Real estate is a legal term (in some jurisdictions, notably in the USA, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia) that encompasses land along with anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings, specifically property that is fixed in location.[1] Real estate law is the body of regulations and legal codes which pertain to such matters under a particular jurisdiction and include things such as commercial and residential real property transactions. Real estate is often considered synonymous with real property (also sometimes called realty), in contrast with personal property (also sometimes called chattel or personalty under chattel law or personal property law). However, in some situations the term "real estate" refers to the land and fixtures together, as distinguished from "real property," referring to ownership of land and appurtenances, including anything of a permanent nature such as structures, trees, minerals, and the interest, benefits, and inherent rights thereof. Real property is typically considered to be Immovable property[2] The terms real estate and real property are used primarily in common law, while civil law jurisdictions refer instead to immovable property. Etymology In law, the word real means relating to a thing (res/rei, thing, from O.Fr. reel, from L.L. realis "actual," from Latin. res, "matter, thing"[3]), as distinguished from a person. Thus the law broadly distinguishes between "real" property (land and anything affixed to it) and "personal" property (everything else, e.g., clothing, furniture, money). The conceptual difference was between immovable property, which would transfer title along with the land, and movable property, which a person would retain title to. The oldest use of the term "Real Estate" that has been preserved in historical records was in 1666.[3] The use of "real" to refer to land also reflects the ancient preference for land, and the ownership thereof (and the owners thereof). This, in turn reflects the values of the medieval feudal system, which is the ultimate root of the common law. Some have claimed that the word Real is derived from "royal" (The word royal—and its Spanish cognate real—come from the related Latin word rex-regis, meaning king. For hundreds of years the Royal family / King owned the land, and the peasants paid rent or property taxes to be on the Royal's land. Today, just like hundreds of years in the past, we pay property taxes, or rent to be on the government's land or the Royal Estate). However, the "real" in "real property" is derived from the Latin for "thing".[4] Business sector With the development of private property ownership, real estate has become a major area of business. Purchasing real estate requires a significant investment, and each parcel of land has unique characteristics, so the real estate industry has evolved into several distinct fields. Specialists are often called on to valuate real estate and facilitate transactions. Some kinds of real estate businesses include: * Appraisal: Professional valuation services * Brokerages: A fee charged by the mediator who facilitates a real estate transaction between the two parties. * Development: Improving land for use by adding or replacing buildings * Net lease: Sharing leased property amongst tenants [6] * Property management: Managing a property for its owner(s) * Real estate marketing: Managing the sales side of the property business * Real estate investing: Managing the investment of real estate * Relocation services: Relocating people or business to a different country * Corporate Real Estate: Managing the real estate held by a corporation to support its core business—unlike managing the real estate held by an investor to generate income Within each field, a business may specialize in a particular type of real estate, such as residential, commercial, or industrial property. In addition, almost all construction business effectively has a connection to real estate. "Internet real estate" is a term coined by the internet investment community relating to ownership of domain names and the similarities between high quality internet domain names and real-world, prime real estate. Residential real estate The legal arrangement for the right to occupy a dwelling is known as the housing tenure. Types of housing tenure include owner occupancy, Tenancy, housing cooperative, condominiums (individually parceled properties in a single building), public housing, squatting, and cohousing. When one or more tenants live together, they may choose to split the cost of residency through a net lease. To save money having a residence, tenants may have the option to have a net lease. The only cost of this would be having to share the residence with another tenant. Net leases come in many different forms including: single, double, and triple net leases; depending on how many tenants are sharing the net lease. [6] Residences can be classified by, if, and how they are connected to neighboring residences and land. Different types of housing tenure can be used for the same physical type. For example, connected residents might be owned by a single entity and leased out, or owned separately with an agreement covering the relationship between units and common areas and concerns. 'Singe-family detached home' Major physical categories in North America and Europe include: * Attached / multi-unit dwellings o Apartment - An individual unit in a multi-unit building. The boundaries of the apartment are generally defined by a perimeter of locked or lockable doors. Often seen in multi-story apartment buildings. o Multi-family house - Often seen in multi-story detached buildings, where each floor is a separate apartment or unit. o Terraced house (a.k.a. townhouse or rowhouse) - A number of single or multi-unit buildings in a continuous row with shared walls and no intervening space. o Condominium - Building or complex, similar to apartments, owned by individuals. Common grounds are owned and shared jointly. There are townhouse or rowhouse style condominiums as well. * Semi-detached dwellings o Duplex - Two units with one shared wall. * Single-family detached home * Portable dwellings o Mobile homes - Potentially a full-time residence which can be (might not in practice be) movable on wheels. o Houseboats - A floating home o Tents - Usually very temporary, with roof and walls consisting only of fabric-like material. The size of an apartment or house can be described in square feet or meters. In the United States, this includes the area of "living space", excluding the garage and other non-living spaces. The "square meters" figure of a house in Europe may report the total area of the walls enclosing the home, thus including any attached garage and non-living spaces, which makes it important to inquire what kind of surface definition has been used. It can also be described more roughly by the number of rooms. A studio apartment has a single bedroom with no living room (possibly a separate kitchen). A one-bedroom apartment has a living or dining room separate from the bedroom. Two bedroom, three bedroom, and larger units are also common. (A bedroom is defined as a room with a closet for clothes storage.) See List of house types for a complete listing of housing types and layouts, real estate trends for shifts in the market and house or home for more general information. Mortgages in real estate In recent years, many economists have recognized that the lack of effective real estate laws can be a significant barrier to investment in many developing countries. In most societies, rich or poor, a significant fraction of the total wealth is in the form of land and buildings. But in many developing countries there is no effective means by which a lender could foreclose, so the mortgage loan industry, as such, either does not exist at all or is only available to members of privileged social classes. Mortgages vs. Real Estate Realtors draw contractual paper work tied to the intent of buying a home. The mortgage side is all about making sure you qualify, proving your income and assets, and making sure your income is sufficient compared to your debt load. We also need to structure whether you're a better qualifier on conventional loan terms or government terms. * 1031 exchange * Buyer brokerage (in the USA) * Buying agent (in the UK) * Estate (house) * Estate agent (in the UK) * Real estate broker (in the USA) * Housing bubble * International real estate * List of real estate topics * Mortgage * Net lease * Private Equity Real Estate * Property rights * Real estate broker (in the USA) * Estate agent (in the UK) * Real estate appraisal * Real estate broker * Real estate economics * Real estate developer * Real estate investment trust * Real estate pricing * Real estate transaction * Real estate transfer tax * Real estate trends * Real property * Realtor * Short sale (real estate) * Subprime mortgage crisis