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Contact EXIT Team Realty

If you have any questions or need more detailed information, please feel free to contact us via phone at 401.349.5000 or fill out the form to let us know how we can help with your real estate needs.

Office Location

375 Putnam Pike Ste 35,
Smithfield, RI 02917
Phone: (401) 349-5000
Fax: (401) 349-5099

Real Estate Glossary

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Safe Harbor
A set of rules and regulations that will guarantee compliance with the law, if followed.

Safe Rate
An interest rate provided by low-risk investments such as high grade bonds or secured first mortgages.

Sale-Leaseback
A technique in which a seller deeds property to a buyer for a consideration, and the buyer simultaneously leases the property back to the seller.

Sales Contract
An agreement between a buyer and seller to purchase real estate. A sales contract, also known as an offer to purchase or a binder, secures the right to purchase real estate upon agreed terms for a limited period of time. If the buyer changes his mind or is unable to purchase, the earnest money that was paid is forfeited unless the binder expressly provides that it is to be refunded. Also called a Purchase and Sales Agreement.

Sales Disclosure
A state specific form that may need to be filled, disclosing everything about the sale of the home.

Salesperson
A person who is licensed to make real estate transactions while under the supervision of a broker licensed by the state.

Search and Exam Fee
A fee charged by a title company or attorney in some states to perform a check of the title records that verifies the buyer is purchasing a home from the legal owner and there are no liens, overdue assessments, or other claims filed that would adversely affect the transfer of the title.

Search and Survey
A fee charged by a title company in some states to perform a check of the public record to verify that the buyer is purchasing a home from the legal owner and there are no liens, overdue assessments, or other claims filed that would adversely affect the transfer of the title. In addition, a search is performed to insure that there are no issues that a survey would show that could affect the property.

Search Fee
A fee charged by a title company or attorney in some states to cover the cost of searching the public record to make sure the buyer is purchasing a home from the legal owner and there are no liens, overdue assessments, or other claims filed that would adversely affect the transfer of the title.

Second Mortgage
A mortgage that has a lien position subordinate to the first mortgage.

Secondary Mortgage Market
The buying and selling of existing mortgages.

Secured Loan
A loan that is backed by collateral.

Security
The property that will be pledged as collateral for a loan.

Security Interest
The lender's right to take property that has been offered as security.

Seller Take-Back
An agreement in which the owner of a property provides financing, often in combination with an assumable mortgage. See owner financing.

Selling Agent
The agent who obtains a buyer. A selling agent may represent the buyer.

Servicer
An organization that collects principal and interest payments from borrowers and manages borrowers’ escrow accounts. The servicer often services mortgages that have been purchased by an investor in the secondary mortgage market.

Servicing
The collection of mortgage payments from borrowers and related responsibilities of a loan servicer.

Settlement
A meeting of parties involved in a real estate transaction to finalize the process. In the case of a purchase, the settlement usually involves the seller, the buyer, the real estate broker and the lender. In the case of a refinance, the settlement involves the borrower and the lender. Also referred to as a Closing.

Settlement or Closing Fee
A fee charged by a title company, closing agent or attorney to act as a representative and agent for the lender to perform the closing of a real estate transaction.

Settlement Statement
Also referred to as the HUD-1 or Closing Statement, this is the document that provides line by line detail of the financial details related to a specific real estate transaction such as the fees paid by the seller and the buyer for a purchase transaction or the fees paid by the borrower for refinances.

Special Deposit Account
An account that is established for rehabilitation mortgages to hold the funds needed for the rehabilitation work so they can be disbursed from time to time as particular portions of the work are completed.

Standard Payment Calculation
The method used to determine the monthly payment required to repay the remaining balance of a mortgage in substantially equal installments over the remaining term of the mortgage at the current interest rate.

State Tax Stamps
A tax charged by some state or local governments at the time of transfer of real estate title from one owner to another.

State / Local Tax Fees
A tax charged by some state or local governments at the time of transfer of real estate title from one owner to another.

Step-Rate Mortgage
A mortgage that allows for the interest rate to increase according to a specified schedule (i.e., seven years), resulting in increased payments as well. At the end of the specified period, the rate and payments will remain constant for the remainder of the loan.

Subdivision
A housing development that is created by dividing a tract of land into individual lots for sale or lease.

Subordinate Financing
Any mortgage or other lien that has a priority that is lower than that of the first mortgage.

Subsidized Second Mortgage
An alternative financing option known as the Community Seconds® mortgage for low- and moderate-income households. An investor purchases a first mortgage that has a subsidized second mortgage behind it. The second mortgage may be issued by a state, county, or local housing agency, foundation, or nonprofit corporation. Payment on the second mortgage is often deferred and carries a very low interest rate (or no interest rate). Part of the debt may be forgiven incrementally for each year the buyer remains in the home.

Survey
A drawing or map showing the precise legal boundaries of a property, the location of improvements, easements, rights of way, encroachments, and other physical features.

Survey Affidavit
A fee charged by a title company to issue an insurance policy without requiring that a full survey be completed.

Sweat Equity
Contribution to the construction or rehabilitation of a property in the form of labor or services rather than cash.

Swing Loan
Sometimes called a bridge loan, a swing loan is generally a loan that is secured by a borrower's current residence to obtain the funds needed to purchase a new home if the current residence will not be sold prior to the purchase of a new home.

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