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A mortgage is a legal instrument of the common law which is used to create a security interest in real property held by a lender as a security for a debt, usually a mortgage loan. Hypothec is the corresponding term in civil law jurisdictions, albeit with a wider sense, as it also covers non-possessory lien.
This aims to be a complete list of the articles on real estate.
Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan.
A tax lien is a lien which is imposed upon a property by law in order to secure the payment of taxes. A tax lien may be imposed for the purpose of collecting delinquent taxes which are owed on real property or personal property, or it may be imposed as a result of a failure to pay income taxes or it may be imposed as a result of a failure to pay other taxes.
A mechanic's lien is a security interest in the title to property for the benefit of those who have supplied labor or materials that improve the property. The lien exists for both real property and personal property. In the realm of real property, it is called by various names, including, generically, construction lien. The term "lien" comes from a French root, with a meaning similar to link, which is itself ultimately descended from the Latin ligamen, meaning "bond" and ligare, meaning "to bind". Mechanic's liens on property in the United States date from the 18th century.
Second mortgages, commonly referred to as junior liens, are loans secured by a property in addition to the primary mortgage. Depending on the time at which the second mortgage is originated, the loan can be structured as either a standalone second mortgage or piggyback second mortgage. Whilst a standalone second mortgage is opened subsequent to the primary loan, those with a piggyback loan structure are originated simultaneously with the primary mortgage. With regard to the method in which funds are withdrawn, second mortgages can be arranged as home equity loans or home equity lines of credit. Home equity loans are granted for the full amount at the time of loan origination in contrast to home equity lines of credit which permit the homeowner access to a predetermined amount which is repaid during the repayment period.
The homestead exemption in Florida may refer to three different types of homestead exemptions under Florida law:
- exemption from forced sale before and at death per Art. X, Section 4(a)-(b) of the Florida Constitution;
- restrictions on devise and alienation, Art. X, Section 4(c) of the Florida Constitution;
- and exemption from taxation per Art. VII, Section 6 of the Florida Constitution.
In finance, a security interest is a legal right granted by a debtor to a creditor over the debtor's property which enables the creditor to have recourse to the property if the debtor defaults in making payment or otherwise performing the secured obligations. One of the most common examples of a security interest is a mortgage: a person borrows money from the bank to buy a house, and they grant a mortgage over the house so that if they default in repaying the loan, the bank can sell the house and apply the proceeds to the outstanding loan.
In real estate business and law, a title search or property title search is the process of examining public records and retrieving documents on the history of a piece of real property to determine and confirm property's legal ownership, and find out what claims or liens are on the property. A title search is also performed when an owner wishes to sell mortgage property and the bank requires the owner to insure this transaction.
A real estate mortgage investment conduit (REMIC) is "an entity that holds a fixed pool of mortgages and issues multiple classes of interests in itself to investors" under U.S. Federal income tax law and is "treated like a partnership for Federal income tax purposes with its income passed through to its interest holders". REMICs are used for the pooling of mortgage loans and issuance of mortgage-backed securities and have been a key contributor to the success of the mortgage-backed securities market over the past several decades.
Real estate investing involves the purchase, management and sale or rental of real estate for profit. Someone who actively or passively invests in real estate is called a real estate entrepreneur or a real estate investor. In contrast, real estate development is building, improving or renovating real estate.
A tax sale is the forced sale of property by a governmental entity for unpaid taxes by the property's owner.
A mortgage loan or simply mortgage, in civil law jurisdictions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any purpose while putting a lien on the property being mortgaged. The loan is "secured" on the borrower's property through a process known as mortgage origination. This means that a legal mechanism is put into place which allows the lender to take possession and sell the secured property to pay off the loan in the event the borrower defaults on the loan or otherwise fails to abide by its terms. The word mortgage is derived from a Law French term used in Britain in the Middle Ages meaning "death pledge" and refers to the pledge ending (dying) when either the obligation is fulfilled or the property is taken through foreclosure. A mortgage can also be described as "a borrower giving consideration in the form of a collateral for a benefit (loan)".
The Massachusetts Land Court is one of the departments of the Trial Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The court is unique among the courts of Massachusetts and among state courts in general because its subject-matter jurisdiction is limited to disputes involving real property.
The Home Equity Theft Prevention Act is a New York State law passed on July 26, 2006, to provide homeowners of residential property with information and disclosures in order to make informed decisions when approached by persons seeking a sale or transfer of the homeowner's property, particularly when homeowners are in default on their mortgage payments or the property is in foreclosure.
Loan modification is the systematic alteration of mortgage loan agreements that help those having problems making the payments by reducing interest rates, monthly payments or principal balances. Lending institutions could make one or more of these changes to relieve financial pressure on borrowers to prevent the condition of foreclosure. Loan modifications have been practiced in the United States since the 1930s. During the Great Depression, loan modification programs took place at the state level in an effort to reduce levels of loan foreclosures.
Most local governments in the United States impose a property tax, also known as a millage rate, as a principal source of revenue. This tax may be imposed on real estate or personal property. The tax is nearly always computed as the fair market value of the property, multiplied by an assessment ratio, multiplied by a tax rate, and is generally an obligation of the owner of the property. Values are determined by local officials, and may be disputed by property owners. For the taxing authority, one advantage of the property tax over the sales tax or income tax is that the revenue always equals the tax levy, unlike the other types of taxes. The property tax typically produces the required revenue for municipalities' tax levies. One disadvantage to the taxpayer is that the tax liability is fixed, while the taxpayer's income is not.
American Tax Funding (ATF) is a private company based in Jupiter, Florida that engages in the purchasing and servicing of delinquent municipal real estate tax lien sales. Originally formed in 1997 as Transamerica Municipal Finance (TMF), a division of Transamerica Corporation. In August 2000 the founders completed a form of a management buyout of TMF, creating ATF. ATF currently buys and services real estate tax liens in over 14 states and has provided over $1 billion in relief to local governments. Many ATF tax liens are secured by either Wells Fargo Foot Hill or the Harris Nesbitt Corporation. The process of privatizing the municipal tax foreclosures process and outsourcing to out of state third party, for-profit, private companies has drawn criticism from housing advocates who argue that a for-profit tax foreclosure process leads to more foreclosures, displacement and vacancy. The other argument is that third party purchases of tax liens enables local governments to pay for essential services such as salaries for teachers, health care, police officers and firefighters. To date, no study has shown that the sale of tax liens to third parties leads to any increase in foreclosure activity. In fact, the sale of liens to third party purchasers often extends redemption periods and allows flexible repayment agreements for delinquent tax payers.
Local governments in Florida are established by the state government, and are given varying amounts of non-exclusive authority over their jurisdictions. The laws governing the creation of local governments are contained in the Florida Constitution and the Florida Statutes. Local governments are incorporated by special acts of the Florida Legislature. These include four types: counties, municipalities, school districts, and special districts.
In the United States, the Trustee Sale Guarantee (TSG) is the title guarantee that is issued at the beginning of a foreclosure. TSG helps the foreclosing trustee and beneficiary through the delivery of the information required in ensuring compliance with the statutes of foreclosure stipulated by the state.
References
- ↑ Fishkind, Hank (February 2, 2013). "Lawmakers can help boost economy". Florida Today . Melbourne, Florida. pp. 4B.
- ↑ "Statutes & Constitution :View Statutes :->2006->Chapter 197 : Online Sunshine".
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