| |
|
|
Athens GA Homes and Condos
Athens Real Estate | Abbreviations, Terms and Phrases
A
| B | C | D | E
| F | G | H | I
| J | K | L | M
| N | O | P | Q
| R | S | T | U
| V | W | X | Y
| Z
-
-
calendar Year
-
A year using the actual number of days in
each month for a total of 365 days in a year (366 days in a leap year).
-
cap
-
The maximum allowable increase, for either
payment or interest rate, for a specified amount of time on an adjustable
rate mortgage.
-
-
capital gains
-
The profit on the sale of a capital asset,
such as stock or real estate. If you sell your primary residence, you can
exclude $250,000 in profit from capital gains tax. A couple can exclude
$500,000.
-
capitalization
-
The estimation of the value of income producing
property by dividing the annual net income by the capitalization
rate.
-
capitalization rate
-
The rate of expected return on investment
property. A ratio of income to value.
-
cash Out
-
Receiving money back when refinancing your
present mortgage. Not available on homestead property in Texas (See homestead).
-
-
CC&R
-
See covenants,
conditions & restrictions.
-
-
CCCS
-
See Consumer
Credit Counseling Service.
-
ceiling
-
The maximum allowable interest rate over the
life of the loan of an adjustable rate mortgage.
-
census
-
An official count of the number of people
living in a certain area, such as a district, city, county, state, or nation.
The United States Constitution requires the federal government to perform
a national census every ten years. The census includes information about
the respondents' sex, age, family, and social and economic status.
-
Certificate of Eligibility
-
The document given to qualified veterans which
entitles them to VA guaranteed loans for homes, business, and mobile homes.
Certificates of eligibility may be obtained by sending DD-214 (Separation
Paper) to the local VA office with VA form 1880 (request for Certificate
of Eligibility).
-
chain of title
-
A history of conveyances and encumbrances
of a property from some starting point, whereby the present owner derives
title.
-
channeling
-
The illegal practice of directing people to,
or away from, certain areas or neighborhoods because of minority status;
Steering. See Fair Housing.
-
chattel
-
See personal property.
-
-
cleaning fee
-
A nonrefundable fee charged by a landlord
when a tenant moves in. The fee covers the cost of cleaning the rented
premises after you move out, even if you leave the place spotless. Cleaning
fees are illegal in some states and specifically allowed in others, but
most state laws are silent on the issue. Landlords in every state are allowed
to use the security deposit to clean a unit that is truly dirty.
-
clear title
-
A land title that doesn't have any liens (including
a mortgage) against it.
-
closing
-
The conclusion of the sales transaction when
the seller transfers title to the buyer in exchange for consideration.
In Texas, these proceedings are usually held at a title
company.
-
closing costs
-
Costs the buyer must pay at the time of the
closing in addition to the down payment which may include points, title
charges, credit report fee, document preparation fee, mortgage insurance
premium, inspections, appraisals, prepayments for property taxes, deed
recording fee, and homeowners insurance. Closing costs can vary considerably
from one financial institution to another.
-
closing statement
-
A detailed written summary of the financial
settlement of a real estate transaction, showing all charges and credits
made, and all cash received and paid out.
-
cloud on title
-
A claim or encumbrance that may effect title
to land.
-
co-op
-
See cooperative
housing or cooperative sale.
-
co-tenants
-
Two or more tenants who rent the same property
under the same lease or rental agreement. Each co-tenant is 100%
responsible for carrying out the rental agreement, which includes paying
the entire rent if the other tenant skips town and paying for damage caused
by the other tenant.
-
collateral
-
Something of value deposited with a lender
as a pledge to secure repayment of a loan.
-
commingling
-
The illegal practice of combining or mixing
clients' funds with the agent's own funds.
-
commission
-
The compensation paid to a licensed real estate
broker or by the broker to the salesman for services rendered. Usually
a percentage of the selling price of the property.
-
Community Reinvestment Act
-
The federal law which requires federally regulated
lenders to describe the geographical market area they serve. Deposits from
that area are to be reinvested in that area whenever practical.
-
comparables
-
Properties which are similar to a particular
property and are used to compare and establish a value for that property.
-
compound interest
-
Interest which is computed on the principal
and any unpaid accumulated interest. Contrast with simple
interest.
-
condemnation
-
The act of taking private property for public
use, through due process under the right of eminent
domain, with compensation to the owner.
-
condominium
-
A form of real estate, usually a dwelling
with individual ownership of separate portions of the building plus shared
ownership of the common areas.
-
consideration
-
The price or subject matter, which induces
a contract; may be in money, commodity, exchange, or a transfer of personal
effort.
-
constructive
eviction
-
The provision of housing that is so substandard
that, for all intents and purposes, a landlord has evicted the tenant.
For example, the landlord may refuse to provide light, heat, water or other
essential services, destroy part of the premises or refuse to clean up
an environmental health hazard, such as lead paint dust. Because the premises
are unlivable, the tenant has the right to move out and stop paying rent
without incurring legal liability for breaking the lease. Usually, the
tenant must first bring the problem to the landlord's attention and allow
a reasonable amount of time for the landlord to make repairs.
-
-
Consumer
Credit Counseling Service (CCCS)
-
A national non-profit agency that, at no cost,
helps debtors plan budgets and repay their debts. One major criticism of
CCCS is that each office is primarily funded by voluntary donations from
the creditors that receive payments from debtors repaying their debts through
that office. The goal of CCCS is to insure that consumers repay the
debts that they owe. CCCS may arrange easy payment plans that increase
the chances for repayment, but harm a consumer's credit in the process.
Agreeing to a payment plan and following it to the letter may not stop
creditors from reporting delinquent repayment information to credit bureaus
for each month the payment falls short of the previous minimum amount.
-
-
contingency
-
A provision in a contract stating that some
or all of the terms of the contract will be altered or voided by the occurrence
of a specific event. A common example is a Buyer who enters
into the purchase of another home before his current home is sold.
The Buyer will usually ask for the Seller to make the sale contingent upon
the sale of the Buyer's current home. If the Seller receives another
offer for the property, the first Buyer must either agree to buy the home
without any contingency, or step aside and let someone else purchase the
home.
-
contract
-
A legally enforceable agreement to do, or
not to do, a particular thing for a consideration.
-
contract for deed
-
A contract for the sale of real estate where
the deed (title) of the property is transferred only after all the payments
have been made. Also known as a land contract, agreement of sale, conditional
sales contract, or installment contract. Buyers should be wary of
this type of contract, since they can lose their entire investment if the
owner declares brankruptcy, before the deed has been transferred.
-
contract for exchange of real estate
-
A contract for the sale of real estate in
which the consideration is paid wholly or partly in real property instead
of cash.
-
contract of sale
-
The agreement between the buyer and seller
on the purchase price, terms, and conditions necessary to both parties
to convey the title to the buyer.
-
conventional loan
-
A real estate loan, which is not insured by
the FHA or guaranteed by the VA.
-
conveyance
-
Written instrument, such as a deed or lease,
that evidences transfer of some ownership interest in real property from
one person to another.
-
-
cooperative
housing
-
(1) A form of real estate, usually
a dwelling in which residents own shares, but do not directly own
the space they inhabit. Rather, owning a share of the building entitles
the shareholder with the right to inhabit a certain space within the dwelling,
such as an apartment. Shares are usually proportional to the amount
of space in each apartment.
-
(2) A living arrangement in which residents
must perform certain duties or chores to benefit the entire residence,
in addition to paying room and board. A common form of dormitory living.
-
-
cooperative
sale
-
A sale of property in which the buyer is brought
to the transaction by a real estate agent who works for a different real
estate broker than the listing agent. Both brokers/companies have
agreed to cooperate in closing the property, and typically, splitting the
commission. Offers of cooperation and compensation are commonly found
in the MLS property listings.
-
cost approach to value
-
An estimate of value based on current construction
costs, less depreciation, plus land value. Contrast with the income
approach to value and the market
data approach to value.
-
counter offer
-
The rejection of an offer to buy or sell that
simultaneously makes a different offer, changing the terms in some way.
For example, if a Buyer offers $160,000 for a home, and the Seller replies
that he wants $175,000, the Seller has rejected the Buyer's offer of $160,000
and made a counteroffer to sell at $175,000. The legal significance of
a counteroffer is that it completely voids the original offer, so that
if the Seller decided to sell for $160,000 the next day, the Buyer would
be under no legal obligation to pay that amount for the property.
-
-
covenant
-
A restriction on the use of real
estate that governs its use, such as a requirement that the property
will be used only for residential purposes. Covenants are found in deeds
or in documents that bind everyone who owns land in a particular development.
See Covenants, Conditions
& Restrictions.
-
covenants,
conditions & restrictions (CC&Rs)
-
The restrictions governing the use of real
estate, usually enforced by a homeowners'
association and passed on to the new owners of property. For
example, CC&Rs may tell you how big your house can be, how you must
landscape your yard or whether you can have pets. If property is subject
to CC&Rs, buyers must be notified before the sale takes place.
-
-
credit bureau
-
A private, profit-making company that collects
and sells information about a person's credit history. Typical clients
include banks, mortgage lenders and credit card companies that use the
information to screen applicants for loans and credit cards. There are
three major credit bureaus, Equifax, Experian and Trans
Union, and they are regulated by the federal Fair Credit Reporting
Act.
-
-
credit file
-
See credit
report.
-
-
credit insurance
-
Insurance a lender offers or requires a borrower
to purchase to cover the loan. If the borrower dies or becomes disabled
before paying off the loan, the policy will pay off the remaining balance.
Federal and state consumer protection laws require the lender to disclose
to existing and potential borrowers the terms and costs of obtaining credit
insurance because it can affect the terms of the loan.
-
credit limit
-
The maximum amount that you can borrow under
a home equity plan.
-
-
credit report
-
An account of your credit history, prepared
by a credit bureau. A credit report will contain both credit history, such
as what you owe to whom and whether you make the payments on time, as well
as personal history, such as your former addresses, employment record and
lawsuits in which you have been involved. An estimated 50% of all credit
reports contain errors, such as accounts that don't belong to you, an incorrect
account status or information reported that is older than seven years (ten
years in the case of a bankruptcy).
-
-
credit score
-
In the mortgage lending world, credit scores
either make or break you when it comes to obtaining a home mortgage or
getting the best rate you can. There are three different scores available
to a mortgage lender each being generated by the three different credit
agencies. The most popular, known as a Fico score is from Experian (formally
TRW), then there is a Beacon score from Equifax, and finally a Emperica
score from Trans Union. This is the "mortgage scoring" system used to get
a conventional mortgage.
-
-
Simply, credit scores are numbers calculated
based upon your credit history. The better your credit, the higher your
number or score will be - the worse your credit, the lower the score. The
number of inquiries or times your credit has been pulled in the past 90
days will also lower your "score". In some instances, lack of credit results
in "no score" on your report requiring you to provide "alternative credit"
via your rental, utility or telephone payment histories. There's plenty
you can do to improve your score if you know how the system works. Just
don't expect much help from your lender--most consider the actual formulas
a trade secret and don't want people angling for an advantage. Congress
is currently working on legislation to provide consumers with access to
their credit scores and the formulas used to calculate these scores.
-
-
There are some lenders that do not rely on
credit scores to the degree that most do. Some times, credit reports contain
inaccuracies that lower your score, this is when a lender has to use a
common sense approach to approving your loan. In some instances you may
have to correct your credit report, wait for your score to improve, then
reapply for the loan. Talk with your mortgage broker or lender to understand
what your options are.
-
creditor
-
A person or entity (such as a bank) to whom
a debt is owed.
-
cul-de-sac
-
A dead end street which widens sufficiently
at the end to permit an automobile to make a "U" turn.
Athens GA Homes and Condos
Athens Real Estate | Abbreviations, Terms and Phrases
A
| B | C | D | E
| F | G | H | I
| J | K | L | M
| N | O | P | Q
| R | S | T | U
| V | W | X | Y
| Z
|
|
Our
Listings
