California Home Improvement Loan,

COUNTER-OFFER
A new offer made as a reply to an offer received from another; this has the effect of rejecting the original offer, which cannot thereafter be accepted unless revived by the offeror's repeating it.

FORECLOSURE (OR REPOSSESSION)
Legal process by which a mortgaged property may be sold to pay off a mortgage loan that is in default.

FINANCE FEE
A mortgage brokerage fee to cover the expenses incurred in placing the mortgage with a lending institution; a mortgage service charge or origination fee.

POINTS (OR DISCOUNT POINTS)
Points are an up-front fee paid to the lender at the time that you get your loan. Each point equals one percent of your total loan amount. Points and interest rates are inherently connected: in general, the more points you pay, the lower the interest rate you get. However, the more points you pay, the more cash you need up front since points are paid in cash at closing.

CERTIFICATE OF REASONABLE VALUE (CRV)
A certificate issued by the Veterans Administration setting forth a property's current market value estimate, based upon a VA approved appraisal.

LINE OF CREDIT
A maximum amount of money a bank will lend one of its more reliable and credit worthy customers without need for any formal loan submission.

PRIVATE MORTGAGE INSURANCE (PMI)
Insurance to protect the lender in case you default on your loan. With conventional loans, mortgage insurance is generally not required if you make a down payment of at least 20% of the home's purchase price. (Note, however, that FHA and VA loans have different insurance guidelines.)

RESPA
Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. RESPA is a federal law that gives consumers the right to review information about loan settlement costs. The law gives you the right to review this information after you apply for a loan, and again at loan settlement. The law only obliges lenders to provide these settlement costs after application.

DEFICIENCY JUDGEMENT
A judgment against a borrower, endorser, or guarantor for the balance of the debt issued when the security for a loan is insufficient to satisfy the debt.

LOAN-TO-VALUE RATIO
The ratio that the amount of the loan bears to the appraised value of the property or the sales price, whichever is lower.

NOTICE OF COMPLETION
Document filed to give public notice that a construction job has been completed and that mechanics' liens must be filed within ,say, 45 days to be valid.

LEGAL DESCRIPTION
A description which is complete enough that an independent surveyor could locate and identify a specific piece of real property.

DISCOUNT POINTS (OR POINTS)
Points are an up-front fee paid to the lender at the time that you get your loan. Each point equals one percent of your total loan amount. Points and interest rates are inherently connected: in general, the more points you pay, the lower the interest rate you get. However, the more points you pay, the more cash you need up front since points are paid in cash at closing.

CONVERTIBLE ARMS
A type of ARM loan with the option to convert to a fixed-rate loan during a given time period.