Mortgage Glossary (Q - Z)


Realtor
A real estate broker or an associate holding active membership in a local real estate board affiliated with the National Association of Realtors.

Recision
The cancellation of a contract. With respect to mortgage refinancing, the law that gives the homeowner three days to cancel a contract in some cases once it is signed if the transaction uses equity in the home as security.

Recording Fees
Money paid to the lender for recording a home sale with the local authorities, thereby making it part of the public records.

Refinance
Obtaining a new mortgage loan on a property already owned. Often to replace existing loans on the property.

Renegotiable Rate Mortgage
A loan in which the interest rate is adjusted periodically.

Reverse Annuity Mortgage
A form of mortgage in which the lender makes periodic payments to the borrower using the borrower's equity in the home as Satisfaction of Mortgage: The document issued by the mortgagee when the mortgage loan is paid in full.

Second Mortgage
A mortgage made subsequent to another mortgage and subordinate to the first one.

Secondary Mortgage Market
The place where primary mortgage lenders sell the mortgages they make to obtain more funds to originate more new loans.

Servicing
All the steps and operations a lender performs to keep a loan in good standing, such as collection of payments, payment of taxes, insurance, property inspections and the like.

Shared Appreciation Mortgage
A mortgage in which a borrower receives a below-market interest rate in return for which the lender receives a portion of the future appreciation in the value of the property.

Simple Interest
Interest which is computed only on the principle balance.

Survey
A measurement of land, prepared by a registered land surveyor, showing the location of the land with reference to know points, its dimensions, and the location and dimensions of any buildings.

Sweat Equity
Equity created by a purchaser performing work on a property being purchased.

Title
A document that gives evidence of an individual's ownership of property.

Title Insurance
A policy, usually issued by a title insurance company, which insures a home buyer against errors in the title search. The cost of the policy is usually a function of the value of the property, and is often borne by the purchaser and/or seller. Policies are also available to protect the lender's interests.

Title Search
An examination of municipal records to determine the legal ownership of property. Usually is performed by a title company.

Truth-In-Lending
A federal law requiring disclosure of the Annual Percentage Rate to home buyers shortly after they apply for the loan. Also known as Regulation Z.

Two-Step Mortgage
A mortgage in which the borrower receives a below-market interest rate for a specified number of years, and then receives a new interest rate adjusted to market conditions at that time.

Underwriting
The decision whether to make a loan to a potential home buyer based on credit, employment, assets, and other factors and the matching of this risk to an appropriate rate and term or loan amount.

VA Loan
A long-term, low-or no-down payment loan guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Restricted to individuals qualified by military service or other entitlements.

Verification of Deposit
A document signed by the borrower's financial institution verifying the status and balance of his/her financial accounts.

Verification of Employment
A document signed by the borrower's employer verifying his/her position and salary.

Warehouse Fee
Many mortgage firms must borrow funds on a short term basis in order to originate loans which are to be sold later in the secondary mortgage market (or to investors). When the prime rate of interest is higher on short term loans than on mortgage loans, the mortgage firm has an economic loss which is offset by charging a warehouse fee.



Forbes.com: Real Estate News

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Bankrate.com: Mortgages Headlines

If there's a lesson for homeowners trying to avoid foreclosure, it is this: Be patient, don't take mortgage servicers' actions personally, and be ready to send paperwork multiple times.

Mortgage rates went down a bit this week, with the 30-year fixed at 6.13 percent.

Each week, Bankrate.com surveys experts to gauge which way interest rates are headed on mortgages -- a vital tool if you're about to buy a home.

Here's a look at the state of interest rates on five common consumer banking products and the latest rates from Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large banks and thrifts.

Optimistic consumers are more likely to buy a home, say economists, but with consumer confidence at its lowest level in 17 years, the real estate market is unlikely to rebound soon.


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Updated on November 21, 2006.