Glossary of Mortgage Terms

A housing bubble is a period of rapidly rising home prices driven by high demand, loose lending, or speculation that eventually collapses when the market can no longer support inflated values.

HUD is the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a federal agency that oversees national housing policy, administers FHA mortgage insurance, enforces fair housing laws, and funds community development programs.

A HUD home is a house that was foreclosed on and bought with an FHA-insured mortgage. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development now owns it and sells it to the public, usually for less than market value.

With an installment loan, you get a large sum of money upfront and then pay it back in fixed, scheduled payments over a certain amount of time.

An investment property is a piece of real estate that someone buys to make money from rent payments, price increases, or both, instead of living in it themselves.

A joint mortgage is a home loan shared by two or more borrowers who apply together, combine their income and credit profiles, and share equal responsibility for repaying the debt.

A jumbo loan is a mortgage with a higher loan amount than the Federal Housing Finance Agency's annual limits on conforming loans. Because of this, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cannot buy or guarantee it.

A jumbo loan refinance replaces an existing mortgage that is higher than the limits for conforming loans with a new loan. This lets homeowners of high-value properties get a lower rate, a different term, or access their home equity.

A land contract is a seller-financed deal in which the buyer pays the property owner directly instead of going through a bank. The seller keeps legal title to the property until the full purchase price is paid.

A land survey is a professional way to measure and map the boundaries, size, and physical features of a piece of land. It is used to set legal property lines and help with real estate deals.