Buying a Home

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Property law
Part of the common law series
Types
Personal property Community property Real property Unowned property
Acquisition
Gift Adverse possession Deed Conquest Discovery Accession Lost, mislaid, and abandoned property Treasure trove Bailment License Alienation
Estates in land
Allodial title Fee simple Fee tail Life estate Defeasible estate Future interest remainder Concurrent estate Leasehold estate Condominiums Real estate Land tenure
Conveyancing
Bona fide purchaser Torrens title Strata title Deeds registration Estoppel by deed Quitclaim deed Mortgage Equitable conversion Action to quiet title Escheat
Future use control
Restraint on alienation Rule against perpetuities Rule in Shelley's Case Doctrine of worthier title
Nonpossessory interest
Lien Easement Profit Usufruct Covenant Equitable servitude
Related topics
Fixtures Waste Partition Practicing without a license Property rights Mineral rights Water rights prior appropriation riparian Lateral and subjacent support Assignment Nemo dat Quicquid plantatur Conflict of property laws Blackacre Security deposit
Other common law areas
Contract law Tort law Wills, trusts and estates Criminal law Evidence Higher category: Law and Common law

Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as growing crops (e.g. timber), minerals or water, and wild animals; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more generally) buildings or housing in general.^[1][2] In terms of law, real relates to land property and is different from personal property, while estate means the "interest" a person has in that land property.^[3]

Real estate is different from personal property, which is not permanently attached to the land (or comes with the land), such as vehicles, boats, jewelry, furniture, tools, and the rolling stock of a farm and farm animals.

In the United States, the transfer, owning, or acquisition of real estate can be through business corporations, individuals, nonprofit corporations, fiduciaries, or any legal entity as seen within the law of each U.S. state.^[3]

The natural right of a person to own property as a concept can be seen as having roots in Roman law as well as Greek philosophy.^[4] The profession of appraisal can be seen as beginning in England during the 1500s, as agricultural needs required land clearing and land preparation. Textbooks on the subject of surveying began to be written and the term "surveying" was used in England, while the term "appraising" was more used in North America.^[5] Natural law which can be seen as "universal law" was discussed among writers of the 15th and 16th century as it pertained to "property theory" and the inter-state relations dealing with foreign investments and the protection of citizens private property abroad. Natural law can be seen as having an influence in Emerich de Vattel's 1758 treatise The Law of Nations which conceptualized the idea of private property.^[6]

One of the largest initial real estate deals in history known as the "Louisiana Purchase" happened in 1803 when the Louisiana Purchase Treaty was signed. This treaty paved the way for western expansion and made the U.S. the owners of the "Louisiana Territory" as the land was bought from France for fifteen million dollars, making each acre roughly 4 cents.^[7] The oldest real estate brokerage firm was established in 1855 in Chicago, Illinois, and was initially known as "L. D. Olmsted & Co." but is now known as "Baird & Warner".^[8] In 1908, the National Association of Realtors was founded in Chicago and in 1916, the name was changed to the National Association of Real Estate Boards and this was also when the term "realtor" was coined to identify real estate professionals.^[9]

The stock market crash of 1929 and the Great Depression in the U.S. caused a major drop in real estate worth and prices and ultimately resulted in depreciation of 50% for the four years after 1929.^[10] Housing financing in the U.S. was greatly affected by the Banking Act of 1933 and the National Housing Act in 1934 because it allowed for mortgage insurance for home buyers and this system was implemented by the Federal Deposit Insurance as well as the Federal Housing Administration.^[11] In 1938, an amendment was made to the National Housing Act and Fannie Mae, a government agency, was established to serve as a secondary market for mortgages and to give lenders more money in order for new homes to be funded.^[12]

Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act in the U.S., which is also known as the Fair Housing Act, was put into place in 1968 and dealt with the incorporation of African Americans into neighborhoods as the issues of discrimination were analyzed with the renting, buying, and financing of homes.^[13] Internet real estate as a concept began with the first appearance of real estate platforms on the World Wide Web (www) and occurred in 1999.

Residential real estate may contain either a single family or multifamily structure that is available for occupation or for non-business purposes.^[14]

Residences can be classified by and how they are connected to neighbouring residences and land. Different types of housing tenure can be used for the same physical type. For example, connected residences 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.^[15]

According to the Congressional Research Service, in 2021, 65% of homes in the U.S. are owned by the occupier.^[16]

Major categories

• Attached / multi-unit dwellings
  • Apartment (American English) or Flat (British English) – 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.
  • Multi-family house – Often seen in multi-story detached buildings, where each floor is a separate apartment or unit.
  • 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.
  • Condominium (American English) – A building or complex, similar to apartments, owned by individuals. Common grounds and common areas within the complex are owned and shared jointly. In North America, there are townhouse or rowhouse style condominiums as well. The British equivalent is a block of flats.
  • Housing cooperative (a.k.a. co-op) – A type of multiple ownership in which the residents of a multi-unit housing complex own shares in the cooperative corporation that owns the property, giving each resident the right to occupy a specific apartment or unit. Majority of housing in Indian metro cities are of these types.
  • Tenement – A type of building shared by multiple dwellings, typically with flats or apartments on each floor and with shared entrance stairway access found in Britain.
• Semi-detached dwellings
  • Duplex – Two units with one shared wall.
• Detached dwellings
  • Bungalows
  • Split-level home
  • Mansions
  • Villas
  • Detached house or single-family detached house
  • Cottages
• Portable dwellings
  • Mobile homes, tiny homes, or residential caravans – A full-time residence that can be (although might not in practice be) movable on wheels.
  • Houseboats – A floating home
  • Tents – Usually temporary, with roof and walls consisting only of fabric-like material.

Other categories

• Chawls
• Havelis
• Igloos
• Huts

The size of havelis and chawls is measured in Gaz (square yards), Quila, Marla, Beegha, and acre.

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.

Real estate can be valued or devalued based on the amount of environmental degradation that has occurred. Environmental degradation can cause extreme health and safety risks. There is a growing demand for the use of site assessments (ESAs) when valuing a property for both private and commercial real estate.^[17]

Environmental surveying is made possible by environmental surveyors who examine the environmental factors present within the development of real estate as well as the impacts that development and real estate has on the environment.

Green development is a concept that has grown since the 1970s with the environmental movement and the World Commission on Environment and Development. Green development examines social and environmental impacts with real estate and building. There are 3 areas of focus, being the environmental responsiveness, resource efficiency, and the sensitivity of cultural and societal aspects. Examples of Green development are green infrastructure, LEED, conservation development, and sustainability developments.

Real estate in itself has been measured as a contributing factor to the rise in green house gases. According to the International Energy Agency, real estate in 2019 was responsible for 39 percent of total emissions worldwide and 11 percent of those emissions were due to the manufacturing of materials used in buildings.^[18]

Merida
Municipality
Merida City Hall
Coat of arms
Location of the municipality in Yucatan
Merida Location of the municipality in Mexico
Coordinates: 20°45′21″N 89°31′29″W / 20.75583°N 89.52472°W / 20.75583; -89.52472
Country	Mexico
State	Yucatán
Mexico Ind.	1821
Yucatán Est.	1824
Municipality Est	1918
Government
• Type	2018 – 2021
• Municipal President	Renán Barrera Concha
Area
• Total	858.41 km2 (331.43 sq mi)
	[1]
Elevation	9 m (30 ft)
Population  (2010[2])
• Total	830,732
• Density	970/km2 (2,500/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central Standard Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (Central Daylight Time)
Area code	999
Major Airport	Merida (Manuel Crescencio Rejón) International Airport
IATA Code	MID
ICAO Code	MMMD
Website	http://www.merida.gob.mx
Municipalities of Yucatán

Mérida Municipality is one of the 106 municipalities in the Mexican state of Yucatán containing (858.41 km²) of land with the head or seat being the city of Mérida. Because the archaeological remains of the Maya reminded the Spaniards of the ancient city of Mérida, Spain, which was marked by Roman archaeological sites, they renamed the site of T-hó after the Spanish city.^[1]

What now constitutes the head of the municipality of Mérida, was a pre-Hispanic Itza Mayan town called T-hó (Yucatec Maya language meaning "five hills"), which was founded around the 12th century AD.^[1] By the time of the Spanish arrival, the city was virtually abandoned, though still used as a ceremonial center and its remnant buildings were of impressive monumental scale. Francisco de Montejo the Younger established the city of Mérida on the site on 6 January 1542.^[3] In the first year of the conquest, Montejo ordered the establishment of 54 encomiendas in favor of his soldiers and confirmed the three principal municipalities to be Mérida, Valladolid, and San Francisco de Campeche.^[4]

Overlapping jurisdictions occurred for the area at various times with the administration being under the Audiencia de Guatemala in 1549, but also the Viceroyalty of New Spain from 1549-1552. Then between 1552 and 1561 the area returned to the Audiencia de Guatemala and between 1561 and 1565 was again administered under the Viceroyalty of New Spain.^[5] In 1617, Yucatán became a Captaincy General in its own stead.^[6]

Yucatán declared its independence from the Spanish Crown in 1821^[1] and in 1825, the area was distributed into 15 administrative partitions including Bacalar, Campeche, Hecelchakán, Hunucmá, Ichmul, Isla del Carmen, Izamal, Lerma, Mama, Mérida, Oxkutzcab, Seibaplaya, Sotuta, Tizimín and Valladolid. In 1840, Yucatán declared itself to be a free, independent nation^[7] with its capital located in Mérida. The following year treaties were signed for the peninsula to rejoin Mexico, but by 1842, independence was again declared. In 1843, a new treaty of reinstatement was signed, but in 1845 the peninsula withdrew because Mexico had not complied with the terms of the 1843 agreement. Finally in 1846 the peninsula agreed to reintegrate into Mexico^[8] but the outbreak of the Caste War, in 1847, an indigenous rebellion that took place throughout the Yucatán, delayed the full implementation until 1849.^[9]

The Constitution of 1850, redrafted the administrative divisions and made headquarters for the 17 partitions at: Bacalar, Bolonchenticul, Campeche, Espita, Hequelchakan, Isla del Carmen, Izamal, Maxcanú, Mérida, Motul, Peto, Seibaplaya, Sotuta, Tekax, Ticul, Tizimin, and Valladolid.^[10] In 1918, the modern municipality of Mérida was confirmed as the seat of the municipio and capital of the State.^[1]

The municipal president is elected for a three-year term. The town council has seventeen councilpersons, who serve as Secretary and councilors of Markets, Utilities and Public Safety; Administration; Social Development; Public Security; Entertainment; Urban Development and Ecology; Public Works; Youth And Sports; Women; Health and Disability; Economic Development; Tourism; Heritage; Education; and Culture.^[11]

The Municipal Council administers the business of the municipality. It is responsible for budgeting and expenditures and producing all required reports for all branches of the municipal administration. Annually it determines educational standards for schools.^[11]

The Police Commissioners ensure public order and safety. They are tasked with enforcing regulations, distributing materials and administering rulings of general compliance issued by the council.^[11]

The land throughout the municipality is virtually flat, without any areas of the elevation, and like much of the Yucatan Peninsula has no surface water streams. There are cenotes both underground and at the surface (collapsed caverns). The climate is semi-humid, with temperature range between a maximum of 40 °C and minimum 14 °C.^[11]

The head of the municipality is Mérida, Yucatán. There are 158 populated areas of the municipality.^[11] The most notable include Caucel, Chablekal, Cholul, Chuburná de Hidalgo, Cosgaya, Dzityá, Dzununcán, Komchén, Molas, San José Tzal, Sierra Papacal and Sitpach.^[1] Communities of 50 people or more (as of 2005)^[12] are listed below, along with numerous smaller ones (not listed).

Every year on 6 January the founding of the city is acknowledged in a citywide festival. Also annually from 27 September to 14 October is a celebration in honor of Santo Cristo de las Ampollas.^[1]

• La Casa de Montejo (1549)
• Catedral de San Ildefonso (1598), first in the continental Americas
• Palacio de Gobierno (1892)
• Monumento à la Patria (1956)
• Haciendas of Yucatán: 18th century farms associated with the Henequen industry in Yucatán.
• Misnebalam Ghost Town

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