Hard Money Loan Glossary DC

Accelerate: An option given to lenders through an "acceleration" clause in the mortgage or deed of trust requiring the borrower to pay the entire balance of the loan all at once if their loan is in default.

Appraisal: The process in which a licensed or authorized person gives an estimate of property value.

Appreciation Assignment: The transfer of property to be held in trust or to be used for the benefit of the creditors (lenders).

Assignment: The written transfer of an interest in a lease of mortgage. The lessee, or assignor transfers the remainder of the term and the assignee becomes liable ot the original lessor for the rent.

Balloon Payment Mortgage: A mortgage in which monthly installments are not large enough to repay the loan by the end of the term. As a result, the final payment due is the lump sum of the remaining principal. It is common for these loans to be rather short terms, less than 10 years.

Bridge Loan: Bridge loans are loans intended to be used for a short period of time between the initial requuirements for funds and a permanent, usually less costly, financial solution.

Commercial Lender: Commercial lenders offer a variety of mortgage-backed loans for commercial property. Each commercial lender sets economic, demographic, and geographic criteria.

Deed of Trust: A three party security instrument conveying the legal title to real property as security for the repayment of a loan. The three parties included in a deed of trust are the borrower, lender, and trustee.

Fair Market Value: The price a property would sell for on the open market.

First Mortgage: The primary mortgage on a property that has priority over all other voluntary liens.

Hard Money: A hard money loan when the borrower's situation does not conform with common real estate lenders' standards for funding. Real estate provides the collateral for a hard money loan.

Hard Money Lender: A lender who offers loan funding based on real estate as the primary collateral asset.

Letter of Intent: A non-binding agreement between parties involved in a contract to move forward with negotiations or complete a project.

Lien: A legal claim upon real or personal property for the satisfaction of a debt.

LTV - Loan to Value: A simple ratio of the requested loan amount to the full market value of the collateralized property.

Market Value: A certified, written estimate of value calculated by an independent, licensed appraiser.

Personal Property: Property other than real property (real estate) consisting of things that are temporary or movable.

Point: A point is 1 percent of the amount of the mortgage.

Pre-Approval A loosely used term which is generally taken to mean that a borrower has completed a loan aplication and provided debt, income, and savings documentation which an underwriter has reviewed and approved. This process is independent of, and previous to, the same underwriting review of a property.

Prepayment Penalty: A charge, usually given as a percentage, that is listed in the origination terms of a loan.

Non-Conforming Loan: A non-conforming loan refers to a type of loan that does not meet bank standards for funding. The flexibility of private money can allow for a much wider range of projects to be funded, although additional collateral and documentation may be required by the lender.

Right of Redemption: A borrower's right to reacquire property lost due to a foreclosure. Governed by state law.

Underwriting: The process that lenders go through to evaluate the risks posed by a particular borrower and to set appropriate conditions for the loan.