The Riskiest Investment Ever

Real estate is a legal term (in some jurisdictions, such as the USA, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and The Bahamas) that encompasses land along with improvements to the land, such as buildings,fences, wells and other site improvements that are fixed in location -- immovable."Real estate" The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Dictionary.com Retrieved July 12, 2008 Real estate law is the body of regulations and legal codes which pertain to such matters under a particular jurisdiction and include things such as commercial and residential real property transactions. Real estate is often considered synonymous with real property (sometimes called realty), in contrast with personal property (sometimes called chattel or personalty under chattel law or personal property law).

However, in some situations the term "real estate" refers to the land and fixtures together, as distinguished from "real property," referring to ownership of land and appurtenances, including anything of a permanent nature such as structures, trees, minerals, and the interest, benefits, and inherent rights thereof. Real property is typically considered to be Immovable property"Real Estate and Mortgage Glossary / Definitions - terms beginning with "R"" Real Estate ABC - Information on Buying and Selling A Home. Web. 10 Aug. 2009. .

The terms real estate and real property are used primarily in common law, while civil law jurisdictions refer instead to immovable property.

Flipping is a term used primarily in the United States to describe practice of buying an asset and quickly reselling (or "flipping") it for profit. Though flipping can apply to any asset, the term is most often applied to real estate and initial public offerings. The term is used in the United Kingdom to describe a technique whereby a Member of Parliament switches his second home between several houses, which has the effect of allowing him to maximize his taxpayer funded allowances.