C

Certificate of Title - A written statement furnished by an abstract or title company or an attorney stating that the title to piece of property is legally vested in the present owner.

Certification - The act of showing evidence of ownership or debt

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

Chattel - Anything owned and tangible other than real estate, for example: furniture, automobiles, and jewelry.

Clear Title - Title not encumbered or burdened with defects such as mortgages, unpaid taxes, or underlying liens.

Cloud on Title - Any condition revealed by a title search that adversely affects the title to a property. Usually cloud on title cannot be removed except by a quit claim deed, release or court action.

Collateral - Property pledged as security for a debt.

Commit Waste - To neglect property or allow it to be used in a way that lessens its value.

Consideration- A legal right or promise exchanged for the act, promise or property of another person. For example, in a contract for the purchase of a piece of property, the property itself and the money paid (or promised to be paid) are the considerations made by the property seller and the new property owner, respectively.

Convey - To deed or transfer title to another.

Conveyance - The document, such as deed, lease or mortgage, used to effect a transfer of property.

Covenant - A legally enforceable promise or restriction in a contract. For example, a purchaser on a mortgage, trust deed or land contract may covenant to keep the property in good repair and adequately insured against fire and other casualties. The breach of a covenant usually creates a default and can be the basis for foreclosure.

D

Deed - A written document that conveys or transfers title from one party to another. These are various types of deeds; howevt the two most commonly used are warranty and quit claim.

Deed of Trust - An instrument used in many states in place of mortgage. Legal title to the property is vested in one or me trustees to secure the repayment of the loan.

Default - A failure to perform on one or more of the terms of the note or of the covenants of a mortgage or land contract.

Delinquent Payment - A payment not paid on a specified payment date. For example, if a payment is due on the first day every month and it is not received until the fifth day of the mom that payment is delinquent. If a mortgage, trust deed or land co tract has a 10-day grace period, then a payment would not be considered "delinquent" until the 11th day after the due date.

Devise - A gift of real estate by a will or last testament.

Dispossess - To obtain physical possession of property from a other by due process of law.

Dower- Under common law, the legal right of a wife or child a part of a deceased husband's or father's estate, regardless of the provisions in his will.

Down Payment - The amount of money paid at the execution a mortgage or a land contract. This lump sum of money is subtracted-acted directly from the original sales price. The remaining principal balance then begins to accrue interest at the specified interest rate.

Due-On-Sale Clause - A clause set forth in some mortgages a land contracts whereby the Lender or Seller has the right to "call in" the balance upon the sale or transfer of the property by the Borrower or Purchaser to a third party.

E

Earnest Money - A deposit made by a Purchaser to demonstrate good faith; a down payment.

Easement - A right created by grant, reservation, agreement, prescription, or necessary implication, which one has in the land of another. For example, the right of public utility companies to lay their lines across another's property is a utility easement.

Encumbrance - Any right to or interest in land that effects its value, including outstanding mortgage loans, unpaid taxes, easements, or deed restrictions; a cloud on title.

Equity- The difference between fair market value and current indebtedness (balance due). For example, if a person owes $10,000 on his home and the market value is now $50,000, he now has 80% equity in his home ($40,000 out of $50,000).

Escrow - An agreement between two or more parties providing that certain instruments or property be placed with a third party for safekeeping, pending the fulfillment or performance of a specified act or condition.

Escrow Account - An account in which a prescribed amount of money is deposited each time a payment is collected to be used for paying real estate taxes and/or insurance. For example, a mortgage, trust deed or land contract may require a monthly payment of $260 with an additional $40 to pay taxes and insurance. This $40 goes into an escrow account which, technically, belongs to the Purchaser.