Glossary of Mortgage Terms

A single-family home is a freestanding residential property built on its own lot, designed to house one household, with no shared walls, roof structures, or utilities connecting it to another dwelling.

A spec house is a new home built by a builder or developer without a specific buyer in mind. It is meant to be sold on the open market based on current real estate demand and popular design trends.

Your local government uses a special assessment tax, which is an extra charge on your property tax bill, to pay for a specific neighborhood improvement, such as new roads or sewer lines.

A subordination agreement is a legal document that changes the priority order of liens on your property, letting one lender move ahead of another in the repayment line.

Sweat equity is the increase in a property's value that comes from the homeowner's own work and improvements, not from hiring professionals to do the work.