Real Estate Glossary - P thru Q

Par - 1.The accepted standard of comparison; the average or typical rate or amount. 2. Face value; for example, a mortgage sold at the secondary market level for 97% of par has been sold for 3% less than its face value.

Parcel - A lot or piece of real estate, especially a specified part of a larger tract.

Parallels - Imaginary lines running east and west, parallel to the equator. Also called latitude lines.

Partial Reconveyance - The instrument given to the borrower when part of the security property is released from a blanket deed of trust under a partial release clause.

Partial Satisfaction - The instrument given to the borrower when part of the security property is released from a blanket mortgage under a partial release clause.

Partition - The division of a property among its co-owners, so that each owns part of it in severalty; this may occur by agreement of all the co-owners (voluntary partition), or by court order (judicial partition).

Partner, General - A partner who has the authority to manage and contract for a general or limited partnership, and who is personally liable for the partnership's debts.

Partner, Limited - A partner in a limited partnership who is primarily an investor and does not participate in the management of the business, and who is not personally liable for the partnership's debts.

Partnership - An association of two or more persons who carry on a business for profit. The law regards a partnership as a group of individuals, not as an entity separate from its owners.

Partnership, General - A partnership in which each member has a equal right to manage the business and share in the profits, as well as equal responsibility for the partnership's debts.

Partnership, Limited - An association of two or more persons to carry on a business for profit. The law regards a partnership as a group of individuals, not as an entity separate from its owners.

Partnership Property - All property that partners bring into their business at the outset or later acquire for their business; property owned as tenants in partnership.

Party Wall - A wall located on the boundary line between two adjoining parcels of land that is used by the owners of both properties.

Patent - The instrument used to convey government land to a private individual.

Patent Defect - A problem that is readily observable in an ordinary inspection of the property.

Payee - In a promissory note, the party who is entitled to be paid; the lender.

Payment Cap - A limit on the amount of ARM'S payments can be increased, either during a given year, or over the entire life of the loan.

Percolation Test - A test to determine the ability of the ground to absorb or drain water; used to determine whether a site is suitable for construction, particularly for installation of a septic tank system.

Per Diem - Daily.

Personal Property - Any property that is no real property; movable property not affixed to land. Also called chattels or personality.

Personal Use Property - Property that a taxpayer owns for his or her own use (or family use), as opposed to income property, investment property, dealer property, or property used in a trade or business.

Physical Deterioration - Loss in value (depreciation) resulting from wear and tear or deferred maintenance.

Physical Life - An estimate of the time a building will remain structurally sound and capable of being used.

Plaintiff - The party who brings or starts a civil lawsuit; the one who sues.

Planned Unit Development (PUD) - A development (usually residential) with small, clustered lots designed to leave more open space than traditional subdivisions have.

Planning Commission - A local government agency responsible for preparing the community's general plan for development.

Plat - A detailed survey map of subdivision, recorded n the county where the land is located. Subdivided property is often called platted property.

Plat Book - A large book containing subdivision plats, kept at the county recorder's office.

Pledge - When a debtor transfers possession of property to the creditor as security for repayment of the debt.

Plot Plan - A plan showing lot dimensions and the layout of improvements (such as buildings and landscaping) on a property site.

Plottage - The increment of value that results when two or more lots are combined to produce greater value. Also called the plottage increment.

Point - One percent of the principal amount of a loan.

Point of Beginning (POB) - The starting point in a metes and bounds description; a monument or a point described by reference to a monument.

Police Power - The constitutional power of state and local governments to enact and enforce laws for the protection of the public's health, safety, morals, and general welfare.

Portfolio - The mix of investments owned by an individual or company.

Possession - 1.The holding and enjoyment of property. 2. Actual physical occupation of real property.

Possessory Interest - An interest in property that includes the right to possess and occupy the property. The term includes all estates (leasehold as well as freehold), but does not include encumbrances.

Potable Water - Water that is safe to drink.

Power of Attorney - An instrument authorizing one person (the attorney in fact) to act as another's agent, to the extent stated in the instrument.

Power of Sale Clause - A clause in a deed of trust giving the trustee the right to foreclose nonjudicially (sell the debtor's property with out a court action) if the borrower defaults.

Preapproval - A process that allows a prospective borrower to submit a loan application to a lender and get approved for a loan before beginning the home-buying process.

Prepayment - Paying off part or all of a loan before payment is due.

Prepayment Penalty - A penalty charged to a borrower who prepays.

Prepayment Privilege - A provision in a promissory note allowing the borrower to prepay.

Prescription - Acquiring an interest in real property (usually an easement) by using it openly and without the owner's permission for the period prescribed by statue.

Preventive Maintenance - A program of regular inspection and care of a property and its fixtures, allowing the prevention of potential problems or their immediate repair.

Price Fixing - The cooperative setting of prices by competing firms; price fixing is an automatic violation of antitrust laws.

Prima Facie - At first sight; on the face of it.

Primary Mortgage Market - The market in which mortgage loans are originated, where lenders make loans to borrowers. Also called the local market.

Prime Rate - The interest rate a bank charges its largest and most desirable customers.

Principal - 1. One who grants another person (an agent) authority to represent him or her in dealings with third parties? 2. One of the parties to a transaction (such as a buyer or seller), as opposed to those who are involved as agents or employees (such as a broker or escrow agent). 3. In regard to a loan, the amount originally borrowed, as opposed to the interest.

Principal Residence Property - Real property that is the owner's home, his or her main dwelling. Under the federal income tax laws, a person can only have one principal residence at a time.

Privity - The relationship between two persons who have simultaneous or successive interest in a contract or a property. For example, in an easement agreement, the dominant and servient tenants are in Privity tone another; so are the seller and buyer of a property.

Probate - A judicial proceeding in which the validity of a will is established and the executor is authorized to distribute the estate property or, when there is no valid will, in which an administrator is appointed to distribute the estate to the heirs.

Probate Court - A court that oversees the distribution of property under a will or intestate succession.

Procuring Cause - The real estate agent who is primarily responsible for bringing about a sale; for example, by negotiating the agreement between the buyer and seller.

Profit - A nonpossessory interest; the right to enter another person's land and take something (such as timber or minerals) away from it.

Progression, Principle of - An appraisal principle which holds that a property of lesser value tends to be worth more when it is located in an area with properties of greater value than it would be if located elsewhere. The opposite of the principle of regression.

Promisee - Someone who has been promised something; someone who is supposed to receive the benefit of a contractual promise.

Promisor - Someone who has made a contractual promise to another.

Property - 1. The rights of ownership in a thing, such as the right to use, possess, transfer, or encumber it. 2. Something that is owned.

Property Management Agreement - A document that creates an agency relationship between a property owner and property manager and establishes the terms and conditions of the relationship.

Property Management Plan - An outline for a property manager's strategy in meeting the owner's financial goals.

Property Manager - A person hired by a property owner to administer, merchandise, and maintain property, especially rental property.

Property Used in a Trade or Business - Property such as business sites and factories used in a taxpayer's trade or business.

Proprietorship, Individual or Sole - A business owned and operated by one person.

Proration - The process of dividing or allocating something (especially a sum of money or an expense) proportionately, according to time, interest, or benefit.

Public Record - Te official collection of legal documents that individuals have filed with the county recorder in order to make the information contained in them public.

Public Use - A use that benefits the public. For a condemnation action to be constitutional, it must be for a public use.

Puffing - Superlative statements about the quality of a property that should not be considered assertions of fact.

Purchase and Sale Agreement - A contract in which a seller promises to convey title to real property to a buyer in exchange for the purchase price. Also called an earnest money agreement, deposit receipt, sales contract, or contract of sale.

Purchaser's Assignment of Contract and Deed - The instrument used to assign the vendee's equitable interest in a contract to another.

Q

Qualifying Standards - The standards a lender requires a loan applicant to meet before a loan will be approved. Also called underwriting standards.

Quantity Survey Method - In appraisal, a method of estimating the replacement cost of a structure; it involves a detailed estimate of the quantities and cost of materials and labor, and overhead expenses such as insurance and contractor's profit.

Quiet Enjoyment - Use and possession of real property without interference from the previous owner, the lessor, or anyone else claiming title.

Quiet Title Action - A lawsuit to determine who has title to a piece of property, or to remove a cloud from the title.

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