REAL ESTATE GLOSSARY
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tenancy in common
As opposed to joint tenancy, when there are two or more
individuals on title to a piece of property, this type of
ownership does not pass ownership to the others in the event
of death.
third-party
origination
A process by which a lender uses another party to completely
or partially originate, process, underwrite, close, fund, or
package the mortgages it plans to deliver to the secondary
mortgage market.
title
A legal document evidencing a person's right to or ownership
of a property.
title company
A company that specializes in examining and insuring titles
to real estate.
title insurance
Insurance that protects the lender (lender's policy) or the
buyer (owner's policy) against loss arising from disputes
over ownership of a property.
title search
A check of the title records to ensure that the seller is
the legal owner of the property and that there are no liens
or other claims outstanding.
transfer of ownership
Any means by which the ownership of a property changes
hands. Lenders consider all of the following situations to
be a transfer of ownership: the purchase of a property
"subject to" the mortgage, the assumption of the mortgage
debt by the property purchaser, and any exchange of
possession of the property under a land sales contract or
any other land trust device.
transfer tax
State or local tax payable when title passes from one owner
to another.
Treasury index
An index that is used to determine interest rate changes for
certain adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) plans. It is based on
the results of auctions that the U.S. Treasury holds for its
Treasury bills and securities or is derived from the U.S.
Treasury's daily yield curve, which is based on the closing
market bid yields on actively traded Treasury securities in
the over-the-counter market.
Truth-in-Lending
A federal law that requires lenders to fully disclose, in
writing, the terms and conditions of a mortgage, including
the annual percentage rate (APR) and other charges.
two-step mortgage
An adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) that has one interest rate
for the first five or seven years of its mortgage term and a
different interest rate for the remainder of the
amortization term.
two- to
four-family property
A property that consists of a structure that provides living
space (dwelling units) for two to four families, although
ownership of the structure is evidenced by a single deed.
trustee
A fiduciary who holds or controls property for the benefit
of another.
VA mortgage
A mortgage that is guaranteed by the Department of Veterans
Affairs (VA).
vested
Having the right to use a portion of a fund such as an
individual retirement fund. For example, individuals who are
100 percent vested can withdraw all of the funds that are
set aside for them in a retirement fund. However, taxes may
be due on any funds that are actually withdrawn.
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