Riverviews Real Estate
A Company You Can Trust!
Manhattan, Westchester
Orange, Rockland County NY
Luxury Sales & Rentals
914.837.0782
info@riverviewsre.com

Real Estate Glossary From 'Abstract of Title' to 'Walk-up', the arcana of real estate explained. Browse alphabetically by choosing a letter from the list below. A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

M

Term Description Maintenance:  This refers to the amount of monthly charges paid by an individual cooperative owner to the co-operative as their proportionate share of the expenses of the building. Maintenance is comprised of three components: 1) The daily cost to run and operate the building; 2) The shareholders proportionate share of the buildings underlying mortgage and 3) the shareholders proportionate share of the buildings local real estate taxes. Maisonette:  A ground floor apartment with a separate street entrance from the rest of the building.  This type of apartment will usually have a second entrance inside the buildings lobby and will enjoy the same amenities of the building.  Typically these apartments are located in Park Avenue or Fifth Avenue co-operative apartment buildings and provide the owners of these apartments a more private existence within a co-op and a townhouse type of environment without the maintenance of an actual townhouse. Managing Agent:  Most co-operative and condominium buildings will hire an independent company to manage the property.  These firms are responsible for the daily maintenance of a property, the collection of rents or monthly maintenance charges, enforcing building policies, etc. Mortgage Points:  Often when a consumer takes out a mortgage, the lender will tack on points to the mortgage amount is an upfront cost of doing business.  In otherwords, if the lending institution offers a mortgage rate at 2 points, you will be paying 2% of the total mortgage upfront as an added cost of doing business. Mortgage:  In order to purchase a property, an individual often will enter into an agreement with a lending institution to provide him/her with a loan to cover a large percentage of the purchase price.  A mortgage is a very common vehicle used in the purchase of a home and most Americans use this type of financing throughout their lives when they purchase property.  There are several components to a mortgage, including the interest rate due on the loan (this can be either a fixed or floating rate), the term of the mortgage in number of years (usually 15 or 30) and the amount that is being financed.  Using simple math, one can figure out his/her monthly payments for the term of the mortgage.    If the rate is fixed, the amount for each payment period will be identical and will be comprised of two components, principle and interest. Murphy Bed:  A bed which is built into a wall or attached to a wall and can be pulled down when needed.    One can find Murphy Beds in smaller apartments.  These beds can provide for great space saving and often resemble wall units so that when they are not exposed they are hardly if at all noticeable.