Course glossary

Americans with Disabilities Act. Federal law on disability access in employment and public/commercial accommodations; distinct from the Fair Housing Act’s housing rules.

Broker-in-Charge. The designated supervising broker responsible for a real estate office’s licensed activity.

Inducing owners to sell or rent by suggesting that persons of a particular protected class are entering the neighborhood—illegal under fair housing law.

Building Owners and Managers Association. Session 1 professional organization for commercial building owners and managers (often listed with IREM and NAA).

Anticipated revenue minus total adjusted operating expenses and debt service—the formula used to predict property cash flow.

Care, Obedience, Accounting, Loyalty, and Disclosure. Session 3 memory aid for the agent’s client-level duties to a principal.

Consumer Price Index. Session 1 index leases often tie rent changes to the CPI or another published economic index.

The property’s exterior first impression; a primary driver of a prospect’s initial reaction to a rental.

Equal Credit Opportunity Act. Federal law barring credit discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or public-assistance income.

Under SCRLTA, utilities and services needed for habitability such as heat, running water, hot water, electricity, and gas when those are required to be supplied.

A leasehold for a fixed period. It is not ordinarily terminated by death of either party or by sale of the property.

Fair Housing protected class covering households with children under 18 and pregnant women (added in 1988).

Fair Credit Reporting Act. Federal consumer law regulating credit-report disclosure and requiring identification of the reporting agency used in a denial.

Fair Housing Act. In this course, FHA means Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (residential fair housing). Do not confuse with Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance.

Federal Insurance Contributions Act. Social Security and Medicare payroll taxes; independent-contractor licensees pay their own under Safe Harbor rules.

Fair Market Value. Session 2 uses FMV in SCRLTA contexts such as abandoned personal property thresholds and essential-service remedy measures.

For Sale By Owner. Limited Fair Housing Act exemption for certain owner sales/rentals without a broker; never allows discriminatory advertising.

An agent authorized to perform a broad range of acts for the principal in an ongoing relationship—typical for property managers under a management agreement.

Physical or mental impairment that substantially limits a major life activity, a record of such an impairment, or being regarded as having one—includes AIDS/HIV and recovering addicts, not current illegal drug use.

A tenant who remains after the rental term ends. SCRLTA sets different money remedies for willful versus non-willful holdover.

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Federal department that enforces the Fair Housing Act through its fair-housing office.

Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning. SCRLTA landlord maintenance duties include keeping supplied HVAC and related systems in reasonably good and safe working order.

A lease where rent moves with a published economic index, most often the Consumer Price Index (CPI).

Institute of Real Estate Management. Session 1 professional group identified as an affiliate of the National Association of Realtors (NAR).

Internal Revenue Service. Session 3 Safe Harbor rules for independent-contractor licensees (compensation, written agreement, and self-paid taxes).

Requirements for treating a real estate licensee as an independent contractor (written agreement, substantially commission-based pay, and licensee pays own taxes).

South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation. State department that houses the Real Estate Commission and related professional boards.

The manager’s plan to achieve the owner’s objectives; the one-year operating budget is described as the centerpiece of a good plan.

Limited Fair Housing Act exemption for an owner-occupied dwelling with four or fewer units. Never allows discriminatory advertising; race/color still barred by the 1866 Act.

National Apartment Association. Session 1 industry association focused on apartment/multifamily housing professionals.

National Association of Realtors. Session 1: IREM is described as an affiliate of NAR; often listed with BOMA, IREM, and NAA.

Property Manager-in-Charge. The designated property manager responsible for supervised licensees and real estate trust accounts.

Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act. Session 1 federal law under which many leases survive foreclosure; month-to-month tenants generally get 90 days’ notice.

Real Estate Investment Trust. Session 1 ownership form: corporate owners may hold real estate through REITs or syndicates as investments.

Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. Federal law on residential settlement/closing disclosures and related practices; often appears as an exam distractor beside fair-housing statutes.

Landlord action punishing a tenant for exercising legal rights (complaints, joining a tenant organization, etc.). SCRLTA provides retaliatory-conduct protections.

South Carolina Human Affairs Commission. First state contact for South Carolina housing-discrimination complaints under the state Fair Housing Law.

South Carolina Real Estate Commission. State commission under LLR that licenses and regulates brokers, salespersons, and property managers.

South Carolina Residential Landlord and Tenant Act. Session 2 state landlord-tenant statute covering duties, access, deposits, remedies, and retaliation.

Money held to secure performance of a rental agreement. SCRLTA sets notice, accounting, and remedy rules when deposits are mishandled.

An agent authorized for a specific act or transaction. Most real estate listing/selling relationships are special agency; property management is often general agency.

Guiding prospects toward or away from neighborhoods or buildings based on a protected class—an illegal fair-housing practice.

A property manager who works for a BIC/PMIC and, through that firm, represents the owner is a subagent of the owner (the principal).