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Gable roof – A steeply pitched roof with sloping sides.

Gain – A profit, benefit or an increase in value.

Gambrel roof – A curb type roof having a steep lower slope with a less steep upper slope.

Gap – A defect, such as a missing document or conveyance that raises doubt as to the present ownership of the land, in the chain of title of a particular parcel of real estate;.

Gap loan – A loan that fills in the difference between the first loan and the full amount of the permanent loan. See Bridge loan and Swing loan.

Garden apartments – A housing development where many of the tenants have access to the outside lawn areas.

Gated community – A fenced or walled in housing development which usually has a security guard at the entrance.

Gazebo – A small, partially enclosed roofed structure in a park, garden or shopping mall affording shade and rest which normally gives has attractive views.

Gazumping – A slang term to describe the practice of reneging on an oral commitment to buy or sell a property because a better offer or opportunity was presented after the oral commitment was made but before a legal sales contract was consummated.

General agent – A party who has been authorized by a principal to represent the principal in a broad range of matters such as a property manager.

General contractor – A party who constructs buildings or other improvements for an owner or developer and who might employ his or her own construction labor force or use subcontractors. See Contractor.

General lien – A lien on all of the property of a debtor.

General mortgage bond – A document representing an obligation secured by a mortgage.

General partner – One or more partners in an ordinary partnerships whose liability is unlimited

General partnership – See Partnership.

General real estate tax – A tax levied on real estate by government agencies and municipalities in order to be able to operate the government.

General warranty deed – A deed that guarantees the title quality of conveyed property which undertakes to defend that title and to pay damages if the title is defective.

Generally Accepted Accounting Principles, GAAP – The set of rule considered standard and acceptable by Certified Public Accountants.

Gentrification – The displacement of a neighborhood’s lower-income residents by higher-income residents generally due to an older neighborhood being rehabilitated or revitalized.

Geographic – An area with defined geometry or borders.

Georgian – A large, English-style, formal 2- or 3-story rectangular house that is characterized by its classic lines and ornamentation.

GI loan – See VA loan.

Gift deed – A deed for which the consideration is for love and affection and not for money.

Gift tax – A federal tax imposed on a monetary gift to a relative or friend.

Ginnie Mae – See Government National Mortgage Association, GNMA

Girder – A large beam used to support smaller beams, joists and partitions.

GNP – See Gross National Product.

Good and marketable title – The title to a real estate parcel that generally can be proven by title search or abstract of title to be vested in the owner of record and free of claims or liens which would harm its marketability.

Good consideration – A contractual consideration that is based on love and affection rather than money and is usually considered to be a gift.

Good faith – An honest intention to abstain from taking conscious advantage of another.

Good faith estimate –An estimate of closing costs including points; origination fees, title, and legal expenses based on the lender’s best estimate that must be given under the Real Estate Sett1ement Procedures Act by a lender to one to four unit residential loan applicants within three days after receiving a loan application.

Good faith mortgagee – A person who lends without notice of any existing problems when money is lent.

Good faith purchaser – A person who buys without notice of any existing problems when the value was paid.

Goodwill – An intangible but salable business asset derived from the expectation of continued patronage by the public.

Government check – The 24-mile-square parcels composed of 16 townships in the rectangular survey or government survey system of legal descriptions.

Government lot – A fractional section in the rectangular survey or government survey system that is less than a one quarter-section in area.

Government National Mortgage Association, GNMA – Ginnie Mae An agency of HUD which functions in the secondary mortgage market and primarily in social housing programs.

Government survey system – See United States Government Survey System.

Grace Period – An agreed-upon time after the payment of a debt is past due and during which time a party can still perform without being considered in default.

Grade – The level at ground or the foundation of an improvement.

Gradient – The slope or rate of increase or decrease in the elevation of a surface which is typically expressed as a percentage that equals the vertical rise or fall divided by the horizontal distance.

Grading – The process of plowing and raking a lot to give it a desired contour and drainage.

Graduate Realtors Institute, GRI – An educational NAR sponsored program for REALTORS® that awards the Graduate, Realtors Institute, GRI designation.

Graduated lease – A lease used mainly in long-term tenancies which provides for a varying rental rate often based upon a future determination where sometimes the rent is based upon the result of periodical appraisals. See Step-up lease.

Graduated payment loan – A loan that provides for partially-deferred payments of principal during the first five years of the loan term after which the principal and interest payment is substantially higher in order to make up for the principal portion of the payments that were lost at the beginning of the loan. Also called a Variable interest rate loan.

Grandfather clause – A provision in the law that occurs when a law is changed or passed where a specific activity that was legal under the previous law is allowed to continue.

Grant – 1. A specific legal term that mans to “convey” and “transfer” an interest in real property to another. 2. A private grant is the transfer of real property from one person to another. 3. A public grant is a government transfer of ownership of public real property to a private party. 4. A transfer of real estate from a sovereign is done by patent or royal decree.

Grant deed – One of many types of deeds used to transfer real property that contains warranties that the grantor has not already conveyed the land to another and that the estate is free from encumbrances placed by the grantor.

Grantee – A party who receives a transfer of real property by a grant deed. See Deed.

Granting clause – The words in a deed of conveyance such as convey and warrant, grant; grant, bargain and sell that demonstrate the grantor’s intention to convey the property.

Grantor – A party who transfers his or her interest in real property to another by a grant deed. See Deed.

Gratuitous agent – A person who is bound to act in good faith and obey a principal’s instructions once he or she agrees to act as an agent even though he or she is not being paid.

Greenbelt – An area of undeveloped land around a residential area created by covenant, deed restriction or city zoning with the intention of preserving the open space and a natural environment.

GRI – See Graduate Realtors Institute.

Grid – A chart used for rating the borrower risk, property and neighborhood.

Gridiron pattern – A systematic layout of streets in a subdivision that creates blocks of uniform length and width and streets that intersect at right angles.

GRM – See Gross Rent Multiplier.

Gross annual multiplier – A rule of thumb technique using a numerical factor used to determine an estimate of value for smaller commercial properties by dividing the gross annual rental income into the selling or asking price of properties. See Gross Rent Multiplier.

Gross area – The total floor area of a building which is usually measured using the outside walls.

Gross Domestic Product, GDP – The total value of all goods and services generated through production by labor and property which is physically located within the confines of a country during a given period of time.

Gross income – 1. The total income from a property before any expenses are deducted. 2. The normal income of a person including overtime, prior to any payroll deductions that is regular and dependable and which may come from more than one source

Gross income multiplier – A rule of thumb technique used to estimate the market value of residential income-producing property by multiplying a factor arrived at by dividing known sales prices of comparable properties by their annual rental income times the subject property’s annual gross income. See Gross Rent Multiplier.

Gross lease – A lease for property under the terms of which the lessor assumes all of the expenses of the property such as insurance, maintenance and taxes.

Gross leaseable area – See Gross rentable area.

Gross margin – An amount identified in an adjustable rate mortgage that is expressed as percentage points which gets added to the current index value on the rate adjustment date to establish the new rate of the note.

Gross National Product,GNP – The total dollar value of all final goods and services produced in an economy for consumption in society during a particular time period.

Gross profits – The amount of money left after the general expenses have been deducted from all income.

Gross rate – A method of collecting interest by adding the total amount of the interest to the principal of the loan at the outset of the term.

Gross rent – The annual amount of income that is received from rental units before the deduction of expenses.

Gross Rent Multiplier, GRM – A rule of thumb technique used to estimate the market value of residential income-producing property by multiplying a factor arrived at by dividing the known sales prices of comparable properties by their monthly rental income times the subject property’s monthly gross income. See Gross income multiplier.

Gross rentable area – The floor area measurement method used typically with commercial office type buildings to determine tenant rent by measuring from the inside of the outside walls to the center of the partition walls.

Gross revenue – The total revenue from all sources before subtracting any expenses incurred to earn that revenue.

Gross sales – The total amount of sales as shown by invoices before deducting for returns, allowances, etc.

Ground fault interrupter, GFI – A safety device that is a part of special electrical outlets or circuits that immediately breaks the circuit if a short occurs which is required in all areas exposed to water or weather such as bathrooms, kitchens and swimming pools.

Ground lease – An agreement for the use of the land only which is sometimes secured by the improvements the user may erect on the land. See Land lease.

Ground rent – The earnings of improved property credited to the earnings of the ground itself after an allowance has been made for the earnings of the improvements. See Economic rent.

Group home – A residence serving a group of people with special needs which is not considered to be a household.

Growing-equity loan – A mortgage in which the monthly payments increase annually and where the increased amount is used to reduce the outstanding principal balance and therefore shorten the overall term of the loan.

Guarantee of title – An assurance of clear title given by a title company or equivalent that is capable of producing a good title.

Guaranteed inventory – A guarantee given by the seller of a business opportunity that the actual amount of inventory on hand at the close of escrow will equal the value placed upon the inventory at the time the sales agreement was signed.

Guaranteed mortgage – A mortgage in which a party other than the borrower assures payment in the event of default by a mortgagor such as VA-guaranteed mortgages.

Guaranteed sale – The written commitment by a broker that within a specified period of time he or she will in the absence of a sale, purchase the listed property at a specific sum.

Guaranty – The assurance given by one party that another party will fully perform their duties under a contract.

Guardian – A party lawfully appointed by a court who is vested with the power and duty to care for and manage the affairs of a person who is legally incompetent and unable to do so himself.

Guide meridians – The correction lines which run north and south and which compensate for the narrowing of the earth. Used in the Rectangular survey system.

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