Occupancy Rate
The terms occupancy rate and occupancy level refer to the percentage of the units currently rented in a building, city, neighborhood, or complex (the opposite of the "vacancy rate"). |
|
Off-Street Parking
Some developments (commercial or industrial, as well as residential) have designated parking spaces or facilities that are not on public streets. |
|
Offer to Purchase
When a buyer finds a seller's terms and price acceptable, a formal preliminary agreement, secured by the payment of earnest money, is drafted. This agreement secures the exclusive right of the buyer to purchase the real estate in question upon agreed terms for a limited period of time. If the buyer is for some unforeseen reason unable to complete the purchase, the earnest money is forfeited unless the agreement expressly provides that it is to be refunded. |
|
Office of Interstate Land Sales Registration (OILSR)
The OILSR is a division of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and it regulates offerings of land for sale across state lines. If, for example, a developer subdivides a large land parcel in one state and then wishes to market the lots to investors across the nation, that developer must register the offering with the OILSR. The OILSR designs and enforces rules and procedures governing such transactions, ensuring that potential buyers and investors are adequately informed. |
|
Open House
Sellers and the Realtors representing them often present properties as being available for inspection by potential purchasers for a limited time, such as a particular day or afternoon, without the need for an appointment. |
|
Open-End Loan
An open-ended loan essentially gives the borrower a line of credit equal to the portion of the loan that has been repaid. This gives the borrower the option to request additional funds from the lender after a given period of time, and to have that additional debt simply added to the existing loan principal without renegotiating the terms of the loan. Additional sums borrowed under the terms of an open-end loan typically have the same rate of interest and life of loan terms as the original loan. Most home equity loans are structured as open-ended loans. |
|
Opinion of Title
After examining the abstract of title to a parcel of land, an attorney is typically asked to provide a written evaluation or opinion attesting to the facts of the condition of the title. This is basically a determination of whether or not the title is clear and marketable in the attorney's view, and if it is not, an explanation of defects that must be addressed. |
|
Original Equity
The original equity is simply the amount of cash initially invested by a real estate owner. |
|
Over-Improvement
Homeowners sometimes make improvements to their properties that do not actually increase property values. For example, if a $100,000 addition was made to a $100,000 house, in a neighborhood where the maximum value of any one house, including the one in question, was $100,000, that would be considered an over-improvement. |
|
Owner Financing
A property purchase transaction is said to be "owner financed" when the property seller provides all or part of the financing. |
|
