Real Estate & Investing Dictionary
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Gas Fired Furnace
Heating system fueled by natural or propane gas.

Gated Community
A fenced housing development, which usually has a security guard.

Gated Community
A neighborhood or group of neighborhoods, usually surrounded by masonary walls, restricting access through the use of a manned guard station or electronically operated gates. The electronic gates may be opened through the use of individual remote controls and/or a numeric keypad and code. Some gated communities restrict entry at all times, while others only limit access during the evening hours. The City of Houston does not allow public city streets to be gated off, so only neighborhoods with private streets, may have restricted access. The costs associated with maintaining a manned guard gate can significantly impact monthly maintenance fees, depending on the size of the community.

Gazebo
Open structure, supported by columns and covered with a column-supported roof.

General Contractor
Contractor who assumes responsibility for completing a construction project, under contract to the owner, and hires, supervises and pays all subcontractors.

General Lien
A lien that includes all the property owned by a debtor, rather than a specific property. Contrast with Specific Lien.

General Partnership
A form of business where two or more persons enter into an agreement to conduct business. Profits and losses are shared in a predetermined fashion and all partners are jointly and severally liable for debts of the general partnership.

Georgian Style
Popular 18th century style featuring a symmetrical façade, a prominent front entrance and quoins (decorative blocks of masonry or wood which are set in the corners of the house). This classic style has two to three stories.

Gift Deed
A deed for which the consideration is love and affection rather than monetary.

Ginnie Mae
See Government National Mortgage.

GNMA
See Government National Mortgage Association.

Good Faith Estimate
A written estimate of closing costs which a lender must provide you within three days of submitting an application.

Good Repair
A borrower has an obligation to maintain the condition of mortgaged property.

Governing body
the board, body or persons in which the powers of a community are vested;

Government Loan
A mortgage that is insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or the Rural Housing Service (RHS). Mortgages that are not government loans are classified as conventional loans.

Government National Mortgage Association
An arm of the federal government that purchases loans. Currently GNMA buys over 90 percent of all DVA loans.

Government National Mortgage Association - Ginnie Mae
A government-owned corporation within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Created by Congress on September 1, 1968, GNMA performs the same role as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in providing funds to lenders for making home loans. The difference is that Ginnie Mae provides funds for government loans (FHA and VA)

Grace Period
Additional time allowed to perform an act or make a payment before a default occurs.

Graded Tax
Increasing tax rates as levels of taxable income rise.

Gradient
The slope or rate of increase or decrease in the elevation of a surface; usually expressed as a percentage.

Grading
1. To determine the quality level of material. 2. Bring the ground level of a building site to the proper level for construction.

Grandfather Clause
Provision that, when a law is changed or a new law is passed, those whose specific activity was legal under the previous law will be allowed to continue, by virtue of this provision.

Grandfather Clause
Properties that do not conform to current ordinances, codes, or regulations, but are allowed to continue to be occupied because the properties predate the institution of the ordinances, codes, and regulations.

Grant
A term used in deeds of conveyance of land to indicate a transfer.

Grant Deed
A deed of conveyance that implies that the grantor (seller) is granting an actual interest and has not previously granted such interest to anyone else.

Grant Deed
One of many types of deeds used to transfer real property. Contains implied warranties against prior conveyances or encumbrances.

Grantee
The buyer of the property.

Grantor
The seller of the property.

Gravity Warm Air Heating System
Heating system, which circulates warm air through ducting using the rise of warm and the fall of cooler air, to heat a house.

Greenhouse
Structure used for growing plants. Natural sunlight comes in through glass or plastic panels and the temperature and humidity is controlled to provide ideal growing conditions.

Gross Area
The total floor area of a structure, in square feet, measured from the outside.

Gross Debt Service
The amount of money needed to pay principal, interest and taxes, and sometimes energy costs. If the dwelling unit is a condominium, all or a portion of common fees are excluded, depending on what expenses are covered.

Gross Income
The total income from a property before the deduction of expenses.

Gross Income
Total income of a household before expenses and taxes are subtracted.

Gross Income Multiplier
That number which, when multiplied times the gross income, would give an indication of property value. It is strictly a guide and frequently abused.

Gross Lease
A commercial real estate lease in which the tenant pays a fixed amount of rent per month or year, regardless of the landlord's operating costs, such as maintenance, taxes and insurance. A gross lease closely resembles the typical residential lease. The tenant may agree to a "gross lease with ss," meaning that the tenant will pitch in if the landlord's operating costs rise above a certain level. In real estate lingo, the point when the tenant starts to contribute is called the "s level," because that’s where the landlord’s share of the costs ss. Contrast with Net Lease.

Gross Lease
Rental in which the lessor pays all operating costs such as taxes, utilities, insurance and maintenance, in addition to the rent.

Gross Margin
Percentage produced when gross profits are divided by total income.

Ground Floor
The floor of a building closest to the building grade.

Ground Lease
Lease of land only.

Ground Plan
View of a plot showing the structures located upon it. Ground Rent Portion of property income earned by the leasing value of the land.

Ground Wire
Also called a grounding conductor, it connects an electrical device to the electrical ground.

Guarantee
A financially binding guaranty assuring that an obligation or contractual agreement will be fulfilled by the guarantor

Guarantee
The DVA guarantees repayment of a DVA loan to the private lender who made it. Actually, this guarantee amounts to an agreement by the DVA to cover the loss up to a certain dollar figure on a loan of a given size that goes into default and foreclosure.

Guarantee Mortgage
Loan that is guaranteed by a third party, for example a government institution.

Guaranteed Payment Loan
Assurance that a loan's financial obligation will be secured by a third party.
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