Qualification Ratios

A written document evidencing the lien on a property taken by a lender as security for the repayment of a loan. The term 'mortgage' or 'mortgage loan' is used loosely to refer both to the ...

The interest rate adjusted for intra-year compounding. Because interest on a mortgage is calculated monthly, a 6% mortgage actually has a rate of .5% per month. If there were no principal ...

A mortgage that does not meet the purchase requirements of the two federal agencies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, because it is too large or for other reasons, such as poor credit or ...

The provision of the U.S. tax code that allows homeowners to deduct mortgage interest payments from income before computing taxes. Points and origination fees are also deductible, but not ...

A provision of a loan contract stipulating that if the property is sold the loan balance must be repaid. A mortgage containing a due-on-sale clause is not assumable. This prevents a home ...

To define a home equity line of credit, we can also take a look at how credit cards work. Similarly to credit cards, home equity lines of credit are sources of funds that can be accessed ...

The sum of the monthly mortgage payment, hazard insurance, property taxes, and homeowner association fees. Housing expense is sometimes referred to as PITI, standing for principal, ...

A rate lock, plus an option to reduce the rate if market interest rates decline during the lock period. ...

A computer-driven process for informing the loan applicant very quickly, sometimes within a few minutes, whether the application will be approved, denied, or forwarded to an underwriter. ...