Glossary

A commitment issued by a lender to a borrower or other mortgage originator guaranteeing a specified interest rate for a specified period of time at a specific cost.

A person licensed to negotiate and transact the sale of real estate.

A consumer protection law that requires lenders to give borrowers advance notice of closing costs.

Land and appurtenances, including anything of a permanent nature such as structures, trees, minerals, and the interest, benefits, and inherent rights thereof.

A real estate agent, broker or an associate who holds active membership in a local real estate board that is affiliated with the National Association of Realtors.

The public official who keeps records of transactions that affect real property in the area. Sometimes known as a "Registrar of Deeds" or "County Clerk."

The noting in the registrar's office of the details of a properly executed legal document, such as a deed, a mortgage note, a satisfaction of mortgage, or an extension of mortgage, thereby making it a part of the public record.

The process of paying off one loan with the proceeds from a new loan using the same property as security.

The amount of principal that has not yet been repaid

The original amortization term minus the number of payments that has been applied.

Insurance that protects a landlord against loss of rent or rental value due to fire or other casualty that renders the leased premises unavailable for use and as a result of which the tenant is excused from paying rent.

An arrangement made to repay delinquent installments or advances.

A fund set aside for replacement of common property in a condominium, PUD, or cooperative project -- particularly that which has a short life expectancy, such as carpeting, furniture, etc.

A credit arrangement, such as a credit card, that allows a customer to borrow against a preapproved line of credit when purchasing goods and services. The borrower is billed for the amount that is actually borrowed plus any interest due.

A provision in an agreement that requires the owner of a property to give another party the first opportunity to purchase or lease the property before he or she offers it for sale or lease to others

The right to enter or leave designated premises.

In joint tenancy, surviving joint tenant automatically acquire a deceased joint tenant’s interest in the property

A longitudinal groove cut at the edge of a member to receive another member; also called a rebate.

A reflective foil used adjacent to an airspace in roof or wall assemblies as a deterrent to the passage of infrared energy.

A mat footing.

A framing member that runs up and down the slope of a steep roof.

A horizontal framing piece in a panel door; a handrail.

A theory by which wall cladding is made watertight by providing wind-pressurized air chambers behind joints to eliminate air pressure differentials between the outside and inside that might transport water through the joints.

See access flooring.

The sloping edge of a steep roof.

A sloping brace for supporting sheeting around as excavation.

A hydraulic piston device used for bending steel, tensioning steel strands in prestressed concrete, or lifting heavy loads.

A mechanical device with sloping teeth that allow one piece to be advanced against another in small increments, but not to move in the reverse direction.

A tubular cell that runs radially in a tree trunk.

See reinforced brick masonry.

Glass onto which a thin layer of metal or metal oxide has been deposited to reflect light and/or heat.

An inclined slot into which a flashing may be inserted in a concrete or masonry surface.

Brickwork into which steel bars have been embedded to impart tensile strength to the construction.

Concrete work into which steel bars have been embedded to impart tensile strength to the construction.

A percentage representing the ratio of the amount of water vapor contained in a mass of air to the amount of water it could contain under the existing conditions of temperature and pressure.

A groove or series of grooves cut from the back of a flat molding or flooring strip to minimize cupping forces and make the piece easier to fit to a flat surface.

A framed sheet of glass that can be attached to a window sash to increase its thermal insulating properties.

Inserting temporary supports under concrete beams and slabs after the formwork has been removed, to prevent overloading prior to full curing of the concrete.

A springy mounting device for plaster or gypsum board that helps reduce the transmission of sound vibrations through a wall or ceiling.

A manufactured sheet or tile flooring of asphalt, polyvinyl chloride, linoleum, rubber, or other resilient material.

A natural or synthetic, solid or semisolid organic material of high molecular weight, used in the manufacture of paints, varnishes, and plastics.

A wall that resists horizontal soil pressures at an abrupt change in ground elevation.

The board against which the tips of rafters are fastened.

Two columns and a beam or beams attached with moment connections; a momemt-resisting building frame.

See band joist.

A difference in elevation, such as the rise of a stair from one floor to the next, or a rise per foot of run in a sloping roof.

A single vertical increment of a stair; the vertical face between two treads in a stair; a vertical run of plumbing, wiring, or ductwork.

A structural fastener on which a second head is formed after the fasterned is in place.

A posttensioned rod or cable inserted into a rock formation for the purpose of tying it together.

An insulating material manufactured by forming fibers from molten rock.

The structural surface that supports the waterproof layer of a roof.

One who installs roof coverings.

The material used to make a roof watertight, such as shingles, slate, tiles, sheet metal, or a roof membrane; the act of applying roofing.

An openable window designed to be installed in the sloping surface of a roof.

A thin sheet of wood cut by rotating a log against a long, sharp knife blade in a lathe.

An arch made from masonry units that are rectangular rather than wedge-shaped.

Framing carpentry, as distinguished from finish carpentry.

The installation of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing components that will not be exposed to view in the finished building.

The clear dimensions of the opening that must be provided in a wall frame to accept a given door or window unit.

A brick laid on its long edge, with its end exposed in the face of the wall.

Unsquared stones.

Horizontal dimension in a stair or sloping roof.

A steel member from which furring channels and lath are supported in a suspended plaster ceiling.

Brickwork consisting entirely of stretchers.

A small rectangular steel bar attached temporarily at the end of a prepared groove for the purpose of permitting the groove to be filled to its very end with weld metal.

A linear molding produced by passing a profiled sheet metal or plastic template back and forth across a mass of wet plaster.

A numerical measure of resistance to the flow of heat.