National Flash Cards 1

Fixture
An object that has been attached to land so as to become real estate.
Improvement
Any form of land development, such as buildings, roads, fences, and pipelines.
Meridians
Imaginary lines running north and south, used as references in mapping land.
Metes and Bounds
A detailed method of land description that identifies a parcel by specifying its shape and boundaries.
Monument
An iron pipe, stone, tree, or other fixed point used in making a survey.
Personal Property
A right or interest in things of a temporary or movable nature; anything not classified as real property.
Real Estate
Land and improvements in a physical sense, as well as the rights to own or use them.
Recorded Plat
A subdivision map filed in the county recorder's office that shows the location and boundaries of individual parcels of land.
Riparian Right
The right of a landowner whose land borders a river or stream to use and enjoy that water.
Chattel
An article of personal property.
Easement
The right or privilege one party has to use land be longing to another for a special purpose not inconsistent with the owner's use of the land.
Eminent Domain
The right of government to take privately held land for public use, provided fair compensation is paid.
Encroachment
The unauthorized intrusion of a building or other improvement onto another person's land.
Encumbrance
Any impediment to a clear title, such as a lien, lease, or easement.
Estate
One's legal interest or rights in land.
Fee Simple
The largest, most complete bundle of rights one can hold in land; land ownership.
Lien
A hold or claim one person has on the property of another to secure payment of a debt or other obligation
Title
The right to or ownership of something; also the evidence of ownership, such as a deed or bill of sale.
Community Property
Spouses are treated as equal partners with each owning one-half interest.
Concurrent Ownership
Owner ship by two or more persons at the same time.
Estate in Severalty
Owned by one person; sole ownership.
Joint Tenancy
A form of property co-ownership that features the right of survivorship.
Right of Survivorship
A feature of joint tenancy whereby the surviving joint tenants automatically acquire all the rights, title, and interest of the deceased joint tenant.
Tenancy by the Entirety
A form of joint ownership reserved for married persons; right of survivorship exists and neither spouse has a disposable interest during the lifetime of the other.
Tenants in Common
Shared ownership of a single property among two or more persons; interests need not be equal and no right of survivorship exists.
Undivided Interest
Ownership by two or more persons that gives each the right to use the entire property.
Adverse Possession
Acquisition of land through prolonged and unauthorized occupation.
Bargain and Sale Deed
A deed that contains no covenants but does imply that the grantor owns the property being conveyed.
Cloud on the Title
Any claim, lien, or encumbrance that impairs title to property Color of title: some plausible but not completely clear-cut indication of ownership rights.
Consideration
Anything of value given to induce another to enter into a contract.
Covenant
A written agreement or promise.
Deed
A written document that, when properly executed and delivered, conveys title to land.
Grantee
The person named in a deed who acquires ownership.
Grantor
The person named in a deed who conveys ownership.
Quitclaim Deed
A legal instrument used to convey whatever title the grantor has; it contains no covenants, warranties, or implication of the grantor's ownership.
Special Warranty Deed
Grantor warrants title only against defects occurring during the grantor's ownership.
Warranty
An assurance or guarantee that something is true as stated.
Abstract of Title
A summary of all recorded documents affecting title to a given parcel of land.
Acknowledgment
A formal declaration by a person signing a document that he or she, in fact, did sign the document.
Actual Notice
Knowledge gained from what one has actually seen, heard, read, or observed.
Chain of Title
The linkage of property ownership that connects the present owner to the original source of title.
Constructive Notice
Notice given by the public records and by visible possession, coupled with the legal presumption that all persons are thereby notified.
Marketable Title
Title that is free from reasonable doubt as to who the owner is.
Public Recorder's Office
A government-operated facility wherein documents are entered in the public records.
Quiet title suit
Court-ordered hearings held to determine land ownership.
Title Insurance
An insurance policy against defects in title not listed in the title report or abstract.
Torrens System
A state-sponsored method of registering land titles.
Breach of Contract
Failure, without legal excuse, to perform as required by a contract.
Competent Party
Person considered legally capable of entering into a binding contract.
Consideration
An act or promise given in exchange for something.
Contract
A legally enforceable agreement to do (or not to do) a particular thing.
Counteroffer
An offer made in response to an offer.
Duress
The application of force to obtain an agreement.
Fraud
An act intended to deceive for the purpose of inducing another to give up something of value.
Liquidated Damages
An amount of money specified in a contract as compensation to be paid if the contract is not satisfactorily completed.
Power of Attorney
A document by which one person authorizes another to act on his or her behalf.
Specific Performance
Contract performance according to the precise terms agreed upon.
Void Contract
A contract that has no binding effect on the parties who made it.
Voidable Contract
A contract that is able to be voided by one of its parties.
Binder
A short purchase contract used to secure a real estate transaction until a more formal contract can be signed.
Counteroffer
An offer made in response to an offer.
Default
Failure to perform a legal duty, such as failure to carry out the terms of a contract.
Earnest Money Deposit
Money that accompanies an offer to purchase as evidence of good faith.
Equitable Title
The right to demand that title be conveyed upon payment of the purchase price.
Installment Contract
A method of selling and financing property whereby the seller retains title but the buyer takes possession while making the payments.
Lease-option
Allows the tenant to buy the property at preset price and terms for a given period of time.
Right of First Refusal
The right to match or better an offer before the property is sold to someone else.
Acceleration Clause
Allows the lender to demand immediate payment of entire loan if the borrower defaults.
Deficiency Judgment
A judgment against a borrower if the foreclosure sale does not bring enough to pay the balance owed.
First Mortgage
The mortgage loan with highest priority for repayment in the event of foreclosure.
Foreclosure
The procedure by which a person's property can be taken and sold to satisfy an unpaid debt.
Junior Mortgage
Any mortgage on a property that is subordinate to the first mortgage in priority.
Mortgage
A document that makes property security for the repayment of a debt.
Mortgagee
The party receiving a mortgage; the lender.
Mortgagor
The party giving a mortgage; the borrower.
Power of Sale
Allows a mortgagee to conduct a foreclosure sale without first going to court.
Promissory Note
A written promise to repay a debt.
Subordination
Voluntary acceptance of a lower mortgage priority than one would otherwise be entitled to.
Assignment of Rents
Establishes the lender's right to take possession and collect rents in the event of loan default.
Beneficiary
One for whose benefit a trust is created; the lender in a deed of trust arrangement.
Deed of Trust
A document that conveys legal title to a neutral third party (a trustee) as security for a debt.
Naked Title
Title that lacks the rights and privileges usually associated with ownership.
Reconveyance
A document used to reconvey title from the trustee back to the property owner once the debt has been paid.
Trustee
One who holds property in trust for another.
Trustor
One who creates a trust; the borrower in a deed of trust arrangement.
Amortized Loan
A loan requiring periodic payments that include both interest and partial repayment of principal.
Balloon Loan
Any loan in which the final payment is larger than the preceding payments.
Conventional Loans
Real estate loans that are not insured by the FHA or guaranteed by the VA.
Equity
The market value of a property less the debt against it.
FHA
Federal Housing Administration.
Impound or Reserve Account
An account into which the lender places monthly tax and insurance payments.
Loan Origination Fee
The expenses a lender incurs in processing a mortgage loan.
Loan-to-value Ratio
A percentage reflecting what a lender will lend divided by the sale price or market value of the property,whichever is less.
Maturity
The end of the life of a loan.
PITI Payment
A loan payment that combines principal, interest, taxes, and insurance.
PMI
Private mortgage insurance; a private mortgage insurance source to insure lenders against foreclosure loss.
Point
One percent of the loan amount.
Principal
The balance owing on a loan.
UFMIP
Up-front mortgage insurance premium a one-time charge by the FHA for insuring a loan.