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ABATEMENT - An official reduction of taxable assessed value, almost always
as the result of an exemption. |
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ABSOLUTE VALUE - The value of a number independent of a plus or minus
sign. Always taken to be positive. The absolute values of 5 and -5 are
both simply 5. |
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ABSORPTION FIELD - See “Leach Field” |
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ABSTRACT OF TITLE - A summary of all conveyances, such as deeds or wills,
and legal proceedings, giving the names of the parties, the description of
the land and the agreements, arranged to show a continuity of ownership. |
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ABSTRACTION METHOD - The determination of site value by subtracting the
replacement cost new less depreciation (RCNLD) of improvements on similar
parcels from the known selling price of the parcel to establish land
value. A poor substitute for sales of comparable vacant sites but may be
used when no such sales are available. |
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ABUT - To touch or border on, such as a property sharing a common boundary
with another property or a highway. |
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ACCESS RIGHT - The right of ingress and egress to or from a property. May
be implied or legally expressed. |
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ACCRUED DEPRECIATION - The actual depreciation from all causes evident in
a property as of a given date. 2. The difference between replacement cost
new (RCN) and replacement cost new less depreciation (RCNLD). |
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ACOUSTICAL MATERIAL - A ceiling or wall material having the property of
sound absorption. |
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ACRE - A common measure of land area equal to 43,560 square feet. There
are 640 acres in a square mile. |
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AD VALOREM TAX - A tax based on the value of real or personal property as
distinct from income, sales or excise taxes. Personal property is not
taxable in New York State. |
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ADDITION - An improvement, such as another bedroom, added to a building
already in place. |
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ADJUSTED BASIS - The original cost of a property minus depreciation, and
sales of portions thereof, plus allowable additions such as capital
improvements and certain carrying costs and assessments. A bookkeeping
rather than an appraisal term. |
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ADJUSTED INTERNAL RATE OF RETURN - A concept where the reinvestment rates
for both positive and they have adjusted negative cash flows. The concept
applies a safe rate to all negative cash flows, discounting them to time
period zero and adding them to the initial investment. It applies a market
rate to all positive cash flows and carries them forward to the end of the
investment holding period. The adjusted internal rate of return thus
becomes a function of the original investment, the terminal value, and the
time period separating these two amounts. |
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ADJUSTED SALES PRICE - The selling price of a comparable property adjusted
to reflect differences in inventory, location and time as compared to the
subject. |
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ADJUSTMENTS - Changes to the selling price of a comparable property
required to estimate the market value of the subject property. May be in
dollars, percentages or cumulative (compounded) percentages. |
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ADMINISTRATOR'S DEED - A deed given by an individual who has been legally
appointed to represent the estate of a deceased person who did not appoint
an executor. |
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ADVERSE POSSESSION - A method of acquiring title to real property owned by
another by the actual, exclusive, open, notorious hostile and continuous
possession of said property. Colloquially, “Squatter's Rights.” |
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ADVISORY EQUALIZATION RATE - The previous year's final equalization rate
multiplied by the change of-level factor of the current year roll. This
rate is used by most counties to apportion the county tax levy. |
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AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHY - The process of taking photographs of the earth's
surface from aircraft using special cameras to ensure accuracy in the
preparation of tax maps. |
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AESTHETIC VALUE - The enhancement of the worth of a property due to the
pleasure derived from the beauty of the improvements and/or their
surroundings such as an exceptional view. |
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AFTER-TAX YIELD RATE - The annual profit remaining after income taxes have
been paid, divided by the original equity investment. |
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AGE, ACTUAL - The number years since a structure was built. Also known as
chronological age. |
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AGE, EFFECTIVE - See “Effective Age.” |
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AGE-LIFE METHOD - A process for estimating incurable physical
deterioration as a percentage of the current RCN of the improvements. |
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AGENTS IN PRODUCTION - The elements which contribute to the productivity
of an enterprise and which must be compensated accordingly. They are labor
(wages), coordination (management), capital (improvements) and land. |
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AGGREGATE ASSESSMENT-SALES RATIO - The total of the assessed values
divided by the total of the selling prices. Also known as the weighted
mean. Used in determining the price related differential. |
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AGRICULTURAL DISTRICT - An area established under New York State law to
preserve and promote agriculture. The availability of preferential
property tax treatment is one characteristic of an agricultural district. |
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AGRICULTURAL USE VALUE - An estimate of the worth of agricultural property
based on an income approach using the productivity of the land as a
measure of income. |
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AIR RIGHTS - The right to use the airspace above a property with or
without ownership of the surface of the property. |
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ALLEY INFLUENCE - The effect on the value of abutting property caused by
the presence of a short, narrow side or back street. Primarily of interest
with respect to commercial property. |
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ALLOCATION - The use of a ratio based on experience with comparable
properties to distribute the appraised value of a property between the
land and the improvements. A procedure that has limitations. |
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ALLOWANCE FOR VACANCY & CREDIT LOSS - A reduction of potential gross
income to reflect the fact that some or all of a buildings rentable area
property will be vacant from time to time and/or some tenants may not pay
their rent. |
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ALPHANUMERIC - Used in data processing to describe a field (data area)
which may contain either numeric, alphabetic or special characters. A
field which may not be used mathematically. |
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AMENITY - In appraising, the intangible benefits of ownership such as
satisfaction of possession and use arising from architectural excellence,
scenic beauty and desirable social environment. |
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AMORTIZATION - The process of retiring debt or recovering capital
investment through a schedule of systematic repayments of principal. |
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AMORTIZATION RATE - The ratio of periodic amortization payments to the
total principal to be amortized; corresponds to a sinking fund rate. |
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ANCHOR TENANTS - The larger, more reliable tenants in a shopping center;
usually branch stores of nationally-known retail chains. The term may also
be used (less frequently) in connection with office buildings or
industrial parks. |
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ANIMAL UNIT - A mature steer or dairy cow weighing 1,000 pounds or more or
some combination of smaller, immature animals. Used to estimate grazing
and other feed requirements. |
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ANNUAL CONSTANT - Total annual debt service per dollar borrowed for a
direct reduction level payment loan, usually expressed as a percentage. See also “Mortgage
Constant.” |
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ANNUAL PERCENTAGE RATE (APR) - The interest costs to a borrower expressed
as an annual percentage of the loan. Required to be shown on certain
instruments by “truth in lending” legislation. |
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ANNUITY - Periodic income; the return of a capital investment in equal
periodic payments comprising both interest and a partial return of the
capital itself. |
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ANNUITY CAPITALIZATION - Capitalization that is based an commonly used
tables for the valuation of annuities. |
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ANNUITY METHOD - An appraisal process whereby present value is determined
by discounting future anticipated net operating income before
depreciation. |
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ANTICIPATED USE METHOD - See “Development Method.” |
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ANTICIPATION, PRINCIPLE OF - The premise that present value is determined
by the worth of future benefits. |
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APPORTION - To divide or distribute according to some plan. In assessment,
to distribute the value of a parcel which has been split among the various
parcels resulting from the split. |
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APPRAISAL - An estimate or opinion of value, usually in writing. The act
or process of estimating value as of a certain date. |
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APPRAISAL METHODS - The three accepted methods of valuing real estate are:
1. The sales comparison or market approach which uses adjusted sales of
comparable properties. 2. The income approach which capitalizes net
operating income to produce an estimate of value. 3. The summation or cost
approach which uses the cost of construction new, less accrued
depreciation, plus land value. |
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APPRAISAL PROCESS - A systematic examination of the factors which
influence the value or utility of real estate. A process by which the
problem may be defined, the relevant facts assembled and a supportable
conclusion of value produced. |
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APPRAISAL REPORT - A written document setting forth the appraiser's
opinion of value and the steps, including data and methodology, which
enable the appraiser to arrive at that opinion. It should include at
minimum: summary of salient facts and conclusions, identity of the subject
property, property rights appraised, purpose of the appraisal, function of
the appraisal, tax and assessment data, area (city or town) analysis,
neighborhood analysis, site analysis, improvement analysis, highest and
best use analysis, application of the cost approach, application of the
income approach, application of the sales comparison approach, correlation
and estimate of final value, addenda. |
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APPRAISED VALUE - The final opinion of an appraiser as to the worth of a
property as of the effective date of the appraisal. |
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APPRECIATION - Monetary gain resulting from the increase in the market
value of an investment excluding additions of capital. For example, a
house which is sold five years after it was purchased for five times more
than the purchase price. |
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APPROVED ASSESSING UNIT - A city or town which has been certified by the
State Board of Real Property Services to have completed a revaluation or
an update in conformance with its rules and regulations. |
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AREA - The amount of the surface of a room, floor, building, site, parcel,
etc., measured in units such as square feet, square meters, acres or
square miles. |
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ARM'S LENGTH - Refers to a real estate transaction in the open market
freely arrived at by normal negotiations without undue pressure on either
the buyer or the seller. |
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ARRAY - An arrangement of data in some logical order such as names in an
alphabetical cross-reference or parcels in section-block-lot order on an
assessment roll. |
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ASBESTOS - A fire and heat resistant mineral used for insulation and
exterior roof and wall coverings. Thought to be a carcinogen if the fibers
are inhaled. |
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ASPECT - The direction in which a building faces such as a house with a
southern exposure. In forestry, the compass direction toward which a slope
faces. |
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ASSEMBLAGE - The combining of parcels, usually contiguous, for some
specific purpose. See also “Plottage.” |
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ASSESS - To value real estate for purposes of taxation. Also, the act of
determining compensation in a condemnation proceeding. |
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ASSESSED VALUE - A figure in dollars determined by an assessor which
reflects a property's worth in relation to other properties on an
assessment roll and which, unless exempt, is used to compute a tax dollar
obligation by multiplying it by a tax rate. |
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ASSESSING UNIT - A city, county, town or village with the authority to
value real property for purposes of taxation. |
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ASSESSMENT BIAS - A situation in which one class or type of property will
prove to be assessed at a different percentage of market value than other
classes or types. Usually the result of different rates of appreciation
for different types or classes. Cured by revaluation. |
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ASSESSMENT PROCESS - The discovery, listing and valuation of real property
for the purpose of taxation. |
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ASSESSMENT-SALES RATIO - The relationship, expressed as a percentage, of
the assessed value of a property or a group of properties to their market
value. |
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ASSESSMENT ROLL - A document listing, usually in alphabetic or tax map
number sequence within roll section, all of the parcels within an
assessment jurisdiction together with their land and total values, the
names and addresses of owners, exemption data, property types and other
pertinent information. |
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ASSESSOR - An elected or appointed official of a county, city, town or
village whose function is to value real property (and personal property in
some states) for purposes of taxation. |
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ASSESSOR'S REPORT - A multi-part report required to be submitted annually
to the Office of Real Property Services (ORPS). The assessor must list
year-to-year changes in the total assessment of locally assessed
properties. The report also contains other information of general
interest, particularly about exemptions. Formerly known as the “Assessor's
Annual Report (AAR).” |
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ASSUMED MORTGAGE - An existing loan for which a new owner agrees to assume
responsibility when purchasing a property. |
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ATTIC - The space above the ceiling joists and below the roof rafters. May
be used for storage only or may be converted to living area by adding
dormers and knee walls. |
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AVERAGE - See “Mean.” |
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AVERAGE ABSOLUTE DEVIATION - The result of summing the absolute deviations
of a series of observations about the mean or median and dividing the
result by the total number of observations. |
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RETURN TO TOP |
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BACKUP FILE - In data processing, a collection of records that is
duplicated to act as a replacement in the event the originals are lost due
to operator error or hardware problems. Backup files are usually
maintained on tape, diskettes, compact disc (CD) or digital video disc
(DVD) and, if they represent critical historical records, should be stored
in a location different from that of the computer where the originals
reside. |
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BALANCE, PRINCIPLE OF - When applied to an individual property, this
premise states that maximum value is achieved when the four agents in
production - labor, management, capital and land - attain equilibrium. In
the case of a neighborhood, maximum value is achieved when the
complementary uses of land attain equilibrium. |
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BALLOON MORTGAGE - A loan in which a portion is not amortized during the
life of the loan but payable as a lump sum (balloon) at the end of the
term. |
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BAND OF INVESTMENT - A method for determining the discount rate in the
income approach. Uses a weighted average of the return to cover mortgage
interest plus a competitive return required for equity. |
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BASAL AREA - In forestry, the breast height area of a single tree or the
average in a stand of trees expressed in square feet. |
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BASE MANUSCRIPT - In tax mapping, large color-coded drawings to scale
showing all pertinent and usable data which can be seen in aerial
photography. Prepared from the photographs using stereo plotting
equipment. |
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BASE (BASIC) RATE - That portion of the overall capitalization rate which
covers all of the income requirements except those for depreciation or
appreciation. |
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BASE RENT - The minimum rental stipulated under a percentage lease. |
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BASE YEAR ROLL - The assessment roll of a municipality from which the
samples for a market value survey have been selected. |
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BASEBOARD - A decorative molding used to cover the joint between a wall
and the floor. |
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BASEMENT - A story below the first floor which is usually partially or
completely below grade level. |
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BATCH PROCESSING - In data processing, the accumulation of file
maintenance (change) transactions in a group to be applied to the master
file in a single computer job. Distinguished from real-time processing in
which the changes are applied to the master as they are made. |
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BAY - A space between columns or piers or some similar division in a
warehouse or industrial building. |
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BAY WINDOW - A window extending out from the wall of a structure so as to
form an alcove inside the building. It is on the first floor and usually
has its own foundation. |
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BEAM - A horizontal framing member of wood, steel or concrete which
carries loads to vertical structural members. |
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BEARING WALL - See “Load-Bearing Wall.” |
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BEARING - The horizontal direction of one point from another on the
surface of the earth measured in degrees, minutes and seconds of arc
through 360 degrees starting at due north and moving clockwise. |
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BENCHMARK - 1. A surveyor's permanent mark made on a stationary object of
previously determined position and elevation and used as a fixed reference
point in mapping and tidal observation. 2. In data processing, a set of
data which will produce known results if the program against which it is
run is functioning properly. |
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BERM - An elongated mound of earth, sometimes paved, used to control
surface drainage or for screening. Also, a horizontal ledge part way up a
slope. |
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BI-LEVEL STYLE - A type of house in which part of the lower level is
partially below grade and serves as both living area and basement. The
lower level may also contain a garage. The main entrance is usually at a
level between the two floors with interior stairs immediately inside the
door going both up and down. Also called a “Raised Ranch.” |
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BIASED SAMPLE - A sample which does not properly represent the
characteristics of the entire population. A sales sample used for a
coefficient of dispersion (COD) might be biased if all neighborhoods in a
town were not adequately represented. |
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BIMODAL DISTRIBUTION - A data set in which two values appear with equal
frequency and a greater frequency than that of other values. The set 1, 2,
2, 2, 3, 3, 4, 5, 6, 6, 6 exhibits the modes 2 and 6. A description of
central tendency. |
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BLANKET MORTGAGE - A loan which covers several properties such as the
parcels in a subdivision until they are individually sold by the builder
and released from the mortgage. |
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BLOCK - A designated area on a tax map preferably bounded by streets,
highways, railroad tracks, waterways or other prominent features. Smaller
than a section but usually containing several individual lots. |
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BOARD AND BATTEN - A type of exterior siding in which wide boards are
attached vertically to the side of a building and narrow battens (i.e.,
1"x1" furring strips) are nailed over the joints in the boards. |
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BOARD OF ASSESSMENT REVIEW - A quasi-judicial panel consisting of three to
five members appointed by a municipality to hear and make determinations
on assessment grievances brought before it by property owners. |
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BOARD OF REAL PROPERTY SERVICE, STATE - A five-member body appointed by
the Governor of the State of New York with the advice and consent of the
Senate. The primary responsibilities of the Board are the promulgation of
municipal equalization rates and the improvement of assessment and
property tax administration. |
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BOARD FOOT - A unit of measure equivalent to a piece of lumber one inch
thick, one foot wide and one foot long containing 144 cubic inches. |
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BOOK VALUE - The capital cost of acquisition of a property less accrued
depreciation (if any) plus additions of capital. Basically a bookkeeping
rather than appraisal term. |
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BORING TEST - A study of the load-bearing or other qualities of the
subsurface soil and rock by the examination of core samples obtained by
drilling into the ground. |
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BRICK VENEER - A layer of brick applied as facing to a wall composed of
other materials; non-load-bearing as contrasted to a solid brick wall. |
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BRIDGING - Wood or metal strap bracing between floor joists to strengthen
a structure. |
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BUFFER STRIP - A parcel of land which separates and screens land areas
with different and perhaps incompatible uses. For example, a strip of
vacant, wooded land which separates a major highway from a residential
area. |
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BUILDING CAPITALIZATION RATE - The ratio of income from the improvements
on a property to the value of the improvements. Used in residual
capitalization techniques where the income attributable to the buildings
and the income attributable to the land is separately computed. |
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BUILDING CLASSIFICATION - Standard specifications of construction for
different typical buildings classified according to use, type of
construction, exterior wall materials and quality factors involving
materials and labor which affect replacement cost. Not to be confused with
grade of construction. |
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BUILDING CODE - Local or state ordinances which regulate building design,
construction, alteration, repair, quality of materials and use and
occupancy based on the needs of health, safety and the general welfare. |
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BUILDING PAPER - Tarred felt paper which is used to sheath walls and roofs
to insulate against drafts and moisture. |
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BUILDING RESIDUAL TECHNIQUE - An income capitalization process whereby the
land is valued separately from the improvements and a fair return for the
land is subtracted from the total net operating income. The remaining
income, which is attributable to the improvements, is then capitalized to
provide an indication of their value. |
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BUILDING SERVICE SYSTEMS - Systems which provide plumbing, sewerage,
heating, ventilation, air conditioning, lighting, elevator transport, fire
protection, etc. |
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BUILT-INS - Furniture or appliances which are more or less permanently
attached to a house and thus take on the characteristics of real property. Cabinets, counters and dishwashers are typical built-ins. |
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BUILT-UP METHOD - A process for determining the proper discount rate in an
income approach by estimating the components which are the basic
(non-risk) rate plus rates for risk, management and non-liquidity. |
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BUILT-UP ROOFING - Two or more layers of tarred paper bonded by asphalt or
a roofing compound and often covered with small gravel. |
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BUNDLE OF RIGHTS THEORY - The premise that the ownership of real estate
consists of the ownership of various rights associated with it. These
rights included the right to use and/or occupy, the right to sell in whole
or in part, the right to lease, the right to bequeath and the right to do
none of the foregoing. |
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BUTT LOG - The first log above the stump of a tree. |
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BYTE - In data processing, a measure of storage capacity. For practical
purposes it may be assumed that a byte is equivalent to one character
(letter or number) of data. |
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RETURN TO TOP |
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CAE (CERTIFIED ASSESSMENT EVALUATOR) - A professional designation awarded
by the International Association of Assessing Officers. |
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CAMA - Acronym for Computer Assisted Mass Appraisal. Typically used for
the analysis and revaluation of a municipality. |
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CANTILEVER CONSTRUCTION - The use of structural members which extend
beyond their points of support whose strength and rigidity allow them to
bear significant loads. |
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CAP - Short form of “capitalization,” as in cap rate. |
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CAPE COD STYLE - A one and one-half story house to which dormers may be
added to increase the second-story headroom (typically to one and three
quarters story) and provides space for windows. |
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CAPITAL - Accumulated wealth all of that which is available for the
production of income. |
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CAPITAL EXPENSE - The amount of money required annually to pay a return on
and provide for return of the initial investment. |
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CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS - Additions and betterments such as the purchase of
additional land or the installation of a swimming pool. |
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CAPITAL - The total investment required to establish, operate and maintain
an enterprise. The investment in plant and equipment plus normal working
capital needs. |
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CAPITALIZATION - The process of converting future anticipated monetary
benefits into present worth or value. |
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CAPITALIZATION RATE - The percentage which is the sum of the discount
rate, the effective tax rate and the recapture rate (for improved property
only) representing the relationship between net operating income and
present value. |
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CAPITALIZED VALUE - The value indicated by the annual net operating income
generated by the property. The present value of the right to collect
future income derived by dividing net operating income by an appropriate
capitalization rate. |
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CASH EQUIVALENT - The present worth of all cash and other considerations
paid for the acquisition of real property. May differ from contract price. |
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CASH FLOW - The actual cash that an investor receives after deducting
operating expenses and debt service from gross income. Depreciation is not
deducted. Also known as “Cash Throw-off.” |
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CASH FLOW RATE - See “Equity Dividend Rate.” |
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CEILING RAILROAD - A railroad company whose taxable assessed value is
subject to an upper limit established by the Office of Real Property
Services (ORPS). Any assessed value in excess of this limit is exempt. |
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CELLAR - A storage space, usually below ground. Not the same as a basement
as there may be no building above it. |
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CENTRAL PROCESSING UNIT (CPU) - That part of a computer wherein the actual
instructions of a stored program are executed as opposed to peripheral
equipment such as printers, monitors and keyboards. |
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CENTRAL TENDENCY, MEASURES OF - Statistics such as the mean (average),
median and mode which indicate a central value about which the observed
data is grouped. |
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CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY - A document issued to a property owner by a
municipality certifying that a structure is in compliance with state and
local building codes. The certificate is not an indication that a
property's current use is legal. |
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CERTIORARI - See “Writ of Certiorari.” |
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CHAIN - A unit of measurement used in surveying equal to 66 feet and
composed of 100 links each measuring 7.92 inches. |
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CHAIN OF TITLE - See “Abstract of Title.” |
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CHANGE OF ASSESSMENT NOTICE - A notice required by New York State law to
be sent by county, city and town assessors to property owners whose
assessments have been increased. In practice, many assessors send out
notices of decreases also. |
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CHANGE-OF-LEVEL FACTOR - A multiplier computed by the Office of Real
Property Services (ORPS) from equalization changes listed on the
assessor's report. It is used to adjust the prior year final equalization
rate so that it can be used as the advisory rate for county tax
apportionment. |
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CHANGE, PRINCIPAL OF - This premise holds that various economic, physical,
social and governmental forces affect real property whose value must
therefore always be viewed as transitional. |
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CHATTEL MORTGAGE - A loan on property other than a freehold or fee estate. Therefore, a loan on personal property which has the legal name “chattels.” |
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CHECK DIGIT - Numbers or letters (two alphabetic characters in ARLM and
RPS) which are mathematically computed from the file key (usually section,
block and lot). The file maintenance program checks to see that the check
digit entered on a transaction matches the check digit calculated using
the file key entered for the same transaction thus avoiding changes of
data on the wrong parcel. |
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CISTERN - A rainwater storage reservoir, usually below ground. |
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CLAPBOARD - A siding for frame buildings using boards that are thicker at
one edge than at the other. The boards are attached horizontally with the
thick edge of one board laid over the thin edge of the board below it. |
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CLASS OF CONSTRUCTION - The classification of structures according to the
degree of fire resistance of the materials of which they are constructed. A concrete and steel structure is obviously more fire-resistant than a
frame house. |
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CLASS RATIO - The summed assessed values divided by the summed sales
prices for a particular class of properties such as residential,
commercial, industrial and utility. The residential assessment ratio is a
class ratio. |
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CLASSIFIED ASSESSMENTS - Assessments which are made at different
percentages of market value for different property classes. Where legal,
commercial, industrial and utility property is often assessed at a higher
percentage than is residential property. |
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CLASSIFIED TAX RATES - Rates which are set at different levels for
different classes of property such as commercial, industrial, utility or
residential. |
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CLUSTER DEVELOPMENT - The practice of grouping the buildings in a
development into only a portion of the available land so that the balance
may be left in its natural state or developed for recreational purposes. |
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COEFFICIENT - In multiple regression analysis, a constant which is used as
a multiplier for different levels of a variable. If the coefficient for
finished basement area is $7.50 per square foot then value of $750 will be
attributed to a house with a 100 square-foot finished room in the
basement. |
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COEFFICIENT OF CORRELATION - A measure of the relationship between
variables with respect to the effect of a change in the value of one
variable on the value of the other. Positively correlated variables tend
to move in the same direction; thus, an increase in living area usually
results in an increase in market value. Negatively correlated variables
move in opposite directions; the greater the area of a building the lower
the cost per square foot to build it. The coefficient is measured from -
1.0 (perfectly negative) though + 1.0 (perfectly positive). The symbol for
the coefficient of correlation is “r.” |
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COEFFICIENT OF DISPERSION - The average deviation of a group of
observations (assessment ratios, for example) from the mean or,
preferably, the median ratio expressed as a percentage of that mean or
median. A standard measure of assessment equity. |
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COEFFICIENT OF MULTIPLE DETERMINATION - In regression analysis, a measure
of the degree to which changes in the independent variables explain
changes in the dependent variable. The square of the coefficient of
correlation. Measured from 0 to 1.0. The symbol is mr2. A coefficient of
determination of .85 indicates that changes in the independent variables
explain 85% of the changes in the dependent variable with the balance of
15% being unexplained variance. |
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COEFFICIENT OF VARIATION - The standard error of the estimate divided by
the mean value of the dependent variable. A measure of the likelihood of
error in predictions of the value of the dependent variable. |
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COLONIAL STYLE - A traditional two-story design usually exhibiting a
balanced floor plan and symmetrical exterior. |
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COLUMN - A vertical structural member of wood, steel or concrete designed
to support horizontal beams and carry their loads to the foundation or
footing. |
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COMMITTED AGRICULTURAL LAND - In New York State, land not in an
agricultural district which is eligible for an agricultural exemption
because its owner has made a formal commitment to use it for agricultural
purposes for a specific period of time. |
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COMMON ELEMENTS - Those parts of a condominium development such as halls,
stairways and recreational facilities which are jointly owned by the
owners of the individual dwelling units. |
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COMMON WALL - A wall dividing two buildings on separate tax map parcels
which is built along the dividing line of the properties. Same as “Party
Wall.” |
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COMPARABLE SALE - A property which has sold recently and is sufficiently
similar to the subject of an appraisal so that its adjusted selling price
may be taken as an indication of the market value of the subject. |
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COMPARATIVE SALES APPROACH - See “Market Data Approach.” |
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COMPARATIVE UNIT METHOD - A procedure for comparing parcels or structures
of different size by use of units of measurement that can be applied to
each. For example, the value of a lot of 100 front feet which has sold
recently may be used to estimate the value of a lot of 75 front feet by
using a unit of dollars per front foot. |
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COMPETITION, PRINCIPLE OF - The premise that profit tends to produce
competition but that excess profit tends to create excess competition to
the eventual detriment of all of the competitors. |
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COMPOSITE RATE - The blended or weighted average of all of the rates of
return applicable to a single investment. |
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COMPOSITION SIDING - Any one of various manufactured exterior wall
coverings such as asphalt or asbestos shingles. |
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COMPOUND INTEREST - The addition to principal at regular intervals of
interest received on an investment and the subsequent application of the
interest rate to that addition. $100 compounded annually at 5% equals $105
at the end of the first year (100 x 1.05) and $110.25 at the end of the
second year (105 x 1.05). |
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COMPUTER - An electronic device capable of operating on instructions from
a stored program to solve a problem or manipulate data. |
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COMPUTER ASSISTED MASS APPRAISAL (CAMA) - The use of data processing to
appraise large numbers of parcels within a relatively short period of
time, usually for assessment purposes. Multiple regression analysis (MRA)
is a common valuation method, but traditional cost tables may also be
used. |
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COMPUTER PROGRAM - A series of stored instructions which enable a computer
to perform some complex task without the continuous and direct
intervention of the operator. Programs are written in various specialized
languages such as BASIC, COBOL and FORTRAN. |
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CONDEMNATION - The act whereby governments, government agencies and public
utilities having the power of eminent domain may seize private property
for public use and benefit upon payment of just compensation. The consent
of the property owner is not required. |
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CONDOMINIUM - A form of fee simple ownership of part of a structure having
multiple units. Owners have title to their own units plus a share of the
common elements. |
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CONFORMITY, PRINCIPLE OF - This premise holds that value is maximized when
there is a reasonable degree of social and economic homogeneity in a
neighborhood and the improvements located therein are generally similar
although certainly not exact replicas. |
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CONSIDERATION - The price in money or other commodities which satisfies a
contract. In appraisal, usually the actual selling price. |
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CONSISTENT USE THEORY - The premise that property in transition from one
use to another cannot be valued by applying one use to the land and
another to the improvements. |
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CONSTANT - A number used in mathematical calculations that does not vary
in value. Pi, which is always equal to 3.1416 (rounded), is always used to
find the circumference and area of a circle no matter what the size of the
circle. |
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CONSTRUCTIVE CONDEMNATION - A governmental action which results in a
substantial loss to a property owner even though the property itself is
not taken. For example, a change in the zoning of a vacant parcel from
highway commercial to protected wetlands would be likely to result in a
sharp reduction in the market value of the parcel. In a case such as this,
a court, upon petition by the owner, may order that the parcel be
condemned and just compensation paid. Also known as inverse condemnation. |
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CONTEMPORARY STYLE - A type of modern architecture characterized by open
multi-level interior planning, large window areas, simple (not ornate)
details, and various - sometimes mixed - roof styles. Exterior walls are
often of stained rather than painted wood. |
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CONTIGUOUS - Touching, or sharing boundaries. Lots that lie next to each
other and have part of their boundaries in common are said to be
contiguous. |
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CONTINGENT FEES - Payments based on the results of the services performed. A fee for a certiorari appraisal based on the amount of tax reduction
achieved would be a contingent fee. This type of compensation is generally
considered unethical in the appraisal profession. |
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CONTOUR MAP - A map using lines connecting points of equal elevation to
display the topography (hills, valleys, etc.) of the areas covered by the
map. Also known as a “Topographical Map.” |
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CONTRACT RENT - The actual payments required by a lease agreement. May
differ from economic rent. |
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CONTRIBUTION, PRINCIPLE OF - A premise which holds that the value of a
factor in production or of a component part of a property depends on its
contribution to the value of the property as a whole. |
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CONTRIBUTORY VALUE OF IMPROVEMENTS - The amount that improvements add to
the market value of a property. That amount may be higher or lower than
the cost of the improvements. It represents the market's view of the
increase or decrease in the property's desirability attributable to their
presence or absence. |
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CONVERSION PERIOD - The time interval used in the calculation of compound
interest: daily, monthly, annually, etc. |
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CONVEYANCE - A written instrument which transfers interest and rights in
real property from one party to another. |
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COOPERATIVE APARTMENT - A dwelling unit owned by a corporation in which an
owner owns stock commensurate with the value of his or her apartment
compared to the value of the building as a whole. The stockholder has a
proprietary lease to the apartment. |
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COORDINATE LOCATOR NUMBER - An easting and northing reading in feet from
the point of origin of the appropriate zone of the New York Coordinate
System to the visual center of a parcel. |
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CORD - A cubic measure of the quantity of cut wood. Equal to a stack 8
feet long by 4 feet high by 4 feet wide containing 128 cubic feet. |
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CORNER INFLUENCE - The effect of location at or near a street corner on
the value of a parcel. The effect on market value is generally positive
for a commercial establishment such as a store but may be a detriment to a
home because of loss of backyard privacy. |
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CORRECTIONS OF ERRORS LAW - Sections 550 to 559 of the Real Property Tax
Law (RPTL) set forth the circumstances and conditions under which
assessment and tax rolls may be corrected and taxes refunded or additional
taxes levied. |
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CORRELATION - The property of two variables to be related such that
knowledge about one of them provides at least some information about the
other. Knowing the size of a vacant lot will help to predict its selling
price although not precisely because there are other factors which also
influence the price. See also “Coefficient of Correlation.” |
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COST APPROACH - A method of estimating the value of real property by
calculating a current construction cost, subtracting accrued depreciation
and adding a land value obtained from the market. This method works best
when the improvements are relatively new and estimates of depreciation are
thus more likely to be accurate. Also best used in the absence of
comparable sales. |
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COST EFFECTIVENESS - A judgment as to whether or not the cost to undertake
a course of action is justified by the results in terms of income received
or value added. |
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COST INDEX - A multiplier used in building cost manuals to bring the
information in the tables up to a current date to reflect changes in the
cost of labor, materials, etc. |
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COST MANUAL - A book wherein are listed in tabular form the costs of
construction of various types of structures at different grades of
construction quality. Major building components are generally priced in
dollars per square foot, while add-ons such as yard improvements may be
priced using the unit in place method. |
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COST OF DEVELOPMENT METHOD - See “Development Method.” |
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CONTERMINOUS - Having the same boundaries. Cities and their school
districts are usually conterminous while a suburban or rural school
district may be in parts of several towns and there may be several school
districts in one town. |
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COST TO CURE - The amount of capital required to mitigate physical or
functional depreciation. The end result of a careful study of all defects
necessary to determine whether the defined obsolescence is curable or
incurable. |
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COUNTY-OWNED REFORESTED LAND - Land which has been acquired by a county
and will be forever devoted to the purpose of reforestation. Such land is
exempt from county taxes but taxable for all other purposes. |
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COVENANT - A written agreement, often part of a deed, whereby one of the
parties promises to perform certain acts or to refrain from performing
them. See also “Restrictive Covenant.” |
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CRAWL SPACE - An accessible but unfinished enclosed area below the first
story of a building, of less than full-story height (typically five feet
in height or less). |
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CROP ROTATION - The process of annually alternating different field crops
such as corn or wheat with legumes to maintain and/or improve the
fertility of the soil. |
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CRUISE, TIMBER - A survey of land to locate standing timber and estimate
its type, quantity and quality. |
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CUL DE SAC - A street open at one end only, usually with a turn-around
circle at the closed end. |
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CURABLE DEPRECIATION - Items of physical deterioration and functional
obsolescence which are economically feasible to cure and which a prudent
property owner would be likely to repair or replace. It is anticipated
that the cost to cure would exceed the potential increase in market value. See “Incurable Depreciation” |
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CURTAIN WALL - A non-load-bearing outside wall which encloses but does not
support the structural frame of a building. |
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CUT-OVER LAND - An area where logging operations have removed all or
nearly all of the original virgin forest. |
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RETURN TO TOP |
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DATA - Information in the form of numbers, letters or symbols which can be
stored, processed, produced and interpreted, usually by a computer. A
computer program manipulates data (the taxable value of a property and the
tax rate) to produce additional data (the amount of tax owed). |
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DATA COLLECTION - The process of noting and recording, usually by field
inspection, the information required to value real property. A data
collector might measure a house and note the number of rooms and bathrooms
and the presence of decks, fireplaces, central air conditioning, etc. |
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DATA MAILER - A document requesting a property owner to supply
inventory/valuation information relating to his property or to confirm the
accuracy of data already on file. |
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DATA PROCESSING - The use of a computer to manipulate information to
produce some desired result such as a list of parcels sorted by owner
name, tax bills or an estimate of value using regression analysis. |
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DATA BASE - A collection of related information such as the inventory of
all parcels in a town, usually in a computer file. |
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DATE OF APPRAISAL - The day as of which the value estimate applies. Usually a current date but can be in the past (an appraisal as of
date-of-death for estate purposes) or the future (a proposed shopping
center). See “Valuation Date.” |
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DEAD LOAD - The permanent weight of the structure including fixed
equipment such as boilers and air conditioning machinery. Live load items
such as people, furniture or merchandise are not included. |
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DEBT COVERAGE - The ability of the property to meet the costs of debt
service out of net operating income. |
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DEBT COVERAGE RATIO - The relationship between net operating income and
annual debt service. A measure of the security behind the mortgage loan. The higher the ratio the more secure the loan. |
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DEBT SERVICE - The periodic payments of interest and principal required by
a mortgage agreement. |
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DECLINING ANNUITY METHOD - A valuation technique based on the presumption
that future income will decline progressively and systematically. The
present worth of this predicted income stream is calculated. |
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DECLINING BALANCE DEPRECIATION - A method of depreciation whereby a fixed
percentage is applied to the balances remaining after previous
depreciation has been deducted. Applying 52 depreciation to an improvement
with an RCN of $100,000, first year depreciation would be $5,000 (52 of
$100,000), second year depreciation would be $4,750 (52 of $95,000) and
third year depreciation would be $4,512.50 (52 of $90,250). |
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DEDICATED - Donated to a municipality for public use by the fee owner. A
developer will usually dedicate the streets in a subdivision when the
project has been completed. |
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DEED - A legal written instrument used to convey title to or an interest
in real property. |
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DEED DESCRIPTION - A listing in a deed of the legal boundaries of a
parcel. Sometimes includes a description of the various courses and
distances of the boundaries and sometimes only a reference to a filed map
or a prior deed. |
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DEED OF TRUST - A legal written instrument conveying or transferring real
property to a trustee. |
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DEFAULT - In data processing, information supplied by the system unless
overridden by the user. For example, a word processing program might
automatically apply a 10-character left margin to a document (the “default
setting”) unless the user specifies some other margin. |
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DEFERRED MAINTENANCE - Repairs and rehabilitation required to put a
property in good condition. Might include painting, repair of cracks in a
blacktop driveway, repainting of brickwork, etc. Almost always present to
some degree in any structure. |
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DEFICIENCY - A structural inadequacy. Lack of some component which should
be present or materials or workmanship inferior to what might normally be
expected. |
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DENSITY ZONING - A land use limitation on development setting a maximum
number of dwelling units per acre or some similar standard. |
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DEPENDENT VARIABLE - The data being sought vs. the independent variables
for which data are already available. In multiple regression analysis the
dependent variable is usually market value while independent variables
such as acres, square feet of living area, number of bedrooms and overall
condition are used to predict market value. |
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DEPLETION - A reduction in the value of an asset by the removal of
non-replaceable resources (called wasting assets) such as petroleum, ores
or other minerals. As the supply of coal in a mine becomes exhausted, the
value of the real property declines. |
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DEPLETION RATE - The percentage of a wasting asset such as coal, ores or
oil which is removed annually. |
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DEPRECIATED COST - Cost new less accrued loss of utility and value
(depreciation). |
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DEPRECIATION - A loss of utility and value caused by physical
deterioration, functional obsolescence or economic obsolescence or any
combination thereof. |
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DEPRECIATION ALLOWANCE - The amount of loss of utility and value accrued
against the eventual replacement of an asset. A bookkeeping rather than
appraisal term. |
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DEPRECIATION METHODS - The processes used to measure loss of value due to
depreciation. May be based on observation or some formula such as
straight-line or declining balance. |
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DEPRECIATION RATE - The periodic amount or percentage by which the value
of a property is reduced. |
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DEPTH FACTOR - A percentage which expresses the value of a lot of given
depth relative to-that of a lot having an adopted standard (100%) depth. |
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DEPTH TABLE - A chart listing the depth factors per front foot for lots of
varying depths as compared to the front foot value of a lot of standard
depth. |
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DESCRIPTIVE STATISTICS - The measures of central tendency and dispersion
used to characterize a particular set of data. For example, the
coefficient of dispersion of a town assessment roll. See “Inferential
Statistics.” |
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DETERIORATION - Impairment of condition caused by wear and tear; the
physical disintegration of a structure. |
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DEVELOPMENT METHOD - A process of valuing vacant land (usually raw and un-subdivided) by determining what the land would be worth as subdivided
building lots with roads and utilities and then subtracting the direct
costs of development plus developer's profits. Also known as the
anticipated use method. |
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DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS - The authority of a property owner to subdivide, build
on and otherwise improve the property. Efforts to control growth sometimes
involve the purchase of these rights by a municipality and the property is
then assessed based only on its present use. |
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DEVIATION - In statistics, the difference between a single observation in
a sample and the mean or median of the sample. If the median assessment
ratio in a sales file is 2O and the assessment ratio of an individual
parcel is 22, the deviation is 2. |
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DIAMETER BREAST HIGH (DBH) - The width of a tree at 4 ½ feet above ground
level. |
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DIGITIZER - A precision electronic instrument which can measure the
position of a point on a map or drawing using coordinate locators related
to the X and Y axis. |
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DIMINISHED UTILITY - Loss of usefulness, and thus value, due to
depreciation. Also referred to as accrued depreciation. |
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DIRECT CAPITALIZATION - The conversion of anticipated annual net operating
income into present value by dividing the income by a capitalization rate
appropriate to the relationships between income and value currently
existing in the marketplace. |
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DIRECT COSTS - Funds used specifically for the construction of an
improvement such as expenses for materials, labor, supervision, equipment
and utilities. |
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DIRECT REDUCTION LOAN - A loan that is normally repaid in periodic
installments of a constant amount which include both principal and
interest. |
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DISCOUNT - Money paid at the beginning of a period of time for the use of
capital during that period; usually deducted from principal at the time
the funds are loaned. The reduction of future payments to present worth. |
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DISCOUNT RATE - 1. In appraisal the return, expressed as a percent, on
investment in the physical components of land and buildings. Also, the
percent of return on the legal components of leased fee and leasehold
interests. Sometimes called the risk rate. 2. The annual percentage that
reflects the competitive rate of return on an investment as distinguished
from the interest rate on borrowed funds. 3. The percent charged by the
Federal Reserve on member bank borrowings. |
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DISCOUNTED CASH FLOW - The present worth of future cash payments from an
equity investment. |
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DISCOUNTED CASH FLOW METHODS - Means of isolating differences in the
timing of future cash flows by discounting them to their present values. The two methods are the internal-rate-of-return method and the
net-present-value method. |
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DISCOUNTED RATE OF RETURN - See “Internal Rate of Return.” |
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DISPERSION, MEASURES OF - Statistical formulas such as the standard
deviation, variance or coefficient of dispersion which measure the degree
of scatter of a data set around a measure of central tendency such as the
median or mean. |
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DIVIDEND - A monetary distribution to stockholders. In appraisal, the term
is synonymous with “Net Operating Income.” |
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DOCUMENTATION - The collected and organized printed materials which serve
to explain the operations of a computer program. |
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DORMER - A house-like structure projecting from a sloping roof into which
a window is set. A “dog house” dormer may be only a few feet wide while a
“shed” dormer may run almost the length of the house. |
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DRY ROT - A fungus decay of old wood. |
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DRY WALL - Any type of interior wall construction such as wood paneling,
gypsum board, etc. which does not use plaster as the finishing material. |
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DRY WELL - A drainage pit lined with stones to allow sanitary wastes such
as rain runoff from a roof to percolate or leach into the surrounding
soil. |
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DUPLEX - A house containing two separate dwelling units usually side by
side. |
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RETURN TO TOP |
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E I E I O - Professional Designation for experts in Farm Valuation |
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EASEMENT - An interest held by one person in land owned by another person. A privilege or right of use or enjoyment such as a right-of-way for
utility lines, a joint driveway, etc. |
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ECOLOGY - The pattern of relationships between living organisms and their
environment. |
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ECONOMIC BASE ANALYSIS - A means of reviewing the relationship between
basic and non-basic employment which allows for prediction of population,
income and other variables affecting real property values. |
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ECONOMIC FEASIBILITY - The likelihood of a project (or income property) to
produce a reasonable return on and recapture of the capital investment. In
the case of non-revenue property, the need for and the desirability of the
property for the purpose for which it is designed. |
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ECONOMIC LIFE - The length of time during which improvements can
reasonably be expected to be profitably utilized and contribute to the
value of a property. Not exactly the same as “useful life.” |
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ECONOMIC OBSOLESCENCE - A loss in value caused by influences external to
the property such as increasing industrial activity near a residential
neighborhood. |
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ECONOMIC RENT - The income from a tenant that could normally be expected
from a property available for rent under prevailing market conditions. Also known as market rent. Not to be confused with contract rent which is
actual rent payable under the terms of a lease and may be more or less
than economic rent. |
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EDIT - In data processing, a procedure designed to detect and list data in
computer files which is or may be incorrect. For example, a ZIP code with
only four digits which is incorrect or, in an assessment inventory file, a
house built before 1750 which is probably but not necessarily incorrect. |
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EFFECTIVE AGE - The age of an improvement as indicated by its condition. A
building that has been well maintained may have an effective age less than
its actual (chronological) age. The reverse may be true if a building has
been neglected. |
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EFFECTIVE GROSS INCOME (EGI) - The estimated potential income of a
property from all sources less allowances for vacancy and credit loss. |
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EFFECTIVE TAX RATE (ETR) - The nominal (actual) tax rate multiplied by the
level of assessment. If the level of assessment is 30 (.30) and the
nominal tax rate is $80 per $1,000, the effective tax rate is $24 per
$1,000 or 2.4%. See also “Equalized Tax Rate.” |
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ELEVATION - 1. The height of land, at a given point, above sea level. 2.
The projection of an object in a vertical plane. A front, side or rear
view of a house as distinct from a floor plan which is a horizontal
projection. |
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ELLWOOD METHOD - A procedure for mortgage-equity capitalization. |
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EMINENT DOMAIN - The right of a sovereign government to acquire private
property for public or quasi-public purposes without the consent of the owner but with
payment of reasonable compensation. See “Condemnation.” |
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EMPIRICAL - Describes an opinion, conclusion or data based solely on
practical experience, experimentation or observation rather than derived
by scientific principals and methods. |
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ENCROACHMENT - 1. A form of trespass in which an improvement or part of an
improvement in constructed on the property of another. 2. The displacement
of one existing use by another such as the establishment of commercial
enterprises in a residential area. |
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ENCUMBRANCE - An interest in or claim upon real property which diminishes
the value of the fee but does not prevent conveyance thereof. Mortgages
and taxes are forms of encumbrances known as a liens, while deed
restrictions and easements are non-lien encumbrances. |
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ENGINEERING BREAKDOWN METHOD - A process for estimating accrued
depreciation by totaling estimates made for the individual components of
the improvement such as the roof, foundation walls and electric wiring. |
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ENTREPRENEUR - One who assumes the risk and management of a business or
enterprise in the expectation of profit rather than for a wage or salary. |
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EQUALIZATION - The process of bringing the assessed value of jurisdictions
assessing at different levels to a common level, usually fair market value
as of a given date. |
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EQUALIZATION CHANGE - A change in assessed value reported on the
assessor's report that is not caused by a physical or quantity change or a
change in exempt status. Effectively, it represents a change in the
assessor's opinion of value of the parcel. |
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EQUALIZATION RATE - A weighted average ratio of the total assessed value
in a municipality divided by the total market value. An equalization rate
of 20% indicates that assessments were at an average of one-fifth of
market value when the equalization rate survey was made. |
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EQUALIZATION SURVEY - The process
by which equalization rates are established. In New York State surveys are
usually conducted every three years using appraisals of a stratified
random sample of all types of taxable real property in an assessing unit. |
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EQUALIZED FULL VALUE - The result of dividing assessed value by the
equalization rate. If a municipality has a total taxable assessed value of
$50 million and an equalization rate of 25%, the equalized full value is
$200 million. |
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EQUALIZED TAX RATE - The nominal (actual) tax rate multiplied by the
equalization rate. If the equalization rate is 30% and the nominal tax
rate is $80 per $1,000, the equalized tax rate is $24 per $1,000 or 2.42. See also “Effective Tax Rate.” |
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EQUITY - The interest or value which an owner has in real estate over and
above any indebtedness such as mortgages. Also, fairness. The assessor is
responsible for the equitable or fair distribution of the property tax
burden. |
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EQUITY-BUILDUP - The repayment of principal in the amortization of a loan
which decreases outstanding indebtedness and thus increases the owner's
equity. Interest payments do not increase equity. |
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EQUITY CONSTANT - See “Equity Dividend Rate.” |
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EQUITY DIVIDEND - Net operating income remaining after the payment of debt
service. Cash flow to the capital investor. |
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EQUITY DIVIDEND RATE - The ratio of the annual dividend on capital to the
capital investment. Sometimes called “Cash on Cash.” |
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EQUITY PARTICIPATION - The right of a lender to share in whatever the
capital investors receive. May be a percentage of annual equity income or
of the reversion. Used to attract lenders in times when the availability
of mortgage money is limited. |
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EQUITY RATIO - That part of the investment which is not encumbered by
debt. The down payment. |
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EQUITY YIELD - The dollar return on equity from all sources. |
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EQUITY YIELD RATE - The annualized rate of return on invested capital
including both the average annual dividend and any gain or loss from the
reversion at the termination of the investment. |
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ESCHEAT - The reversion of property to the state when there is no one
legally able to inherit it. Usually occurs when a property owner dies
without a will and without heirs. |
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ESCROW - The money or property of one party which has been consigned to an
intermediary to be delivered to another party at some appropriate time. A
bank will receive mortgage payments from a property owner which include a
provision for property taxes and will pay the taxes to the taxing
jurisdictions when the bills are received. The escrow is the money or
other property itself. |
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ESTATE - The interest or the nature of the interest which one has in real
property such as fee ownership, life tenancy, or an interest established
by a lease. |
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EXCESS (SURPLUS) LAND - The area and/or frontage of a parcel greater than
the normal standard for a site in a particular neighborhood or market. |
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EXCESS FRONTAGE TABLE - A chart which reflects the decrease in value per
front foot for a parcel (usually residential) having greater than the
normal standard frontage. |
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EXCESS INCOME - That part of actual rental income which is greater than
the fair market rental at a specific time. May be due to a fortuitous
lease, a noncompetitive market or a lease made prior to a decline in
market rental rates or other factors. |
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EXCESS RENT - The amount by which contract rent is greater than fair
market rent. |
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EXCESS VALUE - The amount by which the value of a lease is greater than
the normally expected value because contract rent is greater than fair
market rent. |
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EXEMPT ASSESSED VALUE - That portion of a parcel's (or an entire roll's)
total assessed value which is exempt from taxation. |
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EXEMPTION - A form of relief from taxation where all or part of the
assessed value is free from payment of some or all tax levies. Typically
granted to individuals as a matter of public policy (elderly and veterans
exemptions), property owned by the federal, state or municipal governments
or their agencies, and organizations such as private schools organized for
a specific exempt purpose with the added requirement that the parcel must
be used to achieve that purpose. |
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EXEMPTION CODE - A five digit number assigned by the Office of Real
Property Services (ORPS) to every exemption granted by statute in New York
State. The significance of the first digit of each code is as follows: 1. Publicly owned, wholly exempt. 2. Privately owned, wholly exempt. 3.
Publicly owned, partially exempt. 4. Privately owned, partially exempt. The second, third and fourth digits identify and group exemptions and the
last digit specifies the taxing purposes to which the exemption applies
(county, town or city, school, village) or some combination thereof or
all. |
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EXPENSE RATIO - The total allowable expenses divided by the effective
gross income. That fraction of effective gross income consumed by the cost
of doing business. |
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EXPERT WITNESS - Individuals whose recognized knowledge of some art,
business, profession or science qualifies them to testify on a subject as
experts thereon. An appraiser with a recognized national designation might
be an expert witness in a certiorari proceeding. |
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EXTRAPOLATE - To calculate or estimate a quantity beyond the range of the
data upon which the calculation or estimate is based. For example, to
estimate the cost to build a 6,000 sq. ft. house from tables giving the
cost to build houses of 1,000 to 5,000 sq. ft. See also “Interpolate.” |
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FACADE - The principal exterior face of a building, usually the front. |
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FACE BRICK - A hard burned brick of selected color, size and texture used
for the exterior finished wall of a building. |
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FACTOR - A multiplier or coefficient such as the Inwood factor. Numbers
which can be divided into another number with an integer (whole number)
result. The factors of 6, for example, are 2 and 3. |
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FACTORED HISTORICAL COST - An original construction cost which has been
up-dated to a current cost by use of a multiplier. The multiplier is
determined by age, location, construction quality, etc. Useful for rough
estimates only. |
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FAIR MARKET VALUE - The most probable price, expressed in terms of money,
that a property would bring if exposed for sale in the open market in an
arm's-length transaction between a willing seller and a willing buyer,
both of whom are knowledgeable concerning all the uses to which it is
adapted and for which it is capable of being used. [From “Property
Assessment Valuation” published by the International Association of
Assessing Officers.] Synonymous with “Market Value.” |
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FANNIE MAE (FNMA) - The Federal National Mortgage Association. A
privately-owned corporation which purchases conventional first mortgages
at discounts. |
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FARM - A tract of rural land operated as an agricultural unit. Its primary
function is the production of agricultural products such as grains,
fruits, vegetables, poultry, livestock and dairy products. |
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FARM LAYOUT - The arrangement of fields, farm buildings, roads and other
land features. |
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FARMSTEAD - The site of farm buildings; the focal point of farming
operations. |
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FEE SIMPLE - Unqualified ownership of real property subject only to the
limitations of taxation, eminent domain, police power and escheat. The
complete bundle of rights. |
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FEE TAIL - An estate of inheritance which specifies the descendants or
heirs of the owner of the real estate to whom said real estate may be
granted. Abolished in most states and converted to fee simple. |
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FENESTRATION - The design and arrangement of the windows in a building. |
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FIDUCIARY - A person who occupies a position of special trust in certain
relationships to another person or persons. An administrator, executor, guardian, receiver
or trustee. |
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FIELD BOOK - Usually a copy of the current year's assessment roll in which
changes for the following year's roll are written. |
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FIELD CROP - An annual crop such as wheat which is planted and harvested
by mechanical means. |
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FILE - In data processing, a collection of similar records such as a file
containing the inventory records of every parcel in a town. |
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FILE MAINTENANCE - The process of updating and correcting a computer data
file by entering new information in the appropriate records and fields. |
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FIELD (RECORDED) MAP - A document such as a plan of a subdivision which is
filed with the county clerk and often referred to in legal descriptions. |
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FINAL ASSESSMENT ROLL - A document containing assessment and exemption
information on all parcels in a municipality. Differs from the tentative
assessment roll with respect to changes ordered by a Board of Assessment
Review, assessments and ceilings made by the State Board of Real Property
Services (SBRPS) and ownership and address changes since the tentative
roll. Filed on July 1 by most towns in New York State and on April 1 by
most villages. |
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FINAL VALUE ESTIMATE - The end product of an appraisal resulting from the
reconciliation of the various approaches to value used. |
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FIRE DOOR - A door whose core and external surfaces are especially
constructed to delay the spread of fire. Some fire doors can be closed
automatically from a remote location or are activated by heat. |
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FIREPROOFING - The use of non-combustible materials to protect the
structural components of a building so that it will be less likely to lose
its structural integrity if the interior contents are burned. |
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FIRE WALL - A structure within a building that is fire-resistant and
structurally stable which will control and minimize the spread of fire in
a building. Usually of brick, poured concrete or concrete block. |
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FIRST MORTGAGE - A loan having priority over all other voluntary liens
against a property. See “Mortgage.” |
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FISCAL YEAR - An accounting period which usually coincides with the
calendar year but may begin at any time. School districts, for example,
usually have an August 1 to July 31 fiscal year because of the way that
the school year is organized for academic purposes. |
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FIXES EXPENSES (CHARGES) - Costs not related to occupancy, such as
property taxes or insurance premiums, which are largely beyond the control
of the property owner or manager. Despite the common use of the word
“fixed,” they in fact almost always increase from one year to the next. |
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FIXED-RATE MORTGAGE - A conventional loan in which the interest rate
remains constant for the life of the loan. |
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FIXTURE - An article of personal property which has been permanently
attached to the land or to a building so that it becomes real property. Examples are lighting fixtures such as chandeliers or rods for curtains or
drapes. |
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FLOOD PLAIN - An area of land adjoining a river which, because of its
topography, would flood if the river were to overflow its banks. Structures can usually be built in the flood plain but typically at an
added cost (i.e., flood insurance, potential loss to severe flood damage,
etc.) |
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FLOOD WAY - That area in which the natural current of water flows. Can not
be built in or impeded. |
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FLOOR AREA - The amount of space of an individual floor or all of the
floors of a building computed using outside dimensions for each floor and
excluding porches and patios. The total floor space is known as the square
feet of living area. |
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FLOOR-AREA RATIO - The floor area of the building as a percentage of the
total area of the parcel on which it stands. A building with 10,000 feet
of floor area on a one acre lot would have a 23% floor area ratio. The
term is often used in the context of zoning. |
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FLOOR LOAD - The live weight measured in pounds per square foot which a
floor may safely sustain. Also known as the “Live Load.” Does not include
the weight of the building itself. |
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FOOTING - The projecting base of the foundation wall which ties the
building into the ground and distributes the weight of the structure over
a wider area to prevent shifting or settling. |
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FOOTPRINT - The outline of the exterior dimension of the ground floor of a
building on the site. The shape and area covered by the building. |
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FORAGE CROP - A member of the grass family which is often harvested and
stored in silos as a food reserve for livestock. |
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FORECLOSURE - The legal process by which a mortgagee forces sale of a
property in case of default by the mortgagor so as to recover the
principal of the mortgage loan. |
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FOREST, MATURE - A stand of trees which has reached the age at which its
products are ready for maximum utilization. May depend on the objectives
for which the forest is managed: maple syrup vs. saw-logs, etc. |
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FOUNDATION - The part of a building, usually below and at grade, upon
which the superstructure rests; ties the building to the footing. |
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FOUR-THREE-TWO-ONE RULE - A depth influence formula which states that the
quarter of a standard depth lot which fronts on the street provides 40% of
the lot's total value, whereas the second quarter provides 30%, the third
quarter 20%, and the rear quarter farthest from the street only 10%. See
also “One-Third, Two-Thirds Rule.” |
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FOYER - The lobby of a theater or hotel. The entrance hall of a house. |
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FRACTIONAL ASSESSMENT - A procedure whereby assessments are made at some
uniform percentage of full or fair market value rather than at 100%
thereof. |
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FRAME (WOOD) CONSTRUCTION - A method of building in which a wood frame
consisting of vertical wall studs, horizontal floor joists and rafters
define and support the structure. The exterior shell may also be of wood
or some other siding material with or without a veneer facing. |
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FRAMING - The structural members which support a building and determine
its size and shape. |
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FREEHOLD - An unencumbered, lien-free estate for life or during the life
of another person. |
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FREQUENCY DISTRIBUTION - A summary of observations consolidated into
groups according to their frequency of occurrence. For example, the number
of sales of homes within specified price ranges. Usually presented in the
form of a table or graph. |
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FRONT FOOT - A strip of land one foot wide fronting on a street, railroad
siding or body of water and extending to the rear of the parcel. This
distance is frequently measured in terms of a standard depth. See also
“Frontage.” |
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FRONTAGE - The linear extent of a parcel of land along some traffic artery
such as a street or highway. Also the extent along a body of water such as
a river or the seashore. |
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FRONTAGE ROAD - A local street paralleling a limited access highway built
to serve abutting properties and gather and control traffic entering or
leaving the major artery. Also called a service road. |
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FULL VALUE - A synonym for “Fair Market Value.” |
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FUNCTION OF THE APPRAISAL - The purpose for which the value conclusion of
the appraisal is needed such as sale, mortgage, estate tax, etc. |
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FUNCTIONAL (CURABLE & INCURABLE) OBSOLESCENCE - Impairment of useful
capacity or efficiency; loss of value caused by super-adequacy, inadequacy
or changes in the art inherent in the property itself. Not to be confused
with the external effects of economic obsolescence. Curable if the cost to
cure is justified by the resulting increase in value of the property;
otherwise incurable. |
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FUNCTIONAL UTILITY - The sum of the usefulness and attractiveness of a
property. The ability of a property to perform the functions for which it
is intended. |
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FUTURE WORTH OF ONE - The value at the end of a specified number of months
or years of one dollar deposited today at a specified interest rate. Example: What one dollar would be worth five years from today if placed in
a savings account at 7% interest compounded annually. One of the “six
functions of a dollar.” |
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FUTURE WORTH OF ONE PER PERIOD - The value at the end of a specified
number of months or years of regular periodic deposits of one dollar at a
specified interest rate. Example: What annual deposits of one dollar would
be worth at the end of five years at 7% interest compounded annually. One
of the “six functions of a dollar.” |
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GABLE ROOF - A single-pitch, ridged roof which forms a triangular shape in
the vertical plane at the ends of the structure. |
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GAMBREL ROOF - A gable-type roof with slopes of two different pitches, the
lower one being more nearly vertical. |
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GEOCODE - A numbering system used to identify a point on the surface of
the earth such as the center of a parcel. The grid coordinates of the
visual center. |
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GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION SYSTEM (GIS) - A computerized database which
displays layers of information such as tax map parcels, roads, school and
special district boundaries, utility distribution, topography, wet lands,
etc. Different layers may be combined as desired. |
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GEOGRAPHIC POSITIONING SYSTEM (GPS) - A means of identifying ones position
on earth by measuring the distance to three or more military satellites in
a geosynchronized orbit with specialized receivers. |
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GINGERBREAD WORK - Architectural ornamentation of a house, usually
considered excessive by today's standards. Typical of late 19th century
design. |
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GINNY MAE (GNMA) - The Government National Mortgage Association. A federal
agency which purchases mortgages in the secondary market and sells
participation certificates, which are guaranteed as to principal, to the
general public thus creating a source of funds for the mortgage market. |
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GORE - A small, usually triangular, parcel of land of undetermined
ownership resulting from survey or deed description errors involving
adjoining parcels. |
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GRADE - 1. A letter and number (i.e. B+20, C-10) measure of quality of
construction. 2. The vertical rise and fall of the earth's surface, often
expressed as a percentage of horizontal distance. 3. The process of
smoothing the ground surface to make it suitable for constructions. |
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GRADUATED LEASE - A rental agreement which provides for an initial level
of rent followed by specified increases or decreases at specific
intervals. |
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GRADUATED PAYMENT MORTGAGE - A loan which provides for lower payments
during its earlier years and higher payments as maturity approaches. It is
designed to allow for the fact that the mortgagee's income, and thus
ability to meet monthly payments, will increase over time. |
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GRANTEE - A person or organization to whom property is transferred to by
deed or to whom property rights are granted by a trust instrument or other
document. Usually the buyer. |
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GRANTOR - A person or organization which conveys property by deed or
grants rights to property through a trust instrument or other document. Usually the seller. |
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GRANTOR/GRANTEE INDEXES - Separate books which list alphabetically by
grantor or grantee last name the book and page of deeds recorded in the
county clerk's office. |
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GRIEVANCE DAY - A period of time designated for administrative review of
assessments by a Board of Assessment Review: the third Tuesday in May for
most towns in New York State and the third Tuesday in February for most
villages. Public hearings may be adjourned to succeeding days as required. |
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GROSS INCOME MULTIPLIER (GIM) - A figure which is obtained by dividing the
selling price of a property by the annual (or monthly) gross income. It
may be used to estimate the market value of similar properties whose gross
income is known which have not sold recently. |
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GROSS LEASEABLE (RENTABLE) AREA - Includes common space such as halls,
restrooms and vestibules in addition to the floor space to be occupied by
the tenant which is the net leaseable area. The term is used in connection
with shopping centers and office buildings. |
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GROSS LEASE - A rental agreement which requires the lessor to pay most or
all of the property charges such as taxes, insurance, maintenance,
utilities, etc. |
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GROSS RENT MULTIPLIER (GRM) - See “Gross Income Multiplier.” Gross rent,
rather than net operating income, is divided into the selling price to
obtain the multiplier. |
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GROUND FLOOR AREA - The space of the grade-level floor of an improvement
computed using exterior dimensions. |
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GROUND COVERAGE - The percent of the site which is covered by the
grade-level floor of the improvements. |
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GROUND LEASE - A rental agreement which conveys the right of use of vacant
land or land exclusive of any buildings on it. |
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GROUND RENT - The amount paid for the right to occupy and use a parcel of
land or that portion of total rent considered to represent a return on the
land only. |
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GROUND WATER - Water beneath the ground which has seeped down from the
surface. The source of springs and wells. |
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GUARANTEED TITLE - A record of ownership whose validity has been
guaranteed and insured by a title or abstract company. |
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GUNITE - A cement-like compound which is applied under pressure from a gun
or nozzle. Often used in the construction of swimming pools. |
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HARD DRIVE (OR DISK) - A magnetic data storage medium for micro computers. A permanent installation with very high storage capacity as contrasted to
a floppy diskette which is removable and usually stores much less data. |
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HARDWARE - The physical components of a computer such as printers,
monitors and disk drives. |
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HARDWOOD - Lumber from broad-leaved, deciduous trees such as oak or maple
as opposed to wood from evergreen trees. This term does not refer to the
density of the wood. |
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HARMONIOUS - A term used to describe the pleasing architectural details of
a building; the appropriateness with which a structure harmonizes or
blends with other neighborhood structures; a neighborhood of socially and
economically compatible people. |
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HEAT PUMP - A reversible-cycle refrigeration system which may be used for
heating or cooling. |
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HETEROGENEOUS - In appraisal, a term used to describe a neighborhood
composed of varied properties and property uses and occupied by people of
dissimilar cultural, social and economic backgrounds. Opposite of
“Homogeneous.” |
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HIGHEST AND BEST USE - That legal and probable use which will generate the
highest net return to the property over a period of time. |
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HIP ROOF - A roof with sloping sides and ends, usually of the same pitch. If there is no ridge (the slopes meet at a point) the roof is called a
pyramid roof. |
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HISTOGRAM - A vertical bar graph, without spaces between the bars, the
length of whose bars are proportional to the frequency of the observations
which they represent. |
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HISTORIC SITE - A parcel of historic importance because of some event
which took place on or near the site. |
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HISTORICAL COST - The actual cost of an improvement when constructed. Not
to be confused with original cost which is the cost to the present owner
and may be more or less than historical cost. |
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HISTORICAL RENT - Actual rent paid at some time in the past. Usually the
same as contract rent at the time of the lease but may be different than
economic rent. |
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HOLDING PERIOD - The term of ownership of an investment. |
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HOLDING PERIOD YIELD - The total return on an investment during the period
the investment is held by the owner. |
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HOMESTEAD ASSESSING UNIT - An approved assessing unit that has adopted the
homestead provisions of section 1903 of the Real Property Tax Law (RPTL). |
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HOMESTEAD CLASS - All one, two or three-family residential real property
used wholly or primarily for residential purposes, farm dwellings,
condominiums with certain restrictions and owner-occupied separately
assessed mobile homes and trailers. (From RPTL 1901) |
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HOMESTEAD BASE PROPORTION - The ratio of the taxable assessed value of the
homestead class in a special assessing unit to the total taxable assessed
value in that jurisdiction. |
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HOMOGENEOUS - In appraisal, a term used to describe a neighborhood of
similar properties and property uses in which the property owners have
similar cultural, social and economic backgrounds. The opposite of
heterogeneous. |
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HOSKOLD FACTOR - A multiplier used to capitalize income produced by a
wasting asset. |
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H.U.D. - The Department of Housing & Urban Development. A federal
department responsible for major programs such as urban renewal, low rent
public housing, mortgage insurance, etc. |
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HYPOTHESIS - In statistics, a statement whose truth one is interested in
proving or dis-proving. There are various procedures for testing a
hypothesis at some predetermined confidence level by analyzing relevant
data. |
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IMPACT NOTICE - A notice to property owners sent upon completion of a
general reassessment indicating the effect that the assessment change
would have had on their prior year tax burden. Assumes tax levies
unchanged from the preceding year and thus in not a prediction. Also known
as the “Full Disclosure Notice.” |
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IMPROVED LAND - Land which has had buildings or other structures erected
on it or has been prepared for development by grading and the installation
of drainage and utilities as opposed to raw land. |
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IMPROVEMENT DISTRICT - See “Special District.” |
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IMPROVEMENTS - See “Improvements-on-Land” and “Improvements-to-Land.” |
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IMPROVEMENTS-ON-LAND - Structures which have been erected permanently on a
site. Usually buildings but could be walls, utility poles, water towers,
etc. |
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IMPROVEMENTS-TO-LAND - Additions such as drainage, grading, sidewalks and
utilities which prepare the land for further development. |
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IN REM - A legal term referring to an action by a municipality to seize
property for non-payment of taxes. |
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INCOME AND EXPENSE (I&E) STATEMENT - A written report setting forth
sources of income and expenses associated with the operation and ownership
of a particular piece of real property. |
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INCOME APPROACH - An appraisal technique whereby the value of an
income-producing property is estimated by capitalizing its net operating
income using an appropriate capitalization rate. Value = Income / Rate. |
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INCOME MULTIPLIER - See “Gross Income Multiplier.” |
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INCOME PROPERTY - Property owned or controlled for the purpose of making
money (producing a profit). Payments of rent are the usual source of
income. |
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INCOME STREAM - Monies derived from owning property. Usually considered
from the aspects of quantity (the amount of money received), quality (the
credit-worthiness of the tenant), durability (the length of time rent will
be paid) and shape (whether payments are increasing, decreasing or level). |
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INCREASING AND DECREASING RETURNS, PRINCIPLE OF
- A premise which states
that when successive increments of one agent (factor) in production are
added to fixed amounts of the other agents benefits (value) will increase
up to a certain point after which successive increments will not produce
further benefits. |
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INCURABLE DEPRECIATION - Items of physical deterioration and functional
obsolescence which are not economically feasible to cure. The prudent
property owner would not be likely to repair or replace the defect because
the cost to cure would exceed the anticipated increase in market value. See “Curable Depreciation.” |
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INDEPENDENT VARIABLE - A quantity whose value determines the value of a
dependent variable. Square feet of living area (an independent variable)
is one of the determinants of selling price (a dependent variable). |
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INDIRECT COST - Expense not directly associated with the construction of
an improvement. Fees, financing costs, insurance and feasibility studies
are typical examples. |
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INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY - Land and improvements adapted to manufacturing,
processing, assembly, warehousing and certain services such as laundries. |
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INFERENTIAL STATISTICS - The information resulting from a study whereby
the characteristics of a population are predicted or inferred from a
sample thereof. The average value of all the homes in a given town (the
population) might be inferred from the average selling price of all the
homes in the same town which have sold during a given period (the sample). |
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INHARMONIOUS - A building or group of buildings that do not conform to the
aesthetics of the majority of a given street, neighborhood, or
municipality. The opposite of “Harmonious.” See “Harmonious.” |
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INSIDE LOT - A property which is not on the
corner of a street and is unaffected by corner influence. |
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INSTALLMENT CONTRACT - An agreement to purchase by which payment is to be
made at specified time intervals (usually monthly). |
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INSTITUTE OF ASSESSING OFFICERS (IAO) - A professional subsidiary
organization of the New York State Assessors' Association whose principal
function is the furtherance of assessor education. The Institute awards
the “IAO” designation to individuals who have achieved specified levels of
training and experience and who have passed a comprehensive examination. |
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INSURABLE VALUE - The worth of a property subject to destruction by fire
or some other disaster. Land, buried utility lines, footings and
foundations and the basement excavation are items which are usually not
insurable as they are not likely to be destroyed. |
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INTANGIBLE PROPERTY - Property which has no physical existence. The good
will of a business cannot be seen or touched but it does have value. |
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INTEREST - A charge that must be paid for the use of someone else's
capital; a return on capital. |
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INTEREST-ONLY LOAN - A non-amortizing loan. Only interest is paid during
the life of the loan. The entire principal is paid in one lump sum at the
end of the term. |
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INTEREST RATE -The rate of return on money which has been loaned. The cost
of money to the borrower. |
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INTERIM USE - A temporary use to which a property is put while transition
to the highest and best use is deferred. |
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INTERNAL RATE OF RETURN (IRR) - The annualized rate of return on capital
generated internally by an investment during the holding period. It is
that rate which discounts all returns to equal the value of the original
investment. |
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INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF ASSESSING OFFICERS (IAAO)
- An organization
with headquarters in the U.S. and a world-wide membership which is devoted
to the study of assessment and real property tax administration and the
education of assessment personnel. |
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INTERPOLATE - To calculate a value within a range of data. Usually the
process of determining a value which falls between two entries in a table. If the basic cost per square foot for a 1,500 square foot house is $70 per
square foot and the cost for a 1,600 square foot house is $69.50 per
square foot, interpolation enables one to fix the cost of a 1,575 square
foot house. See also “Extrapolate.” |
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INTRINSIC VALUE - The worth of the physical object itself not including
any intangible value that it may have. A $20 bill has no more intrinsic
value than a $1 bill but its intangible worth - its ability to purchase
goods and services - is much greater. |
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INVESTMENT PROPERTY - A property which is a business within itself and
through which the owner seeks to receive annual net income and/or achieve
a capital gain. |
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INVESTMENT VALUE - Value to a particular investor based upon his or her
specific requirements as distinguished from market value which is
unrelated to the owner. |
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INWOOD ANNUITY - The tables containing the Inwood factors; an annuity
which can be capitalized with an Inwood factor. |
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INWOOD FACTOR - A synonym for “Present Worth of One per Period.” |
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IRREGULAR LOT - A parcel of land having a shape other than rectangular. |
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J FACTOR - An income adjustment used in the Ellwood method of mortgage
equity analysis. |
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JOIST - A horizontal beam supporting the flooring material of a building. |
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JUDGEMENT LIEN - A charge upon property resulting from a court decree
which declares the owner in debt and to what degree. |
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JUNIOR MORTGAGE - Any lien which has one or more liens ahead of it with
respect to priority of payment. Usually a second mortgage. |
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JURISDICTION - The physical territory over which authority, power or
control is exercised. Assessment jurisdictions in New York State may be
counties, cities, towns and villages. These may also be taxing
jurisdictions as may school districts and special districts. |
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JUST COMPENSATION - Deserved or fair payment. In condemnation, the payment
of the market value of the property which has been taken. |
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KB (KILOBYTE) - In data processing equal to 1,024 (usually rounded to
1,000) characters of data. Used to measure RAM, ROM, hard disk or diskette
storage capacity. |
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KEY - In data processing a unique combination of numeric and/or alphabetic
characters which identifies a record on a computer file. Also call the
“File Key.” |
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KILOMETER - A measure of length or distance in the metric system. Equivalent to 1,000 meters or about .621 statute miles. |
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KNEE WALL - A structural divider of less than normal height usually found
in finished attics to isolate (often for storage purposes) that part of
the floor area with very little headroom where the slope of the gable roof
joins the attic floor. |
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LALLY COLUMN - A concrete-filled, steel post used to support beams or
girders, usually found in a basement. |
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LAMINATE - A product such as plywood built up by the bonding of several
layers of material to form a single sheet. |
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LAND - The solid surface of the earth together with the minerals and other
resources that lie beneath it and the space above it. |
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LAND CAPITALIZATION RATE - The ratio of land income to land value; used in
the residual techniques that separate net operating income attributable to
the land from net operating income attributable to improvements. |
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LAND CLASSIFICATION - The assignment of parcels of land to specific
categories depending on their use or capabilities for use. |
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LAND CONTRACT - A legal document given to a purchaser of real estate who
pays some portion of the purchase price when the document is signed and
thereafter makes payments in amounts and at intervals as stipulated by the
contract until the full purchase price is paid and a deed is delivered. Essentially an installment sale. The time required to foreclose is less
than that required by a mortgage and thus the seller has better
protection. |
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LAND GRANT - The legal document used by the federal government to convey
title to land to an individual or organization. Same as “Land Patent.” |
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LAND IMPROVEMENTS - See “Improvements-on-Land” and “Improvements-to-Land.” |
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LAND PATENT - See “Land Grant.” |
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LAND RESIDUAL TECHNIQUE - An income capitalization process whereby the
improvements are valued separately from the land and a fair return for the
building value (interest and depreciation) is subtracted from total net
operating income and the balance attributable to land is then capitalized
to indicate land value. |
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LAND USE MAP - An assessment map showing areas of different land uses,
often controlled by zoning, in a county, city, town or village. |
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LAND VALUE MAP - An assessment map showing values for different land uses
in different locations in units of value per front foot, square foot,
acres, etc. |
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LAND-BUILDING RATIO - The land area divided by the gross area of the
building. A 10,000 square foot building on a one acre lot would produce a
ratio of approximately 4.36:1 (43,560/10,000). |
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LANDLOCKED PARCEL - A parcel of land without access to any type of road or
highway. Sometimes occurs because of a partial taking for highway
purposes. |
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LEACH FIELD - An area where waste liquids from sewers are allowed to
percolate into the surrounding soil. |
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LEAN-TO ROOF - A single-pitch structure often supported on one side by the
wall of an adjacent building. Also called a “Shed Roof.” |
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LEASE - A legal written document by which use and possession of land or
land and buildings situated thereon is given by the owner to another
person for a specific period of time and subject to regular periodic
payments of rent. |
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LEASEBACK - A transaction in which an investor purchases property and then
leases it back to the seller. |
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LEASED FEE - The lessor's interest; the right to receive rental income as
stipulated by the terms of the lease and the right to re-occupy or
otherwise use the property upon expiration of the lease. |
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LEASED FEE ESTATE - The ownership interest of the owner or landlord. |
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LEASEHOLD - The lessee's interest; the right to use and occupy (and
perhaps develop, alter or sublet) the property subject to the terms of the
lease. |
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LEASEHOLD ESTATE - An estate in property created by a lease; the tenant's
or lessees interest. |
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LEASEHOLD IMPROVEMENTS - Additions or improvements to leased property
which have been made by the lessee. |
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LEASEHOLD VALUE - The value of a leasehold interest which is the
discounted present worth of the rent saving when contract rent is less
than current market rent. The value of the right to use and occupy
property granted by a lease agreement. |
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LEGAL DESCRIPTION - A statement identifying a specific parcel of land
under some system established or approved by law. |
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LESSEE - An individual who possesses the right to use or occupy a property
based on lease agreement. |
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LESSEE'S INTEREST - See “Leasehold.” |
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LESSOR - An individual who holds title to property and conveys the right
to another to use or occupy same under a lease agreement. |
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LESSOR'S INTEREST - See “Leased Fee.” |
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LEVEL ANNUITY - The forecast constant annual amounts of net operating
income during the period for which the projection is being made. |
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LEVEL OF ASSESSMENT - The percentage of full market value at which
assessments are, on average, made in a given assessing unit. |
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LEVERAGE - The use of borrowed capital rather than equity capital to
financial advantage. The profit resulting from the return on borrowed
capital in excess of the cost of borrowing same. |
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LIBER - A book in the county clerk’s office in which recorded deeds and
certain other documents may be found. These books are individually
numbered so each document has a unique book and page. |
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LIEN - A legal claim which one person has on the property of another,
usually as security for some debt such as a loan made under a mortgage
agreement. |
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LIFE ESTATE - A form of ownership which limits the right of use and
occupancy of a property to the owner’s own life or the lifetime of another
person. |
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LIFE INTEREST - An estate in real property which continues only during the
life of the owner or some other designated person. |
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LIFE TENANT - One who owns a life interest (see above). |
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LIGHT INDUSTRY - A term used to describe enterprises which do not require
the extensive physical plant or have the objectionable environmental
characteristics of heavy industry. |
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LINE PRINTER - A relatively expensive high speed printer attached to a
computer which prints an entire line at one time. Slower printers print
only one character at a time. |
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LIQUID ASSETS - Cash or cash equivalents such as stocks, bonds and
certificates of deposit which may be converted to cash on short notice. Also called “Quick Assets.” |
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LIS PENDENS - A legal notice recorded with a county clerk to show pending
litigation relating to real property which might affect a purchaser
thereof. |
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LITTORAL RIGHTS - Rights of owners of property abutting the ocean or a
lake; usually concerned with the use and enjoyment of the shoreline. Not
to be confused with riparian rights which refer to rivers and streams. |
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LIVE LOAD - Variable or movable weights on a structure such as the people
and furniture in an office building or stored goods in a warehouse or the
weight of snow on a roof. Usually measured in pounds per square foot. |
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LOAD-BEARING WALL - A structure which supports, sometimes in conjunction
with the interior framing, the weight of the floors and the roof. |
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LOAN CONSTANT - See “Mortgage Constant.” |
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LOAN-TO-VALUE RATIO - The amount of the debt(s) divided by the total
purchase price or value of the property. If a $200,000 house is financed
by a $160,000 loan, the loan-to-value ratio is .8 or 80%. |
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LOCALLY ASSESSED PROPERTY - Ordinary taxable property (assessment roll
section 1) and non-franchise utility property (assessment roll section 6)
both of which are assessed by the local assessor. |
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LOCATION - Unique position or placement on the surface of the earth. An
economic characteristic of real estate. |
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LOCATIONAL (ECONOMIC) OBSOLESCENCE - Loss of value of a property caused by
negative factors beyond its boundaries: for example, a gas station in a
residential area or proximity to a landfill. |
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LOFT - An attic-like space below the roof of a house or a barn, usually
having less area than the main floors. The upper stories of a warehouse or
factory. |
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LOG RULE - Tables which display the calculated amount of lumber which may
be cut from logs of a given length and diameter. Some of the more common
tables are the Humboldt, Scribner and Spaulding. |
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LONG-LIVED ITEMS - The basic structural components of a building such as
the foundation, floor joists and studs. These items ordinarily have an
economic life as long as that of the entire structure. |
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LONG-TERM LEASE - A legal document setting forth the terms of an agreement
to be in effect for ten years or more. |
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LOT AND BLOCK DESCRIPTION - A map showing the division of land into
sections, blocks and lots with some numeric or alphanumeric system of
identification. Areas or linear dimensions are often included. For
example, a filed or recorded map. |
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LOT - An individual parcel of land as shown on a tax map. Usually the
smallest subdivision of a mapping system. May be individually assessed or
combined with other contiguous lots under the same ownership into one
entry on the assessment roll. |
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LOT LINE - The boundary of a parcel of land as established by a survey or
some other means and sometimes included in a deed description. |
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MACHINE SHED - A farm building, generally with one open side, used for the
storage of farm equipment and machinery. |
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MAI (MEMBER OF THE APPRAISAL INSTITUTE) - A professional designation
conferred by the Appraisal Institute. |
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MAINTENANCE - The process of keeping an improvement in satisfactory
condition to perform the functions for which it is intended. Repairs in
contrast to betterments. |
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MANAGEMENT - In real estate the act of directing or conducting the affairs
of a (usually income-producing) property. Also, one of the agents
(factors) in production. |
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MANAGEMENT FEE - That expense attributable to controlling the operation of
the business aspects of a particular property. |
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MANSARD ROOF - A roof with two slopes on each of its four sides. The lower
slope is the more steeply inclined and may have windows, and the upper may
have no grade thus producing a partially flat roof. |
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MANUFACTURED HOUSING - A dwelling unit equipped with wheels so that it may
be towed to a site by a truck or automobile. A mobile home is usually
placed permanently on,-a site while a travel trailer is intended to be
moved from place to place. |
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MARKET ANALYSIS - The study of the marketplace with respect to factors
such as supply and demand, purchase prices, and locations of sales and the
trends pertaining thereto. |
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MARKET DATA APPROACH - An appraisal process whereby the value of a subject
property is predicated on the adjusted (for time and inventory
differences) selling prices of comparable properties. Also known as the
“Direct Sales Comparison Approach.” |
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MARKET PRICE - The actual amount paid for a property; not necessarily
indicative of an arm's length transaction which is presumed in the term
“market value.” |
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MARKET RENT - The rental income that would
ordinarily be expected from a property if available on the open
market. Synonym for “Economic Rent.” |
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MARKET VALUE - That price in an
open market at which a willing buyer would buy and a willing seller would
sell, neither being under abnormal pressure and both being fully informed. |
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MARKET VALUE SURVEY - See “Equalization Survey.” |
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MARKETABLE TITLE - That proof of ownership which a prudent individual,
guided by competent legal advice, would accept and which would, therefore,
lead that individual to pay fair value for the property in question. |
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MARQUEE - A roof-like projection over the door of a building, usually not
supported by posts or columns. |
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MASS APPRAISAL - A systematic valuation of a large number of properties
during a relatively short period of time. Typically the function of an
assessor rather than a fee appraiser. Various techniques using computers
and statistical testing of the results are often employed for this
purpose. |
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MEAN (ARITHMETIC) - The sum of a set of observations divided by the number
of observations in the set. The mean of 7, 8 and 12 is (7 + 8 + 12) = 27 ÷
3 = 9. Also called the “Average.” There are also the geometric and
harmonic means which are calculated differently. |
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MEAN ASSESSMENT-SALES RATIO - The summation of the sales ratios (assessed
value divided by sale price) in a sample divided by the number of
observations. |
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MEAN DEVIATION - See “Average Absolute Deviation.” |
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MECHANICS LIEN - A legal right to hold the property of another or have it
sold to satisfy claims for non-payment of charges for labor, services or
materials for the improvement of said property. |
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MEDIAN - The middle number of a set of arrayed data. The median of the set
of numbers 1,2,3,4 is 2.5. |
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MERGE - To combine adjoining parcels on a tax map. |
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METES AND BOUNDS - A form of deed description of a property which lists
the several courses (directions in degrees) and distances of its
straight-line boundaries and the radius and distances of curved
boundaries. |
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MEZZANINE - A story, usually between the first and second stories of a
building, having less floor area than the regular floors. Often a type of
interior balcony. |
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MILK HOUSE - A structure where milk is cooled and stored pending shipment. |
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MILK PARLOR - A structure with stalls placed beside concrete pits which
facilitate the handling of milking equipment. |
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MILL CONSTRUCTION - A building method using thick walls and heavy joists
which provide substantial fire-retardant qualities. |
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MILL RATE - A tax rate expressed in thousandths of a dollar (tenths of a
cent) per dollar. Thus a tax rate of $125 per $1,000 would be expressed as
a rate of 125 mills. |
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MILLWORK - Doors, windows, moldings and other trim used in construction
and manufactured in millwork plants. |
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MINERAL RIGHTS - A form of property ownership pertaining to underground
assets which may be recovered by quarrying, mining or drilling. May be
separate from the ownership of the surface of the property. |
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MINIMUM LOT - The smallest size parcel allowed by zoning laws for a
particular use. |
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MISPLACED IMPROVEMENT - A structure which is situated inharmoniously
relative to a neighborhood such as a contemporary house among a group of
Victorian mansions. |
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MOBIL HOME - See “Manufactured Housing.” |
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MOBILE HOME PARK - A site suitable for the more or less permanent
placement of mobile homes. In addition to parking sites, sewer and water
connections and electrical service are usually provided. |
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MODE - The most frequently occurring value in a set of data. A measure of
central tendency. The mode of the set of numbers 1, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5 is 2. |
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MODEL - A mathematical representation of the relationships that define a
situation under study. In multiple regression analysis, a set of
coefficients which, when applied to the variables in the equation, produce
an estimate of the dependent variable (usually selling price). |
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MODEL TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS - Detailed tax mapping specifications
prepared by the Office of Real Property Services (ORPS) which will result
in maps that comply with ORPS rules and regulations. |
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MODULAR CONSTRUCTION - A method of building whereby structural components
are pre-manufactured, usually in a factory, and then shipped and assembled
at the site. |
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MOISTURE BARRIER - A layer of material impervious to water used to prevent
moisture from entering the walls, ceilings and floors of a building. |
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MONUMENT - A permanent marker affixed to the ground used to designate
property boundaries. |
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MORTGAGE - A legal document pledging specific real property as collateral
for the re-payment of a loan according to set terms and conditions. |
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MORTGAGE COEFFICIENT - A multiplier used in the Elwood formula to compute
a capitalization rate. |
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MORTGAGE CONSTANT - The annual debt service on a mortgage expressed as a
percent of the initial principal amount of the loan. |
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MORTGAGE EQUITY ANALYSIS - The use of the terms of a mortgage and the
requirements of equity in the valuation of income properties. |
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MORTGAGE REQUIREMENT - The periodic level payment of debt service
(interest and principal) required on a direct reduction loan. |
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MORTGAGEE - The party who advances the funds in a mortgage loan; the
lender. |
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MORTGAGOR - The party who receives the funds in a mortgage loan and
pledges real estate as security against the loan; the borrower. |
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MOST PROBABLE SELLING PRICE - The amount for which a property would be
most likely to sell if exposed on the open market as of appraisal date. |
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MOST PROBABLE USE - That service to which a property is most likely to be
put based on the requirements and pressures of the marketplace. See also
“Highest and Best Use.” |
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MULTICOLINEARITY - In multiple regression analysis, the ability of two or
more independent variables to explain each other's variance in addition to
explaining the variance of the dependent variable. Variables such as the
number of rooms and the square feet of living area are likely to be highly
correlated. Has a negative effect on the predictive accuracy of the model. |
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MULTIPLE REGRESSION ANALYSIS (MRA) - A predictive statistical technique
whereby the values of several independent variables are used to predict
the value of the dependent variable. Variables such as land size, number
of bathrooms, building age, etc., might be used to predict market value. |
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MULTIPLE USE PROPERTY - A property which is economically and legally
suitable for more than one use. |
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MUNICIPAL CORPORATION - In New York State, a county, city, town, village
or school district. |
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NEIGHBORHOOD - An urban, suburban or rural area exhibiting a fairly high
degree of homogeneity as to housing, tenancy, income and population
characteristics. Neighborhoods are often delineated by physical barriers
such as railroad tracks, commercial or industrial developments, and
topographical features such as hills and rivers. Lines created by
subdivision boundaries, differences in zoning ordinances or deed
restrictions, and the type and/or age of buildings may also define
neighborhoods. |
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NEIGHBORHOOD ANALYSIS - The study of the effects of physical, economic,
governmental and social influences resulting from the specific location of
the property being appraised. |
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NEIGHBORHOOD CODE - A locally specified code identifying a geographic area
which exhibits similar land uses and economic and social characteristics. |
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NEIGHBORHOOD LIFE CYCLE - The stages in the life of a neighborhood:
development and growth, stability, transition and decline. These may vary
in length and intensity and neighborhood renewal may cause the cycle to
begin again. |
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NEIGHBORHOOD SHOPPING CENTER - A tract of land improved with a coordinated
group of retail buildings under one ownership or control providing a
limited variety of convenience goods and service facilities and free
parking. It usually caters to a small geographical area and consists of
thirty or fewer stores. Typically a neighborhood shopping center provides
for the sale of food, drugs and sundries, and personal services such as
dry cleaning establishments, laundries, shoe repair shops and barber
shops. Supermarkets are usually the principal tenant. The neighborhood
center is the smallest type of shopping center, with a typical gross
leaseable area of 30,000 to 100,000 square feet. |
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NET GROUND LEASE - The rental of unimproved land with the renter (lessee)
agreeing to pay the owner's expenses such as the ad valorem taxes, special
assessments, and all expenses for any improvements created by the lessee. |
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NET INCOME BEFORE RECAPTURE (NIBR) - See “Net Operating Income.” |
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NET INCOME MULTIPLIER - The relationship between price or value and net
operating income expressed as a factor; the reciprocal of the overall
rate. |
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NET INCOME RATIO - Net operating income divided by effective gross income. The complement of the “Expense
Ratio.” |
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NET LEASEABLE AREA (NLA) - The floor space actually occupied by the
tenant. For example, a building with 150,000 square feet of gross
leaseable area may have a net leaseable area of 120,000 square feet. The
difference is considered common area. |
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NET LEASE - A rental agreement that specifies that the renter (lessee)
assume payment of all property charges such as taxes, insurance and
maintenance, in addition to the stipulated rental. |
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NET OPERATING INCOME (NOI) - The amount of money remaining after deducting
all fixed and operating expenses. NOI denotes annual income unless
otherwise stated. The same as “Net Income Before Recapture” and
“Dividend.” In mortgage equity formulas it is designated by the letter
“d.” |
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NET PRESENT VALUE (NPV) - The difference, if any, between the current
worth of future benefits (positive cash flows) and the current worth of
capital outlays (negative cash flows). |
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NETWORK - A system of two or more connected computers which have the
ability to share information. The computers may be directly wired together
or connected via wireless radio transceivers. |
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NEW YORK COORDINATE SYSTEM - A mathematical procedure for locating points
on maps in relation to a statewide grid network. In New York State, this
network is divided into four zones and is used for land surveying and
mapping projects. It was created by statute in 1938. |
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NEW YORK STATE ASSESSORS' ASSOCIATION (NYSAA) - An organization of
professional assessors founded in 1940 for the following purposes: to
improve standards of assessment practice; to provide a clearing house for
the collection and distribution of useful information relating to the
assessment of real property; to educate the taxpaying public about the
nature and importance of the work performed by assessing officers; to
engage in research and improve assessment technique and practice; to
sponsor legislative proposals relating to assessing and taxation; to
cooperate with other agencies interested in the improvement of assessment
administration; and to promote equity in the distribution of the real
property tax. |
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NOMINAL INTEREST RATE - A stated rate of interest that, because of the
effect of compounding, does not necessarily correspond to the true rate.
A nominal rate of 122 (l% per month, compounded) results in an actual
rate of 12.68%. Also called the “Effective Interest Rate.” |
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NONCONFORMING USE - A use of real property which was lawfully established
and maintained but, because of changes in a zoning ordinance, no longer
conforms to the permissible uses of the zone in which it is situated. A
nonconforming building, or nonconforming portion thereof, is considered a
nonconforming use of the land on which it is located. Additions or changes
to a nonconforming parcel usually require municipal approval. |
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NORMAL CURVE - In statistics, a symmetrical, bell-shaped curve that
portrays the distribution of a population of measurements or, in the case
of large samples, frequencies of grouped measurements. The distribution of
outliers is about equal at both ends of the curve with the greatest part
of the sample centered about the median (and mean) value. |
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NORMAL DISTRIBUTION - Occurrences of data which, when plotted, approximate
a normal curve. The values of the mean, median and mode are
approximately the same. If a distribution is normal, the standard deviation may be used
to predict the number of observations in the data set falling at specific
intervals from the mean or median. |
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OBJECTIVE - Free of bias, prejudice or personal opinion; based on observed
data and facts. See also “Subjective.” |
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OBSERVED CONDITION - The physical state of a property as determined by a
detailed inspection. |
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OBSERVED CONDITION METHOD - A procedure for estimating accrued
depreciation which separately calculates deductions for physical
depreciation, functional obsolescence and economic obsolescence. These
deductions are then added to provide one lump-sum deduction from
reproduction cost new. |
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OBSERVED DEPRECIATION - An estimate of accrued depreciation based on a
skilled inspection of the property, knowledge of the market reaction to
what is observed, and the judgment and expertise of the person making the
inspection. The term is used to distinguish this method of estimating
depreciation from those based on some formula or table. |
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OBSOLETE - Exhibiting obsolescence. |
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OBSOLESCENCE - One of the causes of depreciation. It is the loss of
desirability and usefulness caused by new inventions, changes in design,
and improved processes for production, or from the influence of external
factors. Obsolescence may be either physical, economic or functional. See
also, “Depreciation,” “Economic Obsolescence” and “Functional
Obsolescence.” |
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OCCUPANCY RATE - The relationship between the income actually received
from rental units of a property and the income that would be received if
all units were rented. It is calculated by dividing income received by
that which would have been received had every unit been rented every day
of the year. See also “Vacancy Rate.” |
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OFFICE OF REAL PROPERTY SERVICES - NYS - The agency responsible for
carrying out the policies and programs of the State Board of Real Property
Services. |
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OFF-THE-SHELF SOFTWARE - Computer programs which can be purchased
commercially such as Lotus and Quattro, thus, saving users the expense of
developing their own software. |
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OMITTED IMPROVEMENT - A structure existing on a parcel on taxable status
date but whose value is not reflected on the assessment roll based on that
taxable status date. |
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ON-CENTER - The distance from the center of one structural member, such as
joists, studs or rafters, to another. A measure of spacing. |
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ON-LINE - 1). Refers to computer equipment or devices which are currently
under the control of the central processing unit (CPU). 2). Refers to
being connected to the internet. |
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ONE-THIRD, TWO-THIRDS RULE - A depth influence formula which ascribes half
the value of a lot to the front third and other half to the rear
two-thirds. See also “4-3-2-1 rule.” |
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OPEN PLANNING - A term used to describe a style of building design in
which a minimum amount of partitioning is found between different activity
areas such as living, dining and recreation rooms. |
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OPEN SPACE RATIO - The relationship, expressed as a percentage, of the
site area to the floor area of the buildings) on that site. The minimum
ratio may be established by zoning ordinances. |
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OPERATING EXPENSE RATIO - The relationship between operating expenses and
annual effective gross income, expressed as a percentage. The former
divided by the latter. |
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OPERATING EXPENSES - Allowable costs necessary to maintain the income
stream of an income producing property. Includes all expenses other than
debt service, depreciation allowance, corporate income taxes and property
taxes. |
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OPINION OF COUNSEL - A formal interpretation of a point of law by a
competent legal authority. Although such opinions are advisory (as opposed
to case law) they are accorded substantial weight. Assessors are primarily
concerned with opinions of counsel issued by the State Board of Real
Property Services. |
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ORIENTATION - The placement of a structure on its lot with regard to
compass direction, views, exposure to the sun, prevailing winds, and local
nuisances and with respect to the need for privacy. |
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OVERAGE INCOME - See “Overage Rent.” |
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OVERAGE RENT - Charges for rent in addition to the guaranteed minimum
payable under the terms of a lease. These charges are usually based on
some prescribed conditions such as the achievement of a particular level
of profit or retail sales volume by the tenant. |
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OVERALL RATE - Net operating income before recapture or debt service
divided by price or value; the same as the overall capitalization rate,
composite rate or dividend rate; the reciprocal of the net income
multiplier. |
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OVERHEAD - The general administrative costs necessitated by the conduct of
a business. |
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OVER IMPROVEMENT - A structure which is not the most profitable for the
site on which it is placed because of its excessive size or cost, and is
thus unable to develop the maximum possible land value. Such a building
suffers from functional obsolescence. |
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RETURN TO TOP |
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PARAMETER - A quantity that describes a statistical population; a variable
that may assume any of a given set of values. Colloquially, guidelines or
restrictions. |
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PARAPET - A low wall or railing constructed along the edge of a roof or
terrace. |
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PARCEL - A separately assessed lot or piece of real property. |
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PARCEL IDENTIFIER - A series of numbers (and sometimes alphabetic
characters) which is used by an assessor to identify a parcel on an
assessment or tax roll or some other document. Usually the tax map number. |
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PARTIAL ASSESSMENT - Determination made by assessors of the assessed
valuation of real property whose improvements are incomplete on taxable
status date. |
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PARTIAL EXEMPTION - A statutory reduction in the taxable assessed value of
a parcel; usually some taxable value remains for some taxing purpose. Common in New York State are the elderly, veterans and STAR exemptions. Partial exemptions are usually limited by time, amount or taxing purpose. |
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PARTIAL PAYMENT - The periodic installment
required for debt service (principal plus interest) on a direct
reduction loan. One of the “six
functions of a dollar.” |
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PARTIAL INTEREST - Rights in real estate, divided or undivided, amounting
to less than the whole. Same as “Fractional Interest.” |
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PARTIAL TAKING - The acquisition by condemnation of only a portion of a
property for public use. |
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PARTY WALL - See “Common Wall.” |
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PAYBACK PERIOD - The time required to complete the recovery of an
investment. Usually it is assumed that all income is return of capital
until the payback is completed after which time income received
constitutes profit. |
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PAYMENT IN LIEU OF TAXES (PILOT) - An agreed upon payment that is made in
place of taxes by a property owner who would not otherwise be liable for
taxes because of exempt status. Such payments are collected in the same
manner as are other payments due to the municipality under contract. |
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PENALTY TAX - In New York State, a tax assessed against property which has
been granted an agricultural exemption and then converted to
nonagricultural use prior to the expiration of the exemption. Also called
a “Rollback Tax” if charged on a tax roll prior to March 1, 1988. |
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PENTHOUSE - A structure or enclosure on a roof for housing, elevator
machinery, or water tanks or to serve as a utility room. A separate
dwelling unit on the roof of an apartment building. |
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PERCENT GOOD - The present condition of a property expressed as a percent
of the condition of the property new (100%). |
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PERCENTAGE LEASE - A rental agreement
whereby a portion of the tenant's gross sales will constitute the
stipulated rental. A minimum rent is
usually included although a straight percentage lease is occasionally
encountered. A rental ceiling may also be specified. In effect, this type
of lease makes the landlord a partner in the tenant's business. |
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PERCENTAGE RENT - Income from a tenant in accordance with the terms of a
percentage clause in a lease. Usually includes a guaranteed minimum. |
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PERCOLATION TEST - A procedure used to measure the rate of seepage of
water through soil; the ability of soil to absorb water or other liquid
such as effluent from a septic system. |
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PERIMETER - The total length of the outer boundary of some enclosed figure
such as a circle or rectangle. The perimeter of a house would be the
distance around its exterior walls. |
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PERIPHERAL EQUIPMENT - In data processing, refers to hardware such as
printers, keyboards, terminals and drives which are connected
electronically to the CPU. |
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PERIODIC GROWTH - Incremental growth at regular intervals such as that
caused by the crediting of monthly compound interest to a savings account. To be distinguished from continuous growth such as that of a tree. |
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PERPETUITY - The state of continuing forever; for example, an annuity
which extends into the future without foreseeable end. Usually applied to
an amount which accrues periodically for an indefinite number of
installments. |
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PERSONAL PROPERTY - Items that are movable; that are not permanently
affixed to and a part of real estate. In deciding whether or not an item
is personal property or real property one must consider a) the manner in
which it is attached to the real estate, b) the intent of the person who
attached it (permanent or temporary) and c) the purpose for which the
premises are used. In general, if the item can be removed without serious
damage to it or to the real property to which it is attached it should be
considered personal property. Also known as “Personalty.” |
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PHOTOGRAMMETRY - The art of taking aerial photographs and using them to
produce accurate maps. |
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PHYSICAL OR QUANTITY CHANGE - An increase in assessed value resulting from
new construction, property annexed from another assessing unit, property
omitted from the prior roll, property discovered during tax mapping and
property which has become locally assessed (usually a transfer to
assessment roll section 1 from assessment roll section 8). Also a decrease
in assessed value resulting from fire, demolition, loss of parcels due to
tax mapping, removal of mobile homes, removal of duplicate parcels and
transfer out of the locally assessed category. |
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PHYSICAL CURABLE DEPRECIATION - A condition that may be changed (cured) by
the property owner by maintenance, repair, or replacement. An estimate of
cost to cure, limited by the amount which a prudent owner would be
justified in spending, is the measure of the amount of such accrued
depreciation. The component is considered to be 100% depreciated. See also
“Deferred Maintenance.” |
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PHYSICAL DEFERRED CURABLE DEPRECIATION - Very similar to physical curable
depreciation, the difference being that the component is less than 100%
depreciated. For example, a 10 year old roof that has a 20-year service
life. |
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PHYSICAL DETERIORATION - Loss of value and utility caused by factors such
as wear and tear from use, structural defects, and exposure to the
elements. |
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PHYSICAL INCURABLE DEPRECIATION - A decrease in value and utility caused
by an actual loss in the strength and remaining life of the basic
components of a structure which the owner cannot justifiably repair. Footings, foundations, girders, joists, etc. have a long but limited
useful life and it usually is not economically sound to repair or replace
them. |
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PIER - A column often used to support structures in place of a foundation. Also, a structure extending out from the land into a body of water to
which boats and ships may be secured. |
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PILINGS - Timbers or concrete-filled steel tubes which are driven into the
ground, sometimes to bedrock, to serve as supports for the foundation of a
building, piers or other structures. |
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PITCH - The slope or incline of a roof, expressed in inches of rise per
foot of length, or by the ratio of the rise to the span (e.g., 1 on 3). |
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PIVR - A Property Inventory &
Valuation Report. A document listing the inventory and value estimate of a
parcel appraised for a Office of Real Property Services (ORPS)
equalization survey. |
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PLANIMETER - A mechanical device used for determining the area within a
multi-sided closed figure. |
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PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT (PUD) - A type of land use in which buildings are
set on smaller lots than usual and/or clustered so that larger areas of
open space for recreational use are available than would otherwise be the
case. |
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PLAT - Any map which is intended to show the division of land into lots or
parcels. |
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PLOTTAGE - The process of combining two or more sites under a single
ownership so as to develop one site having greater utility than the sum of
the individual sites when used separately. See also, “Plottage Value.” |
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PLOTTAGE VALUE - An increase in value resulting from the combination of
two or more sites so as to develop one site having greater utility than
the sum of the individual sites when used separately. |
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POINTS (MORTGAGE) - Percentages measuring a discount from, or a share of,
the principal amount deducted at the time funds are advanced. They are a
form of additional interest to the lender payable in advance. |
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POLE CONSTRUCTION - A structural skeleton for a building consisting of
vertical pole timbers or steel studs. A technique often used in the
construction of farm buildings. |
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POLICE POWER - A governmental right that serves the interests of public
health, safety, morals and welfare and, in so doing, may occasionally
limit the rights of a property owner. One of the four public restrictions
on private property. |
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POPULATION - In statistics, the entirety of the universe from which a
sample may be drawn. For example, all of the residential properties in a
particular city, town or county. |
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PORTION - In New York State, part of an assessing unit included within the
boundaries of a school district which levies taxes on the assessment roll
of said assessing unit and a town excluding all villages therein. Also,
that part of an assessing unit which is a special district which
encompasses the entire assessing unit with the exception of one or more
villages. |
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POSSESSORY INTEREST - Basically, the right to possession and use of real
property. In general usage, however, it refers to the interest of a lessee
in government owned property as distinguished from that which is privately
owned. |
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POTENTIAL GROSS INCOME (PGI) - The rent that a property will produce with
100% occupancy based on market rent. |
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PRECAST CONCRETE - Concrete structural components which are cast
separately; not formed and poured in place at the site of the structure. |
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PREFABRICATION - The manufacturing and assembly of construction materials
and parts into component structural units, such as wall, floor, and roof
panels, which are transported to and erected at the construction site. |
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PRESENT VALUE - Current worth in terms of money. The cash value now of the
right to collect payments in the future. |
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PRESENT WORTH OF FUTURE BENEFITS - The current value of money that will be
collected in the future at a specified time. Future payments are
discounted at a specific rate for a specific period of time to translate
them to present worth. |
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PRESENT WORTH OF ONE - The reversion factor which is used to discount a
single future payment to a present worth figure, given the appropriate
discount rate and period of time. One of the “six functions of a dollar.” |
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PRESENT WORTH OF ONE PER PERIOD - The reversion factor used to discount
periodic future payments to their present worth given the appropriate
discount rate and time periods. One of the “six functions of a dollar.” |
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PRICE - Usually the amount of money which is given in exchange for the
right to receive specified goods or services. The amount of money that is
exchanged when a sale is consummated. Infrequently, the consideration may
consist of something other than money (barter). Price is not necessarily
the same as value. |
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PRICE RELATED DIFFERENTIAL (PRD) - Also known as the index of
regressivity. This statistic is calculated by dividing the mean assessment
ratio by the aggregate (weighted mean) assessment ratio. PRD's above 100
indicate systematic over-assessment of lower valued properties and PRD's
below 100 indicate over-assessment of higher valued properties. |
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PRIME RATE - The interest rate charged by commercial banks for short-term
loans to borrowers having the highest credit ratings. Usually the lowest
rate at which money may be borrowed as longer term loans and those to less
credit-worthy borrowers will be at higher rates. The prime rate is often
the basis for various floating rates. Prime plus 2 would indicate a rate
that floats at two percent above the prevailing prime. |
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PRINCIPAL - Invested capital as distinguished from interest on that
capital. The non-repaid capital remaining in a loan or investment. Mortgage loan repayments consist of interest and amortization of
principal. |
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PRIVATE LIMITATIONS OF OWNERSHIP - The non-public (private) restrictions
which affect fee-simple ownership property are: 1. Rights of co-owners 2. Covenants, conditions, and restrictions 3. Mortgages 4. Easements and rights-of-way 5. Leases 6. Liens/judgements |
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PROFIT AND LOSS STATEMENT - A document compiled from the books and records
of a business enterprise which sets forth the income and expenses for a
stated period and derives from it a balance which is the net profit or
loss of the enterprise for that period. |
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PROGRAM - See “Computer Program.” |
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PROGRESSIVITY, ASSESSMENT - Assessment biases such that higher valued
properties tend to be assessed at greater percentages of their market
value than are lower valued properties. See also “Regressivity,
Assessment.” |
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PROPERTY CLASSIFICATION CODE - A three-digit numbering system, established
by the Office of Real Property Services (ORPS), for categorizing property
by use. There are nine broad-use classes within which are many individual
codes. |
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PROPERTY DESCRIPTION - That which unequivocally identifies a parcel of
real property. |
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PROPERTY INVENTORY - A collection of data for each parcel in a
municipality which should include at least the following: a) name of the property owner or owners
b) tax map land parcel number c) property description d) the physical characteristics necessary to value the parcel by at least
one of the three standard approaches e) exemption status. In practice, the inventory will contain information such as land size,
square feet of living area, number of bedrooms, finished basement area,
etc. |
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PROPERTY LINE - The dividing boundary between two parcels of land or
between a parcel and a street, highway, body of water, etc. |
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PROPERTY RECORD CARD - A printed form used by assessors on which is
recorded information about the site, land, improvements and ownership of a
parcel. A sketch of the footprint of any buildings is usually included,
and some cards contain areas for valuation using the cost approach. |
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PROPERTY RESIDUAL TECHNIQUE - An appraisal technique used to estimate the
value of an improved property in which the entire property is valued as
single unit. The annual depreciation expense is deducted from the net
operating income received from the property, and the remaining income is
then capitalized in perpetuity at a suitable capitalization rate to
indicate the value of the entire property. This technique is best suited
for properties whose buildings are near the end of their utility and it
would be difficult to accurately separate the building and land values. |
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PROPERTY TAX - In New York State, a tax levied on real property. |
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PUBLIC LANDS - Lands owned by the federal government or by state
governments public domain. Includes national and state parks and forests,
grazing lands and Indian reservations. |
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PUBLIC LIMITATIONS OF OWNERSHIP - The legal restrictions which limit the
rights of private ownership of real property are: 1. Taxation 2. Eminent domain
3. Police power 4. Escheat. |
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PUBLIC UTILITY PROPERTY - Property owned by corporations which are granted
a monopolistic franchise within a given area and are ordinarily subject to
some form of governmental regulation and control. The most common examples
are suppliers of electricity, gas, telephone service, water and cable TV
programming. Rates for these services must usually be approved by a public
service commission. |
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PULPWOOD - A forest product consisting of soft wood which is reduced to a
mash for use in the paper industry. |
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PURCHASE-MONEY MORTGAGE - A loan given by a buyer of real property to the
seller in part payment of the purchase price. |
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PURPOSE OF THE APPRAISAL - The purpose for which the value being sought is
to be used; for example, condemnation, insurance, potential sale, etc. |
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RETURN TO TOP |
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QUALIFIED SALE - A sale which meets the following criteria and may, thus,
be considered an acceptable indicator of value and a qualified sale: 1. The sale took place on the open market. 2. Neither buyer nor seller was under any undue pressure for any reason. 3. The property was exposed on the market for a reasonable period of time. 4. Both the buyer and seller had adequate knowledge of the uses to which
the property might be put and its current condition. 5. Consideration consisted of cash or cash equivalents. 6. There was no “love and affection” consideration (as in a sale between
relatives). |
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QUANTITY SURVEY METHOD - A procedure for estimating the cost of a
structure by making a detailed estimate of the quantities and costs of the
materials used to build the structure and the labor cost required to
install the materials, to which is added overhead and profit. This method
is very time-consuming and seldom used in the assessment process. |
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QUASI - As; as if; of a similar nature. A board of assessment review is a
“quasi-judicial” body in that it has powers similar to those of a court
although it is not actually part of the judiciary. |
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QUITCLAIM DEED - A form of conveyance whereby any interest (often unknown)
that the grantor may have in a property is conveyed to the grantee without
warranty of title. Often used to prevent a cloud on a title when it is
uncertain whether or not an heir of a deceased owner may have some
undetermined interest in a property. |
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RETURN TO TOP |
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RAILROAD CEILING - See “Ceiling Railroad.” |
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RANCH STYLE - A one-story house with a low pitched roof which may or may
not have a basement. Open planning is often a feature of the interior
layout. |
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RANDOM - A sequence having no discernible pattern or trend. |
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RANDOM SAMPLE - Selection of a specific number of individuals from a
clearly defined class in such manner that every possible combination of
individuals has an identical probability of occurrence. |
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RANGE - The difference between the smallest and largest of a set of
values; an elementary measure of dispersion. The range of the set
3,4,6,7,9 is 6 (9 minus 3). The range is not “3 to 9” although this
misunderstanding of the meaning of the term is common. |
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RATE - The relationship of one quantity to another, often expressed as a
percent. A capitalization rate expresses the relationship between annual
net operating income and value. |
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RATIO - A statistic giving the number of times that one number is greater
than another, often expressed as a percent. A residential assessment ratio
of 20% indicates that, on average, assessed value is one fifth of market
value. |
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REAL ESTATE - Land and the physical improvements attached thereto. See
also “Real Property.” |
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REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT) - Essentially, a mutual fund investing
in real estate rather than securities. It provides the investor who has
limited funds with an opportunity to combine his or her funds with those
of similar investors to participate in the ownership of properties that
they could not afford to purchase as an individual. There are also certain
tax advantages. |
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REAL PROPERTY - The sum of the tangible and intangible rights in land and
improvements affixed thereto. The bundle of rights that accrues to the
owner of real estate. Note the difference between “Real Estate” and “Real
Property.” In some states there may be a different statutory definition. See section 102, paragraph 12, of the Real Property Tax Law (RPTL). |
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REAL PROPERTY CLASS - In special assessing units there are four legally
defined classes of property: 1. Primarily one-, two- and three-family houses.
2. All other residential property including cooperatives, most
condominiums and apartment buildings. 3. Utility property. 4. All property not included in the first three classes. |
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REAL PROPERTY SYSTEM (RPS) - A software developed by the Office of Real
Property Services (ORPS) for use by local governments; the successor to
the Real Property Information System. These programs allow for the
integration of the assessment administration, property inventory and
valuation functions. Important features of RPS are: 1. Processing may be done on a real-time, on-line basis or in a batch
mode. 2. Different fields may have different security levels so that, for
example, a staff member who changes names and addresses might not be able
to change assessed values or exemptions. 3. Totals for all purposes are updated as soon as file maintenance on the
parcel being accessed is completed. 4. Inquiry or access for updates may be by parcel ID, owner name or
location. 5. An audit trail report allows the supervising user to review all
transactions initiated by each individual having access to the system. 6. Reports prepared by the system conform to ORPS requirements for
assessor reporting. |
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REAL PROPERTY TAX LAW (RPTL) - Chapter 49-A of the consolidated laws of
the State of New York in which are found most of the statutes pertaining
to assessment and property tax administration. Further subdivided into
articles and sections. |
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REAL PROPERTY TRANSFER REPORT (RP-5217) - A form on which is reported to
the Office of Real Property Services (ORPS) and local municipalities
pertinent information concerning transfers of title to real property. This
information is used by ORPS to determine residential assessment ratios and
as a sales file for equalization surveys. The RP-5217 also ensures that
local assessors know the true consideration and other circumstances
surrounding every sale. A copy of this form must be attached to every deed
presented for recording. |
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REALTY - Generally used as a synonym for “Real
Estate.” |
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REASSESSMENT - The process of revaluing, for property tax purposes, all
real property within an assessment jurisdiction. See also “Revaluation.” |
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RECAPTURE - Recovery by an owner of money invested in improvements to real
property, generally by a combination of mortgage amortization, annual
dividend, and resale of the equity. The recapture of the mortgage
components occurs according to the terms of the periodic installment
contract (mortgage) without regard to fluctuations in market value. |
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RECAPTURE RATE - The amount of invested capital that can be recovered
annually divided by the amount of the original investment. Sometimes
called the “Capital Recovery Rate.” |
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RECIPROCAL - Any number divided into 1. The reciprocal of 2 is ½ or .5. The reciprocal of a rate (1/R) is a factor and, conversely, the reciprocal
of a factor (1/F) is a rate. |
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RECONCILIATION - The process whereby an appraiser selects from among
several alternatives (derived from the different approaches to value) the
final estimate of value which is thought to be most appropriate. Preferred
to the term “Correlation.” |
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RECONSTRUCTED OPERATING STATEMENT - A projection of average or typical
annual income and expenses which develops a net income expectancy as a
basis for valuation. |
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RECORD - In data processing, a set of data fields combined in a standard
unit in a computer file. A residence record would ordinarily contain
fields where one might enter information about square feet of living area,
architectural style, number of rooms, construction quality, etc. |
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RECORDING A DEED - The submission of a deed to a government office
provided for this purpose (usually the county clerk), thus making a public
record of the document for the protection of all parties and giving
constructive notice to the general public. |
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REGIONAL SHOPPING CENTER - A tract of land improved with buildings that
provide a variety of general merchandise, apparel, furniture, and home
furnishings in addition to various services and recreational facilities. Department stores of at least 100,000 square feet are usually the anchor
tenants. Regional shopping centers generally have about 400,000 square
feet of gross leaseable area and provide services common in a business
district, but not as extensive as those provided by a super-regional
shopping center. |
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REGRESSION ANALYSIS - See “Multiple Regression Analysis.” |
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REGRESSIVITY, ASSESSMENT - Assessment biases such that lower valued
properties tend to be assessed at higher percentages of their market
values than are higher valued properties. See also “Progressivity,
Assessment.” |
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REHABILITATION - The process of restoring a structure to satisfactory
condition without changing its plan, form or style. It is intended to cure
physical deterioration. |
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REINFORCED CONCRETE - Concrete which is strengthened by embedding iron or
steel rods or mesh in the mix. |
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RELEVY - In most counties, school or village taxes which are not paid on a
timely basis are added to (relevied on) the next county-town tax bill. |
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REMAINING ECONOMIC LIFE - An estimate of how long property can remain
useful and continue to perform the functions for which it was designed. |
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RENT - The amount paid, usually in periodic installments, for the right to
occupy and use land and improvements. |
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REPLACEMENT COST NEW (RCN) - The cost to construct at current prices an
improvement having utility and desirability equal to that of the
improvement being appraised, but built with modern materials according to
current design standards. The RCN concept effectively eliminates
functional obsolescence. |
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REPLACEMENT COST NEW LESS DEPRECIATION (RCNLD) - Equal to replacement cost
new less a deduction for loss in value (depreciation) arising from
physical, functional, and economic causes. |
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REPRODUCTION COST NEW - The same as replacement cost new except that the
cost sought is that of constructing an exact replica or duplicate of the
improvement being appraised rather than one having equivalent utility and
desirability. Functional obsolescence, if any, is not eliminated. |
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REPRODUCTION COST NEW LESS DEPRECIATION - The same as replacement cost new
less depreciation except that the cost sought is that of constructing an
exact replica or duplicate of the improvement being appraised and then
applying the appropriate depreciation. |
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RES (RESIDENTIAL EVALUATION SPECIALIST) - A professional designation
awarded by the International Association of Assessing Officers. |
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RESERVE FOR DEPLETION - An bookkeeping amount set up to reflect the value
of some wasting asset such as oil or minerals that has been consumed. Used
to offset the value placed on the books before this consumption
(depletion) occurred. |
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RESERVE FOR DEPRECIATION - A bookkeeping amount set up to reflect loss in
value from all causes which must be deducted from values assigned to
assets (improvements) before they suffered such losses so that a current
value figure will be available. |
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RESERVE FOR REPLACEMENT - An allowance on the income and expense statement
of an enterprise for the cost of replacing short-lived items such as roofs
and boilers which are necessary to sustain the income of the enterprise. |
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RESIDENT ASSESSMENT RATIO (RAR) - The sum of the assessments of all one-
two- and three- family homes which have sold during a one-year period
divided by the sum of their selling prices. The specified period is from
the date of the previous prior final assessment roll to the date of the
prior final assessment roll. The measure of level of residential
assessments thereby produced may be used by residential property owners to
contest their assessments before Boards of Assessment Review and Small
Claims Hearing Officers. |
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RESIDUAL - That which is left over at the end of a process; a remainder. See “Building Residual Technique,” “Land Residual Technique,” and
“Property Residual Technique.” |
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RESTRICTIVE COVENANT - A private limitation placed upon the use of real
estate which is set forth in the deed and binding upon the grantee. Some
common restrictions include setback lines, architectural requirements and
placement of improvements. |
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REVALUATION - A mass appraisal of all properties within an assessment
jurisdiction for the purpose of ensuring that assessments are at a uniform
percentage of value. Today, revaluations are usually computer assisted. |
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REVENUE (DOCUMENTARY) STAMPS - Stamps issued
by a state government which must be purchased and affixed, in amounts
provided by law, to deeds of conveyance.
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REVERSE ANNUITY MORTGAGE - A loan designed for retirees and other
fixed-income homeowners who owe little or nothing on their homes. It
permits them to use the equity in their homes as supplemental income,
while retaining ownership. Typically, the lender makes regular monthly
payments to the owner whose equity is thereby depleted. The loan becomes
due on a specific date or when certain events such as the sale of the
property or the death of the borrower occur. |
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REVERSION - In mortgage-equity analyses, the proceeds of resale at the end
of the ownership projection period. Also, the re-acquiring of the rights
of possession and use of a property by an owner at the termination of a
lease. |
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REVERSION FACTOR - A multiplier used to calculate the present worth of the
return of rights (a reversion) due at some time in the future, discounted
at an appropriate interest rate. The amount that must be deposited today
to grow to a given amount within a given period of time at a given
interest rate. One of the “six functions of a dollar.” |
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REVERSIONARY RIGHTS - The authority to repossess and use property in which
certain rights have temporarily been lost, usually via a lease or
easement. According to the terms of the controlling agreement, the
reversionary right becomes effective at a stated time or under certain
specific conditions such as the termination of a leasehold, abandonment of
a right of way, or at the end of the estimated economic life of the
improvements. |
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RIGHT OF ENTRY - The authority to enter and begin construction on land
that is in the process of being acquired even though title has not
formally passed. |
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RIGHT OF WAY - The privilege of a person or persons to traverse or use the
land of another, usually with reference to some specific path or line. The
privilege may be granted for private or public passage or for railroad
tracks, electric utility poles, a natural gas pipeline, etc. |
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RIGHTS OF CO-OWNERS - A private limitation which affects fee-simple
ownership of property. The value of such fractional interest is often less
than the fraction that such ownership bears to the value of the entire
property. |
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RIPARIAN RIGHTS - The authority of an owner of land bordering a stream to
use water “which passes over” and along his land provided he does not
violate the rights of other riparian owners. The right of an owner of land
abutting a body of water to use the water for piers, swimming, fishing,
boating etc., subject to governmental regulation. |
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RISK RATE - The annual percentage of return on capital which is
commensurate with the possibility of loss (risk) assumed by the investor. The higher the risk of loss the higher the return that will be required by
the investor. |
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RM (RESIDENTIAL MEMBER) - A
professional designation granted by the American Institute of Real Estate
Appraisers. |
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ROLL SECTION - A division of an assessment roll in New York State used to
group properties with similar taxing purposes. The following sections have
been established under the real property tax law and the rules and
regulations of the Office of Real Property Services (ORPS): Roll Section 1 - Ordinary taxable property including that which is
partially exempt. Roll Section 3 - Taxable state-owned land; all property owned by the State
of New York that is subject to general tax levies. Roll Section 4 - School apportionments; used to apportion assessments for
parcels (primarily special franchise) situated in more than one school
district. Roll Section 5 - Special franchise; real property owned by public
utilities, such as cables, transmission or distribution wires, mains,
etc., which is located under, above, or upon any public right of way. Roll Section 6 - Utilities and non-ceiling railroads; all property owned
by public utility companies and privately held railroad companies except
special franchise and ceiling railroad property. Roll Section 7 - Ceiling railroads; all railroad transportation property
whose assessments are subject to a ceiling imposed by the State Board of
Real Property Services. Roll Section 8 - Wholly exempt; includes all parcels which are entirely
exempt from property taxes for the general levies. Many properties in this
section are required to pay some special district taxes, however. |
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ROW HOUSES - A series of individual houses that are architecturally
similar and which have a common wall between adjoining units. |
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ROW STORES - See “Strip Development.” |
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RETURN TO TOP |
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SAFE RATE - The interest percentage obtainable on investments with maximum
safety such as insured savings accounts or government bonds. A risk rate
is applicable to less secure investments. |
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SALE LEASEBACK - A financing device whereby an investor purchases real
property and then gives contract possession by leasehold to the grantor. |
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SALE PRICE - The amount, in dollars, for which title to a property is
actually conveyed. Not necessarily market value. |
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SALES-ASSESSMENT RATIO - See “Assessment-Sales Ratio.” |
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SALES COMPARISON APPROACH - See “Market Data Approach.” |
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SALT-BOX STYLE - A type of New England architecture featuring clapboard
exterior walls and a gable roof with a steeper pitch in front than in the
back thus providing more headroom on the second floor at the front of the
house. |
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SALVAGE VALUE - The price which may be expected for materials removed from
a site, usually in the process of demolition, for use elsewhere. |
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SAMPLE - In statistics, a sample is a subset of all of the observations
found in a population. All of the homes that sold in a municipality during
a given period of time would constitute a sample of all of the homes, sold
or unsold, in that municipality. |
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SAMPLING ERROR - The difference between the value of a characteristic
derived from a sample and the value of same characteristic that would have
been found if the entire population had been tested. |
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SANDWICH LEASE - A rental agreement in which the “sandwich leaseholder” is
the lessee from one party and the lessor to another. This leaseholder
stands between the fee owner of the property and the ultimate user. Generally synonymous with sub-lease. |
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SANDWICH PANEL - A building material with a central core of insulation set
between exterior layers of asbestos, concrete or metal. |
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SASH - The framework, originally of wood but now often of aluminum or
other metals, which holds the glass panes in a window or door. |
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SAWLOG - A log of suitable size and quality for sawing into lumber. The
minimum inside bark diameter at the small end is usually 11 inches for
hardwood and 8 inches for softwood, but varies by sawmill. |
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SAWTOOTH ROOF - A roof composed of a series of single-pitch roofs whose
shorter or vertical side has windows for light and air. Common in older
factory buildings. |
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SCATTER DIAGRAM - A chart that displays data points relating two
variables. The independent variable is plotted on the horizontal (X) axis
and the dependent variable on the vertical (Y) axis. For example, in ratio
studies the dependent variable is the sales-assessment ratio and the
independent variable is some other variable such as age, sale price or
square feet of living area. |
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SCHOOL DISTRICT CODE - A unique six-digit number assigned to every school
district in the state by ORPS. The first two digits designate the county,
the second two the city or town in which the district is primarily located
and the last two the district itself. |
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SCA (STATE CERTIFIED ASSESSOR) - An assessor who has completed the basic
course of training required by the Real Property Tax Law (RPTL) and the
rules and regulations of the State Board of Real Property Services (ORPS). |
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SCAA (STATE CERTIFIED ASSESSOR, ADVANCED) -
A State Certified Assessor who has completed two elective components
in addition to the basic course of study. |
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SCAND (STATE CERTIFIED ASSESSOR, NATIONAL DESIGNATION) - A designation
available to an assessor who has attained the SCAP designation and who has
also been awarded a professional designation by the
Appraisal Institute, the International
Association of Assessing Officers, etc. |
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SCAP (STATE CERTIFIED ASSESSOR, PROFESSIONAL - A designation available to
an assessor who has attained the SCAA designation and also been awarded
the IAO designation by the Institute of Assessing Officers of the New York
State Assessors' Association. |
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SCRIBNER RULE (OR SCALE) - The oldest of the common diagram rules (log
scales) used to measure the amount of saved lumber that can be extracted
from a log of given length and diameter. The Scribner rule is used on all
national forest timber. It is also more generally employed on softwood
timber. |
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SECONDARY MORTGAGE MARKET - The market in which home mortgages are bought
and sold after their origination by lenders. The Federal National Mortgage
Association, commercial savings banks, insurance companies, and savings
and loan associations are often buyers in the secondary market. Mortgage
companies in particular and commercial banks are involved in the resale of
mortgages. The availability of funds for new mortgage loans is directly
influenced by the ability of this secondary market to absorb existing
mortgages. |
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SECTION - In public lands survey, a parcel of land consisting of a square,
one mile on each side. Thirty-six of these squares comprise a township. Sections are further divided into quarter sections which may again be
divided into halves and quarters. In architecture, a drawing of a
structure as it would appear if cut through on a vertical plane. |
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SECTION-BLOCK-LOT - A unique tax map identifier for a parcel of land. Provides a means of identifying a parcel on assessment and tax rolls and
other documents. |
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SEPTIC SYSTEM - A sewage facility for an individual house consisting of a
holding tank, distribution box, and leach field, together with appropriate
connections and pipes to disperse the effluent in the field. |
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SERVICE LIFE - See “Economic Life.” |
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SETBACK - The distance between the front of a structure and the fronting
road of a parcel. The distance between a structure and a property boundary
line or another structure. The recess of upper floors of a multi-story
building from the face of the structure at ground level; controlled by
zoning ordinances in many cities to ensure light and air. |
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SHED ROOF - A single pitch roof usually sloping downward from the front to
the back of the structure it covers. Used on small out-buildings. See also
“Lean-to Roof.” |
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SHORT-LIVED ITEMS - Components that must be replaced one or more times
during the economic life of a structure. |
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SHORT-TERM LEASE - Generally understood to be a rental agreement for a
period of less than ten years. |
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SILAGE - Green crops that are harvested when they are most succulent and
stored in an oxygen-free environment for future use. A synonym is
ensilage. |
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SILO - A tall, cylindrical structure in which fermenting green fodder is
preserved as silage. |
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SIMPLE INTEREST - An amount of money paid only on the original principal. Not compounded by being paid on interest accrued. |
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SINGLE PURPOSE PROPERTY - A property whose use is so limited by design
that it cannot be adapted for another use without large capital
investment. |
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SINKING FUND - An account that is established to receive periodic deposits
which accumulate interest on a compound basis. A sinking fund is most
often used to repay a debt or replace (recapture) an asset. |
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SINKING FUND FACTOR - A multiplier used to compute the amount of periodic
contributions to a sinking fund that will grow, at a given rate of
interest, compounded, for a specified period of time, to a pre-determined
amount. One of the “six functions of a dollar.” |
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SINKING FUND METHOD - A technique of recapturing an asset that assumes
that as recaptured dollars are received they are invested in a sinking
fund at a safe rate. |
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SINKING FUND TABLE - A tabulation of sinking fund factors. |
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SITE - Land that has been prepared by the addition of site improvements to
be put to the use for which it is intended. |
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SITE ANALYSIS - A study of the nature of the physical, economic,
governmental and social factors that affect a property and lead to
decisions as to highest and best use; the choice of site valuation data
and selection of an appropriate valuation method. |
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SITE DEVELOPMENT COST - The total of all direct and indirect expenses
required to make land ready for its intended use. |
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SITE IMPROVEMENTS - Work done on a site such as clearing and grading;
also, additions such as sidewalks, utilities and a sewage system. The
approval of a subdivision may also be considered a site improvement. |
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SIX FUNCTIONS OF A DOLLAR - The six related compound interest functions
used in financial mathematics. They are: future worth of $1, future worth
of $1 per period, sinking fund factor, present worth of $1, present worth
of $1 per period, and periodic repayment. |
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SKELETON STEEL CONSTRUCTION - A rigidly connected frame of steel or
reinforced concrete to carry all of the external and internal loads and
stresses of a structure to the foundation. Walls are non-bearing and
supported by the frame. |
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SKEWED - In statistics, a frequency distribution that is asymmetrical. When plotted on an X-Y graph, distributions with longer tails on the right
than on the left are said to be skewed to the right or to have positive skewness, and vice versa. An indication that the distribution of data
values is concentrated at the low or high end the range. See also “Normal
Distribution.” |
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SLAB - A broad, flat, and relatively thin piece of wood, stone, or other
solid building material. In common usage, a poured concrete supporting
floor for a structure which does not have a basement or crawl space. |
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SLOPE - The inclination or deviation of a surface from the horizontal; the
grade. The amount of inclination is usually expressed as a percentage from
0% (absolutely level) to 90% (vertical). Also, in statistics, the change
in the value of a dependent variable associated with a change of 1 in the
value of the independent variable. The slope is expressed by the change in
the Y value divided by the change in the X value. |
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SLOW-BURNING CONSTRUCTION - The use of structural members that will char
for some time at ordinary building fire temperatures before structural
failure occurs. |
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SMALL CLAIMS ASSESSMENT REVIEW (SCAR) - A procedure for contesting an
assessed value that is available to most homeowners in New York State. A
hearing before a Small Claims Hearing Officer must have been preceded by
the filing of a formal grievance before a municipal Board of Assessment
Review. The homeowner who chooses Small Claims Assessment Review is saved
the considerable expense of commencing a writ of certiorari, but may not
subsequently bring such an action if displeased with the small claims
decision. |
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SOFFIT - The underside of some part of a building such as the eaves or a
cantilevered overhang. |
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SOFTWARE - Computer programs in general as opposed to hardware which is
the physical equipment. The software instructs the computer to act as a
word processor, spreadsheet, data base, etc. See also “Computer Program.” |
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SOFTWOOD - Wood from cone bearing trees (conifers), usually evergreens,
such as redwood, cedar, pine, and fir; does not refer to the density of
the wood. |
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SOIL MAP - A portrayal of the distribution and location of soil types,
phases, and complexes as well as other selected cultural and physical
features. |
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SOIL PRODUCTIVITY - The ability of a type of soil to produce crops in the
environment in which it is located given a specified system of farm
management. |
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SOIL PROFILE GROUP - A grouping of types of soil based on certain profile
characteristics. Primary soil profile groups are differentiated on the
basis of the nature and composition of the underlying material. |
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SOIL TYPE - There are fifty-one recognized soil types based on such
factors as mineral or organic content, chemical composition, texture,
origin, location, etc. To be classified as a type, a soil must have
relatively uniform characteristics throughout its full extent. |
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SOLAR ENERGY - Power derived from sun's radiant energy. |
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SOUND VALUE - Cost less depreciation; value for fire insurance purposes. See “Replacement Cost New.” |
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SPECIAL ASSESSING UNIT - In New York State, an assessment jurisdiction
with a population of one million or more. |
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SPECIAL ASSESSMENT - A charge made by a municipal government against real
property to defray the cost of making a public improvement adjacent to
that property. While the improvement, such as a sidewalk or street
lighting, may be of general benefit to the community, it is especially
beneficial to the adjacent properties. |
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SPECIAL DISTRICT - A taxing unit formed in response to a need for a
particular service by the owners of the real property within the district
boundaries. A special district may be established to provide fire
protection, to install and maintain a sewer or water system, to dispose of
solid waste, etc. Special district taxes may be levied on the real
property in the district on an ad valorem basis or by a unit charge in
proportion to the benefit received by the property. |
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SPECIAL FRANCHISE - A monopolistic or exclusive right conferred by
government upon a corporation to provide a specified public service, to
make use of certain public property for this purpose, and to charge for
the services performed. Most public utility companies operate as special
franchises. |
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SPECIAL-PURPOSE PROPERTY - A property devoted to or available for use for
a special purpose which, because of the requirements of that use, may be
constructed in such a manner that it cannot realistically be used for any
other purpose and thus may have a limited market. Theaters, breweries and
steel mills are typical special-purpose properties. |
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SPECULATION - The act of engaging in business transactions involving
considerable risk in the hope of a quick and large profit. |
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SPLIT - The process whereby a parcel is divided into two or more parcels
for assessment purposes. In most cases the assessor will require a copy of
a filed map as evidence that the split has municipal approval. |
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SPLIT LEVEL STYLE - A multi-level house in which levels are places
side-by-side (and occasionally back-to-front) at half-story intervals. The
lower level on one side is usually the basement, above which are the
family rooms. A garage is often at grade level with bedrooms above it. |
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SPLIT / MERGE NUMBER - A unique number assigned by the assessor to report
those parcels associated in a particular split or merge. Used in the
Assessor's Report (AR-2). |
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SPOT ZONING - An exception to the general rules governing permitted use of
property in a municipality. These exceptions permit specific, usually
small, parcels of land to have a different use than that of parcels in the
surrounding area. See “Zoning Variance.” |
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SQUARE FOOT METHOD - A process in the cost approach to value whereby all
of the direct and indirect costs of construction are combined and then
allocated as a unit price per square foot of floor area. |
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SRA (SENIOR RESIDENTIAL APPRAISER)
- A professional designation awarded by the Appraisal Institute. |
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SREA (SENIOR REAL ESTATE
APPRAISER) - A professional designation awarded by the Appraisal
Institute. |
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SRPA (SENIOR REAL PROPERTY
APPRAISER) - A professional designation awarded by the Appraisal
Institute. |
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STABILIZED EXPENSE - A projected cost of doing business that is subject to
change but represents the best annualized estimate for the item. |
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STABILIZED INCOME - Projected revenue that is subject to change but
represents the best annualized estimate of income. |
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STAND CRUISE - The process of estimating the amount of lumber in a forest
tract. It is based upon a particular log rule or volume table, and no
deduction is made for breakage or other waste in the woods. |
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STANDARD DEPTH - The front to back length of a lot determined to be most
common in an urban neighborhood; may be different for residential vs.
commercial uses. |
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STANDARD DEVIATION - In statistics, a measure of the scatter in a
frequency distribution; useful in predicting the distance from the mean
within which one may expect to find various percentages of the population. The square root of the variance. |
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STANDARD ERROR OF THE ESTIMATE - In statistics, a measure of how well the
regression line fits the data; the dispersion remaining in the data after
the regression equation has been applied. |
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STATISTICS - A branch of mathematics concerned with the collection,
analysis, interpretation and presentation of numerical data. The collected
data themselves are also called statistics. |
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STAVE SILO - A silo constructed of wood or concrete sections set
vertically and held together by metal hoops as is a barrel. |
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STEPWISE REGRESSION ANALYSIS - The process by which independent variables
can be added to or removed from the regression equation depending on their
contribution to predicting the value of the dependent variable. See also
“Multiple Regression Analysis.” |
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STRAIGHT-LINE METHOD OF DEPRECIATION - An application of depreciation in
which a property value is assumed to decline in equal amounts during equal
time intervals (i.e., annually) until it reaches zero. A property with an
expected economic life of 50 years would thus be depreciated at the rate
of 2% annually. |
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STRAIGHT-LINE RECAPTURE - The process of recovering capital invested in a
wasting asset in equal periodic increments over the remaining economic
life of the asset. Its use implies that income attributable to the asset
declines annually to the same extent that the annual recapture increment
reduces the interest requirement on the declining capital investment. |
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STRATIFICATION - In statistics, the process of dividing a set of
observations, for purposes of analysis, into two or more subsets according
to some criterion. Houses might be stratified on the basis of whether they
are brick or frame; whether they have sold for more or less than $200,000;
or whether they contain less than 1,000 square feet, 1,000 to 2,000 square
feet or more than 2,000 square feet. |
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STRATIFIED RANDOM SAMPLE - The methodology used by the Office of Real
Property Services (ORPS) in selecting parcels to be appraised for
equalization surveys. Parcels from the residential class, for example, are
not selected purely at random. The random selection takes place after the
members of the class have been stratified by assessed value to insure that
homes in all value ranges will be selected. See also “Random Sample” and
“Stratification.” |
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STRIP DEVELOPMENT - A type of commercial development wherein the main
streets of a city or town are bordered by an almost continuous row of
commercial buildings, usually retail stores. Any shopping area with stores
set in a row. |
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STRUCTURE VALUE - That portion of either replacement or reproduction cost
remaining after deducting deterioration but before any deduction for
obsolescence. |
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STUD - A vertical framing member, usually of wood or metal, to which walls
and partitions are attached. |
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STUMPAGE - The value of un-cut timber standing in a forest. |
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SUBDIVISION - A tract of land which has been divided, often subject to
municipal zoning regulations, into individual parcels. Usually for
residential use but may also be commercial or mixed. |
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SUBJECT PROPERTY - The land and improvements, if any, which are being
appraised. |
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SUBJECTIVE - Based on an individuals experience, perceptions and feelings;
not necessarily verifiable as fact. See also “Objective.” |
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SUBLEASE - An agreement conveying the right to occupy and use real estate
wherein the lessor is the lessee under a prior lease. Property ordinarily
cannot be sublet without the original lessor's (owner's) approval. |
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SUBORDINATION AGREEMENT - A contractual arrangement whereby the rights of
a party to real estate are made junior (subordinated) to rights of others
that would ordinarily be junior. A mortgage on vacant land might be made
subject to a subsequent construction loan. |
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SUBSTITUTION, PRINCIPLE OF - The premise that the maximum value of a
property tends to be set by the cost of acquiring as equally desirable and
valuable substitute property, assuming no costly delay is encountered in
so doing. |
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SUM OF YEARS' DIGITS METHOD - A depreciation process whereby an asset is
assumed to lose its value rapidly during the early years of its existence
and more gradually in later years. An automobile typically depreciates in
this manner. |
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SUMMATION - The process of adding or totaling. In statistics, the symbol
is the capitalized Greek letter sigma ( ∑ ). |
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SUMMATION APPROACH - See “Cost Approach.” |
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SUMMATION VALUE - The replacement cost of the improvements new less
deterioration (physical depreciation) and obsolescence plus land value. |
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SUPERADEQUACY - An excess of size, quantity, quality or capacities of
features or materials as compared to those which are adequate in the
market place. A 200 gallon hot water heater would be a superadequacy in
the normal one-family house. Loss of value results from this condition. |
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SUPPLY AND DEMAND, PRINCIPLE OF - The premise that price or value varies
directly, but not necessarily proportionately, with desire for something
(demand) and inversely, but not necessarily proportionately, with its
availability (supply). |
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SURPLUS INCOME - See “Excess Income.” |
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SURPLUS PRODUCTIVITY, PRINCIPLE OF - The premise that net operating income
remaining after the appropriate costs of labor, management and capital
have been paid is attributable to the land and tends to determine land
value. |
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SURVEY - A scientific procedure for determining the quantity and/or
location of a piece of land; it may also take note of physical features
such as grades, contours and structures. A statement of the courses and
distances of the boundaries of a parcel and its size, usually in acres. |
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SWIS (STATEWIDE INFORMATION SYSTEM) CODE - A six-digit number assigned by
the Office of Real Property Services (ORPS) as a unique identifier for
every municipality in the state. The first two digits define the county,
the second two the city or town, and the last pair the village, if any. |
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TANGIBLE PROPERTY - Property which has a physical reality; which can be
seen, touched, etc. See also “Intangible Property.” |
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TAX BASE - The unit of value to which a tax rate is applied to determine
the tax due. For property taxes, the tax base is usually the assessed
valuation subject to tax although special district taxes may be based on
linear feet of sidewalk, number of dwelling units, etc. |
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TAX DEED - A document conveying from a tax district to a purchaser of a
tax sale certificate a new absolute title upon his or her application
after the expiration of any redemption rights of the former property
owner. |
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TAX LEVY - The total amount of money to be raised by the property tax by
any taxing jurisdiction in a given year. The amount is determined by the
budget of the local government or other taxing jurisdiction. |
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TAX LIEN - A charge which automatically applies to a property in the
amount of unpaid property taxes. A tax usually becomes a lien when it is
levied which, for practical purposes, is when tax bills are mailed. |
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TAX MAP - A map, drawn to scale, showing the boundary lines, dimensions,
shape, and area of each parcel as well as streets, roads, watercourses,
and other landmarks. There must be a logical system for numbering each
parcel. In New York State, tax maps must be approved by the State Office
of Real Property Services (ORPS). |
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TAX RATE - The tax levy divided by the total taxable assessed value of a
taxing jurisdiction, usually expressed in dollars per thousand, dollars
per hundred, or mills. |
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TAX ROLL - An official book listing all real property in a tax district. It shows the location and description of each parcel, the owner, the
amount of the assessment, any exemptions, and the amount of taxes levied
against the parcel. |
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TAX SALE - The sale by a municipal corporation of property which has been
confiscated from the prior owner for non-payment of taxes. |
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TAXABLE ASSESSED VALUE - The assessed value of a parcel (or an entire
assessment roll) against which the tax rate is applied to compute the tax
due. In case of a partial exemption, the exempt amount is subtracted from
the assessed value in order to determine the taxable assessed value. |
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TAXABLE STATE-OWNED LANDS - Property of the State of New York which is
subject to property taxes under various provisions of the Real Property
Tax Law (RPTL); entered on section 3 of the assessment roll. |
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TAXABLE STATUS DATE - The particular date on which the taxable status of
real property must be determined according to its condition and ownership. An improvement added after taxable status date is not assessable until the
following year; one added before is subject to current year assessment and
taxation. The taxable status date of most towns in New York State is March
1st. |
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TAXATION - The process whereby governments raise money for their
operations. The most common forms of taxation are income taxes, property
taxes and sales taxes. |
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TENANCY BY THE ENTIRETY - An estate held by a husband and wife in which
neither has a disposable interest during the lifetime of the other, except
through joint action. |
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TENANTS IN COMMON - An estate held by two or more persons each of whom has
an undivided interest. There is no right of survivorship. |
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TENANCY, JOINT WITH RIGHT OF SURVIVORSHIP - Ownership by two or more
persons together with right of survivorship. In the event that one party
dies, the other party automatically inherits the entire property. |
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TENANT - The lessee in a lease agreement. The person who is allowed to
enter and use leased property in exchange for periodic payments of rent. |
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TENTATIVE ASSESSMENT ROLL - A preliminary assessment roll whose assessed
values and exempt amounts are subject to grievance by a taxpayer before a
board of assessment review. The roll does not become final until all
grievances have been acted upon by that board. See “Assessment Roll.” |
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TERMINAL - A device for data entry and display which is connected to a
computer. Ordinarily, simply a monitor and a keyboard although some
terminals can act as stand-alone PC's. |
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TILLABLE LAND - Farm land which can be used to grow annual crops which
require plowing harrowing, planting, cultivating and harvesting. Improved
or seeded pasture is considered tillable land. |
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TIMESHARING - A system by which one owns a share in resort property which
permits its use for a specific number of weeks at specific times during
the year. |
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TITLE - The sum of all facts on which ownership is founded or can be
proved. Possession, the right of possession and the right of property form
a complete title. |
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TITLE COMPANY - A corporation which guarantees and insures title to real
property. |
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TITLE DEFECT - Any circumstance that adversely affects or restricts the
title or marketability of a property. |
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TITLE INSURANCE - Insurance to cover financial loss in case there is a
claim arising from defects in a title to real property which existed but
were not recognized at the time the title was issued. |
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TITLE SEARCH - The examination of records comprising a history of the
ownership of a parcel of real property; intended to disclose possible
defects which might render a title unmarketable. |
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TOPOGRAPHIC MAP - A map showing the contours of the earth's surface for a
particular area by use of contour lines, tinting or shading. |
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TOWNHOUSE - A single-family house set in a row of similar houses with
party walls dividing the individual homes. Differs from a duplex in that
the townhouse has a separately deeded plot of land, whereas the multiple
units of a duplex are on one deeded parcel. |
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TRACT HOUSES - Homes which are mass produced in a residential subdivision
and are very similar in style, size, quality and price. |
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TRAILER PARK - See “Mobile Home Park.” |
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TRANSITION ASSESSMENT - An assessment used in approved assessing units to
phase in changes after a revaluation so as to lessen shifts in the tax
burden from one class of property to another. In the valuation of taxable
state-owned lands in New York State, an assessment pursuant to section 545
of the Real Property Tax Law (RPTL). |
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TRIM - Finish materials such as baseboards where walls and floors join or
molding around ceilings or openings such as windows and doors. |
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TRUSS - A structural frame composed of straight members whose form is
based on the triangle. A truss is rigid under anticipated loads and can
span large distances without supporting columns. |
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TYPICAL OPERATOR CONCEPT - The premise that a purchaser will pay for a
farm on the basis of its productivity when farmed by the typical farm
operator using typical management practices for the area in which the farm
is located. |
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UNDER IMPROVEMENT - An improvement which is not the most profitable for
the site on which it is placed because of a deficiency in size, cost or
quality, and which is consequently unable to develop the maximum possible
land value. |
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UNIFORM PERCENTAGE OF VALUE - The standard of assessment in New York
State. All properties in an assessing unit must be assessed at the same
percentage of their market values except where classified assessments are
allowed, in which case all properties in the same class must be assessed
at the same percentage of their market values. |
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UNIT-IN-PLACE METHOD - A procedure for estimating construction cost. This
method groups all of the related costs of individual building components
(framing, windows, plumbing, etc.) “in place” to arrive at a cost estimate
for the entire building. |
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UNIT OF COMPARISON - The components into which an appraiser divides a
property so that it may be compared to similar properties; for example,
dollars per square foot, acre or front foot for vacant land; dollars per
alley for bowling lanes or dollars per rentable room for motels. |
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UNITS BUILDABLE - A unit of comparison used when market analysis indicates
that similar sites are purchased based the number of homes, condominiums,
rental units or other improvements that can be built per acre of site. |
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UPDATE - A major adjustment of assessed values on a roll, usually using
some type of CAMA, but short of a revaluation in that there is no
full-scale data collection. Also, to place current data on a computer
master file. |
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UPSET PRICE - At an auction, the minimum acceptable bid for which a
property may be sold. |
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USEFUL LIFE - The length of time during which an improvement may
reasonably be expected to be able to perform the function for which it was
designed and intended. Not exactly the same as “Economic Life.” |
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USUFRUCT - The right to use and enjoy the profits and other advantages of
something belonging to another. |
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UTILITY - Usefulness; the capacity of an object to satisfy human needs and
desires. A house has utility because humans need shelter from the
elements. |
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VACANCY RATE - The percentage used to determine the deduction from
potential gross income for uncollected rent due to vacant rental units. The vacancy rate can be calculated by dividing the number of units vacant
by the total number of units or by dividing the amount of rent lost by the
potential gross income. |
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VALUATION - The process of estimating market value, investment value,
insurable value, or other properly defined value of an identified interest
or interests in a specific parcel or parcels of real property as of a
given date. See “Valuation Date.” |
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VALUATION DATE - The date on which a value estimate applies. For
assessment purposes, the valuation date in New York State is set by
statute in all but a few jurisdictions as January 1 of the current year. Appraisals for other purposes may have various valuation dates. |
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VALUATION INVENTORY - The physical characteristics of a property on the
valuation date. |
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VALUE AFTER THE TAKING - When a property is partially condemned, it is the
market value of the remainder of the original parcel considered as a new
parcel. |
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VALUE BEFORE THE TAKING - In a condemnation proceeding, it is the market
value of the entire property affected by the taking. |
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VALUE IN EXCHANGE - The amount of goods, services or money which a
knowledgeable purchaser, would offer in trade for something having
economic worth under specific market conditions. |
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VALUE IN USE - A concept of value which is based on the productivity of an
economic good to its owner-user. Structures on a parcel may be so
specialized that it would be difficult to prove that the property has any
market value, but it might still have substantial value to its owner for
the purpose for which it was built. |
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VALUE INTERVAL - The lowest level of stratification used in a market value
survey by the State Office of Real Property Services (ORPS). For example,
the residential class might be divided into three intervals based on
assessed value to ensure that all types of houses are adequately
represented in the survey. |
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VARIABLE - A measurable characteristic. A continuous variable such as
square feet of living area can assume any numeric value. A discrete
variable such as dwelling style can assume only certain specified values
such as ranch, cape cod, colonial, etc. A binary variable such as central
air-conditioning can assume only a “yes/no” value. |
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VARIABLE EXPENSES - Costs such as management, utilities and trash removal
which vary with occupancy. They must be stabilized using market data. |
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VARIABLE RATE MORTGAGE - A loan having an interest rate that fluctuates
with changes in market rates such as the prime rate or government bond
rates. |
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VARIANCE - A measure of the degree to which individual values in a set of
data vary from the median or mean value. It is calculated by subtracting
the median (or mean) value from each individual value, squaring the
differences, summing the squared differences, and dividing this sum by the
number of observations. The square root of the variance is the standard
deviation. |
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VENEER - A thin layer of material covering a thicker base of some other
substance, such as walnut veneer on less valuable wood or a brick exterior
finish over wood sheathing or a concrete wall. |
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VERIFIED SALE - A sale whose pertinent data has been confirmed by
consultation with the buyer, seller or an authorized agent of either
party. |
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VISUAL CENTER - A point an a tax map lying within the boundaries of a
parcel which appears, without taking precise measurements, to be
approximately at the center thereof. |
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WALL-BEARING CONSTRUCTION - Describes a structure in which masonry walls
bear the loads of the floors and the roof; there is no internal framing
system. |
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WARRANTY DEED - A legal document conveying title to a property to a
grantee free of any encumbrances except those specifically mentioned in
the document. |
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WASTING ASSETS - Reserves of oil, natural gas and mineral ores which are
depleted as they are extracted from the ground and, eventually, exhausted. |
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WATER RIGHTS - The right to use a stated quantity or flow of water for a
stated period of time. The most usual uses are for irrigation of crops and
for hydroelectric power. The right may be granted by a government, may be
a common law riparian right or may have been acquired by prescription
which is similar to adverse possession. |
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WATERSHED - An area from which surface water drains into a particular
river or stream. Also called a drainage basin. |
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WEIGHTED AVERAGE - A mean (average) quantity composed of components that
have been properly weighted in accordance with their proportionate
influence on the final result. If houses in a subdivision have 1.5, 2.0
and 2.5 baths, the weighted average number of baths would be ((1.5 x A) +
(2.0 x B) + (2.5 x C)) ÷ X where A, B, and C are the number of houses with
each quantity of baths and X is the total number of houses in the
subdivision. See also “Band of Investment.” |
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WEIGHTED RATE - A freighted average of several different percentages
(rates). See “Band of Investment” and “Weighted Average.” |
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WELCOME STRANGER ASSESSMENT - The practice of increasing assessments on
properties based on their recent selling prices while leaving untouched
the assessments of properties that have not sold. This practice has been
declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court and by the
Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court. |
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WHARF - A structure usually constructed parallel to the shoreline
alongside which vessels can be docked for loading and unloading. A pier,
by contrast, is perpendicular to the shore and extends into the adjoining
water. |
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WHOLLY EXEMPT PROPERTY - A property which is completely exempt from the
general levies (county, city or town, school) but may be subject to some
special district taxes. Found in section 8 of the assessment roll. |
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WIND LOAD - The pressure, usually measured in pounds per square foot, of
the force of the wind on the walls and roof of a structure. Can be very
significant for high-rise buildings. |
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WORD PROCESSING - The creation, editing and storing of text using a
computer. A document may be corrected and amended many times before the
final copy is produced without the continuous re-typing required on a
manual typewriter. A hard disk can store thousands of documents that would
require several file drawers if paper copies were kept. |
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WRAPAROUND MORTGAGE - A loan agreement subordinate to but including any
existing mortgages on a property. A third party lender may refinance a
property by agreeing to assume the existing debt and its service and
including (wrapping around) same under a new junior mortgage. |
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WRIT OF CERTIORARI - A legal instrument (writ) from a superior legal body
directing the review of the proceedings of an inferior court, tribunal or
board. In New York State, the method instituting judicial review of an
allegedly illegal or erroneous assessment if a property owner is not
satisfied by the action of the local Board of Assessment Review. |
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YIELD - The rate or amount of return on invested equity capital. A $50
stock with a dividend of $2.50 would have a yield of 5%. The owner of 100
shares would have an annual yield of $250 on this investment. In
agriculture, the ability of land to produce some crop expressed in bushels
per acre or some similar measurement. |
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ZONING - A police power which allows a municipality to regulate types and
intensities of land use. Typically, a zoning ordinance will determine the
different types of uses (residential, commercial, open space, etc.)
permitted in different parts of a city, town or village and density
limitations (five dwelling units per acre or two-acre minimum buildings
lots, for example). Characteristics of improvements such as height,
setback and even architectural style are often controlled by zoning
ordinances. |
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ZONING VARIANCE - A permitted use of a property which does not conform to
the existing zoning regulations for the area surrounding that property
(i.e., a house on a half-acre lot in an area zoned for two-acre lots). Often a use is “grand-fathered” because it existed prior to the
establishment of the zoning ordinance. |
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