Glossary

Joint tenants

Joint tenancy is the equal holding of property by two or more persons.I one person dies, their share passes to the survivor/s.

Judgement

An order or decision of a court.

Land tax

Value-based levy applied to some property (exemptions include principal place of residence).

Lease

The right to exclusive possession for a period on the payment of rent or other consideration.

Leasehold

The interest in land of a person who owns a lease granted by a freeholder.

Lessee

Tenant

Lessor

Owner

Liabilities

A legal obligation/outstanding debts.

Licence

The right to do something in relation to land which would otherwise be a trespass-signage (crossing land, grazing sheep, taking water, etc).

Limited title

Form or torrens title which applies to a property before it has been adequately surveyed.

Listing

The act of giving a property to an agent to sell (requires formal written agreement, according to legislative provisions).

Market value

The price or rent that is available in the general marketplace.It is greatly influenced by the interaction of supply and demand and the market assessment of the highest and best potential use that the land can attain.

Maturity date

The last day of the term of the home loan agreement.The home loan must be paid in full or the home loan agreement renewed.

Mortgage

A charge on the land which is generally registered on the title.

Mortgagee

Lender

Mortgagor

Borrower

Multiple listing

Where an agent is given an exclusive listing with written instructions to list it with the other agents in the multi-list group.Unless instructed to do so, an agent is not required to multi-list a property.

Negligence

A breach in a professional's duty of care owed to a principal or third parties.

O.f.I.

Open for inspection.

An agents advertisement inviting the general public to inspect a property for sale or lease.

Obligation

A legal duty.

Offer to purchase

A formal legal agreement which offers a specified price for a specified property. The offer may be firm (no conditions attached) or conditional (certain conditions apply).

Old system title

A type of land-holding based on a series of transactions going back to a good root of title. (also known as common law titled).

Open listing

Where a property is listed with more than one agent (only one commission is paid).

Option

A covenant in a lease allowing the tenant to extend the period of a lease on the same terms and contained with the original period unless advised in advance.It can also be a form of exclusive rights to purchase a property subject to terms agreed in advance.

Option to buy

Legal agreement giving the buyer the right to purchase property at a certain time and price.Option fee, usually one percent of price, is payable and forfeited if buyer does not go through with the transaction.

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