Appraisal: A professionally-determined estimate of the value of property.

Assessment: The value placed on a piece of property by a taxing authority for the purpose of calculating the municipal property tax.

Basis: A term used by the IRS to mean the cost of property at the time of acquisition, or value when inherited.

Bequest: A gift of money or property left by will.

Capital Gains Tax: A tax imposed by the IRS on profit made from the sale of property which is permanent in nature, such as land, buildings, machinery).

Charitable Contribution: The tax-deductible transfer of money or property to a qualified charitable organization or government entity.

Conservation easement: A legal agreement between a property owner and a conservation or government organization that protects the conservation value of the parcel by permanently limiting the uses and changes an owner may make. The conservation organization or agency agrees to monitor the property and enforce the restrictions.

Convey: To give, transfer, sell, deed or otherwise change the ownership of one's property.

Covenant: A written promise contained in a contract, lease, deed or other form of agreement. A conservation covenant or restriction is generally written to continue in effect despite changes in ownership, thus it is said to "run with the land".

Deed: A written legal document by which ownership of property is transferred from one owner to another.

Development Right: A loose term, generally meaning the right to subdivide and to construct new houses (or commercial structures) on a property.

Donee: One who receives a contribution or donation.

Donor: One who makes a contribution or donation.

Easement: A right which one person has to the land of another. It can be created by a reservation or rights in the deed conveying the property, by agreement, by grant, by adverse possession or by necessary implication. Easements can be positive or negative and appurtenant or in gross.

• positive easement: gives the easement grantee certain specified rights to the grantor's property.
  
• negative easement: limits or restricts the grantor's use of the property in order to benefit or protect the grantee or his/her property.
  
• purchased easement: the landowner is paid for giving up certain rights in his or her land.
  
• donated easement: the landowner gives away certain rights in return for tax benefits.
  

Easement Value: The difference between a property's value before the easement is placed on it and the value after the easement is placed on it.

Endowment: A permanent fund established to support costs of a named project or purpose. Permanence is assured by restricting withdrawals of principal and generally relying on investment income for support.

Estate: the interest or sort of interest that one has in property such as life estate, estate of a deceased, real estate.

Estate Tax: A tax which the federal and state governments impose on assets of a person at death based on their net value at the time of death. An easement often reduces estate taxes.

Fair Market Value: the dollar value that a willing buyer would pay a willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell and both having full knowledge of relevant facts surrounding the transaction.

Fee: full ownership interest of a piece of property with none of the rights of ownership outstanding or in the name of another.

Grantee: One who receives gifts, rights or property. Often, a land trust or government agency is "grantee" of an easement.

Grantor: One who gives gifts, rights or property.

Heir: One who inherits the estate or property of another.

Holder: Grantee of an easement.

Land trust: A non-profit organization formed for the express purpose of holding land (or restrictive easements on land) for its conservation, historic preservation, wildlife protection and/or recreation values, among other things.

Point System: A system for valuing easements which is not based on an appraisal. Instead, it assigns points to various aspects of the property and the proposed easement, and uses a formula to arrive at the amount which will be offered per acre to purchase the easement. Such systems are quick and simple to administer.

Property tax: A tax assessed and collected by the county and state in which the property is located, based on its assessed value.

Title: the evidence one has of legal ownership of property.

Undivided interest: An undivided fractional interest in ownership. An undivided interest may b e bought or sold.