Condemnation 
Process used by the government to take private property, without the consent of the owner, for the use of the public. 

Condensate 
Water that is the product of condensation from steam. 

Condensation 
The removal of heat, which changes a substance to a liquid state from a vapor, showing up as a film or drop of water. 

Condense 
1. To reduce in volume or make more compact. 
2. To change a gas into a liquid or solid. 

Condenser 
1. Apparatus for converting gases or vapors to a liquid state. 2. Lens for concentrating light rays on an object or area. 3. Electrical capacitor. 

Condition 
1. Any requirement before performance or completion of anything. 
2. Anything essential to the existence or occurrence of something else. 
3. A clause in an agreement that modifies it any way. 
4. To affect, modify or influence. 
5. To prepare for something. 
6. A proper or healthy state to be in. 

Conditional Commitment 
A written promise by a lender to make a loan, pending certain conditions to be met by the borrower. 

Conditional Offer 
An offer to purchase a piece of real estate provided certain conditions are met. 

Conditional Sale 
A contract stating that the title will remain with the seller, until certain conditions are fulfilled by the buyer. Also referred to as conditional conveyance. 

Condominium 
Individual living unit in a building or development, in which title is held to only the interior space and the recreational and parking area are owned, in common, by all the residents. 

Condominium Conversion 
Change in title from single ownership of the entire building to multiple owners of multiple units, i.e. a rental apartment house to individual condominium ownership. The tenant is usually given the right to purchase his/her unit at a favorable price, prior to open market sales. 

Condominium Owners Association
Association of the owners of condominium units that is concerned with the management of day-to-day matters in the complex. 

Conduct 
To be able to transmit, carry or convey. To direct. 

Conductance 
The ability of a component to conduct electricity as measured in a direct-current circuit by the ratio of the current to the applied electromotive force. 

Conduction 
1. A transmission of electricity or heat, etc by the passage of energy from particle to particle. 
2. Heat transfer between objects with different temperatures. 

Conductor 
1. A substance that conducts electricity, sound, heat, etc. 
2. Water pipe to a building. 
3. Material that permits the passage of electricity. 

Conduit 
1. Tube that houses electrical wiring, water, etc. 
2. A flow path. 
3. Alternately, a channel through which mortgage lenders distribute mortgages to the secondary mortgage market. 

Conduit Bender 
Handle that is made with a curved shoe, that gives the appearance of a lengthwise split pipe that has been bent to a 90 degree curve, with a pawl to hold a piece of electrical conduit on its end. When the shoe is pressed against the conduit with force on the handle, it bends the conduit around the shoe to prevent crimping as it bends. 

Conduit Box 
Electrical box at which conduit is terminated, which can also be used as a container in which electrical wires and be joined, redirected or terminated. It is a form of junction box. 

Conduit Fitting 
Fitting which joins the conduit to a panel or box or is used to change the direction of the conduit. 

Conduit Strap
Strap that is fitted around and supports conduit by attaching it to a structure. 

Cone 
A solid, three-dimensional item with a circle at its base and a curved surface that tapers evenly to a point. 

Cone of Depression
Angle of depression, during dewatering, of a water table. 

Confession of Judgment 
Credit contract provision whereby a borrower agrees to accept guilt in advance for any suit that may be brought against him/her by the lender, regardless of the reason for nonpayment. 

Confiscation 
Government seizure of private property without fair and reasonable compensation or the seizure of property with the owner's legal right abolished because of a legal violation.

Conform 
1. To cause to become the same or similar. 
2. To behave in a conventional way. 
3. To match a contour. 

Conformable Strata 
Similarly contoured layers of strata in the earth. 

Conforming Loan 
A loan that meets the qualifications necessary to be purchased by Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae. The conforming loan limit, as of March 2000, is $252,700. 

Conglomerate 
Also referred to as pudding stone, rock formed of cemented gravel. 

Congruent 
Figures of the same size and shape when, if placed one upon the other, coincide exactly, in all their parts. 

Conical 
Resembling a cone. Tapered to a point. 

Conic Projection
A map projection, which is formed by projecting the earth's surface of a cone and unrolling this to a flat surface on which the parallels of latitude are then concentric circles and the meridians equally, spaced radii. 

Conic Section 
A curve, as an ellipse, circle parabola or hyperbola, produced by the intersection of a plane with a right circular cone. 

Conifer 
A cone bearing evergreen tree or shrub with needle-type leaves such as a pine, spruce, cedar, fir, yew, etc. 

Connect 
To join or fasten together. To link or couple. To plug into an electrical circuit. 

Connecting Rod 
Rod which is a link connecting reciprocating parts and rotating parts, of a machine, for example the crankshaft and piston of an automobile, with the rod having a pinned connection at one end and the free end rotating around the pin. The reciprocating motion of the piston within the cylinder is sent to the crankshaft, which allows it to rotate. 

Connector 
Device used to join an electrical wire to a piece of equipment or another wire or any device that joins two objects. 

Connector Plate 
Steel plate, which joins structural parts such as a truss to a wall. 

Connector, Pressure 
Also referred to as a wire nut or solderless connector, this device, often made of plastic, joins two or more stripped electrical wires together, by twisting, without the need for soldering. The tapered spring or threads in a wire nut hold the ends of the wires that are to be joined. 

Consent 
Permitting an action to occur. 

Consent Judgment 
The binding, written agreement between two parties to have a judgment entered into court records. 

Consequential Damage 
Damages incurred as the result of the effects of a party's breach of responsibility or contract and usually result in financial compensation. 

Conserve 
To keep from being lost, damaged or wasted. 

Conservator 
Court-appointed guardian for the purpose of managing the affairs of a legally incompetent party. 

Consideration 
An inducement, consisting of a thing that is legal and has value, for a person to enter into a contract. Alternately, the amount actually received from a sale after all expenses are deducted. 

Consistency 
General term to describe the thickness, smoothness or cohesiveness of materials such as concrete, plaster, adhesive, etc. 

Consolidation Loan 
Loan that combines smaller loans into one larger loan and is typical of a refinance of debt. 

Constant Payment Loan 
Loan that requires equal periodic payments to pay off the loan subsequent to the last payment. 

Construction 
The building of any structure, including carpentry, plumbing, electricity, flooring, finishes, etc. needed to bring it to a point of readiness for occupancy. 

Construction Adhesive 
General term used for adhesives used in construction to hold structural or non-structural members together with or without the use of other fasteners. Available in large containers, those that can be used by a cartridges gun are most convenient. 

Construction Budget 
Amount of funding needed for the construction of a project. 

Construction Classification 
Categorization by fire resistance. 

Construction Costs 
Expenditures incurred in building a structure, including labor and material. 

Construction Documents 
Drawings and specifications from an architect, which provide the detailed requirements of a construction project. 

Construction Drawings 
Includes architectural plans, building plans, working drawings, blueprints, etc. Construction drawings provide the information, drawings, and instruction needed to construct a building.

Construction Joint
Place where two sections of concrete meet to form a bond. 

Construction Loan 
Short-term loan used during the construction of a building or home. Funds are disbursed in stages, according to completed amount. 

Construction Management Contract 
Contract between an owner and the general contractor who is responsible hiring and supervising the trades and tasks necessary to build a structure. 

Construction Specifications 
Commonly referred to as "specs" these detailed descriptions consist of all items necessary to complete the construction of a building, including drawings and blue prints that outline the technical standards. 

Construction-to-Permanent Loan 
A construction loan, which can be converted to a long-term traditional mortgage upon completion of the construction. 

Constructive 
Definition given to an act, fact or thing through legal interpretation. 

Constructive Annexation 
The consolidation of items that have been considered a part of property but are not actually joined to it or owned by it. Use over an extended period of time establishes a right to continued use. 

Constructive Eviction 
Breaking of a lease by a tenant due failure of landlord to keep premises habitable. 

Constructive Notice 
When a fact is a matter of public record, the law presumes that everyone has knowledge of that fact. 

Constructive Receipt 
Tax concept whereby income not actually received, but which could be received, is considered to be constructively received and must be reported. 

Constructive Trust 
Legal order creating a trust for property illegally assumed or taken, which will then compel the person who has improperly assumed the title to the property to transfer it to the party having the legally sustainable claim. 

Consumable Insert 
Filler metal which is inserted into a weld joint, which melts and becomes part of the weld joint during welding. 

Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) 
Nationwide, non-profit organization to help consumers get out of debt and improve their credit rating. National headquarters: 8701 Georgia Avenue, Suite 507, Silver Springs, MD 20910. Phone # (800) 388-2227. 

Consumer Price Index (CPI) 
The most widely known of many such measures of price levels and inflation that are reported to the U.S. Government. It measures and compares, from month to month, the total cost of a statistically determined "typical market basket" of goods and services consumed by U.S. households.