Probate or Prove
Process of establishing the validity of a will in court. Probate court than administers the will as directed or as authorized by the court to settle financial obligations.

Probate Court
Court having the responsibility of performing probate of wills and administering estates. In certain states, a probate court can appoint guardians for minor children of an estate.

Process Time
Time needed for performance of an operation through to completion.

Processing Fee
Fee charged by most lenders to pay for gathering the information necessary to process the loan.

Proctor Test
Test which is done to determine the best moisture content of soil to properly compact. The soil is oven dried, weighed and then water is added gradually and the soil is compressed. Determination of water quantity, necessary for maximum soil density, is obtained this way.

Procurement
Purchasing of services or materials.

Procuring Cause
Legal term, which means the cause resulting in accomplishing a goal Used in determining whether a broker is entitled to a commission.

Production Home
Mass produced homes, i.e. a tract of homes built by one builder.

Professional Appraiser
Expert in real estate who has an education in real estate appraisal as well as having significant professional experience. A recognized license may be obtained from the Member Appraisal Institute. However, no national requirement exists as to who may do an appraisal. When an appraisal is done by a federally insured agency, the appraiser must be licenses by the state.

Profile
A view of anything in contour. A side view.

Profile Duplicator
Apparatus consisting of a number of small diameter rods, which are held tightly at the center by a handle. Almost any design can be replicated by using the rods, which slide in and out, following the shape of the design to be copies. The pattern is then transferred to the material and the design cut out.

Profile Leveling
Surveying land and determining elevations at different points to map the contours of the land.

Profile Machine
Machine, which is self-powered, prepares an asphalt roadway for resurfacing by milling off the surface.

Profile View
View that looks into the interior of a building or object as through the exterior had been cut away and removed, exposing the interior.

Profilograph
Wheeled machine, with an attached straightedge, which is used to check roadways during paving, by comparing the paved surface to the straightedge to identify areas in need of filling or smoothing.

Profit
1. The sum remaining after all costs, direct and indirect, are deducted from the income of a business.
2. Financial gain obtained from the use of capital in a transaction.
3. Gain or Benefit.

Profit a Prendre
Right to profit by utilizing the assets of another's land, including the right to use and mine another's property recovering and removing any assets.

Profit and Loss Statement
Financial statement depicting a business entity's operating performance and reports the components of net income, including sales of real estate, rental income, operating rental expenses, income from rental operations, and income before tax. The income statement shows the cash flow for an entire accounting period, usually a quarter. The income statement is included in the annual report of the real estate corporation.

Pro Forma Statement
Latin for "according to form". Financially statement with amounts or other information that are completely or partially assumed. The assumptions supporting the amounts are usually provided. He statement may be prepared in determining the possible financial effects of buying or renting property.

Programming
Written summation, done by an architect, of the design objectives, constraints and criteria of a project.

Progress Chart
Graphic evidence of the completion state of a project.

Progress Payments
In a construction loan, payments made to a contractor as the various construction stages are completed. The contractor uses progress payments to pay the various subcontractors and suppliers as construction proceeds.

Project Budget
Outline of the construction budget and all costs for land, equipment, financing professional services, etc.

Projection
1. A proposal of something to be done.
2. To jut out or protrude beyond the rest of the surface.

Projection Period
The time duration for estimating future cash flows and the resale proceeds from a proposed real estate investment.

Promissory Note
A promise, in writing, to pay a specified sum to a specified person under specified terms.

Proof
Anything serving to establish the truth of something.