Real Estate Terms - From Pre-approval Letter To Townhouse
By Raynor James, Fri Dec 9th

When buying or selling a property, it always helps to have abasic understanding of real estate terms. In this on goingseries of articles, we take a look at definitions starting with"Pre-Approval Letter."

1) Pre-Approval Lender Letter - a writing from a lender statingthat a potential buyer has approval to borrow a stated amount ofmoney from his firm based on having documented all the personalinformation needed. Final approval is subject only to thelender's receiving a copy of a contract to purchase real estate,a satisfactory appraisal of that real estate,



and itsunderwriting department's review of all pertinent information.In other words, the buyer qualifies so long as the property doesand no changes occur.

2) Pre-Qualification Lender Letter - a writing from a lenderstating that a potential buyer is able to get a loan in a namedamount. It typically states the price of real property to bepurchased, and what information the lender had when forming hisopinion. When a lender has pulled a borrower's credit file, hisopinion is worth more than if he just based it on what theborrower told him.

3) Real Estate, or Real Property - ground, any plants growing init, any minerals under it, and any buildings or otherimprovements built on it.

4) Septic System - a self contained means of disposing ofsewerage which tends to intimidate city dwellers. The simpleversion is a holding tank in which enzyme and bacterial actiondecomposes the waste material and buried lines in a drainagefield which uses soil to strain out what remains. This worksvery well in soil which percolates well (water drains through itquickly). More elaborate septic systems are often needed inareas with heavy, clay soil and in areas with a high watertable. Some properties are totally unsuited for septic systemsand cannot be built on until public sewer is available.

5) Title Insurance - insurance which will compensate the insuredfor the value of his ownership or collateral position in realproperty if a person not thought to be a current ownermaterializes as an owner. (I've seen this come into play whenproperty was owned by many heirs a generation or two ago.)

6) Townhouse - A single family attached dwelling unit withcommon walls.

Well, as promised, it's not a be-all, end-all, but we havecovered lots of the important definitions and concepts needed tosuccessfully handle your transaction. If I'vemissed something, don't hesitate to visit our site to read more.

About the author:Raynor James is with http://www.fsboamerica.org - providing FSBOhomes For Sale By Owner. Visit our "sell my home" page athttp://www.fsboamerica.org/seller.cfm to list and sell your homefor free for one month. Visithttp://www.fsboamerica.org/buyer.cfm to see homes for sale byowner.

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