American Home Mortgage,

LOAN ORIGINATION FEE
Fee charged by a lender to cover administrative costs of processing a loan.

LAND
The surface of the earth extending down to the center and upward to the sky, including all natural things thereon such as trees, crops, or water; plus the minerals below the surface and the air rights above.

PITI
Abbreviation for Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance, the components of a monthly mortgage payment.

TAX SALE
Public sale of property by a government authority as a result of non-payment of taxes.

SWEAT EQUITY
Value added to a property in the form of labor or services of the owner rather than cash.

NOVATION
The substitution of a new obligation for an old one; substitution of new parties to an existing obligation, as where the parties to an agreement accept a new debtor in place of an old one.

APPLICATION
An initial statement of personal and financial information required to apply for a loan.

NOTICE OF DEFAULT
A notice to a defaulting party that there has been a default, usually providing a grace period in which to cure the default.

INTERIM FINANCING
A short-term loan usually made during the construction phase of a building project; often referred to as the "construction loan."

CLOUD ON TITLE
Any document, claim, unreleased lien or encumbrance which many impair or injure the title to property or make the title doubtful because of its apparent or possible validity.

LANDLORD
The lessor or the owner of leased premises. The landlord retains a reversion interest in the property so that when the lease ends the property will revert to the landlord.

PARTY WALL
A wall which is located on or at a boundary line between two adjoining parcels and is used or is intended to be used by the owners of both properties in the construction or maintenance of improvements on their respective lots.

HAZARD INSURANCE
Protects the insured against loss due to fire or other natural disaster in exchange for a premium paid to the insurer.

JOINT TENANCY
A form of property ownership by two or more persons in which the joint tenants have one and the same interest, arising by one and the same conveyance, commencing atone and the same time and held by one and the same possession(the concept of "four unities").

LOAN ORIGINATION FEE
Fee charged by a lender to cover administrative costs of processing a loan.

INJUNCTION
A legal action which forbids a party defendant from doing some act; it requires a person to whom it is directed to refrain from doing a particular thing.

LAND DESCRIPTION
A description of a particular piece of real property.

FLOOR DUTY
A frequent practice in real estate brokerage offices of assigning one sales agent the responsibility for handling all telephone calls and office visitors for a specified period of time.

DEVELOPER
One who attempts to put land to its most profitable use by the construction of improvements.

FEE SIMPLE
The largest estate one can possess in real property. A fee simple estate is the least limited interest and the most complete and absolute ownership in land: it is of indefinite duration, freely transferable and inheritable. Fee simple title is sometimes referred to as "the fee.

EFFECTIVE RATE
The effective rate is a consumer-oriented rate that takes into account the projected amount of time you tell us you will actually have the loan, as well as the specific costs, fees, and potential rate changes associated with it. The fees and costs are distributed over the time you plan to be in the house, allowing you to do an apples-to-apples comparison of a variety of loan types. The effective rate is not the APR. It is similar in that it factors in interest, mortgage insurance, and other fees (including points); however, the APR assumes that you keep your loan for the entire term, while the effective rate takes into account how long you tell us you plan to be in your house.

DESCRIPTION
The portion of a conveyance document which defines the property being transferred.

PROPERTY MANAGEMENT
That aspect of real estate devoted to the leasing, managing, marketing and overall maintenance of the property of others.

BANKRUPTCY
A proceeding in a federal court to relieve certain debts of a person or a business unable to pay its debts.

COMPOUND INTEREST
Interest which is computed upon the principal sum plus accrued interest.