Glossary

Census Tracts

Small, relatively permanent statistical subdivisions of a county or equivalent entity that are updated by local participants prior to each decennial census as part of the Census Bureau's Participant Statistical Areas Program. The primary purpose of census tracts is to provide a stable set of geographic units for the presentation of statistical data.

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T-Test

A T-Test is a statistical test mainly used with small groups of data. A T-Test compares the means of data points between two populations. The test checks if the two populations are significantly different. This is accomplished by using a null hypothesis. The T-Test was developed in 1908. Some of the first T-Tests were used to check the quality of stout brewed by the Guinness beer company.

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Tangible Property

Tangible personal property is everything other than real estate that is used in a business or rental property.

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Tax Basis

Tax basis, in the context of commercial real estate, is the original purchase price or cost of an investment property plus any out-of-pocket

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Tax Credit

A tax credit reduces the amount of taxes owed to the government. Tax credits shouldn’t be confused with tax deductions and exemptions, which reduce taxable income. Tax credits provide a dollar for dollar reduction in taxes owed, making them more favorable than deductions and exemptions. Tax credits come in three types — nonrefundable, refundable, and partially refundable. Each type of credit will reduce your taxes. A nonrefundable credit can’t create a refund, while a refundable credit can create a refund. A partially refundable credit allows, in some cases, taking part of the credit as a refund.

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Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

A congressional revenue act originally introduced in Congress as the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA). Public law no. 115-97 ("the Act") amended the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 based on tax reform advocated by congressional Republicans and the Trump administration.

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Tax Deduction

Tax deductions help to reduce taxes owed at the end of the year for individuals and companies. Deductions can come in the form of expenses incurred throughout the year or as itemized deductions. If an individual adds up all of their eligible deductions for the year and they don’t equal the standard deduction, the person can elect to take the higher standard deduction. Some examples of (itemized) deductions include healthcare, mortgage interest, property taxes, and home office and related job expenses. Up to $3,000 in losses on investments can also be used to reduce tax liability. Investment losses from the previous year can be carried forward into the current year for up to $3,000 in total investment losses.

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Tax Deferred

Tax deferred is an instance where investment earnings such as interest, dividends, or capital gains accumulate tax-free until the payment of taxes related to the

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Tax Liability

A tax liability is the total amount of taxes owed by an individual taxpayer, corporation, or other organization. Payable to federal, state and local taxing authorities, tax liabilities are derived from income earned, capital gains on the sale of an asset, or other events that are considered taxable by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Tax liabilities are not determined just from the income from a given year, and may include back taxes (taxes payable from a previous year), or other write offs that actually reduce taxable income, such as loss carryforwards. An individual’s tax liability, or tax rebate, is calculated using an IRS 1040 Form, while corporations use an IRS Form 1120.

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Tax Lien

A governmental claim on real property when a taxpayer fails to make property tax payments or has outstanding income taxes. While federal and state governments have the ability to assess liens over unpaid income taxes, local governments may assess liens over unpaid local income taxes and property taxes. Tax liens give taxing authorities priority over other creditors that may have claim to the property when liquidated. In addition to affecting a taxpayer’s credit, a tax lien may affect the marketability of real property. While the lien is in-place, a taxpayer may not be able sell or refinance the property until the lien is satisfied. The two most basic ways to satisfy a tax lien is through the repayment of outstanding taxes or dismissal through bankruptcy court.

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Tax Loss Carryforward

As laid out by the IRS, this policy allows an investor to use current realized losses to offset future taxable capital gains. Different from a NOL Carry Forward, this type of tax benefit can only offset gains made on the sale of assets, thus reducing your tax liability on this account in future years.

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Tax Loss Harvesting

Tax loss harvesting is a tax-saving investment strategy. By selling a losing position, the investor can offset gains, reducing their total tax bill. Tax loss harvesting is usually most effective against short-term gains, which are taxed at ordinary income tax rates. The strategy is best executed near the end of the year when the investor is more likely to know how much gain and loss they will have. From this, they can determine more accurately which stocks to close out at a loss, offsetting winners in the process. While short-term gains can have the most tax impact, tax loss harvesting can also be used with long-term gains.

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Tax Reform Act of 1986

The Tax Reform Act of 1986 was signed into legislation by President Ronald Regan. It was meant to simplify the tax code and stimulate the economy. The law lowered the maximum rate on ordinary income (earned income) from 50% to 28% while raising it on long-term capital gains (unearned income) from 11% to 15%.

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Tax Return

A document filed with the IRS that reports income, expenses, and other related tax information for an individual or entity. Tax returns allow taxpayers to calculate their taxable income and tax liability, while providing a medium to request tax refunds in situations that a taxpayer has overpaid. Typically, tax returns are filed annually. Tax returns can be broken down into three sections: income, deductions, and tax credits. The income section lists all sources of income, including capital gains. The deduction section lists anything that reduces taxable income, such as interest deductions and charitable donations. Similar to deductions, tax credits will reduce taxable income as well, and typically includes credits given for the care of dependent children and seniors, education, and saving for retirement.

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Tax Shelter

A tax shelter is a financial technique used by taxpayers to reduce taxable income. Tax shelters include both investments and investment accounts that provide favorable tax treatment, as well as deductions as laid out by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Typical investment accounts that shelter returns from taxes are 401(k) accounts and traditional IRAs. Other items that lead to tax efficiency are interest expenses and depreciation, which are deductible from taxable income. In some cases, a taxpayer may be able to realize a loss after these deductions are factored in, resulting in tax loss carryforwards that may be able to offset future profits. Certain real estate investments may provide income tax shelters through mortgage interest deductions and depreciation allowance and, depending on the legal structure, may provide the ability to defer capital gains via a 1031 exchange.

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Tax-Optimized Real Estate®

Tax-Optimized Real Estate® is a proprietary investment process that seeks to maximize an individual investor's long-term after-tax cash flow and total returns on commercial real estate within their risk tolerance and unique tax situation.

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Taxable Income

Taxable income is calculated as total revenue less total expenses and applicable deductions and exemptions that are allowed in that tax year.

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Technical Skills

Technical skills are specialized skills that are practical. They can be physical and mental labor or non-physical, such as working at a computer all day. Physical and mental labor may come in the form of an offshore diver who caps underwater oil well leaks. Contrast this to an auto worker on an assembly line who does simple, repetitive tasks. Technical skills are often not repetitive or simple.

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Tenant

Tenant is a person or entity who rents real estate from another though a lease. A tenant also may be referred to as a lessee.

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Tenant Improvement Allowance

Tenant improvement allowance is a leasing incentive offered by a landlord in order to entice tenants to lease space. The tenant improvement allowance is the dollar amount, typically

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Tenant Improvements (T.I.'S)

Tenant improvements are the customized alterations a building owner makes to rental space as part of a lease agreement, in order to configure the space for the needs of that

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Tenant-In-Common (TIC) Investments

Any syndicated investment created through a Tenant-In-Common (TIC) structure. Under a Tenant-In-Common structure, each investor

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Tenant-In-Common (TIC) Properties

Tenant-in-common properties are any property purchased by multiple investors via a Tenant-In-Common structure. See Tenant-In-Common Investments.

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Tenant-In-Common Sponsor

The individual or company that packages and markets Tenant-In-Common (TIC) properties. The sponsor is in charge of a variety of different

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Tenants-In-Common (TIC)

Tenants-In-Common is a type of shared ownership of property, where each owner owns a share of the property. Unlike in a joint tenancy, these shares can be of unequal size,

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Terminal Cap Rate

The estimated or actual cap rate of a property on the date of disposition or sale. Also known as the exit cap rate and the reversionary cap rate. The terminal cap rate is a metric used to estimate an investment property's gross value at the sale (i.e., end of the holding period). The terminal cap rate is also an important metric in determining the resale price of a property. The resale price is used for determining potential capital gains and the return on the property. It is calculated by dividing the expected net operating income (NOI) by the expected sale price and is expressed as a percentage. For example, if the NOI in the year of sale (or the following year) is $450,000 and the expected sale price is $7,000,000, then the terminal cap rate would be 6.43% (NOI of $450,000 divided by $7,000,000 sale price). In practice, the terminal cap rate is more typically applied to the estimated NOI in order to estimate terminal value.

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Terminal Value

The value of an investment at the end of its holding period. In the context of commercial real estate, the terminal value of an investment property is often estimated by applying a terminal cap rate to its projected net operating income (NOI) at the time of sale, or the year following sale.

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Three Property Rule

The Three Property Rule is defined under IRC Section 1031, which states that an exchanger or taxpayer executing a delayed exchange has 45 calendar days from the closing date of the sale of their relinquished property to formally identify a replacement property or properties.

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Time Value of Money (TVM)

Time value of money is the concept that money available at the present time is worth more than the same amount in the future due to its potential earning capacity.

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Title Company

Title company is a company that examines and insures title claims for real estate purposes. The title company verifies legal title to a property through a review of

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Title Holding Trust

Title holding trust is a fully revocable grantor trust designed and drafted specifically to acquire, hold, manage and ultimately dispose of real estate on a confidential or private basis to better protect an investor’s assets.

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Title III Regulation Crowdfunding

Title III Regulation Crowdfunding is a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) regulation that exempts non-accredited investors from registering with the SEC to invest in crowdfunded equity offerings. Title III requires that issuers gather funds through either a broker-dealer or registered funding platform.

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Title Insurance

Insurance that protects the holder from financial loss resulting from defects in title to real estate. The most prominent form of title insurance is lender’s title insurance, which usually must be obtained to secure a mortgage, however owner’s title insurance does exist as well. Whereas lender’s insurance is usually paid for by the buyer, owner’s title insurance is paid for by seller. The purpose of title insurance is to protect both real estate owners and lenders against potential damage or loss due to defects in title. These defects include claims of ownership by another party, fraud of title documents, unidentified

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Title Loan

A title loan is a loan that requires an asset be used as collateral to secure the loan, such as a car or real estate property. Different from other conventional loans and mortgages an individual may apply for, title loans often do not take into account the credit rating of applicant, since repayment is guaranteed by the transfer of the asset’s title to the lender. In addition, title loans often have looser application requirements, and can be approved quickly, and in smaller denominations than other loan types.

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Total Return

Total return is the actual rate of return of an investment or a pool of investments over a given evaluation period which includes income and appreciation.

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Trade Deficit

Countries are constantly importing and exporting goods. But when more is imported than exported, a trade deficit occurs. Trade deficits aren’t bad and can occur for a number of reasons. Countries may import more than they export because the economy is growing so quickly. Also, wealthy individuals in the country may be buying luxury items from other nations. When a country can’t produce enough for its residents, either because of its fast growth or lack of resources, it imports what’s needed from other nations. This kind of import/export imbalance leads to a trade deficit. After a while, imports and exports come back into alignment. A result of trade deficits is an outflow of domestic currency.

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Trade Surplus

A trade surplus occurs when a country exports more than it imports. A country’s trade balance can be calculated from a simple formula: Total Value of Exports - Total Value of Imports. When a country exports more than it imports, its currency rises in value relative to other currencies. The country also has more control over its currency because less of it is leaving the country. A trade surplus may eventually work back to equality where imports equal exports and can even result in a trade deficit, where exports are less than imports. This happens because as a country’s currency rises, it costs more for other countries to purchase its products (exports). As demand for the country’s products decreases, so do its exports and currency.

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Traded REITs

Traded REITs are a type of security that invests in real estate properties and mortgages, and trades like stock on major exchanges. Like any REIT, traded REITs must pay out at least 90 percent of the company’s taxable income each year in the form of shareholder dividends. Unlike non-traded REITs, however, traded REITs are very liquid and relatively easy to value, a tribute to it’s existence on a major exchange.

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Traditional IRA

A retirement account that allows an individual to allocate pretax income toward investments that can grow tax-deferred. Income contributed to the account is limited, and may be deductible from taxable income based on the taxpayers amount of income and filing status. Capital gains taxes or dividend income taxes are only assessed once funds are withdrawn from the account.

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Tragedy of the Commons

The Tragedy of the Commons is an economic problem where individual use depletes a resource, removing it from use by the general population. Because each individual is concerned only about their benefit from the use of the resource, no one individual is looking out for the welfare of the common resource. There is no investment in the well being or management for the resource’s future. Every individual pursues the use of the resource for their personal gain. Some solutions to the Tragedy of the Commons include privatization and government intervention. Through privatization of the resource, owners will ensure the resource is taken care of, so it continues to benefit them and potentially others (for a price). Government intervention may place restrictions on the use of the resource to ensure it is not depleted.

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Tranche

Tranche is a slice of the capital stack that reflects an investor’s credit or equity ownership position in a company or project. Different tranches have different cash flows and risks involved, as well as different claims to cash distributions.

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Triple Net (NNN) Lease

A lease agreement that states the tenant is solely responsible for all of the costs relating to the property being leased in addition to the rent.

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Trust Fund

A trust fund is created by a grantor and managed by a trustee. The trust fund is a separate entity from the grantor. The trustee is a neutral third-party who manages the trust, including distributing any assets to the beneficiary. The trust can contain almost any asset, including a business, land, stocks, and cash. The trust agreement, created by the grantor, establishes what happens to assets within the trust. The agreement is carried out by the trustee. Trusts are complex and costly to set up and are usually done with the help of an attorney.

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Trust, Irrevocable

An irrevocable trust is a trust that cannot be modified or terminated without the permission of the beneficiary. The grantor effectively gives up all of his or her rights to the trust.

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Trust, Land

Land trust is a fully revocable grantor trust designed and drafted specifically to acquire, hold, manage and ultimately dispose of real estate on a confidential or

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Trust, Living

Living trust is an arrangement created during a person’s life, in which the trustee holds legal title to assets for a beneficiary.

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Trust, Real Estate

Trust, Real Estate is real property owned through a trust rather than by an individual. In this context, the exact legal form of ownership may take a variety of forms

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Turnkey Asset Management Program

A Turnkey Asset Management Program (TAMP) is a technology platform that handles much of the investment and portfolio management administration that financial advisors, investment advisors, wealth managers, broker-dealers, insurance companies, banks, law firms, and CPA firms must oversee. By outsourcing those tasks to a TAMP, managers free themselves up to focus on their core competencies and being able to meet in person with clients. TAMPs allow people who specialize in particular tasks to focus on those tasks. This keeps managers from being spread too thin.

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Turnkey Property

A fully renovated property that is ready to be inhabited once purchased. Turnkey properties are often acquired from companies that focus on this type of property, restoring older properties to be bought by potential investors. These restorations can range from plumbing repairs to repainting. Often times, these same companies may offer on-going property management services to buyers, further reducing the time and effort of for the prospective buyer. As the name suggests, all the buyer has to do is “turn the key.” Although a common term used for investment properties, a turnkey property can be used to describe residential properties as well. Similar in scope to commercial, residential turnkey properties have been renovated, and are capable for move-in by homeowners.

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