Home Loan Owner,

CLOSING (OR SETTLEMENT)
The settlement or closing is the conclusion of your real estate transaction. It includes the delivery of your security instrument, signing of your legal documents and the disbursement of the funds necessary to the sale of your home or loan transaction (refinance).

WAIVER
Voluntary relinquishment or surrender of some right or privilege.

CLEAR TITLE
Title to property that is free from liens, defects or other encumbrances, except those which the buyer has agreed to accept, such as mortgage to be assumed, the ground lease of record, and the like; established title; title without clouds.

ESCROW AGENT
A person with fiduciary responsibility to the buyer and seller, or the borrower and lender, to ensure that the terms of the purchase/sale or loan are carried out.

CHATTEL
Personal property which is tangible and moveable.

PUFFING
Exaggerated or superlative comments or opinions not made as representations of fact and thus not a grounds for misrepresentation. A statement such as "the apartment has a fantastic view," is puffing because the prospective buyer can clearly assess the view in each case.

STATUTE OF FRAUDS
That law which requires certain contracts to be in writing and signed by the party to be charged therewith in order to be legally enforceable.

GOOD FAITH ESTIMATE
Written estimate of the settlement costs the borrower will likely have to pay at closing. Under the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA), the lender is required to provide this disclosure to the borrower within three days of receiving a loan application.

UNILATERAL CONTRACT
A contract in which one party makes an obligation to perform without receiving in return any express promise of performance from the other party, such as an open listing contract, where the seller agrees to pay a commission to the first broker who brings in a ready, willing and able buyer.

HEIR
A person who inherits under a will or a person who succeeds to property by the laws of descent if the decedent dies without a will (intestate).

ABANDONMENT
The voluntary surrender or relinquishment of possession of real property with the intention of terminating one's possession or interest, but without vesting this interest in any other person.

PROPRIETARY LEASE
A written lease in a cooperative apartment building, between the owner-corporation and the tenant-stockholder, in which the tenant is given the right to occupy a particular unit.

POINTS
A generic term for a percentage of the principal loan amount which the lender charges for making the loan; each point is equal to one percent of the loan amount.

BUILDING RESIDUAL TECHNIQUE
A method of determining the value of an improvement normally used in appraising income property.

CONSIDERATION
An act or forbearance, or the promise thereof, which is offered by one party to induce another to enter into a contract; that which is given in exchange for something from another.

CERTIFICATE OF TITLE
Written opinion of the status of title to a property, given by an attorney or title company. This certificate does not offer the protection given by title insurance.

OFFER
A promise by one party to act or perform in a specified manner provided the other party will act or perform in the manner requested.

INTESTATE
To die without a valid will.

CONTRACT
A legal agreement between competent parties who agree to perform or refrain from performing certain acts for a consideration. In real estate, there are many different types of contracts, including listings, contracts of sale, options, mortgages, assignments, leases, deeds, escrow agreements, and loan commitments, among others.

EXCHANGE
A transaction in which all or part of the consideration for the purchase of real property is the transfer of property of a like kind.