Addendum - additional material attached to and made part of a document.

Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) - broad term for a loan with rates and terms that can change.

Agent - one authorized to represent and act on behalf of another person (called the principal).

Amortization - the gradual repayment or retiring of debt by means of systematic payments.

Appraisal - the process of developing and communicating an opinion about a property's value.

Closing - the consumation of a real estate transaction, when the seller delivers title to the buyer in exchange for payment of the purchase price.

Community Property - property ownership based on the theory that each spouse has an equal interst in the property aquired by the efforts of either spouse during marriage.

Comparables - recently sold properties that are similar to a particular property being evaluated.

Contingency - a provision in a contract that requires the completion of a certain act or happening before that contract is binding.

Contract - a legally enforceable agreement between competent parties.

Deed - a written instrument by which a property owner conveys or transfers his ownership interest.

Default - the nonperformance of aduty or obligation that is part of a contract.

Easement - a nonpossessory property interest that one party has in land owned by another party.

Encumbrance - any claim, lien, charge or liability attached to and binding on real property that may lessen its value or impair the use of the property.

Escrow - the process by which money or documents are held by a third party until satisfaction of the terms of the escrow instructions has been achieved.

Fixed Rate Loan - a loan with the same rate of interest for the life of the loan.

Fixture - an article that was once personal property but has been so afixxed to real estate that it has become real property.

Home Equity Loan - a loan or credit line that is secured by the equity the borrower has in a home.

Improvements - valuable additions made to property that are intended to enhance the value of the property or extend the useful life.

Interest - the sum paid or accrues in return for the use of money.

Joint Tenancy - an interest in real estate that is owned by two or more parties with rights of survivorship.

Lease - an agreement transferring the right to exclusive possession and use of real estate for a definite period of time.

Lien - a charge or claim that one party has on the property of another as security for a debt or obligation.

Loan To Value (LTV) - the ratio of a mortgage loan principal to the property's appraised value or its sales price, whichever is lower.

Market Value - the most probable price a property should bring in a competitive and open market.

Mortgage - a legal document used to secure the performance of an obligation.

Offer - a promise by one party to act or perform in a specified manner, provided the other party acts or performs in the manner requested.

Option - an agreement to keep open, for a set period, an offer to sell or lease real property.

Personal Property - things that are tangible and movable; property that is not classified as real property.

PITI - abbreviation for principal, interest, taxes and insurance.

Points - a one time charge paid for the use of money.

Principal - one of the main parties to a transaction.

Property Tax - a tax levied on real or personal property

Real Property - the physical land, above and below the surface, including all attachments and improvements.

Short Sale - a sale of secured real property that produces less money than is owed to the lender.

Survey - the on-site measurement of lot lines, dimensions and position of improvements on land.

Tenants In Common - a form of concurrent ownership of propery in which each has an undivided interest in the whole property.

Title - the right to or ownership of land; the evidence of ownership.