Recapture
Contract clause, which may allow the prior owner to recover the property under certain circumstances. Alternately, return of an owner's investment through, among other things depreciation allowance.

Recapture Clause
Clause in a lease which would allow the landlord a percentage of the tenant's profits over the original fixed amount of rent or alternately, allowing the landlord to cancel the lease if the profits of the tenant fall below a specific level.

Recapture Rate
Annual return rate of the capital of a "wasting asset" which is returned from the depreciating asset's earned income.

Recasting
Loan term revision that is often made when a borrower is having difficulty making the payments, such as extending the loan for additional years or modifying the interest rate.

Receipt
The receiving of something or a written acknowledge that something, such as cash or documents, has been received.

Receivables
Money owed to a business by customers.

Receiver
Court appointed manager of the affairs of a business or piece of property during a bankruptcy or foreclosure. The responsibility for managing the affairs prudently (collecting funds, paying bill, etc.) is carried out under court direction and may either result in a return to a solvent state or a recommendation for liquidation.

Receptacle
1. A container.
2. A connector where electrical outlets or fixtures are attached to the power supply.

Recess
An indentation. Alternately, to locate an item into a wall or ceiling so that it is flush with the surrounding surface (i.e. a recessed light fixture).

Recession
Business cycle phase of a deteriorating economy, which results in less business and consumer spending and depression of real estate prices. Specifically defined as two consecutive quarters with negative economic growth.

Reciprocal Leveling
Finding the elevation differential between two points by taking sightings from each and averaging.

Reciprocating Saw
A power saw where the blade moves back and forth during cutting.

Reciprocity
Situation where individuals or entities give certain rights to each other in return for the rights being given to them.

Recission of Contract
Contract cancellation that is done for certain reasons, such as illegality of the deal.

Reclaim
1. To convert property from and unusable state (i.e. contaminated, flooded, etc.) to a useful condition.
2. To secure the return of property or rights.

Reclamation
Conversion of property from unusable to usable condition.

Recoat Time
The time period required for a coat of paint to set up sufficiently to allow the next coat to be applied.

Recognized Gain
Taxable income portion of the money received from the sale of real estate.

Recoil
1. To react to unexpected stimulus by jumping or moving backwards.
2. The backwards force resulting from the expelling of an object out of a device (i.e. a nail gun).

Reconciliation
In an appraisal, the process of adjusting comparables for an estimated value of a subject by using cost, market comparison and income approaches. Alternately, the adjustment of the differences between two items so that figures agree.

Reconstructed Operating Statement
Statement of income, which is either revised due to new information or reconstructed from information or records if the original is lost.

Reconveyance
The conveying of a property, by a lender, back to the borrower once he has completely paid off his mortgage.

Reconveyance Deed
Deed that is issued to convey the property to the original owner, once the mortgage is repaid.

Record
1. To file a deed or other official documentation with an appropriate agency or institution.
2. Information set down in writing regarding a specific subject.
3. An official transcript of Court proceedings.

Recordation
The recording of deeds and other instruments in a public registry to give notice of ownership or legal and financial claims to the public, which protects those making claims from unrecorded claims.

Recorded Map
Also known as a plat, it is a plan or map of a specific land area, showing the boundaries of individual properties.

Recorded Plat
The map, which is filed in the office of the county recorder, of a specific land area that shows the boundaries of individual properties.

Recorder
Public official who is responsible for keeping records of all real estate transactions.

Recording
Filing of property-related documents into the public record.

Recording Fee
Fee charged for conveying the sale of a piece of property into the public record.

Recourse Loan
Loan that gives the lender access to additional capital beyond the pledge collateral which secures the loan. If the borrower defaults on the loan, the lender may pursue other assets to recover their loan in full.

Recovery Fund
In those states that have recovery funds, a charge is assessed as part of the registration fee for licensed real estate brokers, as a contribution to the fund, which is used to compensate individuals who have sustained losses in a transaction with a broker or agent. If a settlement is awarded by the state's real estate commission, the funds assets will be debited if the broker or agent fails to provide a recovery.

Recovery Period
Period of time, determined by each individual state, in which a person can seek financial recovery from a broker or agent.

Rectangle
A four-sided polygon with four right angles (90 degrees).

Rectangular Survey
A rectangular system of land survey, also called a government rectangular survey, used to subdivide public land, that divides a district into 24 square mile quadrangles from the Meridian (north-south line) and the Baseline (east-west line). The tracts are divided into 6-mile-square parts called townships, which are in turn divided into 36 tracts, each 1-mile square, called Sections.

Rectifier
A device that converts alternating current to direct current.