New York Real Estate
FANNING & HUGHES: New York Real Estate Law Firm
The New York real estate attorneys of Fanning and Hughes assist clients in what is often the biggest financial transaction of their life: purchasing and selling a home or business. Whether it is a house, condominium, coop apartment or commercial building, an experienced New York real estate lawyer from Fanning and Hughes can help you understand the issues involved and lead you skillfully through the process
Real Estate Glossary
# A B C D E F G H
I J K L M N O P Q
R S T U V W X Y Z
Glossary: Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3
Impound
That portion of a borrower's monthly payments held by the lender or servicer to pay for taxes, hazard insurance, mortgage insurance, lease payments, and other items as they become due. Also known as reserves.
Index
A published interest rate against which lenders measure the difference between the current interest rate on an adjustable rate mortgage and that earned by other investments (such as one- three-, and five-year U.S. Treasury security yields, the monthly average interest rate on loans closed by savings and loan institutions, and the monthly average costs-of-funds incurred by savings and loans), which is then used to adjust the interest rate on an adjustable mortgage up or down.
Indexed rate
The sum of the published index plus the margin. For example if the index were 9% and the margin 2.75%, the indexed rate would be 11.75%. Often, lenders charge less than the indexed rate the first year of an adjustable-rate mortgage.
Initial Interest Rate
This refers to the original interest rate of the mortgage at the time of closing. This rate changes for an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM). It's also known as "start rate" or "teaser."
Installment
The regular periodic payment that a borrower agrees to make to a lender.
Insured Mortgage
A mortgage that is protected by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or by private mortgage insurance (MI).
Interest
The fee charged for borrowing money.
Interest Accrual Rate
The percentage rate at which interest accrues on the mortgage. In most cases, it is also the rate used to calculate the monthly payments.
Interest Rate Buydown Plan
An arrangement that allows the property seller to deposit money to an account. That money is then released each month to reduce the mortgagor's monthly payments during the early years of a mortgage.
Interest Rate Ceiling
For an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM), the maximum interest rate, as specified in the mortgage note.
Interest Rate Floor
For an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM), the minimum interest rate, as specified in the mortgage note.
Interim Financing
A construction loan made during completion of a building or a project. A permanent loan usually replaces this loan after completion.
Investor
A money source for a lender.
Jumbo Loan
A loan which is larger (more than $240,000 as of 1/1/99) than the limits set by the Federal National Mortgage Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. Because jumbo loans cannot be funded by these two agencies, they usually carry a higher interest rate.
Late Charge
The penalty a borrower must pay when a payment is made a stated number of days (usually 15) after the due date.
Lease-Purchase Mortgage Loan
An alternative financing option that allows low- and moderate-income home buyers to lease a home with an option to buy. Each month's rent payment consists of principal, interest, taxes and insurance (PITI) payments on the first mortgage plus an extra amount that accumulates in a savings account for a down payment.
Liabilities
A person's financial obligations. Liabilities include long-term and short-term debt.
Lien
A claim upon a piece of property for the payment or satisfaction of a debt or obligation.
Lifetime Payment Cap
For an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM), a limit on the amount that payments can increase or decrease over the life of the mortgage.
Lifetime Rate Cap
For an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM), a limit on the amount that the interest rate can increase or decrease over the life of the loan. See cap.
Loan
A sum of borrowed money (principal) that is generally repaid with interest.
Loan-to-Value Ratio
The relationship between the amount of the mortgage loan and the appraised value of the property expressed as a percentage.
Lock
Lender's guarantee that the mortgage rate quoted will be good for a specific number of days from day of application.
Margin
The amount a lender adds to the index on an adjustable rate mortgage to establish the adjusted interest rate.
Market Value
The highest price that a buyer would pay and the lowest price a seller would accept on a property. Market value may be different from the price a property could actually be sold for at a given time.
Maturity
The date on which the principal balance of a loan becomes due and payable.
MIP (Mortgage Insurance Premium)
It is insurance from FHA to the lender against incurring a loss on account of the borrower's default.
Monthly Fixed Installment
That portion of the total monthly payment that is applied toward principal and interest. When a mortgage negatively amortizes, the monthly fixed installment does not include any amount for principal reduction and doesn't cover all of the interest. The loan balance therefore increases instead of decreasing.
Mortgage
A legal document that pledges a property to the lender as security for payment of a debt.
Mortgage Banker
A company that originates mortgages exclusively for resale in the secondary mortgage market.
Mortgage Broker
An individual or company that charges a service fee to bring borrowers and lenders together for the purpose of loan origination.
Mortgagee
The lender.
Mortgage Insurance
Money paid to insure the mortgage when the down payment is less than 20 percent. See private mortgage insurance, FHA mortgage insurance.
Mortgage Life Insurance
A type of term life insurance In the event that the borrower dies while the policy is in force, the debt is automatically paid by insurance proceeds.
Mortgagor
The borrower or homeowner.
Negative Amortization
Occurs when your monthly payments are not large enough to pay all the interest due on the loan. This unpaid interest is added to the unpaid balance of the loan. The danger of negative amortization is that the home buyer ends up owing more than the original amount of the loan.
Net Effective Income
The borrower's gross income minus federal income tax.
No Income Verification (NIV)
Those loans in which a borrower needs no income verification and/or to provide only limited documentation.
Non Assumption Clause
A statement in a mortgage contract forbidding the assumption of the mortgage without the prior approval of the lender. Note: The signed obligation to pay a debt, as a mortgage note.
Note
A legal document that obligates a borrower to repay a mortgage loan at a stated interest rate during a specified period of time.
Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS)
The regulatory and supervisory agency for federally chartered savings institutions. Formally known as Federal Home Loan Bank Board.
One-year adjustable
Mortgage whose annual rate changes yearly. The rate is usually based on movements of a published index plus a specified margin, chosen by the lender.
Origination Fee
The fee charged by a lender to prepare loan documents, make credit checks, inspect and sometimes appraise a property; usually computed as a percentage of the face value of the loan.
Owner Financing
A property purchase transaction in which the party selling the property provides all or part of the financing. See Seller Carry.
Payment Change Date
The date when a new monthly payment amount takes effect on an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) or a graduated-payment mortgage (GPM). Generally, the payment change date occurs in the month immediately after the adjustment date.
Periodic Payment Cap
A limit on the amount that payments can increase or decrease during any one adjustment period.
Periodic Rate Cap
A limit on the amount that the interest rate can increase or decrease during any one adjustment period, regardless of how high or low the index might be.
Permanent Loan
A long term mortgage, usually ten years or more. Also called an "end loan."
PITI
Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance. Also called monthly housing expense.
Pledged account Mortgage (PAM)
Money is placed in a pledged savings account and this fund plus earned interest is gradually used to reduce mortgage payments.
Points (loan discount points)
Prepaid interest assessed at closing by the lender. Each point is equal to 1 percent of the loan amount (e.g., two points on a $100,000 mortgage would cost $2,000).
Power of Attorney
A legal document authorizing one person to act on behalf of another.
Pre-Approval
The process of determining how much money you will be eligible to borrow before you apply for a loan.
Prepaid Expenses
Necessary to create an escrow account or to adjust the seller's existing escrow account. Can include taxes, hazard insurance, private mortgage insurance and special assessments.
Prepayment
A privilege in a mortgage permitting the borrower to make payments in advance of their due date.
Prepayment Penalty
Money charged for an early repayment of debt. Prepayment penalties are allowed in some form (but not necessarily imposed) in many states.
Primary Mortgage Market
Lenders, such as savings and loan associations, commercial banks, and mortgage companies, who make mortgage loans directly to borrowers. These lenders sometimes sell their mortgages to the secondary mortgage markets such as to FNMA or GNMA, etc.
Principal
The amount borrowed or remaining unpaid. The part of the monthly payment that reduces the remaining balance of a mortgage.
Principal Balance
The outstanding balance of principal on a mortgage not including interest or any other charges.
Principal, Interest, Taxes, and Insurance (PITI)
The four components of a monthly mortgage payment. Principal refers to the part of the monthly payment that reduces the remaining balance of the mortgage. Interest is the fee charged for borrowing money. Taxes and insurance refer to the monthly cost of property taxes and homeowners insurance, whether these amounts that are paid into an escrow account each month or not.
Private Mortgage Insurance (PMI)
In the event that you do not have a 20 percent down payment, lenders will allow a smaller down payment - as low as 3 percent in some cases. With the smaller down payment loans, however, borrowers are usually required to carry private mortgage insurance. Private mortgage insurance will usually require an initial premium payment and may require an additional monthly fee depending on your loan's structure.
Qualifying Ratios
Calculations used to determine if a borrower can qualify for a mortgage. They consist of two separate calculations: a housing expense as a percent of income ratio and total debt obligations as a percent of income ratio.
FANNING & HUGHES, PLLC
108-18 Queens Blvd -
4th Floor
Forest Hills, NY 11375
718.261.3290
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