board of directors – the board elected by the shareholders of a cooperative corporation to run the corporation and the building it owns

board of managers – the board elected by the owners of the apartments in a condominium to run the condominium association and the building it owns

closing – the meeting at which all documents and payments necessary to consummate a sale of property are signed and exchanged

closing costs – the costs that each party to a sale incur, such as transfer taxes, flip tax, broker commission, managing agent fees, title insurance premium, cost of judgment/lien search, recording charges, mortgage recording tax and attorney’s fee

condominium (condo) – refers either to (a) a building comprised of units, each of which is separately owned by the owner thereof together with a percentage interest in the common areas of the building or (b) an individual apartment in such building

condominium association – the association of owners of the apartments of a building organized as a condominium

contract – any agreement; in real estate, it usually refers to the written agreement in which a seller and purchaser bind themselves to a sale at a stated price and which agreement sets out the structure of the transaction

contract deposit – the deposit – usually 10% of the purchase price – that the purchaser pays into escrow at the time of signing of the contract

cooperative (coop) – refers to either (a) the corporation that owns a building operated as a housing cooperative, the shares of which are owned by the owners of the apartments and which is the landlord with respect to the apartment owners, who are its tenants, or (b) an individual apartment in such a building

co-op loan – a loan in which the borrower/apartment owner gives to the lender a lien upon the borrower’s shares of and proprietary lease from the cooperative corporation

downpayment – refers either to (a) the amount of the purchase price that the purchaser pays over and above the amount of the mortgage or coop loan or (b) the contract deposit

due diligence – the process of making an investigation, usually prior to entering into a contract

escrow – the status of money that is held by an escrowee, such that neither party is entitled to the funds until and unless a certain event (for example, the closing) occurs

fee simple – the complete and outright ownership of title to real property

flip tax – a charge levied by a cooperative corporation based on sale price, profit or a flat amount per share

joint tenancy – the ownership of title in property by two or more persons such that each owns a percentage of the title and can sell or mortgage his/her interest, can suffer it to be attached by creditors and can sue for a partition, and upon his/her death his/her interest will be a non-probate asset, passing to the surviving joint tenant(s) by right of survivorship

lien – a right that a creditor has to foreclose upon the title to property owned by a person who owes a debt to the creditor, or that must otherwise be paid out of the property to pay off the debt

life estate – the ownership of real property that terminates upon the owner’s death, at which time ownership of the property is a non-probate asset, passing to the remainderperson(s)

life tenant – the owner of a life estate

listing agreement – the contract between a seller and a broker whereby the seller hires the broker to find a purchaser and agrees to pay the broker a commission

managing agent – a person or company that operates the building on behalf of a cooperative corporation or condominium association

mortgage – refers either to (a) a lien against his/her real property that a borrower gives to a lender, such that the real property is collateral for the debt or (b) the document by which the borrower grants such a lien

mortgage/loan commitment – the written offer of a lender to make a loan in a specified amount, at the closing, to be secured by a mortgage or a security agreement, as the case may be, almost always provided that various conditions be met

mortgage recording tax – the tax, based on the amount of the mortgage loan, which must be paid in order to record a mortgage in the land records

personal property – property that is not real property

proprietary lease – the lease which the owner of shares in a cooperative corporation receives from the corporation and that establishes his/her tenancy in his/her apartment

real property – real estate

record – to enter a document in the permanent land records of the county in which real estate is located

remainder interest – the ownership interest in real property that comes into existence upon the termination of a life estate upon the death of the life tenant

remainderperson – a person who owns a remainder interest

right of first refusal – the right of a condominium association, if it disapproves of a sale, to purchase an apartment from the seller at the same price as the purchaser offered

right of survivorship – the operation of law by which when one joint tenant dies, his/her interest automatically passes to the other joint tenant(s)

security agreement – the document by which a borrower grants a lien against his/her shares and proprietary lease for his/her coop apartment to a lender, such that the apartment is collateral for the debt

tenancy by the entirety – a special kind of joint tenancy existing only between spouses such that each owns one-half of the interest but cannot sell or mortgage his/her interest, cannot suffer it to be attached by creditors and cannot sue for a partition, and upon his/her death his/her interest will be a non-probate asset, passing to the surviving spouse by right of survivorship

tenancy in common – the ownership of an interest in real property by two or more people such that each owns a percentage of the interest and can sell or mortgage his/her interest, can suffer it to be attached by creditors and can sue for a partition, and upon his/her death his/her interest will be a probate asset of his/her estate

title insurance – a policy issued to a purchaser and/or the purchaser’s lender, by a licensed insurance carrier, which guarantees the accuracy of the title search conducted by or for the carrier

transfer taxes – taxes levied by New York State and New York City based on the sale price

UCC financing statement – the notice filed by the lender of a coop loan to make its loan created by the security agreement a matter of public record

UCC termination statement – the notice issued by the lender of a coop loan, to be filed in order make the payoff of its loan a matter of public record