Deed of Trust

In many states, this document is used in place of a mortgage to secure the payment of a note.

Default

Failure to meet legal obligations in a contract, specifically, failure to make the monthly payments on a mortgage.

Delinquency

Failure to make payments on time. This can lead to foreclosure.

Discount Points

Prepaid interest assessed at closing by the lender. Each point is equal to 1 percent of the loan amount (e.g. two points on a $100,000 mortgage would cost $2,000).

Down Payment

Money paid to make up the difference between the purchase price and mortgage amount. Down payments usually are 10 percent to 20 percent of the sales price on Conventional loans, and no money down up to 5 percent on FHA and VA loans.