I.D.E.A.L.
An acronym stating the real estate is the I.D.E.A.L. investment. Each if the five letters in IDEAL stands for an advantage to real estate as an investment. "I" stands for interest deduction. The mortgage interest paid on the first and second residential homes are tax deductible. On the average, real estate is a good hedge against inflation because property value and the income from properties rise to keep pace with inflation. "D" stands for depreciation. The building on your land depreciates in book value each year and you can deduct this depreciation from your investment property and not residential. "E" is for equity buildup. This buildup of a capital asset is like money in the bank. As you amortize a mortgage, the value of your equity investment will steadily rise. In the case of income-producing property, this amortization could mean that your tenants help you build your estate. "A" is for appreciation. Your property value goes up every year, hopefully. Be careful because this is not guaranteed. "L" is for leverage. When you buy a house you make a down payment, say, 10% and you borrow the balance, say, 90%. You get the benefit of 100% even though you put up only 10% of your own money. You can maximize return with other people's money (OPM). The use of a mortgage and OPM means that you can use small amounts of cash to gain control of large investments and earn large returns on the cash invested.
Popular Real Estate Terms
Appearing in person. In propria personal is a formal judicial request to appear personally before the court to plead a particular matter. While it does not prevent an individual from ...
Lien on a given property, such as an person's house as a collateral for a loan. ...
Legal document that conveys real estate to the lender after the borrower defaults on his or her mortgage payments. The borrower should demand cancellation of the unpaid balance and a ...
The direction in which a community is growing. Directional growth is measured over time, and its path strongly influences current and future market values of those properties clearly in ...
federal law protecting someone in active service from bank foreclosure of their property that was bought before entering the armed services. ...
Credit note which a lender's only security is the borrower's personal financial situation and credit history. ...
This situation applied in some states when death prevents the seller of property, who has signed a real estate sale agreement, from completing the sale. In this situation , equitable ...
An insurance policy indemnifying a property owner up to the limits of the policy against fire or other hazard requiring the total destruction and removal of the structure. ...
A court order issued to a defendant in an action either prohibiting or commanding the performance of a defined act. A violation of an injunction could lead to a contempt of court citation. ...

Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.