Real Estate & Land Glossary
Plain-language definitions of the parcel, zoning, ownership, and development terms that matter when you find, research, and acquire land — each tied to how Paxiv handles it across every U.S. parcel.
Skip Tracing
Skip tracing is the process of locating a property owner's current contact details — phone number, email, and mailing address — by cross-referencing public records and proprietary data.
Assessor's Parcel Number (APN)
An Assessor's Parcel Number (APN) is the unique identifier a county assessor assigns to each parcel of land for property-tax assessment and record-keeping.
Entitlement
Entitlement is the process of obtaining the government approvals — zoning changes, permits, variances, and use rights — required to develop a parcel of land for a specific purpose.
Zoning Overlay
A zoning overlay (or overlay district) is a supplemental set of regulations layered on top of a parcel's base zoning to add or modify rules for a defined area, such as a historic, floodplain, or transit district.
Easement
An easement is a legal right allowing one party to use a portion of another party's land for a defined purpose — such as access, utilities, or drainage — without owning it.
Setback
A setback is the minimum distance a zoning code requires between a structure and a property line, street, or natural feature, defining the buildable envelope of a parcel.
Floor Area Ratio (FAR)
Floor Area Ratio (FAR) is the ratio of a building's total floor area to the area of the parcel it sits on, used by zoning codes to cap development density.
Absentee Owner
An absentee owner is a property owner whose mailing address differs from the property's address, indicating they do not occupy the property themselves.
Off-Market Property
An off-market property is real estate that is not publicly listed for sale on the MLS or listing portals, often sold directly between owner and buyer.
Plat
A plat is an officially recorded map that shows how a tract of land is divided into lots, including boundaries, dimensions, easements, and streets.
Due Diligence
Due diligence is the period and process in which a buyer investigates a property — title, zoning, condition, environmental status, and value — before committing to close.
Comparable Sales (Comps)
Comparable sales (comps) are recently sold properties similar to a subject property in location, size, and characteristics, used to estimate its current market value.
Will-Serve Letter
A will-serve letter is a written commitment from a utility provider stating that it will provide service — typically water, sewer, or electricity — to a specific parcel, typically at a stated capacity and within a stated timeframe.
Sewer Capacity
Sewer capacity is the additional wastewater volume a collection and treatment system can accept beyond its current load without exceeding design limits — the practical ceiling on how much new development an area can absorb.
Impact Fees
Impact fees are one-time charges levied by a local government on new development to fund the public infrastructure that development will burden — roads, parks, schools, water, and sewer capacity.
Future Land Use Map (FLU)
A future land use map is the component of a jurisdiction's comprehensive plan that designates what each parcel is intended to become over a long planning horizon — a statement of policy intent, distinct from the zoning that legally governs the parcel today.
Rezoning
Rezoning is the process of changing a parcel's zoning classification, granting it a different set of permitted uses, densities, and development standards than it previously carried, through the procedure established by state and local law.
Variance
A zoning variance is an approval allowing a property owner to deviate from a specific dimensional or use requirement of the zoning ordinance, granted because strict application of the rule would impose an unnecessary hardship given the parcel's particular characteristics.
Conditional Use Permit (CUP)
A conditional use permit authorizes a use that a zoning district allows only subject to discretionary review, with conditions attached to address the use's specific impacts on surrounding property.
Annexation
Annexation is the process by which a municipality extends its corporate boundary to bring in adjacent unincorporated land, adding municipal jurisdiction, taxation, and regulation. The land remains within its county; which land-use powers and service responsibilities shift is set by state law and by the applicable county, municipal, utility, and special-district arrangements.
Lien
A lien is a legal claim recorded against a property that secures payment of a debt or obligation, generally preventing clear title from transferring until it is satisfied or released.
Tap Fee
A tap fee, also called a connection fee, is the charge a utility provider levies to physically connect a property to an existing water or sewer main and to buy the system capacity that connection will consume.