Most
Commonly Used Terms and
Abbreviations when Buying a Home
Following is a quick reference to some of the more commonly used terms and
abbreviations a home buyer might encounter when going through the home buying
process.
ALTA
American Land Title Association
APR
Annual Percentage
ARM
Adjustable Rate Mortgage
ATIMA
As Their Interest May Appear
BD
Buydown
CCR
Covenants, Conditions, & Restrictions
CE
Certificate of Eligibility
CHFA
California Housing Finance Association
CI
Current Index
CK
Check
CLTV
Combined Loan-to-Value
CMT
Constant Maturity Treasury
CO
Certificate of Occupancy
DBA
Doing Business As
DE
Direct Endorsement
Disc
Discount
DO
Desktop Originator
Docs
Documents
DOT
Deed of Trust
DU
Desktop Underwriting
ECOA
Equal Credit Opportunity Act
EofI
Evidence of Insurance
FAQs
Frequently Asked Questions
FCRA
Federal Housing Administration
FHLMC
Freddie Mac
FICO
Credit Score
FIR
Fully Indexed Rate
FNMA
Fannie Mae
FYI
For Your Information
GFE
Goodfaith Estimate
GNMA
Government National Mortgage Assoc. (Ginnie Mae)
GPM
Graduated Payment Mortgage
Gross
Gross amount
HELOC
Home Equity Line of Credit
HOA
Home Owner’s Association
HUD
Department of Housing & Urban Development
IBS
Individual Benefit Statement
IND
Individual
Inv
Investor
JT
Joint
JTRS
Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship
Legal
Legal description on a property
LOC
Line of Credit
LTV
Loan-to-Value
LP
Loan Prospector
MBA
Mortgage Bankers Association
MCC
(FHA) Master Conditional Commitment
MCR
Merged Credit Report
MCRV
Master Certificate of Reasonable Value
MI
Mortgage Insurance
MIP
Mortgage Insurance Premium (FHA)
MLS
Multiple Listing Service
Mtg
Mortgage
NAHB
National Association of Home Builders
NAMB
National Association of Mortgage Bankers
NAR
National Association of Realtors
NAV
No Asset Verification
Net
Net Amount
NINA
No Income No Asset
NIV
No Income Verification
N/O/O
Non-Owner-Occupied
OIS
Operating Income Statement
O/O
Owner-Occupied
Orig
Origination
P&L
Profit & Loss
PMI
Private Mortgage Insurance
POA
Power of Attorney
PUD
Planned Unit Development
Pur
Purchase
R & E
Renewal & Extension
Refi
Refinance
RESPA
Real Estate Settlement Procedure Act
Rider
Attachment to a Deed or Note
RLIC
Residential Loan Inventory Control
RLPC
Residential Loan Production Control
RLPC
Rate Lock Price Confirmation
Schedule
A Schedule on a title report
SLMA
Student Loan Mortgage Association (Sallie Mae)
SOP
Standard Operating Procedure
SRP
Service Release Premium
Sub
Subordination Agreement
Term
Loan term
VA
Veterans Administration
VOD
Verification of Deposit
VOE
Verification of Employment
VOL
Verification of Loan
VOM
Verification of Mortgage
VOR
Verification of Rent
VHDA
Virginia Housing Department Association
TIL
Truth-in-Lending
1040s
Tax Returns
30/15
30-year balloon loan due in 15 years
15/15
15-year balloon loan due in 15 years
3/1
Fixed-rate loan for 3 years then adjusts every year
after
5/1
Fixed-rate for 5 years then adjusts every year after
7/1
Fixed-rate for 7 years then adjusts every year after
10/1
Fixed-rate for 10 years then adjusts every year after
7/23
Fixed-rate for 7 years then comes due to payoff/refi
5/25
Fixed-rate for 5 years then comes due to
payoff/refi
