COMMISSION - The compensation paid to a real estate broker(usually by the seller) for services rendered in connection with the sale or exchange of real property.
COMMITMENT - A pledge or promise to do a certain act, such as the promise of a lending institution to loan a certain amount of money at a fixed rate of interest to a qualified buyer, provided the loan is obtained on or before a certain date.
COMMON AREAS - Land or improvements designated for the use and benefit of all residents, property owners and tenants.
COMMON ELEMENTS - Parts of the property which are necessary or convenient to the existence, maintenance and safety of the condominium, or are normally in common use by all of the condominium residents.
COMMON LAW - That body of law which is based on usage, general acceptance, and custom, as manifested in decrees and judgments of the courts; judge-made law, as opposed to codified or statutory law.
COMMON WALL - A wall separating two living units.
COMMUNITY PROPERTY - A system of property ownership based on the theory that each spouse has an equal interest in property acquired by the efforts of either spouse during marriage.
COMPARABLES - Recently sold properties which are similar to a particular property being evaluated, and which are used to indicate a reasonable fair market value for the subject property.
COMPOUND INTEREST - Interest which is computed upon the principal sum plus accrued interest.
CONCESSIONS - Discounts given by landlords to prospective tenants to induce them to sign a lease.
CONDEMNATION - Either a judicial or administrative proceeding to exercise the power of eminent domain, i.e., the power of the government to take private property for public use.
CONDOMINIUM OWNERSHIP - An estate in real property consisting of an individual interest in an apartment or commercial unit, and an undivided common interest in the common areas such as the land, parking areas, elevators, stairways, and the like.
CONSIDERATION - An act or forbearance, or the promise thereof, which is offered by one party to induce another to enter into a contract; that which is given in exchange for something from another.
CONSTRUCTIVE EVICTION - Acts done by a landlord which so materially disturb or impair the tenant's enjoyment of the leased premises that a tenant is effectively forced to move out and terminate the lease without liability for any further rent.
CONSTRUCTIVE NOTICE - Notice of certain facts which are implied bylaw to a person because he could have discovered the fact by reasonable diligence or by inquiry into public records.
CONTINGENCY - A provision placed in contract which requires the completion of a certain act or the happening of a particular event before a contract is binding.
CONTRACT - A legal agreement between competent parties who agree to perform or refrain from performing certain acts for a consideration. In real estate, there are many different types of contracts, including listings, contracts of sale, options, mortgages, assignments, leases, deeds, escrow agreements, and loan commitments, among others.
CONVEYANCE - The transfer of title to real property by means of a written instrument such as a deed or an assignment of lease.
COOPERATING BROKER - A broker who joins with another broker in the sale of real property.
COOPERATIVE OWNERSHIP - Cooperative ownership of an apartment unit means that the apartment owner has purchased shares in a corporation which holds title to the entire apartment building.
CO-TENANCY - Concurrent property ownership in which two or more persons own an undivided interest in the same property.
COUNTER-OFFER - A new offer made as a reply to an offer received from another; this has the effect of rejecting the original offer, which cannot thereafter be accepted unless revived by the offeror's repeating it. COURTESY TO BROKERS - The practice of sharing commissions with cooperating brokers.