REAL ESTATE DICTIONARY

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GABLE ROOF:
An angled roof, triangular in shape.

GAIN:
Any increase in value or monetary holdings.

GAMBREL ROOF:
A roof that has two, differently angled slopes on each side of the peak, the upper slope being flatter while the lower slope is steeper.

GARDEN APARTMENTS:
A description of a kind of apartment unit which enjoys direct access to a lawn or other garden-like area.

GENERAL CONTRACTOR:
The central figure in most construction pyramids, the person hired by the owner to plan and oversee the entire job. Often hires subcontractors who specialize in the various trades required for the job (i.e. plumbers, electricians, framers, carpenters, etc.).

GENERAL LIEN:
A registered claim against property which, instead of attaching just to one property, attaches to all properties owned by the party against whom the claim has been made.

GENERAL WARRANTY DEED:
Instrument which transfers legal title to property in which the Grantor warrants clear title to the Grantee.

GENTRIFICATION:
The process in which a neighborhood is transformed from low-value to high-value properties.

GEORGIAN:
A classic looking, English-style house, rectangular in shape, large, with two or three storeys complemented by classic lines.

GI LOAN:
Also known as "VA loan".

GIFT DEED:
Instrument which transfers legal title to property for no consideration (except perhaps natural love and affection).

GINNIE MAC (GNMA):
Government National Mortgage Association. Assistance in obtaining purchase mortgages.

GOOD AND MARKETABLE TITLE:
Ownership of a property which is free of competing claims and interests.

GOOD FAITH ESTIMATE:
A written statement of the anticipated costs of completing a loan transaction which must be provided by a lender to a borrower within 72 hours of the submission of the loan application.

GOOD FAITH:
A term to describe a party's legitimate and honest efforts to meet her obligations in a given situation.

GOVERNMENT RECTANGULAR SURVEY:
A regularized system of surveying land using 24-square-mile quadrangles which are then further divided into 6-square-mile parts called "townships", which are in turn subdivided into 36 1-square-mile "sections".

GRACE PERIOD:
The time a borrower is allowed after a payment is due to make that payment without incurring penalties.

GRADE:
The contour of the land, usually around a building, which affects drainage patterns on the property.

GRADIENT:
Expressed as a percentage, the rate of increase or decrease in the legal of land, the slope.

GRADUATED LEASE:
A rental agreement in which the periodic rental payments increase at specified points in time.

GRADUATED PAYMENT MORTGAGE (GPM):
A land loan in which the periodic payments increase at a stated rate over a stated period of time before levelling off for the remainder of the term of the loan.

GRADUATION PERIOD:
The interval between increases in the payments on a GPM.

GRADUATION RATE:
The rate at which the payments increase in a GPM, expressed as a percentage.

GRANDFATHER CLAUSE:
A provision in a law that ensures that the law is not retroactive, that it does not render a previously legal thing illegal. For example, a new zoning by-law requiring all houses to be at least five feet from the side lot line would not render illegal a 20-year-old house that stands three feet from the side lot line. The property would be described as "legal non-conforming".

GRANT:
The act of giving title to another. May also be used as a noun, meaning the instrument that transfers title.

GRANTEE:
One who receives title.

GRANTOR:
One who gives title to another.

GRANTOR/GRANTEE INDEX:
An alphabetical listing of the parties to all transfers of land, cross-indexed by grantor, grantee and the property transferred.

GROSS AREA:
The total floor space of a building, including unusable space, measured from the outside walls.

GROSS INCOME:
A person's earnings from all sources in a given period before expenses are deducted.

GROSS LEASABLE AREA:
The total usable, rental space in a building.

GROSS LEASE:
A rental agreement for the use of the property where the tenant pays a certain periodic amount which does not change as a result of changes in the various expenses of the property, which are the sole responsibility of the landlord.

GROSS MARGIN:
The difference between the interest rate chargeable on a variable or adjustable rate mortgage and the rate set by the index rate upon which the mortgage rate is based.

GROUND LEASE:
A long-term lease of land (often 99 years) in which the tenant is allowed to improve the land and use it for the term of the lease at the end of which the land and all improvements revert to the control and occupancy of the owner.

GROUND RENT:
Portion of rent attributable to the land alone.

GROUP HOME:
A dwelling which has been adapted to house a number of un-related persons who share a common characteristic.

GROWING-EQUITY MORTGAGE (GEM):
A mortgage with a fixed interest rate which has periodic payments which increase at intervals, the added money per payment being applied directly to the outstanding principal on the mortgage.

GUARANTEE:
1. An enforceable warranty on the continuing usefulness of a product.
2. An agreement by a third party to a loan transaction to join in the transaction and to be held liable for the moneys secured by the loan instrument should the principal debtor fail to pay.

GUARANTEE MORTGAGE:
A land loan that has a third party added to provide added assurance that the obligations under the loan will be met.

GUARANTY FEE:
Fannie Mae's fee for insuring a mortgage