Glossary


For a larger glossary of many terms used in property appraisal, please see the International Association of Assessing Officers' Glossary for Property Appraisal and Assessment .



Range Lines

Lines in succeeding six miles increments on either side of a Meridian.

Rank

A quality scale where 3 = average in cost, and other ranks are relative to the average.

Ratio Study

A study of the relationship between appraised values and market values. Indicators of market values may be either sales, or independent appraisals. The common interest in ratio studies is the level and uniformity of the appraisals.

RCLND

A method used by the Assessor to value business personal property. It is the cost to replace an existing property with a property of equivalent utility minus normal depreciation. (Replacement Cost less Normal Depreciation.)

RCN

Replacement cost new / reproduction cost new.

Real Estate

The physical parcel of land and all improvements permanently attached. An identified parcel or tract of land, including improvements, if any.

Real Property

The rights, interests, and benefits connected with real estate.

Recorded Document

Any written instrument or judgment affecting the title or possession of real property submitted to the County Recorder and made of record by that office; includes Grant Deeds, Quitclaim Deeds, leases, contracts, and court decrees.

Rectangular Coordinates

A land description system where boundaries are described as lines running from points on a X and Y grid.

Rectangular Land Surveys

Land description system based on permanent, uniformly sized rectangular grids which can be subdivided into smaller units of land.

Rectangular Survey System

A system for the legal description of land that refers to the parcel's location in a township, an area approximately six miles square that is formed by the intersection of principal meridians and base lines. Each township contains 36, one-square-mile sections of 640 acres.

Regular Section

A one square mile subdivision of a township containing 640 acres.

Remaining Economic Life

The number of years remaining in the economic life of an improvement as of the appraisal date, and provides a basis for estimating the recapture rate used in the income approach.

Replacement Cost

The cost-of-constructing .a substitute structure of equal utility using current materials, design and standards.

Reproduction Cost

The cost of constructing a replica, or identical structure, using the same materials, construction standards, design and quality of workmanship.

Right of Survivorship

Right of the surviving joint tenant to acquire the interest of the deceased joint tenant in joint tenancies and tenancies by the entirety without any probate proceedings.

Roll

A listing of all assessed property within the county. It identifies property, the owner, and the assessed value of the property.

Roof Type

The predominant roof covering.

Rule B

Annual increases in a parcel's Limited Property Value (LPV) are governed by two statutes. Under most circumstances, the LPV is limited to five percent annual growth until it reaches the Full Cash Value (FCV) as described in A.R.S § 42-13301 and is what we call a Rule A.

However, there are some cases where just adding five percent to the Limited Property Value would be inappropriately slow such as when a building is newly constructed, there is a change in use for the property, the property has been significantly altered, the property is split, subdivided or consolidated, or the property wasn't included on the property tax roll the prior year. In these scenarios, the Assessor's Office looks at the average gap between the Full Cash Value and Limited Property Value for all property within the Legal Class and applies a ratio between the FCV and LPV of the property affected by Rule B. This can result in either a higher or lower LPV than the property would have received under a Rule A.

You can learn more about Rule B by reviewing our Policy Guidelines and A.R.S § 42-13302 .