MA Real Estate Vocabulary Exam
Questions and Answers
agricultural - ANSWER-A category of real estate that includes farms, timberland,
ranches, and orchards.
air lot - ANSWER-A designated airspace over a piece of land. It may be transferred.
appraisal - ANSWER-An estimate of the quantity, quality, or value of something. The
process through which conclusions of property value are obtained; also refers to the
report that sets forth the process of estimation and conclusion of value.
broker - ANSWER-One who acts as an intermediary on behalf of others for a fee or
commission.
brokerage - ANSWER-The bringing together of parties interested in making a real
estate transaction.
commercial - ANSWER-A category of business real estate that includes office space,
shopping centers, stores, theaters, hotels, and parking facilities.
demographics - ANSWER-Refers to the characteristics of a population, such as age
and economic status.
financing - ANSWER-The act of obtaining or furnishing money or capital for a
purchase or enterprise.
industrial - ANSWER-A category of real estate that includes warehouses, factories,
land in industrial districts, and power plants.
market - ANSWER-A place where goods can be bought and sold at a price
established.
property manager - ANSWER-Someone who manages real estate for another
person for compensation. Duties include collecting rents, maintaining the property,
and keeping up all accounting.
real estate counseling - ANSWER-Involves providing clients with competent
independent real estate advice based on sound professional judgment and
expertise. A real estate counselor helps clients make informed decisions when
purchasing, using, or investing in real property, without actually representing them as
an agent.
REALTOR - ANSWER-A registered trademark term reserved for the sole use of
active members of local and state REALTOR boards or associations affiliated with
the National Association of REALTORS.
,rental market - ANSWER-The market for leased real estate.
residential - ANSWER-All property used for single family or multifamily housing,
whether in urban, suburban, or rural areas.
sales market - ANSWER-The market for purchasing and selling real estate.
salesperson - ANSWER-A person who performs real estate activities while employed
by or associated with a licensed real estate broker.
seller's market - ANSWER-An economic condition occurring when the demand for a
good exceeds the supply, resulting in an increase in price.
special purpose - ANSWER-A category of real estate that includes churches,
schools, cemeteries, and government-held lands.
air rights - ANSWER-The right to use open space above a property, usually slowing
the surface to be used for another purpose.
appurtenance - ANSWER-Appended or annexed to something.
benchmarks - ANSWER-A permanent reference mark or point established for use by
surveyors in measuring differences in elevation.
bundle of legal rights - ANSWER-The concept of land ownership that includes
ownership of all legal rights to the land (for example, possession, control within the
law, and enjoyment).
chattel - ANSWER-Personal property
emblements - ANSWER-Growing crops, such as grapes and corn, that are produced
annually through labor and industry; also called fructose industrials.
fixture - ANSWER-An item of personal property that has been converted to real
property by being permanently affixed to the realty.
immobile - ANSWER-Land, which is the earth's surface, is fixed - immobile.
improvements - ANSWER-(1) Any structure, usually privately owned, erected on a
site to enhance the value of the property - for example, building a fence or driveway;
(2) a publicly owned structure added to or benefiting land, such as a curb, sidewalk,
street, or sewer.
indestructible - ANSWER-Land is indestructible - This permanence tends to stabilize
investments in the land (don't forget that improvements on the land can depreciate).
land - ANSWER-The earth's surface, extending downward to the center of the earth
and upward infinitely into space, including things permanently attached by nature,
such as trees and water.
, legal description - ANSWER-A description of a specific parcel of real estate complete
enough for an independent surveyor to locate and identify it.
littoral rights - ANSWER-(1) A landowner's claim to use water in large navigable
lakes and oceans adjacent to the landowner's property; (2) the ownership right to
land bordering these bodies of water up to the high water mark.
metes-and-bounds description - ANSWER-A legal description of a parcel of land that
begins at a well-marked point and follows boundaries, using directions and distances
around the tract, back to the place of beginning.
monument - ANSWER-A fixed natural or artificial object used to establish real estate
boundaries for a metes-and-bounds description.
nonhomogeneity - ANSWER-A lack of uniformity; dissimilarity. Because no two
parcels of land are exactly alike, real estate is said to be non homogeneous.
permanence of interest - ANSWER-
plat map - ANSWER-A map of a town, section, or subdivision indicating the location
and boundaries of individual properties.
prior appropriation - ANSWER-A concept of water ownership in which the
landowner's right to use available water is based on a government administered
permit system.
real estate - ANSWER-Land; a portion of the earth's surface extending downward to
the center of the earth and upward infinitely into space, including all things
permanently attached to it, whether naturally or artificially.
real property - ANSWER-The interests, benefits, and rights inherent in real estate
ownership.
rectangular survey system - ANSWER-A system established in 1785 by the federal
government, providing for surveying and describing land by reference to principal
meridians and base lines.
riparian rights - ANSWER-An owner's right in land that borders on or includes a
stream, river or lake. These rights include access to and use of the water.
severance - ANSWER-Changing an item of real estate to personal property by
detaching it from the land; for example, cutting down a tree.
situs - ANSWER-A personal preference of people for one area over another, not
necessarily based on objective facts and knowledge.
subdivision lot and work - ANSWER-
subsurface (mineral) rights - ANSWER-Ownership rights in a parcel of real estate to
the water, minerals, gas, oil and so forth that lie beneath the surface of the property.
Questions and Answers
agricultural - ANSWER-A category of real estate that includes farms, timberland,
ranches, and orchards.
air lot - ANSWER-A designated airspace over a piece of land. It may be transferred.
appraisal - ANSWER-An estimate of the quantity, quality, or value of something. The
process through which conclusions of property value are obtained; also refers to the
report that sets forth the process of estimation and conclusion of value.
broker - ANSWER-One who acts as an intermediary on behalf of others for a fee or
commission.
brokerage - ANSWER-The bringing together of parties interested in making a real
estate transaction.
commercial - ANSWER-A category of business real estate that includes office space,
shopping centers, stores, theaters, hotels, and parking facilities.
demographics - ANSWER-Refers to the characteristics of a population, such as age
and economic status.
financing - ANSWER-The act of obtaining or furnishing money or capital for a
purchase or enterprise.
industrial - ANSWER-A category of real estate that includes warehouses, factories,
land in industrial districts, and power plants.
market - ANSWER-A place where goods can be bought and sold at a price
established.
property manager - ANSWER-Someone who manages real estate for another
person for compensation. Duties include collecting rents, maintaining the property,
and keeping up all accounting.
real estate counseling - ANSWER-Involves providing clients with competent
independent real estate advice based on sound professional judgment and
expertise. A real estate counselor helps clients make informed decisions when
purchasing, using, or investing in real property, without actually representing them as
an agent.
REALTOR - ANSWER-A registered trademark term reserved for the sole use of
active members of local and state REALTOR boards or associations affiliated with
the National Association of REALTORS.
,rental market - ANSWER-The market for leased real estate.
residential - ANSWER-All property used for single family or multifamily housing,
whether in urban, suburban, or rural areas.
sales market - ANSWER-The market for purchasing and selling real estate.
salesperson - ANSWER-A person who performs real estate activities while employed
by or associated with a licensed real estate broker.
seller's market - ANSWER-An economic condition occurring when the demand for a
good exceeds the supply, resulting in an increase in price.
special purpose - ANSWER-A category of real estate that includes churches,
schools, cemeteries, and government-held lands.
air rights - ANSWER-The right to use open space above a property, usually slowing
the surface to be used for another purpose.
appurtenance - ANSWER-Appended or annexed to something.
benchmarks - ANSWER-A permanent reference mark or point established for use by
surveyors in measuring differences in elevation.
bundle of legal rights - ANSWER-The concept of land ownership that includes
ownership of all legal rights to the land (for example, possession, control within the
law, and enjoyment).
chattel - ANSWER-Personal property
emblements - ANSWER-Growing crops, such as grapes and corn, that are produced
annually through labor and industry; also called fructose industrials.
fixture - ANSWER-An item of personal property that has been converted to real
property by being permanently affixed to the realty.
immobile - ANSWER-Land, which is the earth's surface, is fixed - immobile.
improvements - ANSWER-(1) Any structure, usually privately owned, erected on a
site to enhance the value of the property - for example, building a fence or driveway;
(2) a publicly owned structure added to or benefiting land, such as a curb, sidewalk,
street, or sewer.
indestructible - ANSWER-Land is indestructible - This permanence tends to stabilize
investments in the land (don't forget that improvements on the land can depreciate).
land - ANSWER-The earth's surface, extending downward to the center of the earth
and upward infinitely into space, including things permanently attached by nature,
such as trees and water.
, legal description - ANSWER-A description of a specific parcel of real estate complete
enough for an independent surveyor to locate and identify it.
littoral rights - ANSWER-(1) A landowner's claim to use water in large navigable
lakes and oceans adjacent to the landowner's property; (2) the ownership right to
land bordering these bodies of water up to the high water mark.
metes-and-bounds description - ANSWER-A legal description of a parcel of land that
begins at a well-marked point and follows boundaries, using directions and distances
around the tract, back to the place of beginning.
monument - ANSWER-A fixed natural or artificial object used to establish real estate
boundaries for a metes-and-bounds description.
nonhomogeneity - ANSWER-A lack of uniformity; dissimilarity. Because no two
parcels of land are exactly alike, real estate is said to be non homogeneous.
permanence of interest - ANSWER-
plat map - ANSWER-A map of a town, section, or subdivision indicating the location
and boundaries of individual properties.
prior appropriation - ANSWER-A concept of water ownership in which the
landowner's right to use available water is based on a government administered
permit system.
real estate - ANSWER-Land; a portion of the earth's surface extending downward to
the center of the earth and upward infinitely into space, including all things
permanently attached to it, whether naturally or artificially.
real property - ANSWER-The interests, benefits, and rights inherent in real estate
ownership.
rectangular survey system - ANSWER-A system established in 1785 by the federal
government, providing for surveying and describing land by reference to principal
meridians and base lines.
riparian rights - ANSWER-An owner's right in land that borders on or includes a
stream, river or lake. These rights include access to and use of the water.
severance - ANSWER-Changing an item of real estate to personal property by
detaching it from the land; for example, cutting down a tree.
situs - ANSWER-A personal preference of people for one area over another, not
necessarily based on objective facts and knowledge.
subdivision lot and work - ANSWER-
subsurface (mineral) rights - ANSWER-Ownership rights in a parcel of real estate to
the water, minerals, gas, oil and so forth that lie beneath the surface of the property.
