Definition of Mortgage
Mortgage
A loan secured by the collateral of some specified real estate property which obliges the borrower
to make a predetermined series of payments.
Mortgage
Debt instrument by which the borrower (mortgagor) gives the lender (mortgagee) a lien on property as security for the repayment of a loan.
Related Terms:
Variations of mortgage instruments such as adjustable-rate and variablerate
mortgages, graduated-payment mortgages, reverse-annuity mortgages, and several seldom-used
variations.
mortgage against which no additional debt may be issued.
A security backed by a pool of pass-throughs , structured so that
there are several classes of bondholders with varying maturities, called tranches. The principal payments from
the underlying pool of pass-through securities are used to retire the bonds on a priority basis as specified in
the prospectus.
Related: mortgage pass-through security
A loan based on the credit of the borrower and on the collateral for the mortgage.
A Congressionally chartered corporation that
purchases residential mortgages in the secondary market from S&Ls, banks, and mortgage bankers and
securitizes these mortgages for sale into the capital markets.
mortgages in which annual increases in monthly payments are used to
reduce outstanding principal and to shorten the term of the loan.
First issued by Freddie Mac in 1975, GMCs, like PCs, represent
undivided interest in specified conventional whole loans and participations previously purchased by Freddie Mac.
A wholly owned U.S. government corporation
within the Department of Housing & Urban Development. Ginnie Mae guarantees the timely payment of
principal and interest on securities issued by approved servicers that are collateralized by FHA-issued, VAguaranteed,
or Farmers Home Administration (FmHA)-guaranteed mortgages.
A type of stepped-payment loan in which the borrower's payments
are initially lower than those on a comparable level-rate mortgage. The payments are gradually increased over
a predetermined period (usually 3,5, or 7 years) and then are fixed at a level-pay schedule which will be
higher than the level-pay amortization of a level-pay mortgage originated at the same time. The difference
between what the borrower actually pays and the amount required to fully amortize the mortgage is added to
the unpaid principal balance.
A bond in which the issuer has granted the bondholders a lien against the pledged assets.
Collateral trust bonds
A modification of standard duration to account for the impact on duration of MBSs of
changes in prepayment speed resulting from changes in interest rates. Two factors are employed: one that
reflects the impact of changes in prepayment speed or price.
Also called a passthrough, a security created when one or more mortgage
holders form a collection (pool) of mortgages sells shares or participation certificates in the pool. The cash
flow from the collateral pool is "passed through" to the security holder as monthly payments of principal,
interest, and prepayments. This is the predominant type of MBS traded in the secondary market.
The period from the taking of applications from prospective mortgage borrowers to the
marketing of the loans.
The risk associated with taking applications from prospective mortgage borrowers
who may opt to decline to accept a quoted mortgage rate within a certain grace period.
The interest rate on a mortgage loan.
Mortgage-Backed Securities Clearing Corporation
A wholly owned subsidiary of the Midwest Stock
Exchange that operates a clearing service for the comparison, netting, and margining of agency-guaranteed
MBSs transacted for forward delivery.
Mortgage-backed securities
Securities backed by a pool of mortgage loans.
Mortgagee
The lender of a loan secured by property.
Mortgager
The borrower of a loan secured by property.
Open-end mortgage
mortgage against which additional debts may be issued. Related: closed-end mortgage.
RAMs (Reverse-annuity mortgages)
mortgages in which the bank makes a loan for an amount equal to a
percentage of the appraisal value of the home. The loan is then paid to the homeowner in the form of an
annuity.
REMIC (real estate mortgage investment conduit)
A pass-through tax entity that can hold mortgages
secured by any type of real property and issue multiple classes of ownership interests to investors in the form
of pass-through certificates, bonds, or other legal forms. A financing vehicle created under the Tax Reform
Act of 1986.
Strip mortgage participation certificate (strip PC)
Ownership interests in specified mortgages purchased
by Freddie Mac from a single seller in exchange for strip PCs representing interests in the same mortgages.
Stripped bond Bond that can be subdivided into a series of zero-coupon bonds.
Stripped mortgage-backed securities (SMBSs)
Securities that redistribute the cash flows from the
underlying generic MBS collateral into the principal and interest components of the MBS to enhance their use
in meeting special needs of investors.
Wholesale mortgage banking
The purchasing of loans originated by others, with the servicing rights
released to the buyer.
Insured Mortgage
An insured mortgage protects only the mortgage lender in case you do not make your mortgage payments. This coverage is provided by CMHC [Canada mortgage and Housing Corporation] and is required if a person has a high-ratio mortgage. [A mortgage is high-ratio if the amount borrowed is more than 75% of the purchase price or appraised value, whichever is less.]
Mortgage Insurance
Commonly sold in the form of reducing term life insurance by lending institutions, this is life insurance with a death benefit reducing to zero over a specific period of time, usually 20 to 25 years. In most instances, the cost of coverage remains level, while the death benefit continues to decline. Re-stated, the cost of this kind of insurance is actually increasing since less death benefit is paid as the outstanding mortgage balance decreases while the cost remains the same. Lending institutions are the most popular sources for this kind of coverage because it is usually sold during the purchase of a new mortgage. The untrained institution mortgage sales person often gives the impression that this is the only place mortgage insurance can be purchased but it is more efficiently purchased at a lower cost and with more flexibility, directly from traditional life insurance companies. No matter where it is purchased, the reducing term insurance death benefit reduces over a set period of years. Most consumers are up-sizing their residences, not down-sizing, so it is likely that more coverage is required as years pass, rather than less coverage.
The cost of mortgage lender's insurance group coverage is based on a blended non-smoker/smoker rate, not having any advantage to either male or female. mortgage lender's group insurance certificate specifies that it [the lender] is the sole beneficiary entitled to receive the death benefit. mortgage lender's group insurance is not portable and is not guaranteed. Generally speaking, your coverage is void if you do not occupy the house for a period of time, rent the home, fall into arrears on the mortgage, and there are a few others which vary by institution. If, for example, you sell your home and buy another, your current mortgage insurance coverage ends and you will have to qualify for new coverage when you purchase your next home. Maybe you won't be able to qualify. Not being guaranteed means that it is possible for the lending institution's group insurance carrier to cancel all policy holder's coverages if they are experiencing too many death benefit claims.
mortgage insurance purchased from a life insurance company, is priced, based on gender, smoking status, health and lifestyle of the purchaser. Once obtained, it is a unilateral contract in your favour, which cannot be cancelled by the insurance company unless you say so or unless you stop paying for it. It pays upon the death of the life insured to any "named beneficiary" you choose, tax free. If, instead of reducing term life insurance, you have purchased enough level or increasing life insurance coverage based on your projection of future need, you can buy as many new homes in the future as you want and you won't have to worry about coverage you might loose by renewing or increasing your mortgage.
It is worth mentioning mortgage creditor protection insurance since it is many times mistakenly referred to simply as mortgage insurance. If a home buyer has a limited amount of down payment towards a substantial home purchase price, he/she may qualify for a high ratio mortgage on a home purchase if a lump sum fee is paid for mortgage creditor protection insurance. The only Canadian mortgage lenders currently known to offer this option through the distribution system of banks and trust companies, are General Electric Capital [GE Capital] and Central mortgage and Housing Corporation [CMHC]. The lump sum fee is mandatory when the mortgage is more than 75% of the value of the property being purchased. The lump sum fee is usually added onto the mortgage. It's important to realize that the only beneficiary of this type of coverage is the morgage lender, which is the bank or trust company through which the buyer arranged their mortgage. If the buyer for some reason defaults on this kind of high ratio mortgage and the value of the property has dropped since being purchased, the mortgage creditor protection insurance makes certain that the bank or trust company gets paid. However, this is not the end of the story, because whatever the difference is, between the disposition value of the property and whatever sum of unpaid mortgage money is outstanding to either GE Capital or CMHC will be the subject of collection procedures against the defaulting home buyer. Therefore, one should conclude that this kind of insurance offers protection only to the bank or trust company and absolutely no protection to the home buyer.
Commercial Mortgage
A loan made on real estate collateral, other than a residential property, in which a mortgage is given to secure payment of principal and interest.
Mortgage Life insurance (Credit Insurance)
Decreasing term life insurance that provides a death benefit amount corresponding to the decreasing amount owed on a mortgage.
Mortgage (Credit Insurance)
An agreement between a creditor and a borrower, where the creditor has loaned an amount to the borrower for purposes of purchasing a loan secured by a home.
Additional hedge
A protection against borrower fallout risk in the mortgage pipeline.
Adjustable rate preferred stock (ARPS)
Publicly traded issues that may be collateralized by mortgages and MBSs.
Agency pass-throughs
mortgage pass-through securities whose principal and interest payments are
guaranteed by government agencies, such as the Government National mortgage Association ("Ginnie Mae"), Federal Home Loan mortgage Corporation ("Freddie Mac") and Federal National mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae").
ARM
Adjustable rate mortgage. A mortgage that features predetermined adjustments of the loan interest rate
at regular intervals based on an established index. The interest rate is adjusted at each interval to a rate
equivalent to the index value plus a predetermined spread, or margin, over the index, usually subject to perinterval
and to life-of-loan interest rate and/or payment rate caps.
Average life
Also referred to as the weighted-average life (WAL). The average number of years that each
dollar of unpaid principal due on the mortgage remains outstanding. Average life is computed as the weighted average time to the receipt of all future cash flows, using as the weights the dollar amounts of the principal
paydowns.
Borrower fallout
In the mortgage pipeline, the risk that prospective borrowers of loans committed to be
closed will elect to withdraw from the contract.
Builder buydown loan
A mortgage loan on newly developed property that the builder subsidizes during the
early years of the development. The builder uses cash to buy down the mortgage rate to a lower level than the
prevailing market loan rate for some period of time. The typical buydown is 3% of the interest-rate amount
for the first year, 2% for the second year, and 1% for the third year (also referred to as a 3-2-1 buydown).
Buydowns
mortgages in which monthly payments consist of principal and interest, with portions of these
payments during the early period of the loan being provided by a third party to reduce the borrower's monthly
payments.
Collateral trust bonds
A bond in which the issuer (often a holding company) grants investors a lien on
stocks, notes, bonds, or other financial asset as security. Compare mortgage bond.
Conventional pass-throughs
Also called private-label pass-throughs, any mortgage pass-through security not
guaranteed by government agencies. Compare agency pass-throughs.
Dealer options
Over-the-counter options, such as those offered by government and mortgage-backed
securities dealers.
Drop, the
With the dollar roll transaction the difference between the sale price of a mortgage-backed passthrough,
and its re-purchase price on a future date at a predetermined price.
Fallout risk
A type of mortgage pipeline risk that is generally created when the terms of the loan to be
originated are set at the same time as the sale terms are set. The risk is that either of the two parties, borrower
or investor, fails to close and the loan "falls out" of the pipeline.
FHA prepayment experience
The percentage of loans in a pool of mortgages outstanding at the origination
anniversary, based on annual statistical historic survival rates for FHA-insured mortgages.
Funds From Operations (FFO)
Used by real estate and other investment trusts to define the cash flow from
trust operations. It is earnings with depreciation and amortization added back. A similar term increasingly
used is Funds Available for Distribution (FAD), which is FFO less capital investments in trust property and
the amortization of mortgages.
Gestation repo
A reverse repurchase agreement between mortgage firms and securities dealers. Under the
agreement, the firm sells federal agency-guaranteed MBS and simultaneously agrees to repurchase them at a
future date at a fixed price.
Ginnie Mae
See:Government National mortgage Association.
GNMA-I
mortgage-backed securities (MBS) on which registered holders receive separate principal and
interest payments on each of their certificates, usually directly from the servicer of the MBS pool. GNMA-I
mortgage-backed securities are single-issuer pools.
GNMA-II
mortgage-backed securities (MBS) on which registered holders receive an aggregate principal and
interest payment from a central paying agent on all of their certificates. Principal and interest payments are
disbursed on the 20th day of the month. GNMA-II MBS are backed by multiple-issuer pools or custom pools
(one issuer but different interest rates that may vary within one percentage point). Multiple-issuer pools are
known as "Jumbos." Jumbo pools are generally longer and offer certain mortgages that are more
geographically diverse than single-issuer pools. Jumbo pool mortgage interest rates may vary within one
percentage point.
GNMA Midget
A GNMA pass-through certificate backed by fixed rate mortgages with a 15 year maturity.
GNMA Midget is a dealer term and is not used by GNMA in the formal description of its programs.
Grantor trust
A mechanism of issuing MBS wherein the mortgages' collateral is deposited with a trustee
under a custodial or trust agreement.
Implied call
The right of the homeowner to prepay, or call, the mortgage at any time.
Interest-only strip (IO)
A security based solely on the interest payments form a pool of mortgages, Treasury
bonds, or other bonds. Once the principal on the mortgages or bonds has been repaid, interest payments stop
and the value of the IO falls to zero.
Investor fallout
In the mortgage pipeline, risk that occurs when the originator commits loan terms to the
borrowers and gets commitments from investors at the time of application, or if both sets of terms are made at closing.
Level pay
The characteristic of the scheduled principal and interest payments due under a mortgage such that
total monthly payment of P&I is the same while characteristically the principal payment component of the
monthly payment becomes gradually greater while the monthly interest payment becomes less.
MBS servicing
The requirement that the mortgage servicer maintain payment of the full amount of
contractually due principal and interest payments whether or not actually collected.
Money market notes
Publicly traded issues that may be collateralized by mortgages and MBSs.
Multifamily loans
Loans usually represented by conventional mortgages on multi-family rental apartments.
Option not to deliver
In the mortgage pipeline, an additional hedge placed in tandem with the forward or
substitute sale.
Original face value
The principal amount of the mortgage as of its issue date.
Origination
The making of mortgage loans.
Other capital
In the balance of payments, other capital is a residual category that groups all the capital
transactions that have not been included in direct investment, portfolio investment, and reserves categories. It
is divided into long-term capital and short-term capital and, because of its residual status, can differ from
country to country. Generally speaking, other long-term capital includes most non-negotiable instruments of a
year or more like bank loans and mortgages. Other short-term capital includes financial assets of less than a
year such as currency, deposits, and bills.
PSA
A prepayment model based on an assumed rate of prepayment each month of the then unpaid principal
balance of a pool of mortgages. PSA is used primarily to derive an implied prepayment speed of new
production loans, a 100% PSA assumes a prepayment rate of 2% per month in the first month following the
date of issue, increasing at 2% per month thereafter until the 30th month. Thereafter, 100% PSA is the same as
6% CPR.
Pass-through rate
The net interest rate passed through to investors after deducting servicing, management,
and guarantee fees from the gross mortgage coupon.
Pass-through securities
A pool of fixed-income securities backed by a package of assets (i.e. mortgages)
where the holder receives the principal and interest payments. Related: mortgage pass-through security
Pool factor
The outstanding principal balance divided by the original principal balance with the result
expressed as a decimal. Pool factors are published monthly by the Bond Buyer newspaper for Ginnie Mae,
Fannie Mae, and Freddie Mac(Federal Home Loan mortgage Corporation) MBSs.
Prepayment speed
Also called speed, the estimated rate at which mortgagors pay off their loans ahead of
schedule, critical in assessing the value of mortgage pass-through securities.
Prepayments
Payments made in excess of scheduled mortgage principal repayments.
Price risk
The risk that the value of a security (or a portfolio) will decline in the future. Or, a type of
mortgage-pipeline risk created in the production segment when loan terms are set for the borrower in advance
of terms being set for secondary market sale. If the general level of rates rises during the production cycle, the
lender may have to sell his originated loans at a discount.
Principal only (PO)
A mortgage-backed security in which the holder receives only principal cash flows on
the underlying mortgage pool. The principal-only portion of a stripped MBS. For PO securities, all of the
principal distribution due from the underlying collateral pool is paid to the registered holder of the stripped
MBS based on the current face value of the underlying collateral pool.
Product risk
A type of mortgage-pipeline risk that occurs when a lender has an unusual loan in production or
inventory but does not have a sale commitment at a prearranged price.
Project loans
Usually FHA-insured and HUD-guaranteed mortgages on multiple-family housing complexes,
nursing homes, hospitals, and other development types.
Rate lock
An agreement between the mortgage banker and the loan applicant guaranteeing a specified interest
rate for a designated period, usually 60 days.
Remaining principal balance
The amount of principal dollars remaining to be paid under the mortgage as of
a given point in time.
Repurchase agreement
An agreement with a commitment by the seller (dealer) to buy a security back from
the purchaser (customer) at a specified price at a designated future date. Also called a repo, it represents a
collateralized short-term loan, where the collateral may be a Treasury security, money market instrument,
federal agency security, or mortgage-backed security. From the purchaser (customer) perspective, the deal is
reported as a reverse Repo.
Reverse price risk
A type of mortgage-pipeline risk that occurs when a lender commits to sell loans to an
investor at rates prevailing at application but sets the note rates when the borrowers close. The lender is thus
exposed to the risk of falling rates.
Risk controlled arbitrage
A self-funding, self-hedged series of transactions that generally utilize mortgage
securities as the primary assets.
Savings and Loan association
National- or state-chartered institution that accepts savings deposits and
invests the bulk of the funds thus received in mortgages.
Scheduled cash flows
The mortgage principal and interest payments due to be paid under the terms of the
mortgage not including possible prepayments.
Securitization
The process of creating a passthrough, such as the mortgage pass-through security, by which
the pooled assets become standard securities backed by those assets. Also, refers to the replacement of
nonmarketable loans and/or cash flows provided by financial intermediaries with negotiable securities issued
in the public capital markets.
Spot lending
The origination of mortgages by processing applications taken directly from prospective borrowers.
Structured arbitrage transaction
A self-funding, self-hedged series of transactions that usually utilize
mortgage securities as the primary assets.
Subordinated debenture bond
An unsecured bond that ranks after secured debt, after debenture bonds, and
often after some general creditors in its claim on assets and earnings. Related: Debenture bond, mortgage
bond, collateral trust bonds.
Tandem programs
Under Ginnie Mae, mortgage funds provided at below-market rates to residential
mortgage buyers with FHA Section 203 and 235 loans and to developers of multifamily projects with Section
236 loans initially and later with Section 221(d)(4) loans.
Threshold for refinancing
The point when the WAC of an MBS is at a level to induce homeowners to
prepay the mortgage in order to refinance to a lower-rate mortgage, generally reached when the WAC of the
MBS is 2% or more above currently available mortgage rates.
Weighted average coupon
The weighted average of the gross interest rate of the mortgages underlying the
pool as of the pool issue date, with the balance of each mortgage used as the weighting factor.
Weighted average maturity
The WAM of a MBS is the weighted average of the remaining terms to maturity
of the mortgages underlying the collateral pool at the date of issue, using as the weighting factor the balance
of each of the mortgages as of the issue date.
Weighted average remaining maturity
The average remaining term of the mortgages underlying a MBS.
LONG-TERM LIABILITIES
Bills that are payable in more than one year, such as a mortgage or bonds.
negative cash flow
The cash flow from the operating activities of a business
can be negative, which means that its cash balance decreased from
its sales and expense activities during the period. When a business is
operating at a loss instead of making a profit, its cash outflows for
expenses very likely may be more than its cash inflow from sales. Even
when a business makes a profit for the period, its cash inflow from sales
could be considerably less than the sales revenue recorded for the
period, thus causing a negative cash flow for the period. Caution: This
term also is used for certain types of investments in which the net cash
flow from all sources and uses is negative. For example, investors in
rental real estate properties often use the term to mean that the cash
inflow from rental income is less than all cash outflows during the
period, including payments on the mortgage loan on the property.
Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation
Better known as CDIC, this is an organization which insures qualifying deposits and GICs at savings institutions, mainly banks and trust companys, which belong to the CDIC for amounts up to $60,000 and for terms of up to five years. Many types of deposits are not insured, such as mortgage-backed deposits, annuities of duration of more than five years, and mutual funds.
Group Life Insurance
This is a very common form of life insurance which is found in employee benefit plans and bank mortgage insurance. In employee benefit plans the form of this insurance is usually one year renewable term insurance. The cost of this coverage is based on the average age of everyone in the group. Therefore a group of young people would have inexpensive rates and an older group would have more expensive rates.
Some people rely on this kind of insurance as their primary coverage forgetting that group life insurance is a condition of employment with their employer. The coverage is not portable and cannot be taken with you if you change jobs. If you have a change in health, you may not qualify for new coverage at your new place of employment.
Bank mortgage insurance is also usually group insurance and you can tell this by virtue of the fact that you only receive a certificate of insurance, and not a complete policy. The only form in which bank mortgage insurance is sold is reducing term insurance, matching the declining mortgage balance. The only beneficiary that can be chosen for this kind of insurance is the bank. In both cases, employee benefit plan group insurance and bank mortgage insurance, the coverage is not guaranteed. This means that coverage can be cancelled by the insurance company underwriting that particular plan, if they are experiencing excessive claims.
Segregated Fund
Sometimes called seg funds, segregated funds are the life insurance industry equivalent to a mutual fund with some differences.The term "Mutual Fund" is often used generically, to cover a wide variety of funds where the investment capital from a large number of investors is "pooled" together and invested into specific stocks, bonds, mortgages, etc.
Since Segregated Funds are actually deferred annuity contracts issued by life insurance companies, they offer probate and creditor protection if a preferred beneficiary such as a spouse is named. Mutual Funds don't have this protection.
Unlike mutual funds, segregated funds offer guarantees at maturity (usually 10 years from date of issue) or death on the limit of potential losses - at times up to 100% of original deposits are guaranteed which makes them an attractive alternative for the cautious and/or long term investor. On the other hand, with regular mutual funds, it is possible to have little or nothing left at death or plan maturity.
EFT (electronic funds transfer)
Funds which are electronically credited to your account (e.g. direct deposit), or electronically debited from your account on an ongoing basis (e.g. a pre-authorized monthly bill payment, or a monthly loan or mortgage payment). A wire transfer is a form of EFT.
pre-authorized payment
A system where funds are electronically debited from your account on a specified date by a financial institution (e.g., bill, mortgage or personal loan payments) or perhaps an insurance or an utility company.
qualified investments (Canada)
Qualified investments is the term used for investments that can be held in an RSP. These investments generally include:
Canadian dollar savings accounts, guaranteed investment certificates, term deposits
shares of Canadian and foreign companies listed on a prescribed stock exchange
shares of some over-the-counter U.S. and Canadian companies
shares of some small businesses
certain types of bonds and money-market investments such as treasury bills, Canada Savings Bonds, Government of Canada bonds, provincial government bonds, Crown Corporation bonds, bonds issued by Canadian corporations listed on a prescribed stock exchange, and certain strip bonds
certain types of mortgages, including your own
certain covered call options, warrants and rights
certain mutual funds
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