U | RISMedia

Ultra vires activities – The actions of a corporation done beyond the powers granted in its charter that could lead to a lawsuit by its shareholders.

Unbalanced improvement – An improvement which does not serve the highest and best use for the site on which it is placed.

Underimprovement – An building which suffers from a deficiency of size or cost which makes it not the highest and best use of the site.

Underwriting – The insuring of something against loss and guaranteeing it financially.

Underwriting – The process of evaluating a loan application to determine the risk involved for the lender.

Underwritten company – A title firm which conducts title searches but is not qualified to insure, and therefore issues policies of a qualified title insurer – underwriter – in return for a portion of the premium.

Undisclosed principal – A party in a transaction who is unidentified, which in some states there are very strict regulations concerning this practice, but might occur if a broker has been asked to keep the identify of his client secret.

Undivided interest – A fractional ownership without any physical division into shares.

Undue influence – The using of a fiduciary or confidential relationship to obtain a fraudulent or unfair advantage to control another due to a weakness of mind, distress or necessity.

Unearned increment – An increase in real estate value due to no effort on the part of the owner and often simply due to an increase in population.

Unenforceable contract – A good contract but one that for some reason cannot be enforced under the law such as an unwritten real estate sales contract which cannot be enforceable due to the Statute of Frauds.

Uniform Commercial Code, UCC – As of January 1, 1965, this codification of commercial law was passed and then adopted by most states and which establishes a unified and comprehensive scheme for the regulation of commercial security transactions in personal property and superseded the existing statutes on and bulk transfers, chattel mortgages, conditional sales, trust receipts, assignment of accounts receivable and others in this field.

Uniform Residential Appraisal Report, URAR – The most common appraisal form in use which is also know as a form appraisal and is used to document the methods used to determine the market value of single-family residences and planned unit developments.

Uniform settlement statement – The special form known as HUD-1 that itemizes all charges to he paid by a borrower and seller in connection with the closing and is required to be given to the borrower, lender and seller at or before closing by the settlement agent in a transaction covered by RESPA.

Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, USPAP – A code developed and many times modified by the Appraisal Foundation that governs licensed and certified appraisers which guides them in the development of the appraisal process and the content of the report.

Unilateral – An undertaking by, done or obligating only one side. See Bilateral.

Unilateral contract – A contract under which one party promises to do something in exchange for the completed act of another. See Bilateral contract.

Unilateral rescission – A legal action taken by one party to repeal a contract when the other party has breached a contract

Unimproved land – Land that is vacant or natural or lacking any essential appurtenant improvements such as landscaping and grading, utilities installation, roads construction, curbs, and/or gutters, or building construction that would be required for it to be able to serve a useful purpose.

Unimproved property – See Unimproved land.

United States Department of Veterans Affairs – The federal government agency that administers GI or VA loans and which was previously known as the Veterans Administration or VA.

United States Government Survey System – A method adopted in 1785 also known as the Rectangular Survey System of describing or specifying the location of a parcel of land using prime meridians, guide meridians, base lines, standard parallels, townships and sections.

Unities of title – The particular characteristic of an estate in joint tenancy which contains the four unities of time, title, interest and possession giving all joint tenants one and the same interest, by commencing at the same time, through the same conveyance and being held by each through an undivided possession of the whole property.

Unit-in-place method – A method of estimating building replacement cost in which quantities of the component parts such as foundations, floors, walls, windows, ceilings, roofs including labor and overhead are determined on an in-place basis rather than a purchased basis and then added to determine a building’s cost.

Unity of ownership – The four unities that are traditionally needed to create a joint tenancy – unity of time, title, interest and possession.

Universal agent – A person empowered to do anything the principal could do personally. See General agent and Special agent.

Unlawful detainer action – A legal action to evict a tenant who unlawfully remains in possession of rental property that was originally rightfully obtained and where the property owner is one who is unlawfully detained from using his or her property.

Unlimited liability – See Liability.

Unsecured – A lien for which no specific property stands as security for the debt.

Urban plan – The community facilities that enable the community to function as a unit such as the system of streets, sewers, water mains, parks, playgrounds etc.

Urban planning – The process of outlining the growth and development of an urban area.

Urban property – A densely settled city property.

Urban renewal – A controlled method of public redevelopment within urban areas which can also include private redevelopment efforts.

Urban renewal area – A slum, blighted, deteriorated or deteriorating or open land area which has been approved by HUD as needing an urban renewal work.

Urban renewal project – The specific activities undertaken by a local public agency in an urban renewal area to prevent and eliminate slum and blight which may involve slum clearance and redevelopment, rehabilitation or conservation or a combination thereof.

Urban size ratchet – A theory that once a town reaches a certain size that it will continue to grow of its own accord.

Urban sprawl – The expansion of a municipality over a large geographical area.

Urea Formaldehyde Foam Insulation, UFFI – A man made material used in insulation during the 1070’s which is now banned.

US Government Survey System – See United States Government Survey System.

Usage – A uniform practice or course of conduct followed in certain businesses or professions or some procedure or phase thereof.

Use – A beneficial interest in land under a trust.

Use density – The number of buildings having a specific use per unit of area and sometimes calculated by a percentage of land coverage or density of coverage.

Use districts – An area in a city which have different land uses than the adjacent land such as commercial, industrial and residential.

Use map – A map of the municipal area showing important types of land uses.

User of real estate – A party who has the rights to use real property either through ownership, lease, easement or license.

USPAP – See Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.

Usury – The illegal practice of lending money and charging a rate of interest greater than the maximum permitted by law.

Utilities – The services rendered by public utility companies such as water, gas, electricity and telephone.

Utility – An element of value that is the ability to give satisfaction and or excite a desire for its possession because it is useful.

Utility value – The usefulness of the property

Real Estate Hot Topics

Profit Center: Real Estate Tips, Training & Events

RISMedia Solutions

RISMedia on the Go

Today's Featured Listing

U

Real Estate Magazine

Subscribe To Our Daily Newsletter!