Definition of "Novation"

What is Novation? 

What is the definition of novation? Jointly agreeing to provide an equivalent legal obligation or debt for a previous one. Persons to the contract can also be substituted. A novation requires a valid previous contract, mutual agreement of all the parties to the contract, and the termination of the original contract or discharge of the original parties before the substitution of a new contract and/or parties to it, respectively. A novation may arise when one party is experiencing financial or operating difficulty in a real estate transaction.

What does novation mean in real estate?

Novation in real estate is usually used in regards to the transfer of complex property leases and similar cases. Novation is most often used in one of two cases. It can be used in replacing one party with another in a contract or agreement, or it can be used to substitute new terms or contracts in place of old ones. In either case, this is done with mutual consent of all involved. 

Novation real estate examples 

Novation in real estate is most common when transferring a leased property from one party to another. In these cases, the landlord, previous leasing party and hopeful leasing party must negotiate and agree on all changes to existing agreements and contracts, and rewrite the contracts and agreements to the satisfaction of all parties involved. 

Another common example of novation in real estate is the sale of property with unpaid mortgages. When selling a property that is mortgaged to a bank, the seller, the buyer and the bank must agree on the terms of the sale of the property.The assumption of responsibility by the buyer for mortgage payments must be previously accepted by the bank, usually after an extensive background and financial check on the buyer. 

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

Conifer wood, such as pine and redwood. ...

The time period a real estate investment is held. The return is tied to the time period of the investment. The period is used for income tax purpose to determine whether a profit earned or ...

Defect in the tax law that either may provide a loophole to minimize the tax payment or result in higher taxes than there should be. ...

The process of changing, updating, and altering the appearance and structural characteristics of a building. For example, John remodels the kitchen in his home by replacing the cabinets, ...

Limited partnership in which limited partners rely on the general partner to choose specific properties after the funds are available. ...

Claude in a contract, title, or mortgage that is subject to being annulled, repealed, or revoked upon the satisfaction of a claim or completion of a future event. ...

person's behavior partly genetic and partly learned through experience over time. Some people have good personal traits while others have poor ones. ...

Same as term government rectangular survey: Way in which the U.S. government uses to subdivide public land. Land is designated as either a base line (East-West) or principal meridian line ...

Initial user of real estate property, such as the first tenant in a newly constructed apartment building or office building ...

Popular Real Estate Questions