Real Estate & Investing Dictionary
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Va Loan
A loan on below market terms guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs, given to former members of the armed forces.

VA Mortgage
A mortgage that is guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Vacancy and Credit Losses
Losses incurred by owner due to tenant failure to pay rent or because property is unoccupied.

Vacancy Factor
Estimated percentage of rental that won't be made because of actual and anticipated vacancies.

Vacancy Rate
Percentage of unoccupied rental property. Idle space causes significant cash drain when cash inflows are not received to offset the cash outflows of maintenance. Most properties have a minimum occupancy rate to break even.

Vacancy Rate
An estimate of the amount of time the rental property will be vacant multiplied by the rental rate of the unit(s). The amount is used in estimating the investor's value of an income property.

Vacant Land
Land that may be improved and developed but is not currently in use.

Vacant Land
Unoccupied property, not currently being used. It may have utilities and off-site improvements as contrasted with raw land with no improvements or structures.

Vacate
To leave or move out of a premises.

Vacation Home
An occasional-use property, often in a resort area (ski, sun, ocean), which may be rented out by the owner to other vacationers while not in use by the owner.

Vacation Home
A home owned in addition to a person's primary residence.

Valid
Legally binding; authorized.

Valuation
The estimation of the worth or sale price of an asset.

Valuation
Estimated worth of a property as valued through an appraisal.

Value
An expression of monetary worth of a particular piece of real estate.

Value After the Taking
Worth of the property part which is left subsequent to a condemnation action.

Value Before the Taking
Market price of all the property prior to a condemnation proceeding.

Value in Exchange
The giving of money, goods or services in exchange for another good or service provided by another party.

Value in Use
Discounted value of net cash to be obtained from a property calculated by consideration of annual cash inflows plus the disposal value.

Variable Expenses
Operating costs of a property which are not fixed, which change as a result of certain contingencies, such as percentage occupation of the property, type of use of the property, perhaps even the season of the year (for heating and air conditioning costs).

Variable Interest Rate
An interest rate that may change according to change in the index rate.

Variable Interest Rate
Loan rate that changes based on fluctuations in the rate paid on Treasury bills or bank certificates of deposit.

Variable Maturity Mortage
A long-term loan in which the date the balance is due may be changed to adjust the level of periodic payments.

Variable Rate Mortgage (VRM)
A loan with an interest rate that adjusts with the changes in rates paid on Treasury bills or bank certificates of deposit.

Variance
An indulgence granted by a local zoning commission or authority to allow a non-conforming use of a property to continue. The zoning bylaw or ordinance is actually amended as it pertains to the particular property.

Vendee
A buyer of real property.

Vendee's Lien
Legal right of a purchaser of a piece of real estate to the paid purchase price plus direct costs of acquisition, if the seller fails to render the deed to the property.

Vendees Lien
A lien against property under contract of sale to secure a deposit paid by a purchaser.

Vendor
Seller. Purchasee.

Vendor
A seller of real estate or other products.

Vendor and Purchaser Application
Also known as "V&P Application". The bringing before a court in Ontario of any dispute between parties to an Agreement of Purchase and Sale with regard to the terms of the Agreement. Named after the Vendors and Purchasers Act, the statute which sets out the procedure for such an application.

Vendor's Lien
The seller's claim to property held by a buyer as collateral for a debt, also called a purchase money mortgage.

Verification Of Deposit - VOD
A form sent to an employer by a lender to verify that a borrower has a certain sum on deposit.

Verification Of Employment - VOE
A form sent to an employer by a lender to verify that a borrower is employed at a certain salary.

Vested
Having the right to use a portion of a fund such as an individual retirement fund. For example, individuals who are 100 percent vested can withdraw all of the funds that are set aside for them in a retirement fund. However, taxes may be due on any funds that are actually withdrawn.

Veterans Administration - VA
An agency of the federal government that guarantees residential mortgages made to eligible veterans of the military services. The guarantee protects the lender against loss and thus encourages lenders to make mortgages to veterans.

Vicarious Liability
The responsibility of one person for the acts of another.

Village Acre
A lot size used in the Houston area to denote a 40,000 square foot parcel. In the Memorial Villages of Bunker Hill, Hedwig, Hillshire, Hunter's Creek, Piney Point and Spring Valley, lot sizes are often expressed in village acres or a fractions of village acres. The term was coined by developers who successfully lobbied for slighty smaller, minimum lot size requirements, in the cities' zoning regulations.

Violation
An act, deed, or creation of a condition that violates the law in the use of property.

Virtual Home Tour
Any method used to provide internet users with a graphical presentation of a home, or homes. Presentations may include web pages, java applets, streaming video, panoramic images and bubble views.

Visual Right
Occupant's right to see out of a window without being hindered.

Void
Having no legal force or effect; legally invalid.

Voidable
A contract that may be treated as legally unenforceable at the option of a party (usually the injured party) but remains enforceable until that party exercises her option.

Voluntary Alienation
Transfer of title to an asset with the consent of the owner.

Voluntary Lien
A claim that is recorded/registered with consent of the owner.

Voluntary Lien
Lien that a homeowner gives, willingly, to a lender, such as a mortgage.
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