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Amortization
The gradual repayment of a mortgage by installments. As you pay back the loan, an increasing amount of each payment is applied to principal and a lesser amount is applied to interest. Amortization is also a process of spreading a cost that is incurred upfront over the term of the loan or life of the asset. |
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Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA)
A tax-paying corporation created by Congress to support the secondary market in mortgages on residential properties. FNMA sells residential mortgages to lenders (Conventional, FHA insured, and VA guaranteed). FNMA also purchases pools of mortgages from lenders with securities, also know as Fannie Mae, the largest single holder of home mortgages in the United States. |
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Home Owners Association (HOA)
A nonprofit organization that manages the common areas and services of a planned unit development or condominium project. In a condominium project it has no ownership interest in the common areas; in a planned unit development it holds title to common areas. |
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Two-Step Mortgage
A mortgage in which the borrower receives a below-market interest rate for a specified number of years (commonly seven or 10 years). At the end of the 10 years for example, the interest rate is adjusted (within certain limits) to market conditions at that time. The lender sometimes has the option to call the loan due with 30 days notice at the end of seven or 10 years. also called Super Seven or Premier mortgage. |
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