About CoStar Group (CSGP)–Commercial Real Estate Intelligence Provider

Commercial Real Estate Glossary

Taxes & Operating Expense

The market divides these into three areas: Fixed, which are costs that generally do not vary due to occupancy such as property taxes or insurance.

Variable or Operating, which are costs that may vary depending on occupancy and market conditions, such as utilities and maintenance.

Reserves, which are reserves for short-lived items typically for apartments, i.e., carpet, drapes, appliances, painting, etc.

CoStar reflects the total amount of expenses only separating Property Taxes from the total Expenses, because Taxes are computed in different ways depending on the city, county, or state.

Tenant Electric

Lessor pays for all services and Lessee is responsible for their usage of lights and electrical outlets.

Term

The length of the lease. "TBD" (To be determined), a time span (such as "3-5 yrs") or a date (such as "thru Nov 2012").

Theme/Festival Center

These centers typically employ a unifying theme that is carried out by the individual shops in their architectural design and, to an extent, in their merchandise. Sometimes the biggest appeal of these centers is to tourists; they can be anchored by restaurants and entertainment facilities. These centers, generally located in urban areas, tend to be adapted from older, sometimes historic, buildings, and can be part of mixed-use projects. 80,000 -- 250,000 SF.

Threat of Condemnation

Sale of a property when the seller is aware that the government is going to condemn via eminent domain, and they want to sell before that process starts in order to avoid the legal process.

Time On Market

A measure of how long a currently available space has been marketed for lease, regardless of whether it is vacant or occupied.

Time To Lease

Time to lease is defined as the building's median number of days between the date when the space is first listed in CoStar, and the date the lease is signed, for all of the lease deals that came off market during the quarter. Then calculate the median time to lease for all buildings in each quarter. If we don't know the day the lease is signed, we will use the date the space came off the market instead.

Time Vacant

Time Vacant is defined as the building's average time between the date that the property becomes vacant and the date that the new tenant actually moves in, for all of move-ins during the quarter. Then take the median time vacant for all buildings in the quarter.

Total Available SF

Total available is defined as all of the space that is available for lease, regardless whether it is currently vacant, on the last day of each quarter.

See also: Available Space.

Total Rentable

All space in a building that may be leased and occupied regardless of the type of building or the space use.

Trading Floor

A trading floor/trading room is usually a large open central area used to trade various items which include, but are not limited to stocks, bonds, commodities futures, currency futures, precious metals, etc. These areas may be wired as full data centers, many with battery and generator back-up systems. Additionally, high quality tenant improvements, which may include constant velocity air handlers, and/or specialized air conditioning systems may also be available. After build-out, these areas provide a junction point for quotes/info, order flow, and info between brokers. When finished, they may be improved with numerous computers (e.g., data walls, electronic tickers, and work stations) and large arrays of flat screens, and other high resolution/plasma displays (e.g., pricing boards). Often times telecommunication conference rooms are available for private strategy sessions.

Trailer Parking

An open parking area, typically for industrial buildings, where long-haul trucks can park their trailers.

Transfer Tax -Full Value

The documentary transfer tax affixed to the deed is computed on the full value of the property conveyed.

Transfer-Partial Value

The documentary transfer tax affixed to the deed is computed on the full value of the property conveyed less the value of liens and encumbrances remaining at time of sale.

Transferable Dev Right

A development right that cannot be used by the landowner, or that the owner chooses not to use, but can be sold to landowners in another location; generally used to preserve agricultural land; may also be used to preserve historic sites or buildings and open space or to protect scenic features. TDRs are said to be transferred from a landowner in a sending district to the use of a landowner in a receiving district. (See Air Rights) In CoStar's database it must be attached to a land or building record.

Travel Agency

Convenient for companies that require extensive travel or for employees who need to make personal travel plans.

Triple Net (NNN)

A lease in which a tenant is responsible for all expenses associated with their proportional share of occupancy of the building.

Truck Court

A concrete apron or area located adjacent to loading docks on industrial buildings or near industrial buildings for maneuvering/turning around large trucks. The concrete is less likely to be damaged from the weight of the trucks, especially during hot weather.

Truck Terminal

A secondary type of industrial building that is long and narrow with multiple cross-docks that facilitate simultaneous incoming and outgoing inventory. If an industrial building has many cross-docks, it may be a truck terminal.

Truck Well

A slope that brings the level of a truck bed to a dock high loading platform. Capacity is defined as the number of trucks that can simultaneously load or unload cargo.

True Owner

The True Owner is the individual(s), company, or entity that is behind the Recorded Owner. If an individual takes title to a property in his own name, then the Recorded Owner and True Owner will be the same. Often times True Owners will not use their actual name on the deed for liability and/or privacy reasons. For example, John Smith, the True Owner, takes title as 123 LLC (Limited Liability Corporation). Therefore, John Smith is the True Owner and 123 LLC is the Recorded Owner. Also see Recorded Owner.

Truss Height

See Clear Height.

Trustee's Deed

A trustee's deed is issued by the trustee under a deed of trust when a property is sold at a trustee's sale (foreclosure sale on the court house steps). This deed conveys title to the successful bidder but it does not contain any warranties or covenants or guarantees as to any other encumbrances that might exist of record against the property. See also "Foreclosure"

Type

Condo: Office/ Medical/Retail/ Industrial condos are suites of space that may be purchased by the tenants or investors (who lease them). It is necessary to consider each condo building individually; just because they are individually owned does not make them a condo. Condos are typically 2-3 story buildings that resemble residential townhomes. However, if a condo looks like a typical office building, it should be typed as an office building in CoStar. Industrial condos are usually labeled as industrial buildings while office condos are labeled as condos. Flex: The building is designed to be versatile. Flex space may be used for office, quasi-retail, warehouse, industrial or research & design. There is a fairly even amount of office space to warehouse space. A characteristic of this type of space is that its use is not exclusively for office or warehouse, but it will combine the uses. Industrial: Industrial buildings are designed and built for bulk warehousing, distribution, mechanical storage and repair, and heavy manufacturing. Ceiling heights are generally in excess of 18", with heavy industrial zoning. Manufacturing buildings may include ductwork, air lines, buss ducts, exhaust systems, floor drains and storage tanks. Warehouse buildings will contain open space for storage such as a building with no columns and will have high ceilings. It may include humidity and cooling controls. Industrial building types are: Manufacturing, Service, Truck Terminal and Warehouse. Loft: Pre-World War II era, multi-story industrial buildings that were constructed in urban settings. They have floor-to-ceiling windows and a minimum of 12" ceilings. Renovations in these buildings creatively convert the space use from manufacturing to office. However, the building will maintain the loft-style appearance despite it space use. Lofts will be labeled in CoStar for the type of space they contain if they do not meet the physical descriptions of the building types described above. Office: A building designed exclusively for office space use. It may have some retail space, such as banks, restaurants and ground floor shops. Retail: Space designed exclusively for retail use such as a standalone department store, regional mall or strip mall.

Typical Floor

Identifies the size of the floor area that occurs most often in the building. Expressed as square feet.

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