Terms with Category Legal Contracts
- Abandonment Clause — Definition,
- A clause that allows the insured to abandon damaged or lost property without losing insurance benefits.
- Abstract of Judgement — Definition,
- A court document that states how much the loser of a lawsuit owes, and which creates a lien, or a claim on property, when filed with the county recorder where the property is owned.
- Abstract of Title (ab) — Abbreviation,
- A written history of all the transactions that bear on the title to a specific piece of land. An abstract of title covers the time from when the property was first sold to the present.
➥ AB is a common abbreviation for Abstract of Title when used in property listings and real estate classifieds. - Acceleration Clause — Definition,
- A provision within a document that explains how the lender expects payment for a loan, in due haste.
- Acceptance — Definition,
- A property seller's formal, written approval of a buyer's offer.
- Accidental Death Benefit (ADB) — Acronym, Very Important,
- An additional benefit that pays an additional sum to a beneficiary if the cause of death is deemed to be accidental.
➥ A life insurance policy rider. - Account Agreement — Definition,
- An agreement that you sign and which lists your rights and responsibilities and the bank's rights and responsibilities for the bank account.
- Accrue — Definition,
- To gather together an amount often over a period of time.
- Act of God (AOG) — Acronym,
- When used in insurance policies, an event caused by natural forces such as hail, rain, tornado, lightning, floods or earthquakes, which results in damage to property.
- Addendum — Definition,
- A change made to a contract.
- Adverse Possession — Definition,
- A means of getting title to land by using it without the objection of the title holder.
- Adverse Use — Definition,
- Use of someone's property without permission.
- Affidavit — Definition,
- A written statement sworn to before an authorized official such as a notary public, or commissioner for oaths.
- Agency (agcy) — Abbreviation,
- A relationship between two parties -- a client and an agent -- in which the agent represents the client in transactions with a third party.
- Agency Closing — Definition,
- The use of a title company to supervise the meeting where the property is transferred and mortgage is settled.
- Agent (agt) — Abbreviation,
- A person who acts on behalf of another. In real estate, an agent is a person who conducts transactions on behalf of sellers and sometimes buyers.
- Agreed Boundary — Definition,
- Property lines that are drawn to settle a dispute between neighbouring property owners.
- Agreement of Sale (AOS) — Acronym,
- A document in which a property's buyer and seller approve the price and other terms of the transfer of title.
- Alienation Clause — Definition,
- A requirement that the borrower pay the mortgage in full upon transfer of the property.
- Alimony — Definition,
- Monthly payments received by an ex-spouse. Payments must be received continuously for one year to be counted toward qualifying income for a loan.
- Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) — Acronym,
- This tax primarily affects high-income taxpayers who shelter some of their income from tax through certain tax preference items or deductions. It is often referred to in tax publications as AMT and, if your income meets the limit, you have to recalculate your tax due based on the separate alternative minimum tax rates and tables.
➥ Form T691. - Annex — Definition,
- To add one thing onto another.
- Annual Administrative Fee — Definition,
- An annual (yearly) fee charged for the administration of a service.
- Anticipatory Breach — Definition,
- A notification that one party to a contract plans to renege, releasing the other party from having to fulfill its end of the agreement.
- Arbitration — Definition,
- A dispute-resolution method in which an impartial third party, agreed upon by all sides beforehand, makes a decision.
- As is Where is — Definition,
- The buyer must examine the goods or property and buy at his or her own risk.
- Assessments — Definition,
- Special and local taxes imposed upon property which benefits from an improvement that has been made in the vicinity.
- Asset — Definition,
- Anything of monetary value that is owned by a person. Assets include real property, personal property, and enforceable claims against others including bank accounts, stocks, mutual funds, and so on.
- Asset Case — Definition,
- A bankruptcy proceeding where there are non-exempt assets that might be accessible to pay creditor's claims.
- Assignee — Definition,
- In the insurance industry, an assignee is someone who is assigned ownership of another person's insurance policy.
- A person appointed to acquire (take) an item, such as a property.
