which the seller or buyer becomes the client of the broker and promises to pay the broker a valuable consideration or agrees that the broker may receive a valuable consideration from another for producing a ready, able, and willing prospective buyer or seller, or performing other brokerage services. |
brownfieldsIndustrial properties that suffer from the presence of ecologically contaminated elements. |
BRRETAis an acronym that stands for Brokers Relationship in Real Estate Transactions Act. The purpose is to define and regulate relationships between licensed real estate agents (brokers) and the general public through state statute rather than through the common law of agency which results from judicial decisions. In Georgia it is Title 10 Chapter 6A of the O.C.G.A. §. |
building lineis the zoning ordinance which establishes the front setback line. That distance is measured from the right of way (where the site begins) and not from the portion of the right of way which is paved. Governments will often impose other limitations on the building line such a minimum width at the building line. |
bundle of legal rightsThe concept of land ownership that includes ownership of all legal rights to the land - for example, possession, control within the law, and enjoyment. |
bundle of rightsthe variety of rights associated with the ownership of real estate. The concept of a “bundle” suggests that the rights are individual rights grouped in a bundle permitting some rights to be separated from the others. |
buydowncash up front to temporarily (or permanently) lower the interest rate or initial payments. |
buyer agency agreementis an employment contract. The broker is employed as the buyer's agent- the buyer. rather than the seller, is the principal.The purpose of this agreement is to find a suitable property. |
buyer's agentA residential real estate broker or salesperson who represents the prospective purchaser in a transaction. The buyer's agent owes the buyer-principal the common-law or statutory agency duties. |