Glossary - D « Commercial Real Estate Mortgage Brokers

Glossary - D

March 24, 2008

Deal structure: With regard to the financing of an acquisition, deals can be unleveraged, leveraged, traditional debt, participating debt, participating/convertible debt or joint ventures.

Debt service: The outlay necessary to meet all interest and principal payments during a given period.

Debt service coverage ratio (DSCR): The annual net operating income from a property divided by annual cost of debt service. A DSCR below 1 means the property is generating insufficient cash flow to cover debt payments.

Dedicate: To appropriate private property to public ownership for a public use

Deed: A legal instrument transferring title to real property from the seller to the buyer upon the sale of such property

Deed in lieu of foreclosure: A deed given by an owner/borrower to a lender to satisfy a mortgage debt and avoid foreclosure

Deed of trust: An instrument used in place of a mortgage by which real property is transferred to a trustee to secure repayment of a debt

Default: The general failure to perform a legal or contractual duty or to discharge an obligation when due

Deferred maintenance account: An account a borrower is required to fund that provides for maintenance of a property

Deficiency judgment: Imposition of personal liability on a borrower for the unpaid balance of mortgage debt after a foreclosure has failed to yield the full amount of the debt

Defined-benefit plan: An employee’s benefits are defined, either as a fixed amount or a percentage of the beneficiary’s salary at the time of retirement. Pension plans, Health and Welfare plans, and some Keogh plans are established as defined benefit plans.

Defined-contribution plan: An employee’s benefits at retirement are determined by the amount contributed by the employer and/or the employee during his or her employment tenure, and by the actual investment earnings on those contributions over the life of the fund. Examples include 401(k), thrift plans and profit sharing plans.

Demising wall: The partition wall that separates one tenant’s space from another or from the building’s common areas

Depreciation: A decrease or loss in property value due to wear, age or other cause. In accounting, depreciation is a periodic allowance made for this real or implied loss.

Derivative securities: Securities that are created artificially, i.e., derived from other financial instruments. In the context of CMBS, the most common derivative security is the interest-only strip.

Design/build: A system in which a single entity is responsible for both the design and construction

Discount rate: A yield rate used to convert future payments or receipts into present value

Discretion: The level of authority granted to an adviser or manager over the investment and management of a client’s capital. A fully discretionary account typically is defined as one in which the adviser or manager has total ability to invest and manage a client’s capital without prior approval of the client.

Distraint: The act of seizing personal property of a tenant in default based on the right and interest a landlord has in the property

Diversification: The process of consummating individual investments in a manner that insulates a portfolio against the risk of reduced yield or capital loss, accomplished by allocating individual investments among a variety of asset types, each with different characteristics

Dividend: Cash or stock distribution paid to holders of common stock. REITs must pay at least 90 percent of their taxable income in the form of dividends.

Dividend yield: The annual dividend rate for a security expressed as a percent of its market price (annual dividend/price = yield)

Dividend-ex date: The first date on which a person purchasing the stock is no longer eligible to receive the most recently announced dividend

Dollar stop: An agreed dollar amount of taxes and operating expense each tenant will pay on a prorated basis

DOWNREIT: An organizational structure that makes it possible for REITs to buy properties using partnership units. The effect is the same as an UPREIT, however, the DOWNREIT is subordinate to the REIT itself, hence the name.

Due diligence: Activities carried out by a prospective purchaser or mortgager of real property to confirm that the property is as represented by the seller and is not subject to environmental or other problems. In the case of an IPO registration statement, due diligence is a reasonable investigation by the parties involved to confirm that all the statements within the document are true and that no material facts are omitted.

Commercial Real Estate Mortgage Brokers

Glossary - D

March 24, 2008

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