Management Agreement – A contract between a property’s owner and a person who agrees to manage the property.

Margin – For an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM), the amount that is added to the index to establish the interest rate on each adjustment date, subject to any limitations on the interest rate change.

Marketable Title – A title that is free from any defects.

Master Association – A homeowners’ association in a large condominium or planned unit development (PUD) project that is made up of representatives from associations covering specific areas within the project. In effect, it is a “second-level” association that handles matters affecting the entire development, while the “first-level” associations handle matters affecting their particular portions of the project.

Master Lease – A controlling lease on a property.

Maturity – The date on which the principal balance of a loan, bond, or other financial instrument becomes due and payable.

Maximum Financing – A mortgage amount that is within 5 percent of the highest loan-to-value (LTV) percentage allowed for a specific product. Thus, maximum financing on a fixed-rate mortgage would be 90 percent or higher, because 95 percent is the maximum allowable LTV percentage for that product.

Mechanic’s Lien – A lien placed upon a building or other improvement that functions as security for the payment of labor and materials furnished for improvement.

Merged Credit Report – A credit report that contains information from three credit repositories. When the report is created, the information is compared for duplicate entries. Any duplicates are combined to provide a summary of a your credit.

Minimum Payment – The minimum amount that must be paid on an account each month. Includes payments to the principal as well as interest.

Modification – The act of changing any of the terms of the mortgage.

Money Market Account – A savings account that provides bank depositors with many of the advantages of a money market fund. Certain regulatory restrictions apply to the withdrawal of funds from a money market account.

Money Market fund – A mutual fund that allows individuals to participate in managed investments in short-term debt securities, such as certificates of deposit and Treasury bills.

Monthly Fixed Installment – That portion of the total monthly payment that is applied toward principal and interest. When a mortgage negatively amortizes, the monthly fixed installment does not include any amount for principal reduction.

Monthly Mortgage Insurance (MI) Payment – The portion of a monthly payment that covers Private Mortgage Insurance’s cost.

Monthly Payment (P&I) – The monthly mortgage payment on a home loan. The payment includes principal and interest, but excludes any amounts applied to taxes and insurance.

Monthly Payment Mortgage – A mortgage that requires payments to reduce the debt once a month.

Monthly Principal & Interest (P&I) Payment – A portion of a monthly payment that covers a loan’s principal and interest due.

Monthly Taxes & Insurance (T&I) Payment – A portion of a monthly payment that covers the escrow or impound account for purposes of taxes and insurance.

Mortgage – A legal document that pledges a property to the lender as security for payment of a debt. Instead of mortgages, some states use First Trust Deeds.

Mortgage (Open-End) – A mortgage that allows additional money to be borrowed without the obligation to refinance the loan or pay additional finance charges. The amount borrowed must not exceed the original loan amount.

Mortgage Balance – See Principal Balance.

Mortgage Banker – A company that originates mortgages exclusively for resale in the secondary mortgage market.

Mortgage Broker – An individual or company that brings borrowers and lenders together for the purpose of loan origination. Mortgage brokers typically require a fee or a commission for their services.

Mortgagee – The lender in a mortgage agreement.

Mortgage Insurance – A contract that insures the lender against loss caused by a mortgagor’s default on a government mortgage or conventional mortgage. Mortgage insurance can be issued by a private company or by a government agency such as the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). Depending on the type of mortgage insurance, the insurance may cover a percentage of or virtually all of the mortgage loan. See private mortgage insurance (MI).

Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP) – The amount paid by a mortgagor for mortgage insurance, either to a government agency such as the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or to a private mortgage insurance (MI) company.

Mortgage Loan – A loan that is secured by a mortgage lien against a real property.

Mortgage Life and Disability Insurance – A type of term life insurance often bought by borrowers. The amount of coverage decreases as the principal balance declines. Some policies also cover the borrower in the event of disability. In the event that the borrower dies while the policy is in force, the debt is automatically satisfied by insurance proceeds. In the case of disability insurance, the insurance will make the mortgage payment for a specified amount of time during the disability. Be careful to read the terms of coverage, however, because often the coverage does not start immediately upon the disability, but after a specified period, sometime forty-five days.

Mortgage-Interest Deduction – A tax deduction that the Internal Revenue Service allows most owners to claim. Under this deduction, owners may deduct annual interest payments made on real estate loans.

Mortgagee – The lender in a mortgage agreement.

Mortgagor -The borrower in a mortgage agreement.

Multi-dwelling Units – Properties that provide separate housing units for more than one family, although they secure only a single mortgage.

Multifamily Mortgage -A residential mortgage on a dwelling that is designed to house more than four families, such as a high-rise apartment complex.