Real Estate

Real Estate, in broad definition, land and everything made permanently a part thereof, and the nature and extent of one's interest therein.

In law, the word real, as it relates to property, means land as distinguished from personal property; and estate is defined as the interest one has in property.

Real estate may be acquired, owned, and conveyed (or transferred).

• by individuals
• business corporations
• charitable
• religious
• educational
• fraternal

Various other nonprofit corporations;

• fiduciaries
• trustees and executors
• partnerships

And generally by any legal entity as determined and defined by the laws of the various states of the U.S.

Limitations are established in connection with sales of real estate by minors, incompetents, and certain types of corporations, and generally in cases involving some form of legal disability or lack of capacity.

In such instances, it is necessary in some jurisdictions to make application to the courts for permission to sell; in other jurisdictions such transfers are governed by statute.
Real property is generally acquired by purchase, by descent and devise, or by gift.

When acquired by purchase, a deed is given by the seller, or grantor, to the purchaser, or grantee. The deed contains a legal description of the property conveyed; it must be drawn, executed, and acknowledged in proper form to be entitled to record.

It is customary for the seller and the purchaser to enter into a contract, at which time the purchaser makes a deposit on account of the purchase price.

The purchaser engages an attorney or a title company to search the title to the property. The title company ensures that the seller can convey clear title. The transaction is then closed; that is, the property title is transferred and the balance of the purchase price is paid.

When an owner of real property has died intestate, or without leaving a will, title to the property is said to pass by descent to the heirs; when he has died testate, or leaving a will that has been probated, the property passes by devise to the person or persons so designated in the will.

Transfer of real property by gift, as, for instance, to churches, educational institutions, or fraternal orders, is easily accomplished merely by the execution and delivery of a deed.

The greatest and most extensive interest that may be acquired in realty is described in law as a fee interest, a term that implies a proprietary ownership, free and clear of conditions.

Fee interest is the most common form of ownership; with certain exceptions.

• private homes
• apartment buildings
• factories
• office buildings
  
  

Similar properties are owned in fee.

Master of Real Estate Development

The Master of Real Estate Development, Master of Science in Real Estate Development, MRED or MsRED, is a degree offered at several universities in the United States. MRED programs generally focus on the three main elements of real estate development; design, finance, and policy.

Students are generally exposed to the full range of development functions - market analysis, finance, site planning, and project management and operations, in addition to all real estate product types - residential, retail, office, hospitality, and industrial.

Whether in the context of urban redevelopment, historic preservation, or suburban growth, MRED students learn from the developer's perspective the importance of relevant issues in law, economics, finance, market analysis, negotiation, architecture, urban history, planning, and construction project management.

The programs are a full-immersion focusing on the entire real estate development process-from dirt-to-deal, finance to façade-and includes industry topics presented by leading local and national developers.

The typical MRED student is a highly motivated individual who seeks to radically alter or enhance their career paths and join the real estate development industry. Students who graduate from the programs are committed to a career in real estate development.

For a long time, those wishing to study real estate development had to content themselves with pursuing a Master of Business Administration degree, perhaps with the option of concentration in real estate, and usually with a focus in finance.

Seeking to fill a gap in the scope of the traditional MBA, real estate development leaders across the country needed a way to education men and women to compete in the global market with superior qualifications — providing the research-based expertise necessary to solve complex problems in contemporary real estate development.

In the past three decades, a number of top academic institutions in the United States have created masters degrees specifically in real estate development.

Formal graduate education in real estate development began with the founding of the MIT Center for Real Estate in 1983. Other universities followed in establishing masters level programs with:

• University of Southern California (1986)
• Arizona State University (2003)
• Clemson University (2004),
• University of Maryland (2006)
• University of Miami (2008).

George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia is currently seeking approval to offer a degree program by September 2009

Zoning

Zoning is a device of land use regulation used by local governments in most developed countries.

The word is derived from the practice of designating permitted uses of land based on mapped zones which separate one set of land uses from another.

Zoning may be use-based (regulating the uses to which land may be put), or it may regulate building height, lot coverage, and similar characteristics, or some combination of these.

Theoretically, the primary purpose of zoning is to segregate uses that are thought to be incompatible. In practice, zoning is used to prevent new development from interfereing with existing residents or businesses and to preserve the "character" of a community.

Zoning is commonly controlled by local governments such as counties or municipalities, though the nature of the zoning regime may be determined or limited by state or national planning authorities or through enabling legislation.

Title (property)

Title (Legal Definition)
Evidence of ownership of real estate.
A legal document that provides evidence of ownership.

Title is a legal term for a bundle of rights in a piece of property in which a party may own either a legal interest or an equitable interest.

The rights in the bundle may be separated and held by different parties.

It may also refer to a formal document that serves as evidence of ownership.

Conveyance of the document may be required in order to transfer ownership in the property to another person.

Title is distinct from possession, a right that often accompanies ownership but is not necessarily sufficient to prove it.

In many cases, both possession and title may be transferred independently of each other.