GLOSSARY of TERMS

 A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z

ACCREDITED INVESTOR

In the United States, to be considered an accredited investor, one must have a net worth of at least one million US Dollars, excluding the value of one’s primary residence, or have income at least $200,000 each year for the last two years (or $300,000 combined income if married) and have the expectation to make the same amount this year. 

ACTIVE INCOME

Active income is income earned as a direct result of a specific effort. In other words, input is correlated to output.

ALTERNATIVE INVESTMENT

An alternative investment refers to any investment which does classify as “traditional”. Traditional investments are widely considered to be stocks, bonds and cash. 

AMORTIZATION

As opposed to an interest-only loan in which each repayment installment consists only of interest payments with a single lump-sum principal repayment at the end of the loan period, each repayment installment of an amortizing loan consists of both principal and interest. 

APPRECIATION 

An increase in value is referred to as “appreciation”. 

BASIS POINT

A basis point (bps) is a unit that is equal to 1/100th of 1%, in other words one basis point is equal to 0.01%, similarly a 1% change is equal to a 100 basis point change. 

CAPITAL 

Capital is any financial asset or the value of an asset. 

CAPITALIZATION (CAP) RATE 

The capitalization or cap rate measures a property’s yield in a one-year time frame, making it easy to compare one property’s cash flow to another on an equal basis – without taking into account any debt on the asset. 

CASH-ON-CASH RETURN

Cash-on-cash return is one of the most widely used metrics in commercial real estate. As the name implies, this metric is calculated by dividing annual before tax cash-flow by the total cash invested in a project. 

COMMON EQUITY

Common Equity means that investors have one-to-one (or equal) participation in each dollar invested and any potential profits or losses. 

CROWDFUNDING

Funding a product, idea, or venture using small amounts of money raised from the “crowd.” 

DEBT

An amount of money (obligation) owed by one party (the debtor) to another party (the creditor). 

DEVELOPMENT

Development is the process of building or adding to existing structures to increase the value of a property 

DISTRIBUTIONS

Payments made to investors periodically, typically over the course a calendar year, either from profits or interest payments. 

EQUITY 

As it relates to real estate, equity can be measured as the amount of capital a sponsor (property owner/developer) puts into a property.

FREE CASH FLOW (FCF)

Free cash flow is a measure of a property’s ability to generate cash after setting aside reserves for capital expenditures such as future development, tenant improvements, and leasing commissions. 

HARD ASSET

A tangible object of worth that is owned by a business or individual. 

INTERNAL RATE OF RETURN (IRR)

In real estate, the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is a metric used to evaluate the profitability of an investment over its lifetime and is represented as the average annual return percentage. The IRR of an investment can be calculated forward-looking to estimate potential future returns or backward looking to measure the performance of a completed investment. 

INTRASTATE CROWDFUNDING

While the Securities and Exchange Commission regulates public securities on a national level, each state also has its own regulatory entity serving a similar function. Since the passage of the JOBS Act, advocates of equity crowdfunding have moved to legalize intrastate – or in state – crowdfunding. 

INVESTMENT PROPERTY 

An investment property is a real estate asset purchased with the sole purpose of earning income. Income from an investment property can be generated through leasing space within an asset or an eventual sale of the asset. 

JUMPSTART OUR BUSINESS STARTUPS (JOBS) ACT

The JOBS Act was a law passed in 2012 in the United States that eased regulations related to funding small businesses. Intended to increase American job creation and foster economic growth, the JOBS Act aims to provide easier access to public capital markets and small, growing companies. 

LINEAR INCOME

Linear income is earned in direct relation to the number of hours you work. 

LIQUIDITY

Liquidity refers to the ease with which an asset can be purchased or sold. Marketable securities that are traded in high volume tend to be the most liquid, or easy to trade without creating wild fluctuations in price. 

LIQUIDITY PREMIUM

The liquidity premium represents the incrementally higher price an investor is willing to pay for a more liquid asset or security, all other factors held equal. 

LOAN-TO-COST RATIO (LTC)

The Loan-to-Cost Ratio is the ratio of a loan used to help finance a project compared to the total cost. 

LOAN-TO-VALUE RATIO (LTV)

A risk assessment ratio that lenders perform when considering a real estate loan. 

MEZZANINE DEBT VS. PREFERRED EQUITY

Mezzanine Debt is generally a loan that is secured by a property and senior to any equity, but junior to the senior loan on the property. Preferred Equity, on the other hand, is an equity investment in the property-owning entity. It is not secured by the property but rather by an interest in the entity investing in (or owning) the property. 

NET OPERATING INCOME (NOI)

In real estate, the net operating income, or NOI, represents the annual revenue (or income) generated by an investment property after annual operating expenses. 

PASSIVE INCOME

Passive income (also known as residual or recurring income) is commonly used to refer to income that continues to be earned even after the work is done. 

PREFERRED EQUITY

Typically, in a Preferred Equity investment, all cash flow or profits are paid back to the preferred investors (after all debt has been repaid) until they receive the agreed upon “preferred return.” 

PREFERRED RETURN

A Preferred Return is paid to investors before a sponsor receives any share of the cash flow. 

PRIVATE EQUITY FUND

A private equity (PE) fund is a collective investment model where money from separate investors is pooled together into a single fund and then used to make investments, most often in various illiquid equity and debt assets. 

PRO-FORMA

A financial model often used in real estate to predict future cash flows and total investment returns. 

PROJECT PAYMENT DEPENDENT NOTES

A Project Payment Dependent Note is a special, limited obligation of Fundrise Investments, LLC sold to investors, the proceeds of which are used to fund corresponding project investments. 

REAL ESTATE

Real estate includes a parcel of land and any of its permanent structures (buildings, parking lots, etc.). 

REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST (REIT)

A Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) is a pool of investments in properties which generate income. 

RECURRING INCOME

Also known as residual or passive income, recurring income is earned by creating or acquiring an asset that continues to pay of profits regardless of if there is still active work being done to the asset. 

REDEMPTION

In the event of back taxes or unpaid liens, a borrower who pays off those debts may reclaim their property, preventing foreclosure or the auctioning of their property. 

REGULATION A

Regulation A allows unaccredited investors to purchase small offerings of securities that do not exceed $5 million in a 12-month period. 

REGULATION A+

Regulation A+ is the SEC’s proposed revision of the current Regulation A, which was mandated by the JOBS Act in 2012. 

REGULATION D

Regulation D permits raises of unlimited amounts from accredited investors without registering a public sale through the SEC, as it’s assumed that accredited investors are financially able to bear the burden of investment decisions without a review by the SEC. 

RESIDUAL INCOME

The term residual income (also known as passive or recurring income) is commonly used to refer to income that continues to be earned even after the work is done.

SECURED VS UNSECURED POSITION 

A secured position in the Capital Stack retains the right to foreclose on a property in the event of a default, or non-performance. Unsecured creditors do not have the right to foreclose on the property, and therefore have less collateral backing their investment claim. 

SENIOR DEBT

The “base” of the Capital Stack – Senior Debt is generally secured debt that must be repaid first. 

SPONSOR

An individual or firm in charge of finding, acquiring, and managing a piece of real estate.

TENANCY / OCCUPANCY

Occupancy is generally referred to as a percentage of the total square feet or units leased – it is a building’s revenue source. 

TERM

The lifespan of a given asset or liability. 

THE CAPITAL STACK

The Capital Stack orders the seniority of claims to the collateral and cash waterfall of an entity. 

THE JUMPSTART OUR BUSINESS STARTUPS (JOBS) ACT

The Jumpstart Our Business Startups (JOBS) Act is a law intended to facilitate funding of small businesses by easing regulations. 

TITLE III REGULATION CROWDFUNDING

Outlined in the 2012 JOBS Act, Title III instructed the SEC to create an exemption from registration that, when implemented, will enable issuers to engage in crowdfunding equity offerings to the general investing public.

UNACCREDITED INVESTOR 

An investor who does not meet the wealth requirements of an accredited investor set forth by the SEC. 

UNDERWRITING 

Underwriting is the process by which real estate investments are evaluated to determine their viability 

YIELD 

In the context of commercial real estate, yield refers to the annual cash return on the investment, expressed as a percentage of the investment’s initial cost, or less frequently, its estimated current value.