What is Real Property? - Commercial Real Estate Dictionary

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What is real property?
What are capital improvements?

What is real property?

Real property refers to land and/or improvements that are affixed to land. The main aspect of real property is that it is not movable (in this respect, it is the opposite of “personal property”).
Land is the most basic form of real estate (most immovable estate), and to own land is the highest ownership interest that can be held in real estate. Also called “fee simple,” the full ownership of land grants the maximum accumulation of rights, powers, privileges and immunities. Ownership of land is alienable (can be transferred, with no restrictions), devisable (distributed by will), and descendible (passed down through generations).

What are capital improvements?

Capital improvements are any immovable developments which improve the land (increase its value). Immovable assets associated with the land may also include natural resources, such as water, ore, crops, and the like. In real estate, though, improvements mostly refer to construction erected on the land (permanently attached to it). This includes not only the buildings themselves, but also maintenance additions, which may elevate the value of the property, over time.
For example, restoring aspects of a property which increase its useful life (roof repair or replacement, pavement maintenance of driveways and parking lots, or landscaping), or repurposing a property in order to adapt it for a new use–adaptive reuse projects may extend from refurbishing the interior of a structure to partially demolishing and rebuilding the structure.