MANUFACTURED HOUSING:
Known as "pre-fab" housing, any dwelling that is assembled out of components (i.e. walls, floors, roof) constructed off-site and then brought to the building lot.
MARGIN:
The difference or the added amount. In mortgages, the difference between the index interest rate and the interest rate charged on the variable or adjustable rate mortgage. Expressed in the contract as a percentage (i.e. "prime plus three per cent").
MARKET PRICE:
The consideration actually paid for an asset in an arm's-length transaction.
MARKET RENT:
Also known as economic rent, the amount the owner could charge and obtain for the lease of a property in the current economic circumstances.
MARKET VALUE:
estimation of the price that could be obtained for a particular asset if it were sold in an arm's length transaction on the current market.
MARKETABLE TITLE:
Ownership of land that is without competing claims or other defects, such that it could be sold without complication.
MASTER LEASE:
The dominant lease in a property, under which one or more sub-leases may exist.
MATURITY DATE:
The date upon which a mortgage loan comes due and payable.
METROPOLITAN AREA:
The land which is located in a city and in the surrounding areas which can be said to be still part of the economic or political sphere of the city.
MINIMUM DOWNPAYMENT:
The least amount of money a purchaser can provide toward the purchase price of a house under a mortgage loan program.
MINIMUM LOT SIZE:
The smallest size allowable for an independent parcel of property under a zoning by-law or ordinance provision.
MINIMUM PAYMENT:
The lowest amount a borrower is allowed to pay toward a loan, line of credit or other debt in a given period of time.
MIXED-USE COMMERCIAL PROJECT:
A development which is designed to mix two or more "uses" of land together (i.e. a shopping centre which offers office space for dentists, etc.)
MOBILE HOME:
A dwelling that sits on wheels and may be moved, often under its own power.
MOBILE HOME PARK:
An area specifically designed to allow for permanent or semi-permanent stationing of mobile homes.
MODEL HOME:
A dwelling built first by a developer to allow potential purchasers to see what the finished product will look like once the other homes in the development are completed.
MODULAR HOUSING:
See "manufactured housing".
MORATORIUM:
A temporary ban or halt to a specific activity.
MORTGAGE:
A loan which is secured against property (i.e. registered on title as a claim or encumbrance on the property). Often used to purchase the property itself.
MORTGAGE BACK:
Also known as a "vendor take-back mortgage". Financing of a purchase of property whereby the vendor accepts only a portion of the purchase price up front and accepts a mortgage (with periodic payments and interest chargeable) for the remainder.
MORTGAGE BANKER:
A firm that offers mortgages for property purchases but, at times, may require financial support from larger institutions to help cover the outlay of cash.
MORTGAGE BROKER:
A middleman who serves to bring borrowers together with lenders. Offers the service of doing the shopping for the borrower while often collecting a fee from the chosen lender rather than from the borrower.
MORTGAGE INSURANCE:
A policy of insurance which promises to pay out the amount owing in the event that the borrower defaults.
MORTGAGE VALUE:
The estimate worth of a particular asset which is established for the purposes of obtaining financing secured against that asset.
MORTGAGEE:
The lender in a mortgage transaction. Also known as "chargee".
MORTGAGOR:
The borrower, purchaser or homeowner in a mortgage transaction. Also known as "chargor".
MULTI-DWELLING UNITS:
A property which may have one owner but offers a number of homes for separate people or families.
MULTIFAMILY HOUSING:
Similar to multi-dwelling units, a building which features two or more family dwellings within the same structure. May require special zoning.
MULTIPLE LISTING SERVICE (MLS):
A service created and run by real estate professionals which gathers all of the property listings into a single place so that purchasers may review all available properties from one source. The MLS also deals with commission splitting and other relations between brokers and agents.
MUNICIPAL ADDRESS:
The city, street and number on the street by which a property is known. Also known as "mailing address" but not the same as "legal description".
MUNICIPALITY:
A generic name for any organized local government (a city, town, etc.).
NATURAL VACANCY RATE:
The normal, average or traditional percentage of rental properties in a community that are not leased or occupied.
NEGATIVE AMORTIZATION:
When the periodic payments on a loan are not sufficient to pay the interest which has accumulated during the previous period resulting in an increase rather than a decrease in the amount owing on the mortgage.
NEGATIVE AMORTIZATION CAP:
A limit, expressed as a percentage of the principal, of the negative amortization allowed under a variable or adjustable rate mortgage.
NEGATIVE CASH FLOW:
When a business or property generates less money in a given period than the cost of operating and maintaining it.
NEIGHBORHOOD:
An area of a municipality which is identifiable by a common use, a common atmosphere or a common business area.
NEW ENGLAND COLONIAL:
A two-and-a-half story, early-American house which is generally symmetrical in shape with a shingle-covered gable roof, often made of clapboard siding.
NO MONEY DOWN:
Slang description of real estate purchase strategies which allow the purchaser to obtain title to a property while paying little or no money of her own.
NON-ASSUMPTION CLAUSE:
A term of a mortgage contract that forbids the transfer of the mortgage to a new owner without prior consent of the lender.
NON-CONFORMING USE:
The occupation and use of a property in a fashion which is contrary to the zoning regulations for the property. A Legal Non-conforming Use is one where the non-conforming use predates the zoning by-law such that, as long as it is continued, it is legal.
NONEXCLUSIVE LISTING:
A real estate listing to which no one agent or broker has claim.
NOTICE OF DEFAULT:
The written notice sent by a lender to a borrower stating that the borrower has not met his obligations under the loan contract and the lender may take legal action to enforce the agreement.
