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| Acceleration |
Calling a loan "due and
payable," meaning that the entire balance must be paid in full.
Usually a loan is accelerated due to some type of default on the part
of the borrower. |
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| Advances | Amounts
of money advanced by a lender, on behalf of the borrower, to protect
the lender's interest in the secured property, such as advances for
property taxes and hazard insurance. |
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| Alienation |
Transfer of property without consent of the lender, when the loan agreement forbids such transfer. |
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| Appraisal | An estimate of value, usually performed by a licensed appraiser. Appraisals for homes and smaller 2-4 family dwellings and condominiums commonly use a "sales comparison" approach, while properties such as apartment or commercial buildings held primarily for the production of income use the "income approach." | |
| Assignment of Trust Deed |
A conveyance, generally recorded, of a full or
partial interest in an existing deed of trust. The intent of recording
an assignment of a deed of trust is to provide public (recorded) notice of the assignee's interest in the trust deed. |
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| Balloon Payment |
Generally, a balloon payment refers to a clause in a note or
mortgage that requires the entire balance due on the loan to be paid
off in full at a certain date. The actual definition of a balloon
payment is "any loan payment required, that is more than twice the amount
of the smallest payment required in the loan." |
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| Beneficiary | (Usually the lender) The party whose interests are secured by the deed of trust (holder of the beneficial interest). |
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| Closed End Loan | Another
term for a single advance loan, more commonly used when contrasting a
closed end loan with an open end loan. (See "open end loan"). |
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| Collateralize | Applies to the use of notes or
mortgages as collateral for a debt or other obligation. Collateralized
loans or mortgages have been pledged as collateral for debt. (Often
used in referring to investments in a pool that holds mortgages.)
Investors are provided with certificates that are secured by the "collateralized" notes or mortgages. |
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| Construction Loan | A loan providing funds for construction or major improvements to real property. Often, construction loans are made based on the future (completed) value of the proposed improvements. | |
| Cross-Collateralize | The securing of a loan by more than one parcel of real estate. Also referred to as a "blanket encumbrance." Loans can be generally be cross-collateralized by recording separate deeds of trust, one on each parcel being used as collateral, or by recording one deed of trust that properly describes all of the parcels being used as collateral. | |
| Default | Failure of the borrower to comply with any one or more requirements of the note or trust deed (usually a failure to make required payments). |
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| Default Interest (rate) | A higher interest rate that is charged only if the borrower defaults on the regularly required loan payments. Usually, if the borrower makes all payments as required, the default interest rate would never go into effect. | |
| Document / or Instrument / Recording Number |
A number placed on a document by the county recorder, when accepting that document for recording, that indicates the time and date of recording, as well as the fact the document was recorded in that county. Primarily referred to as "doc number" or "instrument number". | |
| Encumbrance | A lien, judgment, deed of trust or other claim against real property, generally recorded in public records. | |
| Escrow | A third party stakeholder who holds funds or documents on behalf of others, pending their instructions. The term escrow is commonly used to refer to escrow companies who act as escrow holders in real estate sales and loan transactions. The term escrow is also used to refer to impound (sometimes called escrow) accounts held by lenders, where borrower's funds are set aside for taxes, insurance and other charges. | |
| Estoppel | Certificates
executed by tenants or other holders
of interests in real property, confirming the terms of their tenancy or
lease, the amount of rent, deposits, and other agreements existing
between themselves and the property owner. |
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| Financial Code 4970 | A California law, similar to HOEPA, which imposes somewhat stricter limits and regulations on loans that exceed specified rates or fees, when made to owner/occupants of one to four family dwellings. | |
| Forbearance | An agreement between a lender and a borrower, where the lender agrees to "forbear" and not to foreclose or take other action against the borrower and the borrower agrees to the payment of certain sums of money and/or the performance of other acts required by the lender (such as the payment of property taxes, maintenance of the property, etc.). | |
| Foreclosure | An
involuntary transfer of real property title from the borrower to the
lender, or to a third party bidder at a trustees sale,
resulting from the borrower's failure to make the required
payments or to comply with one or more of the other terms of a mortgage
or trust deed. |
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| Fractionalized | (split into percentages) In trust deed investing, applies to a loan being provided by two or more investors, where the note and deed of trust is issued in the names of the various investors in accordance with their percentage (fractionalized) share of ownership. | |
| Full Credit Bid | An opening bid amount at a trustees sale, set by a lender, which includes the full amount of the debt owed including late charges, interest, penalties, allowable third party fees and trustees fees. | |
| Future Value | An appraised value, based on the completion of certain improvements that are not actually complete at the time the appraisal is done. These appraisals are usually based on plans showing what improvements are to be completed and the appraised "future value" is contingent on completion of those improvements. | |
| Hard Money (also referred to as private money) |
Generally applies to lenders or loans made with private investor funds, as opposed to loans made by institutional lenders (see institutional loans/lenders). | |
| HOEPA | The Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act. A law, passed as section 32 of RESPA and as an amendment to TILA, imposing stricter limits and regulation on certain loans made to owner occupants of one to four family residences, and exceeding specified rates or fees. | |
| Institutional | Applies to loans made or serviced by institutional lenders, often banks, credit unions, insurance companies or large mortgage banking companies. Institutional loans generally have more stringent credit and income requirements (particularly now), forcing many property owners into hard money type loans. | |
| Junior Lien (see "Senior Lien") |
A deed of trust or lien recorded after another deed of trust or lien, therefore causing it to be "junior" in lien priority to that earlier recorded deed of trust or lien. | |
| Lien |
Evidence or a notice, recorded in the public records against a particular property or individual, of a debt or other obligation. |
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| Loan Disclosure Statement | A statement provided
to a borrower by a loan originator that spells out for the borrower,
among other things, the interest rate, payments, existence of balloon
payments, late charges and pre-payment penalties, and numerous other
facts that might influence the borrower's decision to enter into the
loan transaction. |
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| Loan Servicing |
The collection of payments;
maintenance and provision of records; filing of required tax documents;
monitoring of property tax and insurance payments; handling of
delinquent loan payments; modification, forbearance and foreclosure; issuing of payoff statements and any other activity
required to successfully collect, account for, and distribute funds due
under a note or mortgage. |
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| Modification | A mutual agreement between a borrower and a lender, to modify the terms of a mortgage, including, among other things, a change in the interest rate, monthly payment, due date, and/or principal balance. | |
| Mortgage | Document(s) evidencing a debt and securing it by real property. Contrary to a note secured by a deed of trust, a mortgage (which is almost never used in California) does not contain a "power of sale clause," which means that the lender must go through a judicial foreclosure (a lawsuit) to obtain title to the property. Generally, the trust deed that secures a note in a typical California loan transaction will contain a "power of sale," enabling the trustee under the deed of trust to conduct a "non-judicial" foreclosure and sale of the property. | |
| Mortgage Fund | An
entity formed to hold securities, including trust deeds, for investment
purposes. Typically, mortgage funds are set up as limited
liability companies, and investors are issued certificates
indicating their membership in the limited liability
company. The terms mortgage fund and mortgage pool are used
interchangeably. |
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| Mortgage Pool | (See definition for Mortgage Fund) | |
| National Mortgage Licensing System |
(NMLS) A licensing system put into
effect on January 1, 2011, requiring originators of consumer loans
secured by one to four family residences obtain an NMLS endorsement to
the current license under which they originate loans.
(Originators working for Federally insured banks and credit unions are
exempt from this requirement.) |
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| NMLS License | A license endorsement issued under the National Mortgage Licensing System. |
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| Notice of Default | A notice
recorded with the county recorder, indicating that a loan secured by a
deed of trust is in default and beginning the foreclosure process.
Recordation of a notice of default begins a 90 day period during which
the borrower can reinstate the loan by resolving the default (usually
paying payments and late charges due) and paying any fees associated
with the notice of default.
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| Notice of Trustees Sale | A notice recorded with the county recorder, indicating that specific real property, that is the security for a loan secured by a deed of trust, will be sold at a trustees sale auction at a specific time, date and location. The notice of trustees sale references a minimum bid price. However, the beneficiary has the option of opening the bidding at, and accepting a bid lower than the published minimum bid price. | |
| Open End Loan | A loan that allows for additional advances of loan proceeds to the borrower, even after closing of the initial loan transaction. Construction loans, home equity lines of credit, and reverse mortgages are all examples of open end loans. | |
| Opening Bid | The
initial bid, or starting bid at a trustees sale auction
of real property collateral. The opening bid cannot exceed what is
referred to as a "full credit bid," being the total amount of the debt
owed, including late charges, interest, penalties, allowable third
party fees, and trustees fees. It can, however, at the beneficiary's
option, be set at any amount lower than the amount of what would be a
full credit bid. |
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| Partial Interest Loan | A loan
secured by a partial interest in real property, where only one of
multiple owners has used their interest in the property as collateral
for a loan. In this case, a lender foreclosing on a partial interest
would acquire only that interest and would then become a co-owner with
the owner(s) of the other interest(s). |
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| Partial Reconveyance (Partial Release) |
A release of one of several parcels, all of which secure the same loan. | |
| Points | A method of
calculating or expressing loan origination or loan brokerage charges
on a real estate loan. Usually one "point" is equal to one percent of
the loan amount.
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| Power of Sale | A power granted to the trustee in a deed of trust,
empowering the trustee to conduct a non-judicial foreclosure sale of
the property upon default. It should be noted that when contrasting
mortgages (see definition of mortgage) to notes secured by trust deeds,
the primary clause that sets the mortgage apart from the trust deed is
that it lacks the "power of sale," requiring the holder of a mortgage to
file a lawsuit (a judicial foreclosure) in order to foreclose on the property.
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| Preliminary Title Report | A report on aspects of the condition of title to real property based primarily on facts available in public records. Preliminary title reports (commonly referred to as "prelims") may contain a legal description, information as to who holds recorded title, information about the amount and status of property taxes and information about recorded trust deeds, liens and judgments against the property. Preliminary title reports are a title company's "offer to insure" title. | |
| Private Money | (see Hard Money) Refers to loans made with funds provided by private, non-institutional lenders. The terms "private money" and "hard money" are interchangeable. | |
| Reconveyance | A release, executed by the trustee under a deed of trust, releasing the trustee's equitable interest, and therefore, the lender’s encumbrance against the real property. | |
| RESPA |
Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act. A law impacting costs and procedures relating primarily
to settlement charges. RESPA also contains section 32, which imposes
stricter limits and regulation on certain loans exceeding specified
rates or fees. |
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| Request for Notice | A recorded notice, either recorded as a separate document or in the body of a recorded deed of trust, that provides notice to the holders of senior encumbrances, requiring them to provide written notice upon filing a notice of default. | |
| Section 32 (RESPA) |
See RESPA |
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| Senior Lien | As documents are
recorded in pubic records, their order of priority is established.
Generally, a document recorded on March 15 of 2011 will have recording
priority, or a "senior" lien position to a document recorded on March
16 of 2011, and therefore would be referred to as a senior lien.
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| Single Advance Loan | A loan where all of the loan proceeds, or the entire amount of the loan is all paid out at the time the loan initially closes. | |
| Single Asset Entity | An entity, such as a limited liability company, a limited liability partnership, or a corporation that holds only one asset, such as one commercial building. Entities of this type are formed by borrowers, usually at the request of lenders. These entities allow the lender to have only the single asset entity as the borrower, thereby separating the asset from other assets, liabilities and activities of the entity that owns the property (for example, the entity owing the property might be a nationwide chain of retail stores). This generally avoids or limits the lender's involvement as a creditor in a large scale bankruptcy involving the larger entity. | |
| Subordination | When
the holder of a priority position (in the order of recording) of a trust deed
subordinates or takes a place "behind" (lower in the order of recording)
another trust deed and allows that trust deed to have a priority
position over it that it would not otherwise have. Example: Lender A holds a first trust deed. Lender B agrees to make a new loan, only if allowed to be the first trust deed. If lender A is not being paid off, but lender A will agree to subordinate their first loan to lender B's new loan, then lender B will have a first trust deed, and lender A will now have a second trust deed, having subordinated their lien position. |
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| Substitution of Trustee |
The appointment of a different trustee other than the current trustee named in a deed of trust (see "trustee" and "deed of trust"). This is usually done at the time of foreclosure filing or at the time of reconveyance (see "reconveyance") when a beneficiary (lender) wishes to have a certain trustee conduct the foreclosure or issue the final reconveyance. | |
| TILA |
The Truth in Lending Act. A law impacting disclosure in loans made primarily for personal, family or household purposes. | |
| Title Insurance | Insurance issued to buyers of, or lenders on real property, insuring their interests in the recorded transfer of title or encumbrance(s) recorded against the property. Title insurance also insures validity of the "chain of title" or the series of title transfers that occurred over the years, resulting in the current ownership of the property. | |
| Trust Deed | A recorded document that secures a promissory note or other type of promise. A deed of trust differs from a mortgage in that a deed of trust contains a power of sale and provides the beneficiary (lender) with the choice of foreclosing though judicial or non-judicial foreclosure. | |
| Trustee | A third party named in a trust deed, who holds an equitable interest in property to secure the lender's beneficial interest. Or, can refer to the trustee in a trust, generally an individual, who holds the power to execute documents or make management decisions for the trust. | |
| Trustee's Deed | A deed issued by a foreclosure trustee, conveying title to the foreclosed property to the successful bidder at the trustees sale. Or, in the event there are no bidders, a trustees deed would be issued conveying title to the foreclosing beneficiary. | |
| Trustor (the borrower) | The person or entity executing a deed of trust to encumber property for the purpose of securing a note. | |
| Usury |
An interest rate exceeding
the usury limits is considered usurious, and therefore illegal.
The maximum interest rate under usury is determined by a formula.
The importance of "usury" in trust deed investing is that most trust
deed investments are made at interest rates that would be considered
usurious, but rely on certain exemptions from the usury laws to be
legal. |
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. Southwest Bancorp (dba Southwestern Mortgage)
Joffrey Long (818) 366-5200 info@asksw.com 17045 Chatsworth Street, Suite 101, Granada Hills, CA 91344-5845 Calif. Dept. of Real Estate Licenses: 00898122 (Southwest Bancorp) and 00525142 (Joffrey Long) National Mortgage Licensing System (NMLS) Endorsements: 285731 (Southwest Bancorp) and 207272 (Joffrey Long) Private Money (Hard Money) Lender / FHA and Conventional Loans / Reverse Mortgages / Trust Deed Investments / Mortgage Expert Witness Hard Money Expert Witness Usury Expert Witness 
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