Click Here to View the REIhomesales Investor WordPress Theme Demo

This demo shows you what your site will look like when you first install the theme and content/forms pack. If you are thinking “I don’t need all those pages”, all you need to do is turn off the undesired pages in your WordPress admin. We include them all so you can choose what you want on your site and you can mix and match page combinations to create multiple site that focus on various topics. For instance, you can have one site that is just for wholesaling, and one for buying and selling houses. Or you could have one for buying, one for selling, one for wholesaling, and one for lending. Or you can just have one site that shows all of these things… the possiblities are endless.

You can also edit any content on any page. The content we provide is simply to get you up and running quickly. We reccomend re-writing all of the pages in your own words. Re-writing the pages will help your site rank better on search engines as well as provide your users with a more personalized message. You can also edit all forms and the questions they ask, as well as all of the auto confirmation email messages (You must have the cformsII plugin installed to use the forms).

We have designed many many sites for all types of real estate investors. With this theme and content pack, we tried to include everything any investor has asked us to include on their site. With a super easy setup and the ability to edit any of the content at any time, we feel that we have most of your needs covered…. and its all free. The things it doesnt’ have, we are probably already developing .

At REIhomesales and REItrainer, we are dedicated to your success. these powerful free products can seriously increase your business’s exposure. If you need any help or have any questions about using the theme or content pack. Please post a comment on this post in case anyone else has the same question.

we have some really awesome updates to the theme in develelpment right now, so make sure to subscribe to the news feed to get notified when we release the update.

REIhomesales Investor Theme

A lot has been happening at REItrainer.com. A few weeks ago, we added a new section to REItrainer.com to focus on using WordPress for real estate investing. We also updated the site’s look and began offering our free WordPress themes designed just for real estate investors. In the short time since the update, we have gotten a lot of great feedback and made many improvements to our WordPress themes for real estate investors. We also added a few new resources unlike anything we have seen out there. The best part… as usual, everything is FREE.

The most exciting new item that I want to mention is the new WordPress Investor Theme. The new theme takes the core functionality of our original HomeBuyer theme and combines it with a bunch of new features to make the ultimate WordPress Theme for real estate investors. This new theme allows you to generate any type of real estate investor leads. It can be easily customized to focus on home buyer, home seller, wholesale buyer, private money lender, or any other type of real estate leads… or you can use it to generate them all on one site!

Easily add iconic links to your social network site profiles like Facebook, Twitter, Myspace, LinkedIn, YouTube and more with our new social network integration features.

Add Google Adsense ads, or any other ads, quickly and easily with our easy to use theme admin controls. You can also add Google Analyitics, YouTube videos or playlists, as well as easy to set up forms from our new REIhomesales WordPress Form Pack presets. It also now has the ability to generate squeeze pages super easily to allow you to capture any type of real estate leads or sell any product that you want to sell.

At REIcreator, we have built many websites for real estate investors, and this theme seriously has everything a real estate investor could need on their website. All built in, and all for free. To learn more about this fantastic website solution for real estate investing, you can visit REItrainer.com and read all about it.

Once you see the theme, you might think we are crazy for giving it away for free, but just wait until you see what else we are now offering on REItrainer.com. We are now giving away easy to install page content presets for WordPress that contain all of the basic page structure and content needed for any type of real estate investor website. Combined with our awesome FREE WordPress themes, the REIhomesales WordPress Content Pack for Real Estate Investors creates a fully functional, easy to edit real estate investor website with all the pages and content you need to get your site online in lightning speed. Once you have a WordPress site and our Investor Theme installed, simply import the Content Pack Page Preset file, and it will automatically fill in all the pages and content for you.

You might think that we couldn’t give away anything cooler… but we have even more to give. On top of the theme, and the full content pack, we are now offering pre-written form presets to use with the theme and the cForms II plugin. This allows you to add any type of lead generation form that a real estate investor site could need. The presets have everything including the forms themselves, pre-written auto responder messages, the ability to store form data in your WordPress database and they email you automatically every time someone fills out a form on your site.

With the REIhomesales Investor WordPress Theme, the WordPress Content Pack and Form Pack, you can put together any type of real estate site you want. You can set it up in different configurations to generate specific types of leads, or you can leave all the features turned on to create a full featured real estate website for you business.

On top of all these new products, we also added a nice new section to tell you all how to use and set up all of our new WordPress products. We go through the set up process step by step, telling you all you need to know to get your site set up in no time. We also added a new help form to REItrainer.com for anyone to ask us anything about our themes, our content, our form presets, or anything else about using WordPress for real estate investor websites, or anything about real estate marketing. At REItrainer, we are serious about creating ground-breaking tools for real estate investors and we give almost everything away for free… for real.

If our new products and support don’t make it easy enough for you, don’t forget that we offer full WordPress setup and hosting solutions at very competitive prices. Ask us about how we can help you turn your site into a lead generating machine for next to nothing. Not only do we know how to make a truly effective website for any business, we specialize in creating websites for generating real estate leads. Don’t waste your time or money on generic web designers that don’t know the real estate business, or website systems built by real estate gurus that don’t know how to make websites… at REItrainer.com we have everything you need, and all of our products are FREE.

It isn’t hard to figure out that there are record numbers of foreclosures, short sales, REOs (real estate owned properties), wholesale properties, rehab properties, commercial properties and many other types of discounted properties out there for the taking right now but many investors would rather not go through all of the steps involved with the purchase and sale of foreclosures, short sales, REOs (real estate owned properties), wholesale properties, rehab properties, commercial properties and many other types of discounted properties… and understandably so.

Many investors don’t realize this, but the guys that everyone considers to be “real estate investors” are constantly in need of outside funding in order to secure the deed on all of these foreclosures, short sales, REOs (real estate owned properties), wholesale properties, rehab properties, commercial properties and many other types of discounted properties and are able to pay out very healthy returns to private investors that loan them “private money”.

Of course we don’t recommend just going out and giving a private loan to any Joe off the street that claims that he can “flip a house”, but there are many real estate investors and real estate investing companies out there that are very honest and can pay out up to 25% returns on these private loans. These types of investments can be very lucrative and now is a better time than ever to get into private money lending.

With the current state of the housing market, we are seeing all time low prices on all kinds of foreclosures , short sales, REOs (real estate owned properties), wholesale properties, rehab properties, commercial properties and many other types of discounted properties. By having private money lenders in place, it allows the real estate investor to have more buying power and allows them to purchase properties at very low prices and allows them the ability to pay very nice interest rates.

Most people automatically think, “how can I trust this guy with my private money?”. Of course that is the most important question. The answer to this question is what makes private lending so great. Normally when you loan a real estate investor private money, the deed from the property is actually put into the private money lender’s name until the property is resold at a hefty profit. The real estate investor then pays the private loan back along with the percentage of return that was agreed upon.

Of course, as with any investment, there are risks so we recommend that you thoroughly research whoever it is that you intend on giving a private loan to, but investing in private money loans for real estate is a fantastic alternative to the stock market as well as an easy way to take advantage of the great deals in real estate without all the headaches.

At REIcreator.com, we currently use WordPress on a few of our sites for a few different reasons. Although we develop websites ourselves, we found that WordPress came almost all of the functionality we needed for our blog. Rather than “reinvent the wheel” or use some other CMS like joomla or tridian, we decided on using WordPress to manage our real estate investing blog site, REItrainer.com.

By using WordPress, we had our site up and running in a matter of hours. I was able to design a custom theme and fill it up with our old articles in no time. After it was set up, I was able to give access directly to my writers and they are now able to easily post articles and pages without having a web designer or developer involved. They don’t really even really need to know anything about websites. All they need to do is write words. WordPress allows me to give them an “author” account, so they can write all they want and all I have to do is hit “approve” and it goes live on the website. You can set these approval setting however you want, I just like to have the final say on what goes online so I set it to give me that control.

Once the article is posted, WordPress allows people to post comments about your articles on your site. You can turn this off if you want but by having people comment on your articles, it looks good for your site and helps you gain rank on search engines. The reason for this gain in rank is due to the fact that search engines love new content. If people are commenting on your articles, your article is continuously getting updated as far as google is concerned. I have our comments set up so that I get to approve them before they actually go live on the site. This allows me to filter out the spam.

The comments settings are one of many simple settings in the WordPress control panel. In this easy to use admin, I am able to easily add and edit user accounts, add and edit articles, add and edit pages and much more. It is set up pretty nice right out of the box. A person with hardly any technical knowledge of the internet can be blogging and editing web pages in no time. If you have ever posted a blog or a comment on a website, you can manage a WordPress site.

To get a WordPress site set up, you will probably have to enlist the help of someone with some web site developing experience, but it will be the best money you ever spent. You can usually get someone to set it up for you for a few hundred dollars or less. If you pay for a web host, you are looking at around $10 a month or so, and around $8 per year for the actual purchase of your web site’s address. So, depending on how much your developers charge to install it, you could end up only having to spend a little over $100 a year to have a super easy to use and easy to update website. I forgot to mention that the actual WordPress application is totally free. All you have to ever pay for is setup, hosting , optional customizations (and sometimes help).

Of course, at REIcreator.com we can service all of your WordPress needs from simple WordPress installations to supercharged custom WordPress plugins and custom WordPress themes. Below are a few examples of WordPress sites that REIcreator.com has designed. These sites have a little more to them than just the basics, but they are still examples of very affordable websites that anyone can easily update.

http://CMYatesNews.com

This site is real estate investor and private money expert, Chris Yates’s video blog powered by WordPress. It utilizes a few addons and customizations such as the youtube video playlist, twitter feeds and others. The forms are made with infusion CRM and just needed some styling to plug them in nicely. The main appeal for using WordPress here is the fact that it is basically a blog. Chris is able to easily update and add pages, articles, blogs, events, videos, products for sale, tweets, and more… and he never has to wait for a developer to get around to updating his page.

http://CMYatesCapital.com

After seeing how easy it was to update his news page himself, Chris Yates had us rebuild his main private money lending website on the WordPress format. We were able to copy his existing site onto a WordPress and make it a lot prettier in a matter of a few hours. Now he automatically has a blog installed and he now has the ability to edit any page, add a page whenever he wants without the help of a developer. This saves so much of a few different people’s time and in turn saves him a ton of money.

http://REItrainer.com

This is our original WordPress site. We set this site up simply to allow anyone to write articles for us and allow them to post them on the site without taking up our valuable development time. It is pretty basic as far as the structure of the site. There are some great articles for getting started in real estate investing, Property Wholesaling, Private Money Lending, Buying and Selling Houses, Rent to Own and more. It also has a great real estate glossary on there.

There are so many ways to use a WordPress website to benefit your real estate investing business. This article is just the tip of the iceberg. I didn’t realize how huge the post would get in such a small amount of time, so I will probably need to make this into a series of posts. There is so much you can do to benefit your real estate business with a WordPress site. Once you get it set up, the sky is the limit. I will get more in depth on some more specific WordPress topics in my future posts. I will talk about using WordPress sites in different areas of your real estate investing business, such as marketing to home buyers and home sellers, generating private money, building wholesale buyers lists, using adsense and other banner programs, affiliate programs, selling ebooks and products and I am sure I will come up with even more topics.

You can easily do all of these things and more with a WordPress site and many people can figure out how to put all of these things into action after they get their site and tinker around with it a bit. Please feel free to post questions in the comments on this page and I will answer them so everyone can see.

Why Private Money?

Whether you have a long term or short term real estate investment strategy, private money lending is the single best way to fund the growth of your real estate portfolio. Private money lending works the same way as borrowing money from a bank, but the bank is a private individual with little or no stringent lending criteria who simply receives a Note and Deed of Trust or Mortgage (depending on the state you are investing in) in exchange for funding your deal.

Private money lenders can bring speed and efficiency to your transaction by asking fewer questions and moving money faster. Being able to offer a fast closing with private funds will motivate sellers to take your offer over your competition, and will entice them to take a much lower price from you than they would from a conventional buyer.

Low Costs, Flexible Terms:

Private Money Loans are very cost effective, with rates usually ranging from no points and 8% interest, to 3 points and 15%. Pricing and terms should vary depending on the overall risk associated with the deal. Private money lenders can provide various types of funding starting with “flash cash” (when you only need funds for a few days) to longer term notes as long as 5 years or more. Lenders may elect to receive interest payments monthly, quarterly, annually, or at the time of loan maturity.

Transaction fees on Private Money Loans are much lower than most as private money lenders do not have underwriters, processors, etc. on staff, and do not require nearly as much paperwork as conventional or government-backed loans.

Why you should protect them, and how:

As a professional real estate investor, you will want to protect the interests of your private money lenders as well as your own. We suggest providing them with the following documents to secure their investment capital:

• Promissory Note
• This is your lender’s collateral for their investment capital
• Deed of Trust, or Mortgage (varies based on state)
• This is the document that is recorded with the county clerk and recorder to publicly secure their investment against the real property that you areas as collateral
• Hazard Insurance Policy
• List the Private Moeny Lender as the “Mortgagee” to protect them in case of fire or natural disaster, etc.
• Appraisal (optional)
• Many private money lenders will simply research the value of a property online before making an investment decision. As many of your acquisitions will be properties that require significant renovation, an appraisal may not be necessary to establish value if your purchase price is obviously well below market. If a private money lender does require an appraisal, be sure to give the appraiser a copy of your renovation scope of work with total renovation cost and ask the appraiser for an ARV (after repaired value) figure on the appraisal.

100% financing still exists!

Private money lenders rarely require a down payment from you and may fund both your purchase and renovation of the property, or more! In many instances, we have purchased a property so far below market value that our lenders have actually funded our purchase of the property, all the renovation costs, AND allowed us to receive cash at the purchase closing to put towards our operating expenses and receive an initial profit up front.

This sounds great, but where do I find these private money lenders?

Private money lenders can be family members, friends, business partners, professional or personal acquaintances, attorneys, accountants, business owners, or strangers. Anyone that you come into contact with could be a potential private money lender for your real estate investment deals.

What’s in it for them?

Fixed returns on their capital providing better profits than almost all other investment vehicles, secured by real assets at below market value, insured against fire, theft, vandalism, and natural disasters, and the ability to do all of this completely tax-free within their retirement accounts if they desire.Need we say more?

Where do the funds come from?

The first seven strategies we will cover in this e-book highlight sources that private lenders can tap in order to take advantage of the incredible investment opportunities that you are about to open up for them.

To read the rest of ”21 Ways To Finance Your Real Estate Deals…Without Using Your Own Cash or Credit” By:Chris Yates, and learn about other private money lending and real estate investing strategies, visit CMYatesnews.com and purchase the ebook.You can also visit CMYatesCapital.com to learn even more about private money lending and how to begin earning great returns on your investment through private money lending to real estate investors.

Abstract of Title – A summary of all recorded proceedings and investments that affect a property’s title.

Accelerated Cost Recovery System – A tax calculation that provides greater depreciation in the early years of ownership of real estate or personal property.

Acceleration Clause - A clause in your mortgage which allows the lender to demand payment of the outstanding loan balance for various reasons. The most common reasons for accelerating a loan are if the borrower defaults on the loan or transfers title to another individual without informing the lender.

Acceptance – An offeree’s consent to enter into a contract and be bound by the terms of the offer.

Accrued Interest – Earned but unpaid interest.

Accumulated Depreciation – In accounting, the amount of depreciation expense that has accumulated to date.

Acknowledgment - A declaration by a document’s signer that he or she voluntarily signed the document, made before a duly authorized person.

Acquisition Cost - The price and all fees required to purchase a property.

Acquisition Loan - Money which is borrowed for the specific purpose of buying a property.

Acre - A two-dimensional measure of land that is equal to 43,560 square feet or 4,840 square yards.

Addendum – An additional article or provision which has been attached to an existing contract.

Additional Principal Payment – A payment by a borrower of more than the scheduled principal amount due in order to reduce the remaining balance on the loan.

Adjoining – Land which is attached, contiguous, or shares one or more borders.

Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) – A mortgage in which the interest changes periodically, according to corresponding fluctuations in an index. All ARMs are tied to indexes.

Adjusted Basis – The original cost of a property plus the value of any capital expenditures for improvements to the property minus any depreciation taken.

Adjusted Cost Basis – See Adjusted Basis.

Adjusted Tax Basis – The original cost of the property, reduced by depreciation deductions and increased by capital expenditures.

Adjustment Date – The date on which the interest rate changes for an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM).

Adjustment Period – The period that elapses between the adjustment dates for an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM).

Administrator – A person appointed by a court to administer the estate of a deceased person who left no will.

Administrator’s Deed – A legal document used to transfer property by the administrator of an estate.

Adverse Possession – A method of acquiring a property when an occupant has been in legal occupancy of the property for a set period of time (variable by state).

Affidavit – a written statement, sworn to or affirmed before a legally authorized officer or agent.

Affordability Analysis – A detailed analysis of your ability to afford the purchase of a home. An affordability analysis takes into consideration your income, liabilities, and available funds, along with the type of mortgage you plan to use, the area where you want to purchase a home, and the closing costs that you might expect to pay.

Agency – the relationship between a principal and his agent as defined by a contract in which the principal asks the agent to perform certain deeds on behalf of the principal.

Agreement for Deed – see Contract for Deed.

Alienation – to transfer title and possession of property to another party.

All Inclusive Trust Deed – An all inclusive trust deed is identical to a wraparound mortgage. It is used in states that use trust deeds instead of mortgages.

Amenity – A feature of real property that enhances its attractiveness and increases the occupant’s or user’s satisfaction although the feature is not essential to the property’s use. Natural amenities include a pleasant or desirable location near water, scenic views of the surrounding area, etc. Human-made amenities include swimming pools, tennis courts, community buildings, and other recreational facilities.

Amortization – The gradual repayment of a mortgage loan by installments.

Amortized Loan – a loan that is repaid in several installments, each containing a portion used to reduce the principal amount of the loan and a portion that is applied to pay interest. Each payment designates a larger portion to principal reduction and a smaller portion to interest payment, until the outstanding balance is eventually paid off in full.

Amortization Term – The amount of time required to amortize the mortgage loan. The amortization term is expressed as a number of months. For example, for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, the amortization term is 360 months.

Amortization Schedule – A table which shows how much of each payment will be applied toward principal and how much toward interest over the life of the loan. It also shows the gradual decrease of the loan balance until it reaches zero.
Amortize – To repay a mortgage with regular payments that cover both principal and interest.

Annual Cap – the maximum amount by which the interest rate on an adjustable rate mortgage can increase or decrease during a one-year period.

Annual Mortgagor Statement – A report sent to the mortgagor each year. The report shows how much was paid in taxes and interest during the year, as well as the remaining mortgage loan balance at the end of the year.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR) -This is not the note rate on your loan. It is a value created according to a government formula intended to reflect the true annual cost of borrowing, expressed as a percentage. It works sort of like this, but not exactly, so only use this as a guideline: deduct the closing costs from your loan amount, then using your actual loan payment, calculate what the interest rate would be on this amount instead of your actual loan amount. You will come up with a number close to the APR. Because you are using the same payment on a smaller amount, the APR is always higher than the actual note rate on your loan.The Truth-in-Lending Law requires the disclosure of this rate.

Annuity – An amount paid yearly or at other regular intervals, often on a guaranteed dollar basis.

Anticipatory Breach – A preliminary notification that informs one party that the other party will not fulfill the obligations of their original contract.

Application – A form used to apply for a mortgage loan and to record pertinent information concerning a prospective mortgagor and the proposed security.

Appraisal - A written justification of the price paid for a property, primarily based on an analysis of comparable sales of similar homes nearby.
Appraised Value - An opinion of a property’s fair market value, based on an appraiser’s knowledge, experience, and analysis of the property. Since an appraisal is based primarily on comparable sales, and the most recent sale is the one on the property in question, the appraisal usually comes out at the purchase price.
Appraiser – An individual qualified by education, training, and experience to estimate the value of real property and personal property. Although some appraisers work directly for mortgage lenders, most are independent.
Appreciation – An increase in the value of a property due to changes in market conditions or other causes. The opposite of depreciation.
Arrears – Extra payments, such as prior months’ interest or overdue payments in default.
As-Is – A property offered with no guarantees related to its condition
Assessed Value -The valuation placed on property by a public tax assessor for purposes of taxation.
Assessment – The process of placing a value on property for the strict purpose of taxation. May also refer to a levy against property for a special purpose, such as a sewer assessment.

Assessment Rolls – The public record of taxable property.

Assessor – A public official who establishes the value of a property for taxation purposes.

Asset – Anything of monetary value that is owned by a person. Assets include real property, personal property, and enforceable claims against others (including bank accounts, stocks, mutual funds, and so on).

Assignee – The party to whom an Assignor sells or transfers an agreement or contract.

Assignment – When ownership of your mortgage is transferred from one company or individual to another, it is called an assignment.

Assignor – The party who assigns or transfers a contract or agreement to another party (the Assignee).

Assumable Mortgage – An existing mortgage in which the new purchaser of a property is made liable for the payments and any other obligations of the note and mortgage. Depending on the type of loan, the new purchaser’s assumption of these obligations may require a process of approval, and may or may not release the original borrower from future liability. A written release from the mortgagee (lender) is required for the original borrower to be relieved of responsibility for the payments.

Assumption -The transfer of the seller’s existing mortgage to the buyer. See assumable mortgage.

Assumption Clause – A provision in an assumable mortgage that allows a buyer to assume responsibility for the mortgage from the seller. The loan does not need to be paid in full by the original borrower upon sale or transfer of the property.

Assumption Fee – The fee paid to a lender (usually by the purchaser of real property) resulting from the assumption of an existing mortgage.

Attorney-In-Fact – One who holds a power of attorney from another to execute documents on behalf of the grantor of the power.

Attornment – The formal agreement of a tenant to be a tenant to a landlord.

Balance – See Principal Balance.

Balance Sheet – A financial statement that shows assets, liabilities, and net worth as of a specific date.

Balloon Loan – A mortgage loan that requires the remaining principal balance be paid at a specific point in time. For example, a loan may be amortized as if it would be paid over a thirty year period, but requires that at the end of the tenth year the entire remaining balance must be paid.

Balloon Payment -Â The final lump sum payment that is made at the maturity date of a balloon mortgage.

Bankrupt – A person, firm, or corporation that, through a court proceeding, is relieved from the payment of all debts after the surrender of all assets to a court-appointed trustee.

Bankruptcy – A proceeding in a federal court in which a debtor who owes more than his or her assets can relieve the debts by transferring his or her assets to a trustee.

Bankruptcy Discharge – After a bankruptcy proceeding is completed, the debtor is released from an obligation to repay his or her debts.

Basis Point – one hundredth of one percent.

Before-Tax Income – Income before taxes are deducted.

Beneficiary -Â The person designated to receive the income from a trust, estate, or a deed of trust.

Bequeath -Â To transfer personal property through a will.

Betterment – An improvement that increases property value as distinguished from repairs or replacements that simply maintain value.

Bilateral Contract – a contract under which both parties are obligated to conduct certain deeds or tasks.

Bill of Sale – A written document that transfers title to personal property. For example, when selling an automobile to acquire funds which will be used as a source of down payment or for closing costs, the lender will usually require the bill of sale (in addition to other items) to help document this source of funds.

Binder – A preliminary agreement, secured by the payment of an earnest money deposit, under which a buyer offers to purchase real estate.

Bird Dog – a person who identifies a beneficial real estate investment opportunity and passes information about the deal on to another investor for a fee.

Biweekly Mortgage – A mortgage in which you make payments every two weeks instead of once a month. The basic result is that instead of making twelve monthly payments during the year, you make thirteen. The extra payment reduces the principal, substantially reducing the time it takes to pay off a thirty year mortgage. Note: there are independent companies that encourage you to set up bi-weekly payment schedules with them on your thirty year mortgage. They charge a set-up fee and a transfer fee for every payment. Your funds are deposited into a trust account from which your monthly payment is then made, and the excess funds then remain in the trust account until enough has accrued to make the additional payment which will then be paid to reduce your principle. You could save money by doing the same thing yourself, plus you have to have faith that once you transfer money to them that they will actually transfer your funds to your lender.

Blanket Insurance Policy – A single policy that covers more than one piece of property (or more than one person).

Blanket Mortgage – a single mortgage that covers multiple properties.

Board Of Equalization – A committee of persons at the state level who ensure that local property taxes are assessed in a uniform manner.

Board of Realtors – A group of real estate professionals who hold membership in the state and national Associations of Realtors.

Bona Fide – In good faith, without fraud.

Bond – An interest-bearing certificate of debt with a maturity date. An obligation of a government or business corporation. A real estate bond is a written obligation usually secured by a mortgage or a deed of trust.

Bond Market - Usually refers to the daily buying and selling of thirty year treasury bonds. Lenders follow this market intensely because as the yields of bonds go up and down, fixed rate mortgages do approximately the same thing. The same factors that affect the Treasury Bond market also affect mortgage rates at the same time. That is why rates change daily, and in a volatile market can and do change during the day as well.

Breach of Contract – a violation of a legal agreement or contract. Also, a default on a loan or other payment.

Bridge Loan – Not used much anymore, bridge loans are obtained by those who have not yet sold their previous property, but must close on a purchase property . The bridge loan becomes the source of their funds for the down payment. One reason for their fall from favor is that there are more and more second mortgage lenders now that will lend at a high loan to value. In addition, sellers often prefer to accept offers from buyers who have already sold their property.

Broker – Broker has several meanings in different situations. Most Realtors are “agents” who work under a “broker.” Some agents are brokers as well, either working for themselves or under another broker. In the mortgage industry, broker usually refers to a company or individual that does not lend the money for the loans themselves, but broker loans to larger lenders or investors. As a normal definition, a broker is anyone who acts as an agent, bringing two parties together for any type of transaction and earns a fee for doing so.

Budget – A detailed plan of income and expenses expected over a certain period of time. A budget can provide guidelines for managing future investments and expenses.

Budget Category – A category of income or expense data that you can use in a budget. You can also define your own budget categories and add them to some or all of the budgets you create. “Rent” is an example of an expense category. “Salary” is a typical income category.

Building Code – Local regulations that control design, construction, and materials used in construction. Building codes are based on safety and health standards.

Building Permit – A statement of permission, in writing, from a local government or agency allowing the recipient to build a particular structure at a particular site.

Bundle of Rights – A group of implied rights in the ownership of any real estate property. These include the owner’s right of occupancy, use and enjoyment, the right to sell in whole or in part, the right to lease any or all of the rights, the right to the benefits derived by occupancy and use of the property, and so on.

Buy Down – Usually refers to a fixed rate mortgage where the interest rate is “bought down” for a temporary period, usually one to three years. After that time and for the remainder of the term, the borrower’s payment is calculated at the note rate. In order to buy down the initial rate for the temporary payment, a lump sum is paid and held in an account used to supplement the borrower’s monthly payment. These funds usually come from the seller (or some other source) as a financial incentive to induce someone to buy their property. A “lender funded buydown” is when the lender pays the initial lump sum. They can accomplish this because the note rate on the loan (after the buydown adjustments) will be higher than the current market rate. One reason for doing this is because the borrower may get to “qualify” at the start rate and can qualify for a higher loan amount. Another reason is that a borrower may expect his earnings to go up substantially in the near future, but wants a lower payment right now.

Buydown Account - An account in which funds are held so that they can be applied as part of the monthly mortgage payment as each payment comes due during the period that an interest rate buydown plan is in effect.

Buydown Mortgage – A temporary buydown is a mortgage on which an initial lump sum payment is made by any party to reduce a borrower’s monthly payments during the first few years of a mortgage. A permanent buydown reduces the interest rate over the entire life of a mortgage.

Cancellation Clause – A stipulation in a contract that gives one or both parties the right to terminate its obligations if a specific condition or event occurs.

Cap – A provision of an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) that limits how much the interest rate or mortgage payments may increase or decrease. See lifetime payment cap, periodic payment cap, and periodic rate cap.

Capital -Â (1) Money used to create income, either as an investment in a business or an income property. (2) The money or property comprising the wealth owned or used by a person or business enterprise. (3) The accumulated wealth of a person or business. (4) The net worth of a business represented by the amount by which its assets exceed liabilities.

Capital Expenditure - The cost of an improvement made to increase the value or a property or extend its useful life, for example, by adding a new room. Costs associated with repair are not a capital expenditure. Capital expenditures are appreciated over their useful life; repairs are subtracted from income for the current year.

Capital Improvement - Any permanent improvement to a structure or component that adds to a real property’s value and useful life. (See Capital Expenditure).

Capitalization (Cap) Rate – The rate of return used to calculate the capital value of an income stream. To find the cap rate, net operating income is divided by annual income.

Carrying Charges – The expenses necessary for holding a property. These may include interest and taxes on an idle property or one under construction.

Cash Flow – The total of all debt service payments subtracted from the net operating income will yield the cash flow. (See definition of “net operating income” below.)

Cash Flow Basis – A calculation that shows when your monthly payment savings will exceed your estimated closing costs and discount points. The cash flow basis does not take into account the tax impact or differences in principal balance reduction between your current loan and refinancing suggestions.

Cash Out – Cash paid to the borrower from the proceeds of a loan. While quite frequently seen in refinancing situations, cash out may also occasionally be seen as a benefit of a small percentage of non-conforming loans used for a purchase.

Cash-Out Refinance -Â A refinance transaction in which the amount of money received from the new loan exceeds the total of the money needed to repay the existing first mortgage, closing costs, points, and the amount required to satisfy any outstanding subordinate mortgage liens. In other words, a refinance transaction in which the borrower receives additional cash that can be used for any purpose.

Caveat Emptor – A Latin phrase meaning, “Let the buyer beware.”

Certificate of Deposit – A document written by a bank or other financial institution that is evidence of a deposit, with the issuer’s promise to return the deposit plus earnings at a specified interest rate within a specified time period.

Certificate of Deposit Index – An index that is used to determine interest rate changes for certain ARM plans. It represents the weekly average of secondary market interest rates on six-month negotiable certificates of deposit. See adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM).

Certificate of Eligibility – A document issued by the federal government certifying a veteran’s eligibility for a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) mortgage.

Certificate of Insurance – A document verifying a policy’s coverage issued by an insurance agency.

Certificate of Occupancy (C.O.) – A document that permits a structure to be occupied by members of the general public. A local government or agency issues this certificate.

Certificate of Reasonable Value (CRV) – Once the appraisal has been performed on a property being bought with a VA loan, the Veterans Administration issues a CRV.

Certificate of Title – A statement provided by an abstract company, title company, or attorney stating that the title to real estate is legally held by the current owner.

Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) – One of several designations awarded by the Realtors National Marketing Institute, an affiliate of the National Association of Realtors.

Certified Residential Broker (CRB) – One of several designations awarded by the Realtors National Marketing Institute, an affiliate of the National Association of Realtors.

Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) - One of several designations awarded by the Realtors National Marketing Institute, an affiliate of the National Association of Realtors.

Chain of Title -Â The history of all of the documents that transfer title to a parcel of real property, starting with the earliest existing document and ending with the most recent.

Change Frequency – The frequency (in months) of payment and/or interest rate changes in an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM).

Chattel – Another name for personal property.

Clear Title – A title that is free of liens or legal questions as to ownership of the property.

Closing - This has different meanings in different states. In some states a real estate transaction is not consider “closed” until the documents record at the local recorders office. In others, the “closing” is a meeting where all of the documents are signed and money changes hands.
Closing Cost – Expenses (over and above the price of the property) incurred by buyers and sellers in transferring ownership of a property. Closing costs normally include an origination fee, an attorney’s fee, taxes, an amount placed in escrow, and charges for obtaining title insurance and a survey. Closing costs percentage will vary according to the area of the country; lenders or realtors® often provide estimates of closing costs to prospective homebuyers.

Closing Cost Item – A fee or amount that a home buyer must pay at closing for a single service, tax, or product. Closing costs are made up of individual closing cost items such as origination fees and attorney’s fees. Many closing cost items are included as numbered items on the HUD-1 statement.

Closing Date – The seller delivers the deed and the buyer pays for the property on this date.

Closing Statement – An accounting of funds for a real estate transaction. This may also be known as a HUD-1.

Cloud on Title -Â Any conditions revealed by a title search that adversely affect the title to real estate. Usually clouds on title cannot be removed except by a quitclaim deed, release, or court action.

Co-borrower – An additional individual who is both obligated on the loan and is on title to the property.

Coinsurance – A sharing of insurance risk between the insurer and the insured. Coinsurance depends on the relationship between the amount of the policy and a specified percentage of the actual value of the property insured at the time of the loss.

Coinsurance Clause – A provision in a hazard insurance policy that states the amount of coverage that must be maintained — as a percentage of the total value of the property — for the insured to collect the full amount of a loss.

Collateral – An asset (such as a car or a home) that guarantees the repayment of a loan. The borrower risks losing the asset if the loan is not repaid according to the terms of the loan contract.

Collection -The efforts used to bring a delinquent mortgage current and to file the necessary notices to proceed with foreclosure when necessary.
Collectors Deed – The holder of the Certificate of Purchase may apply for and receive a Collectors Deed to the property in the event that the property has not been redeemed during a one-year redemption period.

Co-maker – A person who signs a promissory note along with the borrower. A co-maker’s signature guarantees that the loan will be repaid, because the borrower and the co-maker are equally responsible for the repayment. See endorser.

Combined Loan-to-Value (CLTV) – The total of all loans, stated as a percentage of the value of a property. For example, if a property is valued at $100,000 and has three loans totaling $125,000, the CLTV is 125% ($125,000 : $100,000).

Commission – The fee charged by a broker or agent for negotiating a real estate or loan transaction. A commission is generally a percentage of the price of the property or loan.

Commitment – The notification that a lender has approved a loan. Virtually all commitments are issued on condition of a list of requirements that must be satisfied prior to funding actually taking place. Conditions may include but are not limited to appraisals of a certain value, a clean title, verification of representations by the borrower, and so on.

Commitment Letter – A formal offer by a lender stating the terms under which it agrees to lend money to a home buyer. Also known as a “loan commitment.”

Common Area Assessments – Levies against individual unit owners in a condominium or planned unit development (PUD) project for additional capital to defray homeowners’ association costs and expenses and to repair, replace, maintain, improve, or operate the common areas of the project.

Common Areas – Those portions of a building, land, and amenities owned (or managed) by a planned unit development (PUD) or condominium project’s homeowners’ association (or a cooperative project’s cooperative corporation) that are used by all of the unit owners, who share in the common expenses of their operation and maintenance. Common areas include swimming pools, tennis courts, and other recreational facilities, as well as common corridors of buildings, parking areas, means of ingress and egress, etc.

Common Law – An unwritten body of law based on general custom in England and used to an extent in the United States.

Community Home Improvement Mortgage Loan® – An alternative financing option that allows low- and moderate-income home buyers to obtain 95 percent financing for the purchase and improvement of a home in need of modest repairs. The repair work can account for as much as 30 percent of the appraised value.

Community Land Trust Mortgage Loan – An alternative financing option that enables low- and moderate-income home buyers to purchase housing that has been improved by a nonprofit Community Land Trust and to lease the land on which the property stands.

Community Property – In some western and southwestern states, a form of ownership under which property acquired during a marriage is presumed to be owned jointly unless acquired as separate property of either spouse.

Community Seconds® – An alternative financing option for low- and moderate-income households under which an investor purchases a first mortgage that has a subsidized second mortgage behind it. The second mortgage may be issued by a state, county, or local housing agency, foundation, or nonprofit organization. Payment on the second mortgage is often deferred and carries a very low interest rate (or no interest rate at all). Part of the debt may be forgiven incrementally for each year the buyer remains in the home.

Comparables - An abbreviation for “comparable properties”; used for comparative purposes in the appraisal process. Comparables are properties like the property under consideration; they have reasonably the same size, location, and amenities and have recently been sold. Comparables help the appraiser determine the approximate fair market value of the subject property.

Comparable Sales – Recently sold properties that will be compared with a property being appraised for the purpose of determining the value of the property in question. When appraising a city property, comparable sales must have the same use as the property being appraised, and many similarities in the size of the house, size of the lot, amenities, etc. and be in the same neighborhood and have been sold in the recent past (usually no more than six months) to someone who is not a friend or relation. The comparable property must also be located within one mile of the subject property. More liberal standards will apply for rural property and some suburban properties. However, the value assigned to the subject property will be more accurate the more similar the comparable sales are to the subject property. Lenders will often compensate for the less precise nature of rural appraised values by allowing only lower loan-to-value ratios than those in urban settings, usually 10% lower. (See definition of “loan-to-value” below.)

Compound Interest – Interest paid on the original principal balance and on the accrued and unpaid interest.

Condemnation – The determination that a building is not fit for use or is dangerous and must be destroyed; the taking of private property for a public purpose through an exercise of the right of eminent domain.

Conditions, Covenants, and Restrictions (CCR’s) – promises written into deeds and other instruments agreeing to performance or nonperformance of certain acts, or requiring or prohibiting certain uses of the property.

Condominium – A real estate project in which each unit owner has title to a unit in a building, an undivided interest in the common areas of the project, and sometimes the exclusive use of certain limited common areas.

Condominium Conversion – Changing the ownership of an existing building (usually a rental project) to the condominium form of ownership.

Condominium Hotel - A condominium project that has rental or registration desks, short-term occupancy, food and telephone services, and daily cleaning services and that is operated as a commercial hotel even though the units are individually owned.

Conforming Loan – A loan which meets the strict underwriting criteria and guideless of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA or VA loans. These are typically low-interest rate loans with very good terms. (See definitions of “Fannie Mae”, “Freddie Mac”, “FHA”, “VA” and “underwriting” below.).

Consideration – Anything of value given to induce a party to enter into a contract.

Construction Loan – A short-term, interim loan for financing the cost of construction. The lender makes payments to the builder at periodic intervals as the work progresses.

Consumer Reporting Agency (or Bureau) – An organization that prepares reports that are used by lenders to determine a potential borrower’s credit history. The agency obtains data for these reports from a credit repository as well as from other sources.

Contiguous – Two sides that actually touch and/or share a common boundary.

Contingency – A condition that must be met before a contract is legally binding. For example, home purchasers often include a contingency that specifies that the contract is not binding until the purchaser obtains a satisfactory home inspection report from a qualified home inspector.

Contract – An oral or written agreement to do or not to do a certain thing.

Contract For Deed - a real estate installment selling arrangement whereby the buyer may use and occupy the land or property, but no deed is actually given by the seller until all or part of the sale price (specified in the contract) has been paid. Same as land contract.

Contractor – A person who provides specific goods or services under the terms of a contract.

Conventional Mortgage – Refers to home loans other than government loans (VA and FHA).Conversion – the act of changing a property to a different use or type of ownership.

Convertibility Clause – A provision in some adjustable-rate mortgages (ARMs) that allows the borrower to change the ARM to a fixed-rate mortgage at specified timeframes after loan origination.

Convertible ARM – An adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) that can be converted to a fixed-rate mortgage under specified conditions.

Convey – The act of transferring a title to another party.

Cooperative (co-op) – A type of multiple ownership in which the residents of a multiunit housing complex own shares in the cooperative corporation that owns the property, giving each resident the right to occupy a specific apartment or unit.

Cooperative Corporation – A business trust entity that holds title to a cooperative project and grants occupancy rights to particular apartments or units to shareholders through proprietary leases or similar arrangements.

Cooperative Mortgages – Mortgages related to a cooperative project. This usually refers to the multifamily mortgage covering the entire project but occasionally describes the share loans on the individual units.

Cooperative Project – A residential or mixed-use building wherein a corporation or trust holds title to the property and sells shares of stock representing the value of a single apartment unit to individuals who, in turn, receive a proprietary lease as evidence of title.

Corporate Relocation – Arrangements under which an employer moves an employee to another area as part of the employer’s normal course of business or under which it transfers a substantial part or all of its operations and employees to another area because it is relocating its headquarters or expanding its office capacity.

Cost of Funds Index (COFI) – An index that is used to determine interest rate changes for certain adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) plans. It represents the weighted-average cost of savings, borrowings, and advances of the 11th District members of the Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco. See adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM).

Counteroffer – The act of rejecting an offer, but making an immediate new offer in its place.

Covenant - A clause in a mortgage that obligates or restricts the borrower and that, if violated, can result in foreclosure.

Creative Financing – Refers to any financing arrangement other a traditional mortgage supplied by a third party institution.

Credit -An agreement in which a borrower receives something of value in exchange for a promise to repay the lender at a later date.

Credit History -A record of an individual’s open and fully repaid debts. A credit history helps a lender to determine whether a potential borrower has a history of repaying debts in a timely manner.

Credit Life Insurance -A type of insurance often bought by mortgagors because it will pay off the mortgage debt if the mortgagor dies while the policy is in force.

Credit Line – A loan that allows revolving use of the credit. After the borrower repays borrowed funds, he or she may borrow funds again without needing to apply for a new loan. There is usually an established limit of available credit and some or all of the available funds can be optionally disbursed at closing. Undisbursed funds are available for the borrower’s use at any time. Payments are required only on the outstanding balance. A credit line resembles a credit card except that the borrower usually uses checks to access the funds. Credit lines are inexpensive and useful tools for investors.

Creditor - A person to whom money is owed.

Credit Report – A report of an individual’s credit history prepared by a credit bureau and used by a lender in determining a loan applicant’s creditworthiness. See merged credit report.

Credit Repository – An organization that gathers, records, updates, and stores financial and public records information about the payment records of individuals who are being considered for credit.

Debt – An amount owed to another.

Debt Coverage Ratio (DCR) – A ratio that is used to underwrite loans for income producing property. To calculate DCR, divide net operating income by total debt service. Ratios of at least 1.10 are generally required, with ratios of 1.20 and higher considered the norm. (See definition of “underwriting” below.).

Debt Ratio (DR, D:I) – Also known as debt to income. The ratio of the total of minimum monthly debt payments to gross monthly income. If a person’s minimum monthly payments on a credit card, auto lease, and mortgage (PITI) were $30, $220 and $750 respectively, and his/her gross monthly income was $3000, his or her debt ratio would be calculated as 33.33%. Non-fixed payments for things such as food, utilities, medical bills, and entertainment are not included in the calculation. However, contractual obligations such as a lease are included. The housing ratio in this example would be 25% ($750 / $3000). Preferred candidates for loans usually have debt ratios of 28% or less for housing, and 36% or less in total. The maximum ratios that lenders will allow are generally around 30% housing and 40% total, though lenders may consider extenuating circumstances when making their decision. Confirming loans such as FHA and VA loans allow a total of approximately 41%, while non-conforming loans sometimes allow total debt ratios as high as 55%.

Decree – an order issued from an authority; for example, a court order.

Deed – The legal document conveying title to a property.

Deed-in-Lieu – A deed given by a mortgagor to the mortgagee to satisfy a debt and avoid foreclosure. Also called a “voluntary conveyance.”

Deed of Trust -The document used in some states instead of a mortgage; title is conveyed to a trustee.

Deed Restriction – see Conditions, Covenants, and Restrictions.

Default – Failure to make mortgage payments on a timely basis or to comply with other requirements of a mortgage. Defeasance – A clause in a mortgage that gives the borrower the right to redeem the property after default by paying the entire debt plus any additional fees incurred.

Deferred Maintenance – Physical depreciation of a property due to lack of normal upkeep.

Deferred Payments – Payments that will be made at a date in the future.

Deficiency Judgment – A court order stating that the borrower is still obligated to repay a certain amount of money. Used when a loan’s security does not completely cover a defaulted debt.

Delinquency – Failure to make mortgage payments when mortgage payments are due. For most mortgages, payments are due on the first day of the month. Even though they may not charge a “late fee” for a number of days, the payment is still considered to be late and the loan delinquent. When a loan payment is more than 30 days late, most lenders report the late payment to one or more credit bureaus.

Density – The intensity with which land is used.

Density Test – A soil test that is conducted in order to find out whether the surface can support a house or other structure to be built in the future.

Deposit – A sum of money given to bind the sale of real estate, or a sum of money given to ensure payment or an advance of funds in the processing of a loan. See earnest money deposit.

Depreciation – A decline in the value of property; the opposite of appreciation. Depreciation is also an accounting term which shows the declining monetary value of an asset and is used as an expense to reduce taxable income. Since this is not a true expense where money is actually paid, lenders will add back depreciation expense for self-employed borrowers and count it as income.

Depreciation Recapture – A situation in which the owner is required to pay tax at normal rates of income to the extent of the excess accelerated depreciation. This occurs when a party sells real property at a gain and claims accelerated depreciation.

Discount Points – In the mortgage industry, this term is usually used in only in reference to government loans, meaning FHA and VA loans. Discount points refer to any “points” paid in addition to the one percent loan origination fee. A “point” is one percent of the loan amount.

Document Preparation – A fee is often charged to cover the expenses of preparing some of the legal documents that need to be signed at closing, such as the note, mortgage, and truth-in-lending statement.

Dower – The rights of a widow in the property of her husband at his death.

Down Payment – The part of the purchase price of a property that the buyer pays in cash and does not finance with a mortgage..

Draw – an occasional advance of funds.

Due Diligence – The act of carefully checking, reviewing, and verifying all facts and important aspects of a deal before proceeding. In lending, this includes verification of employment, income and savings; obtaining a credit report; review of the appraisal; and status of the title.

Due-on-Sale Provision – A provision in a mortgage that allows the lender to demand repayment in full if the borrower sells the property that serves as security for the mortgage.

Due-on-Transfer Provision – This terminology is usually used for second mortgages. See due-on-sale provision.

Earnest Money – A deposit made by the potential home buyer to show that he or she is serious about buying the house.

Easement – A right of way giving persons other than the owner access to or over a property.

Easement by Necessity – The right of an owner to enter another’s property for a certain necessary purpose.

Easement by Prescription – By meeting certain conditions, an owner may convert continued use of another’s property (for a special purpose) to permanent use.

Effective Age – An appraiser’s estimate of the physical condition of a building. The actual age of a building may be shorter or longer than its effective age.

Effective Gross Income – Normal annual income including overtime that is regular or guaranteed. The income may be from more than one source. Salary is generally the principal source, but other income may qualify if it is significant and stable.

Egress – A method of access and/or exit.

Eminent Domain – The right of a government to take private property for public use upon payment of its fair market value. Eminent domain is the basis for condemnation proceedings.

Employer-Assisted Housing – A special Fannie Mae housing initiative that offers several different ways for employers to work with local lenders to develop plans to assist their employees in purchasing homes.

Encroachment - An improvement that intrudes illegally on another’s property. A building or any part of a building that physically overlaps, intrudes upon, or trespasses upon the property of another. This also may include other fixtures or obstructions on the property that are not actually part of the building.

Encumbrance – Anything that affects or limits the fee simple title to a property, such as mortgages, leases, easements, or restrictions.

Endorser – A person who signs ownership interest over to another party. Contrast with co-maker.

Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) – A federal law that requires lenders and other creditors to make credit equally available without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, or receipt of income from public assistance programs.

Equitable Conversion – a legal doctrine effective in certain states. Equitable conversion laws state that under a contract of sale, buyers and sellers are treated as if a closing has taken place in the sense that the seller in possession is required to take adequate care of the property.

Equitable Title – The interest held by a party who has agreed to purchase a property, but has not yet actually closed the transaction.

Equity -Â A homeowner’s financial interest in a property. Equity is the difference between the fair market value of the property and the amount still owed on its mortgage..

Escheat – In the event that the owner of a property dies without leaving a will and has no legal heirs, ownership of the property will revert to the state.

Escrow -Â An item of value, money, or documents deposited with a third party to be delivered upon the fulfillment of a condition. For example, the deposit by a borrower with the lender of funds to pay taxes and insurance premiums when they become due, or the deposit of funds or documents with an attorney or escrow agent to be disbursed upon the closing of a sale of real estate.

Escrow Account – The account in which a mortgage servicer holds the borrower’s escrow payments prior to paying property expenses.

Escrow Analysis – The periodic examination of escrow accounts to determine if current monthly deposits will provide sufficient funds to pay taxes, insurance, and other bills when due.

Escrow Collections – Funds collected by the servicer and set aside in an escrow account to pay the borrower’s property taxes, mortgage insurance, and hazard insurance.

Escrow Disbursements -The use of escrow funds to pay real estate taxes, hazard insurance, mortgage insurance, and other property expenses as they become due.

Escrow Payment – The portion of a mortgagor’s monthly payment that is held by the servicer to pay for taxes, hazard insurance, mortgage insurance, lease payments, and other items as they become due. Known as “impounds” or “reserves” in some states.

Estate – The ownership interest of an individual in real property. The sum total of all the real property and personal property owned by an individual at time of death.

Estate at Sufferance – A tenant’s unlawful occupancy of a property after his or her lease has expired.

Estate for Life – See Life Estate.

Estate Tax – a tax that is applied to a property left behind by a deceased party. This is subject to certain tax rules that may vary by state.

Estoppel – A doctrine that states that a person may not acknowledge facts as true and later deny them.

Eviction – The lawful expulsion of an occupant from real property.

Examination of Title – The report on the title of a property from the public records or an abstract of the title.

Exchange – Like-kind property that is used in a business or trade or held as an investment may be exchanged without any tax applied to the transaction, subject to certain conditions, under Section 1031 of the IRS Tax Code.

Exclusive Listing -Â A written contract that gives a licensed real estate agent the exclusive right to sell a property for a specified time, but reserving the owner’s right to sell the property alone without the payment of a commission.

Exculpatory Clause – A stipulation in a mortgage that allows a borrower to surrender the property to the lender with no personal liability.

Executor – A person named in a will to administer an estate. The court will appoint an administrator if no executor is named. “Executrix” is the outdated feminine form.