Real Estate Glossary - D

Damage Deposit - Security Deposit.

Damages - In a civil lawsuit, an amount of money the defendant is ordered to pay the plaintiff.

Damages, Compensatory - Damages awarded to a plaintiff as compensation for injuries (personal injuries, property damage, or financial losses) caused by the defendant's act or failure to act.

Damages, Liquidated - A sum that the parties to a contract agree in advance (at the time the contract is a made) will serve as full compensation in the event of a breach.

Damages, Punitive - In a civil lawsuit, an award added to compensatory damages, to punish the defendant for outrageous or malicious conduct and discourage other from similar conduct.

Datum - An artificial horizontal plane of elevation, established in reference to sea level, used by surveyors as a reference point in determining elevation.

Dealer - One who regularly buys and sells real estate in the ordinary course of business.

Dealer Property - Property held for sale to customers rather than long-term investment; a developer's inventory of subdivision lots, for example.

Debit - A charge or debt owned to another.

Debtor - One who owes money to another.

Debit Service - The amount of money requr44ed to make the periodic payments of principal and interest on an amortized debt, such as a mortgage.

Decedent - A person who h as died.

Declaration of Abandonment - A document recorded by an owner that voluntarily releases a property from homestead protection.

Declaration of Homestead - A recorded document that establishes homestead protection fro a property what would not otherwise receive it.

Decrement - A decrease in value; the opposite of increment.

Dedication - A voluntary or involuntary gift of private property for public use; may transfer ownership or simply create an easement.

Dedication, Common Law - Involuntary dedication, resulting from a property owner's acquiescence to public use of his or her property over a long period. Also called implied dedication.

Dedication, Statutory - A dedication required by law; for example, dedication of property for streets and sidewalks as a prerequisite to subdivision approval.

Deduction - An amount of taxpayer is allowed to subtract from his or her income before the tax on the income is calculated (as distinguished from a tax credit, which is deducted from the tax owned).

Deed - An instrument which, when properly executed and delivered, conveys title to real property from the grantor to the grantee.

Deed, Administrator's - A deed used by the administrator of an estate to convey property owned by the deceased person to the heirs.

Deed, Correction - A deed used to correct minor mistakes in an earlier deed, such as misspelled names or typographical errors in the legal description. Also called a deed of confirmation or reformation deed.

Deed, General Warranty - A deed used to correct minor mistakes in an earlier deed, such as misspelled names or typographical errors in the legal description. Also called a deed of confirmation or reformation deed.

Deed, Gift - A deed that is not supported by valuable consideration; often lists "love and affection" as the consideration.

Deed, Grant - A deed that uses the word "grant" in its words of conveyance and carries certain implied warranties; rarely used in Washington.

Deed, Quitclaim - A deed that conveys any interest in a property that the grantor has at the time the deed is executed, without warranties.

Deed, Sheriff's - A deed delivered, on court order, to the holder of a certificate of sale when the redemption period after a mortgage foreclosure had expired.

Deed, Special Warranty - A deed in which the grantor warrants title only against defects that may have arisen during his or her period of ownership.

Deed, Statutory Warranty - A short form of the general warranty deed, in which the covenants are implied (by the use of language specified in the state statute) rather than spelled out.

Deed, Tax - A deed given to a purchaser of property at a tax foreclosure sale.

Deed, Trustee's - A deed given to a purchaser of property at a trustee's sale.

Deed, Warranty - 1.A general warranty deed. 2.Any type of deed that carries warranties.

Deed, Wild - A deed that won't be discovered in a standard title search, because of a break in the chain of title.

Deed Executed Under Court Order - A deed that is the result of a court action, such as judicial foreclosure or partition.

Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure - A deed given by a borrower to the lender, relinquishing ownership of the security property, to satisfy the debt and avoid foreclosure.

Deed of Partition - Deed used by co-owners (such as tenants in common or joint tenants) to divide up the co-owned property so that each can own a portion in severalty.

Deed of Trust - An instrument that creates a voluntary lien on real property to secure the repayment of a debt, and which includes a power of sale clause permitting nonjudicial foreclosure; the parties are the grantor or trustor (borrower), the beneficiary (the lender), and the trustee (a neutral third party).

Deed Restrictions - Provisions in a deed that restrict use of the property, and which may be either covenants or conditions.

Default - Failure to fulfill an obligation, duty, or promise, as when a borrower fails to make payments or a tenant fails to pay rent.

Defeasance Clause - A clause in a mortgage, deed of trust, or lease that cancels or defeats a certain right upon the occurrence of a particular event.

Defendant - 1.The person being sued in a civil lawsuit. 2.The accused person in a criminal lawsuit.

Deferred Maintenance - Depreciation resulting from maintenance or repairs that were postponed, causing physical deterioration of the building.

Degree - In surveying, a unit of circular measurement equal to 1/360 of one complete rotation around a point in a plane.

Delivery - The legal transfer of a deed from the grantor to the grantee, which results in the transfer of title.

Demand - Desire to own coupled with ability to afford; this is one of the four elements of value, along with scarcity, utility, and transferability.

Demise - The transfer of an estate or interest in property to another for years. For life, or at will.

Density - In a land use law, the number of buildings or occupants per unit of land.

Department of Licensing - The state agency in charge of administering the real estate license law in Washington .

Deposit - Money offered as an indication of commitment or as a protection, and which may be refunded under certain circumstances, such as an earnest money deposit or a tenant's security deposit.

Deposition - The formal, out-of-court testimony of a witness in a lawsuit, taken before trail for possible use later, during the trail; either as part of the discovery process, to determine the facts of the case, or when the witness will not be available during the trail.

Depreciable Property - In the federal income tax code, property that is eligible for cost recovery deductions, because it will wear out and have to be replaced.

Depreciation - 1. A loss in value (caused by deferred maintenance, functional obsolescence, or external obsolescence) 2. For the purposes of income tax deductions, apportioning the cost of an asset over a period of time.

Depreciation, Accrued - Depreciation that has built up or accumulated over a period of time.

Depreciation, Curable - Deferred maintenance and functional obsolescence that would ordinarily be corrected by a prudent owner, because the correction cost could be recovered in the sales price.

Depreciation, Incurable - Deferred maintenance, functional obsolescence, or external obsolescence that is either impossible to correct, or not economically feasible to correct, because the cost cold not be recovered in the sales price.

Depreciation Deductions - Under the federal income tax code, deductions from a taxpayer's income to permit the cost of an asset to be recovered; allowed only for depreciable property that is held for the production of income or used in a trade or business. Also called cost recovery deductions.

Descent - Acquiring property transferred by intestate succession. A person who receives property by intestate succession is said to receive it by descent.

Detached Residence - A home physically separated from the neighboring home(s), not connected by a common wall.

Developed Land - Land with manmade improvements, such as buildings or roads.

Developer - One who subdivides or improves land to achieve a profitable use.

Development - 1. Any development project, such as a new office park. 2. A housing subdivision. 3. In reference to a property's life cycle, the earliest stage, also called integration.

Devise - 1. (noun) A gift of real property through a will. 2. (verb) To transfer real property by will.

Devisee - Someone who receives title to real property through a will.

Devisor - A testator who devises real property in his or her will.

Directional Growth - The direction in which a city's residential neighborhoods are expanding or expected to expand.

Disability - According to the Americans with Disabilities Act and Fair Housing Act, a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a person to one or more major life actives.

Disaffirm - To ask a court to terminate a voidable contract.

Disbursements - Money paid out or expended.

Disclaimer - A denial of legal responsibility.

Discount - 1. (verb) To sell a promissory note at less than its face value. 2. (noun) An amount withheld from the loan amount by the lender when the loan is originated; discount points.

Discount Points - A percentage of the principal amount of a loan, collected by the lender at the time a loan is originated, to give the lender an additional yield.

Discount Rate - The interest rate charged when a member bank borrows money from the Federal Reserve Bank.

Discrimination - Treating people unequally because of their race, religion, sex, national origin, age, or some other characteristic.

Disintegration - In a property's life cycle, the period of decline when the property's present economic usefulness is near and end and constant upkeep in necessary.

Disintermediation - When depositors withdraw their savings deposits from financial institutions (such as savings and loan associations and commercial banks) in order to invest the funds directly.

Dispossess - To force someone out of possession of real property through legal procedures, as in an eviction.

Domicile - The state where a person has his or her permanent home.

Double-entry Bookkeeping - An accounting technique in which an item is entered in the ledger twice, once as a credit and once as a debit; used for settlement statements.

Downpayment - The part of the purchase price of property that the buyer is paying in cash; the difference between the purchase price and the financing.

Downzoning - Rezoning land for a more limited use.

Drainage - A system to draw water off land, either artificially (e.g., with pipes) or naturally (e.g., with a slope).

Duplex - A structure that contains two separate housing units, with separate entrances, living areas, baths, and kitchens.

Duress - Unlawful force or constraint used to compel someone to do something (such as sign a contract) against his or her will.

Dwelling - A building or a part of a building used or intended to be used as living quarters.

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