Saturday, March 17, 2007

Mortgage terminology

Like any other legal system, the mortgage business sometimes uses confusing jargon. Below are some terms explained in brief.
Advance This is the money you have borrowed plus all the additional fees.
Base Rate In UK, this is the base interest rate set by the Bank of England. In the United States, this value is set by the Federal Reserve and is known as the Discount Rate.
Bridging Loan This is a temporary loan that enables the borrower to purchase a new property before the borrower is able to sell another current property.
Conveyance This is the legal document that transfers ownership of unregistered land.
Disbursements These are all the fees of the solicitors and governments, such as stamp duty, land registry, search fees, etc.
Early Redemption Charge / Pre-Payment Penalty / Redemption Penalty This is the amount of money due if the mortgage is paid in full before the time finished.
Equity This is the market value of the property minus all loans outstanding on it.
First time buyer This is the term given to a person buying property for the first time.
Freehold This means the ownership of a property and the land.
Land Registration This is a legal document that records the ownership of a property and land. This is also known as a Title.
Leasehold This means the ownership of the property and land for a specified period, which may be sold separately from freehold, which may be owned by another person.
Legal Charge This is a legal document that records the data of the rightful owner of a property or land.
Loan Origination Fee A charge levied by a creditor for underwriting a loan. The fee often is expressed in points. A point is 1 percent of the loan amount.
Mortgage Deed This is a legal document that stated that the lender has a legal charge over the property.
Mortgage Payment Protection Insurance This is a form of insurance that ensures that the current mortgage payment will be paid if the borrower proves unable to do so.
Private Mortgage Insurance This is a form of insurance the lender has the borrower take for loans over 80% of the appraised value. This will pay the lender only the owed portion up to 80% on a defaulted loan.
Sealing Fee This is a fee made when the lender releases the legal charge over the property.
Subject To Contract This is an agreement between seller and buyer before the actual contract is made.

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