How to use this list
These entries explain words customers often meet in a purchase agreement, a title commitment, or settlement papers. They are general meanings. If your contract, commitment, or policy defines a word, that document controls for your transaction.
Integrity Title Group can tell you how a term is being used on an open file. This page is not a policy, a quote, or advice to sign, waive, or change a contract. For legal, tax, or lending questions, speak with your own attorney or lender.
A
- Addendum
- A written addition to a contract. Once the parties sign it, the addendum is part of the agreement and should be read with the original contract. A purchase order should include every addendum the parties have signed, along with the sale agreement.
- Amendment
- A written change to a term already in the contract, such as the price, the closing date, or what the sale includes. The signed amendment replaces the earlier wording it changes. Send it with the file so processing is not working from an outdated contract.
- Appraisal
- An opinion of value, usually ordered by a lender to decide how much to lend. An appraisal is not a title search and not an inspection of the house. If the contract has an appraisal condition, the deadline and the buyer’s choices are the ones written in that contract.
C
- Chain of title
- The sequence of transfers in the public record, from earlier owners to the current one. Title work reviews that sequence for gaps and for matters that still affect the property, such as an open mortgage or a recorded easement.
- Clear title
- A shorthand people use when the record does not show an open matter that would stop the transaction the parties have planned. It is not a promise that nothing can ever arise later. The commitment, and any policy issued after closing, state what was found and what is excepted.
- Closing
- The settlement of the transaction. The parties sign the documents the file requires, and the money is applied as the settlement figures direct. Signing is not always the last step. Funding and recording follow, and at Integrity Title Group those steps sit with post-closing.
- Closing disclosure
- A form many borrowers receive before a mortgage closing. It sets out loan terms and the charges the lender is disclosing. It is not the sale agreement and not a title policy. If a figure on your file does not match what you expected, ask the office before you sign.
- Commitment
- The title commitment, sometimes called a binder, is the report prepared before closing. It lists what the title work found, the requirements that still have to be met, and the exceptions a later policy would carry. The commitment is not the policy.
- Contingency
- A condition in the contract that has to be met, or waived, before a party must go forward. Inspection, financing, and appraisal are common examples. The date, the notice, and what happens if the condition fails are whatever that contract says.
D
- Deed
- The document that transfers an interest in real property from the seller to the buyer. A general warranty deed, a special warranty deed, and a quitclaim deed promise different things about title. The contract names the deed the seller agreed to deliver.
- Deed of trust
- In many states, the instrument that secures a loan against the property. A trustee holds the lien for the lender. Other states use a mortgage for the same role. Which instrument applies depends on the state and the loan.
- Deposit
- Money the buyer pays under the contract, often called earnest money, to show an intention to complete the purchase. Who holds the deposit, and what happens to it if the contract ends, follows the contract and local practice. It is not the same thing as the cash due at settlement.
- Disbursement
- Payment of the closing funds: loan payoffs, taxes, commissions, and proceeds, according to the settlement figures. Treat any new payment instruction with care. Confirm a change by calling 443.725.7020, the number published on this website, before money moves.
E
- Easement
- A right to use part of a property for a stated purpose, such as a driveway, a utility line, or shared access. An easement can remain after the property is sold. Title work often lists it as an exception because it is a right someone else still holds.
- Encroachment
- A structure or improvement that crosses a boundary or an easement, such as a fence, a shed, or a driveway. A survey is the usual way to see one. Title work notes an encroachment when it appears in the record or on a survey the parties provide.
- Endorsement
- An addition to a title policy that changes or expands the printed terms. Whether a particular endorsement is available, and what it costs, depends on the transaction and the policy. This list does not choose an endorsement for a file.
- Escrow
- Money or documents held until the conditions for release are met. At a mortgage closing, the word can also mean the account a lender keeps for taxes and insurance. Read the word in the document that uses it. The two meanings are not the same.
- Exception
- A matter the commitment or policy identifies as outside coverage, or as a right that stays with the land, such as an easement or a covenant. Exceptions are part of reading the commitment. Listing one does not, by itself, mean the transaction cannot close.
F
- Financing contingency
- A contract condition tied to the buyer obtaining the loan the agreement describes. If the buyer cannot, the contract states whether the buyer may end it, and the notice required. A quote for title fees is not a loan approval.
G
- Good funds
- Funds the settlement can accept and disburse. A personal check is often not acceptable for the balance due at closing. The office will say which form of payment the file needs. Confirm wiring instructions by phone before you send them.
J
- Judgment
- A court decision for a sum of money. Once it is recorded, or as state law provides, it can become a lien against property of the person named. Title work looks for judgments that attach to the parties or to the land.
L
- Legal description
- The formal description of the land used in the deed and in the title work, often by lot and block, by metes and bounds, or by reference to a recorded plat. A street address helps people find the house. It is not the legal description.
- Lien
- A claim against property as security for a debt or other obligation. Mortgages, unpaid taxes, and judgments are common examples. An open lien is usually paid, released, or listed as an exception before the transaction can close as the parties intend.
- Loan policy
- A title policy issued for the lender’s lien, up to the amount and on the terms of that policy. It protects the lender. It does not take the place of an owner’s policy, and the owner is not automatically the person insured by the loan policy.
M
- Mechanic's lien
- A lien that a contractor, subcontractor, or supplier may be able to record for work or materials that were not paid. Deadlines and rules depend on the state. If the property was recently built or renovated, tell the office. Those facts belong in the file.
- Mortgage
- A loan secured by real property. The word is also the name of the document some states use to create the lender’s lien. Other states use a deed of trust. Paying off an existing mortgage is a common requirement when a property is sold or refinanced.
N
- Notary
- A person the state authorizes to take acknowledgments. At closing, the notary checks the signer’s identity and completes the certificate on documents that will be recorded. Notarization shows that the signing formalities were observed. It is not approval of the deal.
O
- Owner's policy
- A title policy that insures the owner, on the printed terms and any endorsements attached to it. Coverage, exceptions, and the premium are set by that policy and the title work for the property. Nothing on this page describes a policy that will be issued on a particular home.
P
- Payoff
- The amount a lender or other lienholder requires to release its claim as of a stated date, including interest through that date. The figure comes from that lienholder. If the closing date moves, the payoff usually has to be ordered again.
- Power of attorney
- A document in which one person authorizes another to sign. Not every power of attorney can be used for a deed or a loan. Lenders often have their own requirements. Send it to the office before the signing day and wait to hear whether the file can accept it.
- Proration
- A split of a cost that falls partly in the seller’s time of ownership and partly in the buyer’s, such as property taxes or association dues. The contract states the date used for the split and which party is charged.
R
- Recording
- Filing the signed deed and the new mortgage or deed of trust in the land records, so the transfer and the lender’s lien show in the chain of title. At Integrity Title Group, recording is part of post-closing, after the papers are signed.
- Requirement
- An item on the title commitment that has to be completed before a policy can be issued. A payoff, a release, or a document still to be signed are typical requirements. They are the file’s remaining checklist. They are not a conclusion that title has failed.
- Restrictive covenant
- A recorded promise that limits how the property may be used, often created by a subdivision or a homeowners association. Covenants usually stay with the land when it is sold. Title work commonly lists them as exceptions.
S
- Sale agreement
- The contract between the buyer and the seller. A purchase order should include it, because the price, the parties, the property, and the deadlines are what processing needs to open the file. Signed addenda and amendments belong with it.
- Survey
- A map prepared by a surveyor showing boundaries and improvements, and sometimes easements or encroachments. The contract states whether the parties must obtain a new survey. Title work may use a survey the parties provide. It is not a substitute for the title search.
T
- Title search
- The review of the public record for deeds, mortgages, liens, judgments, and other matters that affect the property or the people in the transaction. The search supports the commitment. It is not an inspection of the building and not an appraisal.
V
- Vesting
- The way the deed names the new owner: one person, or more than one, and the form of ownership the deed states. Those names should match what the parties have approved and, on a refinance, what the lender has approved. How to hold title is a decision for the parties and their own advisors.
W
- Walk-through
- The buyer’s visit to the property shortly before closing, usually to check the condition the contract requires. A walk-through is not a title search. A concern about the house should be raised with the agent, under the contract, before the papers are signed.
- Wire
- An electronic transfer of funds into the settlement. Wiring instructions for a closing should be confirmed by calling 443.725.7020 before the transfer is sent. Do not rely on instructions that arrive only by email or text, even when the message looks familiar.