Florida Real Estate Glossary – C

The amount of a net gain made on the sale of property; carries a special lower tax rate.

The legal description in an abstract.

Doctrine of stare decisis; examining prior decisions to reach decisions in present cases.

Sale of real property in which the buyer pays the difference between the sales price and the mortgage balance and then takes over the mortgage (assumption).

Rule that provides landowners adjoining streams and rivers ownership of the land beneath these waters to the centerline of the river or stream.

In construction contracts, a change in work, design, or materials.

Legal shorthand referring to cases, statutes, regulations, and ordinances.

See Citation.

One of the original air pollution statutes that gave HEW authority to monitor interstate pollution problems.

First major revisions to Clean Air Act with coverage of acid rain and vehicle emissions and provision of new deadlines for SIPs.

Major federal statute on water pollution that gave the federal government authority and control.

The amount set forth in a lease that a tenant is required to pay prior to commencement of the lease to cover the cleaning of the premises when the tenant has gone; under URLTA, the lease must state if it is nonrefundable.

Compilation of regulations of federal agencies.

An addendum to a will.

Portion of air rights from the surface of the Earth to 23 feet above the surface.

Mortgage on non-residential property.

Fee charged to tenant in commercial leases to pay costs of maintenance of sidewalks in shopping and other commercial centers; fee is often a pro rata share of expenses based on that paid in other commercial projects.

Uncodified law found in cases or in the history of real property.

Method of married persons' co-ownership of property; limited to certain states.

Federal law establishing record-keeping requirements for lenders' investments in inner-city area.

Federal disclosure law requiring notification of presence of toxic substance on property, including items such as asbestos.

The Superfund; program for private payment by polluting industries for cleanup of toxic waste.

In a contract, a requirement before the contract can be performed; e.g., delivering marketable title or qualifying for financing.

Form of multiunit housing in which the owner owns the area between the walls and ceiling.

Statutes that permit the attachment of a lien if the property owner consented to the work done by the lienor even though there was no direct contract with the owner.

negative easement given by a property owner that provides that the property will not be used in such a way as to destroy a historic site on the property.

The detriment given by each party to the contract; e.g., the land by the seller and the money by the buyer.

Party serving as financier for a project during construction.

Delivery other than direct delivery to the person; delivering by precluding access by all others.

Process whereby a tenant is forced to leave leased premises because the premises are in a state of disrepair and uninhabitable.

Clause that allows for rent increases when the CPI changes.

Future interest that follows a life estate and that is not certain to follow or has unknown takers.

Another name for an installment contract; financing transaction in which seller carries the buyer and holds onto title until the buyer has paid in full.

With references to liens, statutes that require lienors to have a direct contractual agreement with property owners to be able to place lien on property on which work was performed.

Liens that arise because of a contractual agreement between the lienor and the owner of the liened property.

Mortgage not insured by a government agency.

One of the categories of water pollutants of the EPA; subject to the least amount of restriction and regulation.

Laws that regulate the conversion of leased premises into multiunit houses to afford protection for the existing tenants.

Form of multiunit housing in which a corporation owns the property and owners of the shares in the corporation live in each of the units.

Label given to ownership of property by more than one person.

Tax appraisal method that bases value of the property on its original cost plus costs of improvement.

In construction, a method of pricing in which the contractor charges all costs plus a profit margin.

Established in 1966 by the National Environment Protection Act as part of the executive branch of government and given the responsibility of formulating national policies on the quality of the environment and making recommendations to lawmakers based on its policies.

Offer made in response to offeror by the offeree; can occur by a change in the offeror's terms

Promise in a deed that affects or limits the use of the conveyed property.

Zoning system that permits higher uses in lower-use areas; e.g., residential uses in commercially zoned areas.

Right of husband to a life estate in all real property owned by his wife during their marriage provided they had children.