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abstract (of title)
A historical summary of all the recorded transactions that affect the title to the property.  An attorney or a title company will review an abstract of title to determine if there are any problems affecting the title to the property.  All such problems must be cleared before the buyer can be issued a clear and insruable title.

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.

accretion
The addition to land through natural forces like wind or water.  Example: deposit of soil carried by a river

agreement of sale
A written singed agreement between the seller and the purchaser in which the purchaser agrees to buy certian real estate and the seller agrees to sell upon terms of the agreement.  Also known as contract of purchase, purchase agreement, offer and acceptance, earnest mone contract or sales agreement.

acknowledgement
Formal declaration before a public official (typically a Notary Public) that one has signed a document.  Required before recording real estate legal documents, such as deeds of trust.

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.

adjustment date
The date the interest rate changes on an adjustable-rate mortgage

amortization
The loan payment consists of a portion which will be applied to pay the accruing interest on a loan, with the remainder being applied to the principal. Over time, the interest portion decreases as the loan balance decreases, and the amount applied to principal increases so that the loan is paid off (amortized) in the specified time.

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.

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 not rate on your loan.

application
The form used to apply fo