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MAI – See Member Appraisal Institute

Maintenance – The process of keeping up or making the expenditures necessary to keep a property in a condition to perform the services for which it was designed.

Maintenance fee – An assessment by a homeowners’ association or a condominium owners’ association used to pay the expenses for operating the common elements.

Maintenance reserve – Those funds set aside which are allocated to cover future anticipated maintenance expenses.

Majority – The age often know as legal age or adulthood at which time a person acquires the legal capacity and is therefore capable of entering into binding contracts.

Maker – A borrower who executes a promissory note and becomes primarily liable for its repayment to the lender.

Malfeasance – The performance of an act that is unlawful or wholly wrong.

Mall – A normally enclosed public area that connects individual stores into a shopping center.

Mall stores – The collectivity of retail stores in a shopping mall that are other than the anchor tenant.

Management agreement – See Management contract.

Management contract – An document used to define the rights and duties of an owner and a manager which also identifies the method and the amounts of compensation for the managing agent for maintaining the property and if included renting the space.

Management fee – The investment in professional property management that can be set as a fixed percentage of total rental income generated by the property managed or as a flat fee or any other agreed-upon method.

Management procedures – A set of action guidelines used to implement decisions or an orderly means for the accomplishing identified objectives.

Mandatory – An imperative or containing a command.

Mansard roof – A roof having two slopes on all four sides, with the lower slope steeper than the upper, less steep sections.

Manufactured homes – A popular broad group of alternative housing construction types such as mobile homes which are produced mainly in and by factories and later moved to a permanent sites.

Map – A representation of some physical feature on the earth’s surface such as mountains, rivers or boundary lines.

Margin of security – The dollar differential amount between the mortgage loan(s) and the appraised value of the property.

Marginal land – That land which barely pays for the cost of working or using it or meets its cost of operation.

Marginal revenue – An additional amount of revenue produced as a result of a given business decision.

Marginal satisfaction – A minimal level of benefit derived from the happening of a given event.

Marginal tax rate – The amount of income tax that an investor would pay on the next dollar of income which is generally higher than the nominal or named tax rate because of the progressive income tax rate structure.

Marginal utility – The worth of one additional unit of a good or a service that is produced.

Market – A set of arrangements for bringing buyers and sellers together through the price mechanism.

Market analysis – An estimate of value developed for the purpose of arriving at a selling or market price.

Market area – A geographic region from which one can expect the primary demand for a specific product or service provided at a fixed location.

Market comparison approach – See Sales comparison approach.

Market data approach – See Sales comparison approach.

Market function – The determination of how land will be put to use after considering the limitations set by zoning and other public and private restrictions.

Market indicators – The sign posts or indexes of market activity.

Market price – The price paid regardless of external influences such as pressure, motive or intelligence.

Market rent – The amount for rent that can be charged by placing the rent at a level near that of similar properties in the market area.

Market value – The highest price in terms of money which a property will bring in a competitive and open market and under all conditions required for a fair sale like the buyer and seller acting prudently with knowledge and neither being affected by undue pressures.

Market value of building – The sum of money that the presence of a structure, based on its highest and best use, adds to or subtracts from the value of the land on which it sits.

Marketability – The ease and speed with which a property can be sold at or near its market value based on its expected market appeal.

Marketable title – A title which a reasonable purchaser, informed as to the facts and their legal importance and acting with reasonable care, would be willing and ought to accept or could be forced to accept by a court. See Cloud on the title.

Marketing myopia – A failure to meet the needs of the people.

Masonry wall – A bearing or non-bearing wall of hollow or solid masonry units.

Master deed – A title document used in common area projects such as condominiums which creates both the fee units and the common interests involved in the projects.

Master plan – A comprehensive plan to guide the long-term physical development of a particular area.

Master switch – An electrical switch which controls several fixtures or outlets in a room or area.

Material change of ownership – The sale of X or more parcels to one buyer by a subdivider which is restricted in some states.

Material fact – Any fact that would affect the judgment or decision making processes of a person in giving his or her consent to enter into a particular transaction based on the proposed terms and one which an agent must disclose about his non-client or customers to his or her principal and one which an agent must disclose about the property or the area to his non-clients or customers.

Material participation – A tax term introduced by the 1986 tax act that is defined as year-round active involvement in the operations of a business activity on a regular, continuous, and substantial basis and are determined by three main factors: being the taxpayer’s principal trade or business, the similiarity to the taxpayer to the business, and knowledge and experience in the venture. See Active participation.

Materialman – A person who supplies materials used in the construction or repair of a building or other property and is entitled to file a mechanic’s lien against the property.

Maturity – The date a loan is due.

Maximum rent – The greatest amount of rent that may be charged as established in a rent regulation or order.

Mechanic’s lien – A lien created by statute in favor of contractors, laborers, and materialmen for the purpose of securing priority of payment for the price or value of work performed and materials furnished in construction or repair of improvements to land, and which attaches to the land as well as the improvements and which is enforceable by legal proceedings.

Meeting of the minds – A mutual consent or an agreement by all parties to a contract as to its exact terms and which is one of the four essential elements of a valid contract.

Megalopolis – An urban area of great size.

Megan’s Law – The federal legislation that is designed to protect the public from sexual predators through state registration systems that provide the residential location of every person who kidnaps children, commits sexual crimes against children or commits sexually violent crimes.

Member Appraisal Institute, MAI – A designation held by appraisers who are members of the Appraisal Institute and who have met rigorous requirements and demonstratied experience in the evaluation and valuation of commercial, industrial, residential and other types of properties and who are able to advise clients on real estate investment decisions.

Menace – An illegal use of threats of violence to get a party to accept a contract.

Merger – 1. In contract law, the doctrine that says preliminary agreements are presumed to be included in the final agreement. 2. In real estate law, the doctrine that a lesser interest is absorbed by a greater estate when both are owned by the same person like when a tenant buys the fee simple, the leasehold is absorbed into the fee and he is then the owner and is no longer a tenant.

Meridians – The imaginary north-south lines which intersect base lines to form a starting point for the measurement of land.

Meridians – The north-south lines of survey, 6 miles apart.

Mesne profits – The profit accruing from land use between two time periods such as money owed to the land owner by a person who has illegally occupied the land after the owner has taken title but before he or she has taken possession.

Messuage – A house and all its adjacent buildings and the land around it.

Metes – A reference to measures.

Metes and bounds – A means of describing land by measurement and direction from a known point or marker on land.

Metes and bounds – A term often used in describing the boundary lines of land when a great deal of accuracy is required that set forth all the boundary lines along with their terminal points and angles. Metes means the length or measurement and bounds means the boundaries.

MGIC – See Mortgage Guarantee Insurance Corporation.

Microeconomics – The view of economic functions from the individual firm or decision maker.

Mile – A length of 5,280 feet.

Milking a project – See Bleeding a project.

Mill – A measure of one-tenth of 1 cent which is the same as one-tenth of 1% that is used to state the property tax rate which is then multiplied by the assessed value of the property to determine the annual tax amount due.

Mineral lease – An agreement that provides the lessee the right to excavate and sell minerals on the property of the lessor or to remove and sell oil and natural gas from the pool underlying the property of the lessor for which the lessor receives a royalty payment based on the value of the minerals removed.

Mineral rights – The privilege of earning income from the sale of oil, gas and other valuable resources found on or under land.

Minimum Property Requirements, MPR – The general acceptable minimum standards required by FHA for residential construction or property purchase loans.

Mini-warehouse – A building separated into relatively small lockable individual storage units of about 25’ x 25” which typically have a garage-door-style opening and are normally rented from month-to-month.

Minor – A person typically under 18 years of age.

Misdemeanor – A criminal offense of lesser grade than that of a felony and usually punishable only by fine.

Misplaced improvements – The improvements to land which do not conform to the most profitable use of the site.

Misrepresentation – A false or misleading statement, assertion or presention of something that is not in accordance with the facts from one person to another in words or by conduct.

Mission architecture – A architectural style employing the characteristics of the early California Spanish mission style.

Mistake of fact – An unintentional error which does not state the true facts or conditions of the contract and if it is curable and agreeable to the parties does not void a contract.

Mistake of law – An erroneous conclusion that a party to a contract who has full knowledge of the facts comes to and which does not permit him or her to void the contract.

Mobile home – A standardized manufactured home structure designed and equipped to be not more than two dwelling units to be used with or without a foundation system and which is entirely constructed in a factory and then transported to the site in one or more sections. See Manufactured home

Mobile-home park – A subdivision of lots which are leased to mobile-home owners that are designed for the placement of mobile homes and include utilities, parking space and access to utility roads.

Model home – A house used as an exhibit in an attempt to sell other houses.

Modern architecture – The architectural home style that uses the principles of contemporary, functional design, intended to combine esthetic quality and utility.

Modern English architecture – An architectural style consisting of many elements of the Elizabethan and Tudor styles but called modern because of its more recent use which has a rough plaster or stucco exterior, the steep roof slopes with variegated and graduated slate or red tile and having no cornices or eaves.

Modernization – A process involving the restoration of a structure to its maximum attractiveness and productivity without altering any of its functional qualities.

Modified Accelerated Cost Recovery System, MACRS – A system of depreciating property for income tax purposes which specifies annual depreciation tax deductions.

Modular housing – A system used for the construction of factory-built homes and other improvements that comply with local building codes, using very little labor and the on-site assembly of component parts or modules that have been mass produced at a different location. See Manufactured home.

Modular planning – The designing of structures using a designated minimum dimension of length and width such as 4 feet.

Moisture barrier – A material used to stop or slow down the flow of moisture into walls.

Moldings – The uniformily patterned strips of wood or plaster used to provide ornamental variation of outline or contour such as cornices, bases, windows and door jambs.

Monetary controls – The tools used by the Federal Reserve for regulating the availability of money and credit to influence the level of economic activity by adjusting discount rates, reserve requirements and the bond market.

Monetary policy – The governmental regulation of the amount of money in circulation through such institutions as the Federal Reserve Board.

Money market – A market for borrowed funds which are generally only short-term funds.

Monopoly – An economic condition attained when one party controls the entire market.

Month-to-month tenancy – A periodic tenancy created in the absence of a oral or written rental agreement which is generally considered to be on a month-to-month basis.

Monument – A visible fixed mark, indication or point left on a natural or other object set by surveyors to establish land locations.

Moral turpitude – A conduct that is contrary to the social duty one party owes to another and is criminal in nature.

Moratorium – 1. A temporary suspension, often by statute, of enforcement of the liability of a financial obligation. 2. The temporary suspension of development or utilities connections imposed by local government.

Mortgage – (1) To hypothecate as security, real property for the payment of a debt and whereby the borrower (mortgagor) retains possession and use of the property. (2) An instrument recognized as evidence by law by which property is hypothecated or pledged as security for the payment of a debt or obligation and by which a procedure for foreclosure is established by statute in event of default.

Mortgage assumption – See Assumption of loan.

Mortgage banker – A party whose principal business is the originating, financing, closing, selling and servicing of loans secured by real property most of which are insured or guaranteed by a government agency or private mortgage insurer for institutional lenders on a contractual basis. See Mortgage broker.

Mortgage bond – The evidence of a debt secured by a mortgage in favor of a collectivity of individual parties usually where the mortgage is held by a third party in trust for the mortgage bond creditors.

Mortgage broker – A party who acts as agent and brings a lender and borrower together in order to earn a commission. See Mortgage banker.

Mortgage brokerage – The business of bringing together the lender and borrower and sometimes performing additional services such as assisting with the loan closing.

Mortgage commitment – A written notice from a lending institution that promises to make a loan in the future and which also specifies its terms and conditions.

Mortgage company – A private business whose principal function is to originate by bringing lender and borrower together for a fee to acquires loans for the purpose of resale and to service mortgage loans sold to financial institutions.

Mortgage constant – The percentage of an original loan balance represented by a constant annual loan payment that is required to retire the debt on schedule.

Mortgage contracts with warrants – The warrants make a mortgage more attractive to a lender by providing both greater mortgage security as well as the opportunity of a greater return via the right to buy either stock in the borrower’s company or a portion of the income property itself.

Mortgage correspondent – A representative of a lender or a potential lender on the security of real property.

Mortgage correspondents – These are mortgage bankers who serve as agents of lenders for the purpose of placing and servicing mortgage loans in a local community.

Mortgage Guarantee Insurance Company, MGIC – A private company organized in 1956 that insures mortgage lenders against the possible financial loss from a loan default.

Mortgage guaranty insurance – The insurance that is available to mortgage lenders from Private Mortgage Insurance Companies, PMICs such as MGIC that protects the lenders against possible financial losses.

Mortgage insurance – A policy that protects the lender in the event of default that covers the top percentage of the loan. See Private Mortgage Insurance.

Mortgage insurance – An insurance policy that guarantees the repayment of a loan in the event of the death or disability of the borrower.

Mortgage Insurance Premium, MIP – The amount a borrower pays for the insurance on an FHA or other loan.

Mortgage investment company – A company or group of private investors which buy mortgages for investment purposes.

Mortgage loan disclosure statement – A statement on a state-approved form which is required to be furnished by law by a mortgage loan broker to a prospective borrower of the statutorily-prescribed time before the borrower becomes obligated to complete the loan.

Mortgage pool – A collection of loans of similar nature and usually in millions that are sold as a unit in the secondary market or used to back a security that is then sold in the capital markets.

Mortgage relief – An acquired freedom from mortgage debt, generally through a mortgage assumption by another party or debt retirement which in a tax-free exchange is considered to be boot received.

Mortgagee – A lender or creditor who is the receiver of a mortgage and to whom a mortgagor gives a mortgage to secure a loan or the performance of an obligation. See Secured party.

Mortgagee in possession – A situation in which a lender upon a mortgage loan foreclosure takes possession and control of the mortgaged property and collects any income produced until it is sold at a foreclosure sale.

Mortgagor – A debtor or borrower who gives a mortgage on his or her property to a mortgagee to secure a loan or assure performance of an obligation.

Motivated seller – A party who urgently needs to dispose of his or her property because of desperation for for cash, being transferred to another location, being unable to make the payments, needing to pay other expenses, or having become unemployed.

Motivation research – An analysis of consumers done in an attempt to determine why prospective buyers react as they do to products or services or to advertisements used in attempting to sell them.

Mudroom – A vestibule or small room designed as an entrance from a play yard or alley to keep a home more clean.

Multifamily structure – A residential dwelling usually with two or more household units.

Multiperil policies – The insurance policies that offer a range of protection from a potential perils such as fire and casualty, and public liability.

Multiple exchange –A transfer of ownership of three or more pieces of property involving multiple principals.

Multiple listing – Usually an exclusive-right-to-sell listing that was taken by a member of a cooperative organization of real estate licensees which gets shared in a pool where all of the organization’s members have agreed to cooperate so the property will receive maximum market exposure and where the members will have an opportunity to try to find an ready, willing and able buyer and can share in any commissions or fees earned.

Multiple listing clause – A provision in an exclusive listing giving the the listing broker the authority and obligation to distribute the listing to other brokers in a Multiple-Listing System.

Multiple Listing Service, MLS – An association of real estate licensees that provides for a pooling of listings and the sharing of commissions on a specified basis.

Multiple nuclei – A theory of urban growth that emphasizes separate nuclei and different observable clustered districts.

Mutual consent – The agreement of the contractual provisions by the parties involved displaying a mutual willingness to enter into a contract and a meeting of the minds and one of the four essentials of a valid contract.

Mutual Mortgage Insurance, MMI – A type of insurance paid to the FHA where the premium is collected by the lender who often adds it to the loan and which protects the lender against loss and provides funds for the full operation of the FHA.

Mutual savings banks – The financial institutions that are a primary source of home mortgage funds that are owned by its depositors each of whom has rights to the net earnings of the bank in proportion to his or her deposits.

Mutual water company – A water company organized in a specific area by or for water-user stockholders for the purpose of securing an ample supply of water at reasonable rates.

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Categories: Real Estate Words Glossary