An insurance policy that protects the lender (and sometimes the property owner as well) against loss due to disputes over the ownership of a property and defects in the title that were not found in the search of the public record. For our comparison purposes, the title insurance cost is considered to be a third party fee.

A statement issued by an attorney as to the quality of title after examining an abstract of title. Also, referred to as an Attorney Opinion. For our comparison purposes, a title opinion fee is considered to be a third party fee and may be included in the title insurance fee by some lenders.

An examination of the public title records to determine the legal ownership of a property, and to ensure that there are no liens, encumbrances or other claims outstanding.

This is the total of all the items that must be paid at closing related to your new mortgage. Since the exact charges for some of these items cannot be obtained until the time of closing, the figure may only be an estimate.

A standard calculation performed by mortgage lenders to determine if a borrower qualifies for a specific loan type. It is calculated by dividing the monthly housing expense (Principal, Interest, Taxes and Insurance plus all other monthly debt obligation) by the borrower's monthly gross income. Also referred to as a back end ratio or a bottom ratio.

Equity that results from a buyer giving an existing property as trade for all, or part of, the down payment on the subject property.

Any legal method by which the ownership of property changes hands.

A tax charged by some state or local governments at the time of transfer of real estate title from one owner to another. For our comparison purposes, these fees are considered to be a tax or other unavoidable fee. May also be referred to as an Intangible Tax.

An index used to establish interest rates for adjustable rate mortgages. It is based on the interest rate paid to private investors by the US Government to obtain funding for the national debt and other expenses. Sometimes called T-bills, they are available in denominations of 3-months, 6-months and 1-year. The 3-month and 6-month Treasury bills are auctioned every Monday, and the 1-year Treasury bills are auctioned on Tuesday. The resulting figures are released to the public the next day. This index can have either a weekly or a monthly value.

Negotiable, long-term U.S. Government debt obligation with a maturity of ten years or longer, issued in minimum denominations of $1,000.

An index that is used to determine interest rate changes for some adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) programs. It is often based on the U.S. Treasury's daily yield curve.

An intermediate U.S. Government security with a maturity of 1 to 10 years. Denominations range from $1,000 to $1 million or more. The notes are sold by cash subscription, in exchange for outstanding or maturing government issues, or at auction.

An index used to establish interest rates for adjustable rate mortgages. It is based on the yields of actively traded 1-year, 3-year, or 5-year Treasury Securities adjusted to constant maturities. The Treasury Security indices are calculated by the U.S. Treasury and reported by the Federal Reserve Board. These indices have either a weekly or a monthly value. The weekly indices are released on Monday afternoon for the previous week. Monthly values for these indices are generally available on the first Monday of the following month.

A fiduciary who holds property in trust for another to secure performance of an obligation or act

A type of adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) that has one interest rate for the first few years (typically 5 or 7), and a different rate for the remainder of the amortization term.