Housing.
Buying, financing, and renting a home, from mortgage to lease. The terms that show up in your loan paperwork, your closing, and your rental agreement.
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15-year vs 30-year mortgage
The choice between paying a home loan off in 15 years, with higher payments but far less interest, or 30 years, with lower payments and more interest.
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Amortization schedule
An amortization schedule is a table showing each loan payment split into interest and principal, and how the balance falls to zero over time.
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Assumable Mortgage
An assumable mortgage lets a homebuyer take over the seller's existing loan, including its interest rate, instead of getting a brand-new mortgage.
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Balloon payment
A balloon payment is a large lump sum due at the end of certain loans, after a stretch of smaller payments that do not fully pay the loan off.
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Biweekly Mortgage Payments
Biweekly mortgage payments split your monthly payment in half and pay it every two weeks, adding one extra full payment a year to cut interest.
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Cash-Out Refinance
A cash-out refinance replaces your mortgage with a bigger one and hands you the difference in cash, secured by your home.
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Combined loan-to-value (CLTV)
CLTV is the total of all loans secured by a home divided by its value, capturing a first mortgage plus any second mortgage or home equity line.
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Discount Points
Discount points are an upfront fee you pay the lender at closing to permanently lower your mortgage interest rate.
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Mortgage ★
A mortgage is a loan used to buy a home, where the home itself is the collateral the…
PITI ★
PITI is the four pieces of a monthly mortgage payment: principal, interest, taxes, and…
Closing disclosure
A closing disclosure is the five-page form that lays out your final mortgage terms and…
Earnest money
Earnest money is a good-faith deposit you put down when your offer is accepted, showing…
Mortgage Rate ★
A mortgage rate is the interest rate you pay on a home loan, the single biggest factor in…
All housing terms, A to Z
A 6 terms
All-cash offer
An all-cash offer is a bid to buy a home without a mortgage, paying the full price from the buyer's own funds.
Amortization schedule★
An amortization schedule is a table showing each loan payment split into interest and principal, and how the balance falls to zero over time.
Appraisal
An appraisal is a licensed, independent estimate of a home's market value, used by the lender to confirm the house is worth what you agreed to pay.
Appraisal contingency
An appraisal contingency lets you renegotiate or cancel the purchase, deposit intact, if the home appraises for less than your offer.
Appraisal gap
An appraisal gap is the difference when a home appraises for less than your offer price, leaving a shortfall the lender will not cover.
Assumable Mortgage★
An assumable mortgage lets a homebuyer take over the seller's existing loan, including its interest rate, instead of getting a brand-new mortgage.
B 4 terms
Balloon payment★
A balloon payment is a large lump sum due at the end of certain loans, after a stretch of smaller payments that do not fully pay the loan off.
Biweekly Mortgage Payments★
Biweekly mortgage payments split your monthly payment in half and pay it every two weeks, adding one extra full payment a year to cut interest.
Bridge Loan
A bridge loan is a short-term loan that lets you buy a new home before your current one sells, bridging the gap between the two.
Buyer Agent Commission
The buyer agent commission is what a homebuyer's real estate agent gets paid for helping with the purchase, now usually set in a written agreement.
C 9 terms
Cap Rate
Cap rate is a rental property's yearly net income divided by its price, shown as a percentage, to compare returns ignoring any mortgage.
Cash-Out Refinance★
A cash-out refinance replaces your mortgage with a bigger one and hands you the difference in cash, secured by your home.
Closing disclosure
A closing disclosure is the five-page form that lays out your final mortgage terms and exact costs, sent at least three business days before closing.
Combined loan-to-value (CLTV)★
CLTV is the total of all loans secured by a home divided by its value, capturing a first mortgage plus any second mortgage or home equity line.
Comparative Market Analysis
A comparative market analysis (CMA) is an agent's price estimate for a home, based on what similar nearby homes recently sold for.
Condo vs co-op
In a condo you own your unit outright; in a co-op you own shares in a company that owns the building and grants you the right to live there.
Conforming Loan Limits
Conforming loan limits are the maximum loan amounts Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will buy, set each year by the FHFA and varying by county.
Construction Loan
A construction loan is short-term financing that pays for building a home in stages, then converts to or is replaced by a regular mortgage.
Contingent vs Pending
Contingent vs pending describes how far a home sale has progressed: contingent means conditions still need to clear, pending means they have cleared.
D 6 terms
Days on market (DOM)
Days on market is how long a home has been listed for sale, a signal of demand that can shift a buyer's or seller's negotiating power.
Deed
A deed is the legal document that transfers ownership of real property from one person to another and gets recorded at the county.
Deed vs deed of trust
A deed transfers ownership of property; a deed of trust is a security document some states use to hold the home as collateral for the loan.
Discount Points★
Discount points are an upfront fee you pay the lender at closing to permanently lower your mortgage interest rate.
Down payment assistance★
Down payment assistance is help, often a grant or low-cost loan from a state or local program, that covers part of a home's down payment or closing costs.
Due-on-sale clause
A due-on-sale clause lets a lender demand full repayment of a mortgage when the home is sold or transferred, which blocks most loan assumptions.
E 4 terms
Earnest money
Earnest money is a good-faith deposit you put down when your offer is accepted, showing the seller you are serious about buying.
Escalation clause★
An escalation clause is a line in a home offer that automatically raises your bid above competing offers, up to a set maximum.
Escrow Shortage
An escrow shortage is when the money your lender held for taxes and insurance fell short, so your monthly payment goes up to refill it.
Eviction Process And Rights
The eviction process is the legal steps a landlord must follow to remove a tenant, and you have rights at every stage.
F 5 terms
FHA mortgage insurance (MIP)★
MIP is the mortgage insurance the FHA requires on its loans: an upfront fee plus an annual premium that protects the lender, not you, if you default.
Financing contingency
A financing contingency lets you cancel the purchase and recover your deposit if your mortgage loan does not come through.
Float-Down Option★
A float-down option is an add-on to a rate lock that lets you grab a lower rate if market rates drop before you close.
Front-end vs back-end DTI★
Two debt-to-income ratios lenders check: front-end counts only housing costs against income; back-end counts all monthly debt payments.
FSBO
FSBO (For Sale By Owner) means the homeowner is selling the house themselves without hiring a listing agent to represent them.
H 9 terms
HOA★
An HOA (homeowners association) is the group that runs a community and charges owners dues to maintain shared areas and enforce rules.
HOA special assessment★
An HOA special assessment is a one-time extra charge owners must pay when the association needs money beyond regular dues.
Home Equity Loan
A home equity loan is a lump-sum loan borrowed against the equity in your home, repaid over a fixed term at a fixed rate, using the house as collateral.
Home inspection
A home inspection is a hired expert's top-to-bottom review of a house's condition, flagging problems before you commit to buying.
Home sale contingency
A home sale contingency lets a buyer back out of purchasing a new home if their current home does not sell within a set time.
Home Warranty
A home warranty is a paid service contract that helps cover repair or replacement of major home systems and appliances when they break.
Homeowners insurance★
Homeowners insurance pays to repair or replace your home and belongings after covered events like fire, storms, or theft, and covers some liability.
Homestead exemption
A homestead exemption lowers the taxable value of your primary home, reducing the property tax you owe on the place you actually live.
House Hacking★
House hacking means living in part of a property you own while renting out the rest so the rent helps cover your mortgage.
I 2 terms
Inspection contingency
An inspection contingency is a clause that lets you renegotiate or cancel the purchase, with your deposit back, if the home inspection turns up problems.
Interest-only mortgage★
An interest-only mortgage lets you pay just the interest for an initial period, so the balance does not fall until higher payments begin later.
M 10 terms
MLS
The MLS (Multiple Listing Service) is the shared database where real estate agents post homes for sale so other agents and their buyers can find them.
Mortgage★
A mortgage is a loan used to buy a home, where the home itself is the collateral the lender can take if you stop paying.
Mortgage APR vs Interest Rate★
The interest rate is the cost of borrowing the money; the APR is that rate plus most loan fees, so it shows the truer yearly cost.
Mortgage Broker
A mortgage broker is a middleman who shops your loan application to multiple lenders to find a mortgage, in exchange for a fee.
Mortgage Pre-Qualification vs Pre-Approval
Pre-qualification is a rough estimate of what you might borrow; pre-approval is a documented lender commitment based on verified income and credit.
Mortgage Rate★
A mortgage rate is the interest rate you pay on a home loan, the single biggest factor in how much a house costs you over the life of the loan.
Mortgage Recasting
Mortgage recasting lowers your monthly payment by putting a lump sum toward principal and re-spreading the rest over your same term and rate.
Mortgage Spread
The mortgage spread is the gap between mortgage rates and the 10-year Treasury yield, reflecting the extra return lenders demand to make home loans.
Mortgage underwriting
Mortgage underwriting is the lender's review of your income, debts, credit, and the home's value to decide whether to approve your loan.
Moving Costs
Moving costs are all the expenses of relocating, from movers and a truck to deposits, fees, and the first month at the new place.
P 6 terms
Pay off mortgage early vs. invest★
Whether to make extra mortgage payments or invest instead. It weighs the mortgage rate, a guaranteed return, against an investment's uncertain one.
Piggyback Loan★
A piggyback loan is a second mortgage taken at the same time as your main one, used to cover part of the down payment and skip mortgage insurance.
PITI★
PITI is the four pieces of a monthly mortgage payment: principal, interest, taxes, and insurance.
Property Survey
A property survey is a professional measurement that maps your land's exact boundaries and where structures sit on it.
Property tax★
Property tax is an annual tax a local government charges on the value of real estate you own, used to fund schools, roads, and local services.
Property tax assessment★
A property tax assessment is the value your local government puts on your home to calculate how much property tax you owe.
R 6 terms
Rate Lock
A rate lock is a lender's guarantee to hold your mortgage interest rate for a set period while your loan closes, protecting you if rates rise.
Rate-and-term refinance★
A rate-and-term refinance replaces your mortgage with a new one to change the interest rate or the payoff length, without taking out extra cash.
Real estate
Real estate is property, land and the buildings on it, held to live in or as an investment that can produce rent and change in value.
Rental Yield
Rental yield is the yearly rent a property earns shown as a percentage of its price, a fast measure of rental income return.
Renters Rights Basics
Renters rights basics are the core legal protections every tenant has, like a habitable home, your deposit back, and proper notice.
RESPA
RESPA is a federal law that requires clear disclosure of mortgage settlement costs and bans kickbacks between settlement service providers.
S 5 terms
Second mortgage★
A second mortgage is an additional loan taken against a home you already have a mortgage on, using your equity as collateral.
Security Deposit Rights
Security deposit rights are the state and local rules that govern how your landlord can hold, deduct from, and return your rental deposit.
Seller concessions
Seller concessions are closing costs the seller agrees to pay on the buyer's behalf, usually negotiated into the purchase price.
Streamline refinance★
A streamline refinance is a faster, lighter refinance for existing FHA or VA loans, with reduced paperwork and often no new appraisal.
Sublease
A sublease is when you rent out part or all of your rented home to someone else while your name stays on the original lease.
T 4 terms
Temporary Rate Buydown
A temporary rate buydown uses upfront money to lower your mortgage rate for the first year or two before it steps back up to the real rate.
Title insurance
Title insurance protects you and your lender from financial loss if someone later claims a legal right to the home you bought.
Title search
A title search is a review of public records to confirm the seller truly owns a property and that no unexpected claims or debts are attached to it.
Truth in Lending Act (TILA)
TILA is a federal law that requires lenders to disclose the true cost of credit, including the APR and total finance charges, in a standard way.
V 2 terms
VA Loan
A VA loan is a mortgage backed by the Department of Veterans Affairs that lets eligible service members and veterans buy with no down payment and no PMI.
Vacancy Rate
Vacancy rate is the share of rental time or units sitting empty and unrented, shown as a percentage that eats into income.