Glossary of Mortgage Terms

Community Seconds is a Fannie Mae program that lets approved nonprofits, government agencies, and employers give home buyers a second mortgage to help them pay for their closing costs or down payment.

A comparative market analysis (CMA) is a report that looks at similar homes that have recently sold or been listed in the same area to figure out how much a property is worth on the market.

In real estate, condemnation is the legal process by which the government takes private property for public use or says that a building is unsafe. The owner is then entitled to fair payment.

A condo association is made up of all the owners of units in a condo complex. It takes care of shared spaces, collects fees, enforces community rules, and keeps the building's common areas in good shape.

A condominium is a privately owned apartment or house in a larger building or community where owners share common areas, amenities, and maintenance responsibilities. These are managed by a homeowners association.

A construction loan is a short-term loan that pays for the cost of building a new home. The money is given out in stages as the work is done, and then it becomes a permanent mortgage or is replaced by one.

A contingent offer in real estate is a purchase agreement that has certain conditions, called contingencies, that must be met before the sale can close. This protects the buyer from unexpected problems.

A conventional mortgage is a home loan that the federal government does not insure or guarantee. It usually follows the rules set by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac for lending.

Correspondent lending is a mortgage model where a lender originates, underwrites, and funds your home loan using its own money, then sells that loan to a larger investor after closing.

A credit score for mortgage lending is a three-digit number that lenders use to gauge how likely you are to pay back a home loan on time and in full.