Home Page - Kelowna Real Estate

IMPLIED CONTRACT:
An agreement which is not reduced to writing but is created, under the common law, on the basis of the behaviour of the parties which suggests that they are acting under an agreement.

IMPLIED WARRANTY:
A guarantee of the condition of a thing or the truth of a statement which is created as a result of the actions of a party but not written down.

IMPROVED LAND:
Also known as "developed land". Opposite of "raw or vacant land". Land which someone has, by dint of their labour, taken out of the state of nature.

IMPROVEMENTS:
Things added to vacant land with the view to increasing its usefulness and value, such as buildings, parking areas, drainage works, etc.

IMPROVEMENT RATIO:
A comparison of the value of the improvements of a property with the value of the property without the improvements.

IMPUTED INTEREST:
Interest which is deemed to have been charged on a loan by a court.

IN REM:
Latin term meaning "Against the thing." Used to describe a legal action which is taken against land rather than against the land owner, such as a bank's foreclosure on a defaulted mortgage.

INCHOATE:
Describes something that has been begun but never completed or a right that has arisen but is not yet enforceable (such as Dower rights).

INCOME APPROACH:
An appraisal technique whereby the potential of the property to produce income is used to assess its value.

INCOME PROPERTY:
A property which is owned or developed specifically to produce income for its owner.

INCOMPETENT:
Not capable, usually in the mental sense. When referring to a contract or will, a person who is not legally capable of signing and being bound to such a document.

INCORPOREAL PROPERTY:
Real estate in which a person has a legal interest but no right of possession and occupation.

INCURABLE DEPRECIATION:
The presence of a defect in an asset (i.e. a building) which is too costly to fix.

INDEMNIFY:
To take responsibility for the losses and damages suffered by another person.

INDEMNITY:
A document in which one party agrees to take responsibility for the losses and damages suffered by another party or parties.

INDENTURE:
Similar to a contract. An agreement between two or more parties, often referring to land.

INDEPENDENT APPRAISAL:
An estimate of the value of a property prepared by someone who has no interest in the property or, if a mortgage is involved, in the lender.

INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR:
A legal term for a person who is hired to do work for another person but who is not an employee or agent of that person. The hiring person is not responsible for the actions of the Independent Contractor nor does she owe that Independent Contractor the same legal duties owed by an Employer to an Employee under labour and employment laws.

INDEX:
1. Any rate published by an independent third party (the government, the federal bank, etc.) which serves as the base for calculating a variable item in a contract. (A Variable or Adjustable Rate Mortgage may use the Federal Bank's monthly prime interest rate as the index for the interest charged under that mortgage).
2. The listing in the Land Registry Office of all instruments registered on title to a property (the "abstract index").

INDEXED LEASE:
A rental agreement where the amount of the rent to be paid changes in accordance with changes in a specified index (i.e. the cost of living index).

INDEXED LOAN:
Any loan whose interest rate is adjusted in accordance with a rate published by an independent third party (an "index").

INDIRECT COSTS:
Also known as "soft costs", those costs which are not automatically considered in a construction project.

INDUSTRIAL PARK:
A parcel of land specifically developed to provide lots for industrial activities.

INDUSTRIAL PROPERTY:
A plot of land used for a factory or other industrial use.

INFRASTRUCTURE:
Term for the public-use improvements made to an area such as sewers, roads, bridges, and public utility installations.

INGRESS:
The right to enter over a parcel of land not owned by you but not to occupy the land.

INHERITANCE TAX:
An assessment payable to a level of government based on the value of assets inherited.

INITIAL INTEREST RATE:
The rate chargeable on a mortgage on the day it is signed.

INITIAL RATE PERIOD:
The period of time for which the "initial interest rate" is guaranteed on a Variable or Adjustable Rate mortgage before it begins to change according to its "index".

INJUNCTION:
An order of a court to stop a party from committing the act specified in the order.

INNER CITY:
A slang term for the older, central residential area of a municipality which, in many cases, has deteriorated into poverty.

INSIDE LOT:
Term for a property that is not on a corner at the