I

Interest: The fee which is charged for the use of said money .

Interest rate: the amount of interest charged on a monthly loan payment. This is generally expressed as a percentage.

Insurance: protection against a particular loss over a period of time that is secured by the payment of a regularly scheduled policy payment.

J

Judgment: a legal decision; when mandating debt repayment, a judgment may include a property lien that secures the creditor's claim by providing a collateral source.

L

Lease purchase: This helps lower to moderate-income purchasers in buying a house by allowing them to lease a house with an option to buy; the rent payment is made up of the monthly rental payment and an extra amount which is then credited to an account for use as a down payment. This is the legal term for a contract which was originally developed in the Great Britain, and is now found in former Commonwealth nations like Australia, South Africal, and other countries which use the English law concept

Lien: a legal claim against property that has to be be satisfied at the time that the property is sold. In America, the term lien generally refers, from a legal standpoint, to a broad array of encumbrances and would also include other forms of mortgage or charge. In other words, it usually refers to non-possessory type security interests.

Loan: money borrowed that is generally repaid with interest. Is generally called a mortgage as it relates to real estate.

Loan fraud: This means to intentionally giving false information or a false impression on a loan application for the purposes of qualifying for a house loan. This act can result in a civil liability or even criminal charges in some cases.

Mortgage: This is a lien on a house or other property which secures the Promise to repay a particular loan.

Mortgage banker: a firm which originates loans and then resells them to secondary mortgage lenders (such as Freddie Mac, as an example).

Mortgage broker: a company, often a limited liability type corporation, which originates and processes loans for a variety of different lenders.

O

Offer: indication by a potential buyer of their intent to buy a house at a particular price. This is often put in writing.

Origination fee: This is the charge for originating a loan and is usually determined in the form of points and later paid at closing time.

P

Partial Claim: This is basically a loss mitigation option which is offered by the FHA that allows the borrower to obtain a desirable interest-free loan from HUD to bring their mortgage payments current.

PMI: Private Mortgage Insurance; privately-owned firms which offer standard & special affordable mortgage insurance programs for qualified borrowers with down payments of less than twenty percent of the total price.

Pre-approve: This is when the lender commits to lend to a possible borrower; commitment remains for so long a time as the borrower still meets the qualification requirements at time of purchasing.

Pre-qualify: This i when a lender informally determines the total amount that a person is eligible to borrow.

Premium: an amount paid on a regular timetable by a policyholder that maintains insurance coverage.

Principal: Simply the amount borrowed from a lender. This amount does not also include interest & other addon type fees.

R

Radon: a radioactive gas found in certain houses which, if occurring in intense concentrations may trigger health concerns.

Real estate agent: someone who is licensed to arrange real estate transactions; employed by a real estate broker.

Refinancing: This means to pay off 1 loan by obtaining yet another. This is usually done to obtain improved loan terms (like a lower interest rate).

Rehabilitation mortgage: This is a loan which basically covers the costs of rehabilitating a particular home or other property...some of these, such the FHA's 203(k) - permit the borrower to roll the costs of rehabilitation and home purchase into a single loan.

RESPA: Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act; This is essentially a law which aims to protect individuals from any abuses during the residential real estate purchase and loan process by mandating lenders to disclose every and all settlement costs & relationships

S

Settlement: This is just another name for closing.

Special Forbearance: a loss mitigation option where the lender arranges a revised repayment plan for the borrower that might include a temporary reduction or even a suspension of the monthly loan payments.

Subordinate: to place in a rank of lower importance or to make 1 claim secondary to another.

T

Title insurance: This is basically insurance which protects the lender against any claims that arise from arguments about ownership of the property; also available for homebuyers.

Title search: a cscan of public documents to ensure that the seller in question is the actual owner of the real estate and that there are no unsettled liens or similiar claims against the property.

Truth-in-Lending: a federal law which mandates that a lender must give full written disclosure regarding all applicable fees, terms, and other conditions which are related the loan initial period and then adjusts to another rate that lasts for the term of the loan.

VA: Dept. of Veterans Affairs: a federal agency which guarantees loans made to veterans. This is somewhat similar to mortgage insurance in that this loan guarantee protects lenders against loss that may result from a borrower default.