Real Estate Dictionary Terms - M

Management Agreement

A contract between the owner of income property and a management firm or individual property manager that outlines the scope of the manager's authority.



Mandamus

A court decree ordering a lower court judge, public official, or corporate officer to perform an act acquired of that office.



Margin

The difference between the interest rate and the index on an adjustable rate mortgage. The margin remains stable over the life of the loan. It is the index which moves up and down.



Margin Of Security

The difference between the amount of secured loan(s) on a property and its appraised value.



Marginal Land

Land which barely pays the cost of working or using it.



Market

A place where goods can be bought and sold and a price established.



Market Data Approach

(See Comparative Market Analysis.)



Market Price

The price paid regardless of pressures, motives, or intelligence. The price at which a willing seller would sell and a willing buyer would buy, neither being under abnormal pressure. As defined by the courts, it is the highest price estimated in terms of money that a property will bring if exposed for sale in the open market, allowing a reasonable time to find a purchaser with knowledge of the property's use and capabilities for use.



Market Value

The most probable price property would bring in an arm's-length transaction under normal conditions on the open market.



Marketable Title

Title free and clear of reasonable objections and doubts; also called merchantable title. Good or clear title, reasonably free from the risk of litigation over possible defects.



Master Plan

A comprehensive plan to guide the long-term physical development of a particular area.



Material Fact

A fact that would be likely to affect a person's decision in determining whether to enter into a particular transaction. Any information thet will influence the judgement or decision of the customer.



Maturity

The date on which the principal balance of a loan, bond, or other financial instrument becomes due and payable.



Mechanic's Lien

A lien given by statute to persons supplying labor, materials, or other services to improve real property. Whenever a contractor, laborer, or materialman provides labor or materials to improve real property and is not paid, that person is entitled to a lien against the property as a means of securing payment. Certain statutory steps must be taken to file, record, and foreclose the lien. Memo to set: A document filed in a lawsuit which asks to be placed on?the waiting list ("docket") for the next available court date. A statutory lien created in favor of contractors, laborers and materialmen who have performed work or furnished materials in the erection or repair of a building.



Menace

A threat to use duress. (See Duress.)



Merchantable Title

(See Marketable Title.)



Merged Credit Report

A credit report which reports the raw data pulled from two or more of the major credit repositories. Contrast with a Residential Mortgage Credit Report (RMCR) or a standard factual credit report.



Merger Of Title

The combination of two estates. Also refers to the joining of one estate burdened by an encumbrance and another estate benefited by the encumbrance. Whenever a benefit and a burden are merged, the encumbrance is extinguished.



Meridian

One of a set of imaginary lines running north and south and crossing a base line at a definite point, used in the rectangular (government) survey system of property description. Imaginary north-south lines that intersect base lines to form a starting point for the measurement of land.



Metes And Bounds

Terms used to describe the boundary lines of land, setting forth all the boundary lines together with their terminal points and angles. Metes means measurements Bounds means boundaries.



Metes-And-Bounds Description

A legal description of a parcel of land that begins at a well-marked point and follows the boundaries, using directions and distances around the tract, back to the place of beginning.



Mill

One-tenth of one cent. Some states use a mill rate to compute real estate taxes; for example, a rate of 52 mills would be $0.052 tax for each dollar of assessed valuation of a property.



Millionares

Ninety percent of all millionares become that way from owning property.



Minor

A person under the age of majority.2. In California all persons under eighteen years of age - the age of majority. Someone under age 18. Someone who has not reached the age of majority and therefore does not have legal capacity to transfer title to real property.



Minus Cash Flow

An event that takes place when there is not enough cash to cover expenses and service the mortgage debt.



Misrepresentation

An intentional or negligent suggestion or statement of a material fact in a false manner with the intent of deceiving someone into taking a course of action he would not otherwise normally pursue. A licensee may be disciplined for misrepresentetion even though the misrepresentation did not result in a loss to the principal.


Mitigation

Facts or circumstances that tend to justify or excuse an act or course of conduct.



Mobile Home

A stationary, nonmotorized vehicle designed and equipped for human habitation. It may be transported to a homesite by special equipment.



Modification

Occasionally, a lender will agree to modify the terms of your mortgage without requiring you t refinance. If any changes are made, it is called a modification.



Molding
Usually patterned strips used to provide ornamental variation of outline or contour, such as cornices, bases, window and door jambs.



Monetary Policy

Governmental regulation of the amount of money in circulation through such institutions as the Federal Reserve Board.



Money To Make Money

It takes money to make money in real estate is the general belief.



Month-To-Month Tenancy
\
A lease of property for a month at a time, under a periodic tenancy that continues for successive months until terminated by proper notice, usually 30 days. A periodic tenancy under which the tenant rents for one month at a time. In the absence of a rental agreement (oral or written) a tenancy is generally considered to be month to month.



Monument

A fixed object and point established by surveyors or others to establish land locations.



Monument

A fixed natural or artificial object used to establish real estate boundaries for a metes-and-bounds description.



Moratorium

The temporary suspension, usually by stature, of the enforcement of liability for debt.



Mortgage

A legal document that pledges a property to the lender as security for payment of a debt. Instead of mortgages, some states use First Trust Deeds. An instrument by which property is hypothecated to secure the payment of a debt or obligation. A contract by which property is hypothecated (pledged without delivery) for the repayment of a loan. A conditional transfer or pledge of real estate as security for the payment of a debt. Also, the document creating a mortgage lien.



Mortgage Banker

For a more complete discussion of mortgage banker, see "Types of Lenders." A mortgage banker is generally assumed to originate and fund their own loans, which are then sold on the secondary market, usually to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or Ginnie Mae. However, firms rather loosely apply this term to themselves, whether they are true mortgage bankers or simply mortgage brokers or correspondents. Mortgage loan companies that originate, service and sell loans to investors. A mortgage company that originates loans, then places those loans with a variety of other lending institutions with whom they usually have pre-established relationships.



Mortgage Broker

An agent of a lender who brings the lender and borrower together. The broker receives a fee for this service.



Mortgage Convertible Adjustable Rate

Allows the borrower to adjust to a fixed interest rate.



Mortgage Conveyance

The transfer of the title of real property from one to another. An instrument that transfers an interest in real property from one person to another. The transfer of title to real estate from one person to another.



Mortgage Guaranty Insurance

Insurance against financial loss available to mortgage lenders from the Mortgage Guaranty Insurance Corporation, a private company organized in 1956.



Mortgage Insurance (MI)

Insurance that covers the lender against some of the losses incurred as a result of a default on a home loan. Often mistakenly referred to as PMI, which is actually the name of one of the larger mortgage insurers. Mortgage insurance is usually required in one form or another on all loans that have a loan-to-value higher than eighty percent. Mortgages above 80% LTV that call themselves "No MI" are usually a made at a higher interest rate. Instead of the borrower paying the mortgage insurance premiums directly, they pay a higher interest rate to the lender, which then pays the mortgage insurance themselves. Also, FHA loans and certain first-time homebuyer programs require mortgage insurance regardless of the loan-to-value.



Mortgage Insurance Premium (MIP)

The amount paid by a mortgagor for mortgage insurance, either to a government agency such as the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) or to a private mortgage insurance (MI) company.



Mortgage Lien

A lien or charge on the property of a mortgagor that secures the underlying debt obligations.



Mortgage Life And Disability Insurance

A type of term life insurance often bought by borrowers. The amount of coverage decreases as the principal balance declines. Some policies also cover the borrower in the event of disability. In the event that the borrower dies while the policy is in force, the debt is automatically satisfied by insurance proceeds. In the case of disability insurance, the insurance will make the mortgage payment for a specified amount of time during the disability. Be careful to read the terms of coverage, however, because often the coverage does not start immediately upon the disability, but after a specified period, sometime forty-five days



Mortgage Loan Broker

Is required to have a real estate license.



Mortgagee

The lender in a mortgage agreement. One to whom a mortgagor gives a mortgage to secure a loan or performance of an obligation: the lender under a mortgage. (See Secured Party.) A creditor (lender) under a mortgage. A lender in a mortgage loan transaction.



Mortgagor

The borrower in a mortgage agreement. One who gives a mortgage on his or her property to secure a loan or assure performance of an obligation; the borrower under a mortgage. (See Debtor.) A borrower (property owner) of money under a mortgage. A borrower in a mortgage loan transaction.



Multidwelling Units

Properties that provide separate housing units for more than one family, although they secure only a single mortgage.



Multiperil Policies

Insurance policies that offer protection from a range of potential perils, such as those of a fire, hazard, public liability and casualty.



Multiple Listing

A listing, usually an exclusive-right-to-sell, taken by a member of an organization composed of real etsate brokers with the provisions that all members will have the opportunity to find an interested client; a cooperative listing. A listing taken by a broker and shared with other brokers through a specialized distribution service, usually provided by the local real estate board. Generally, such listings are exclusive right to sell listings.



Multiple Listing Service (MLS)

A marketing organization composed of member brokers who agree to share their listing agreements with one another in the hope of procuring ready, willing and able buyers for their properties more quickly than they could on their own. Most multiple-listing services accept exclusive-right-to-sell or exclusive agency listings from their member brokers.



Multiple-Listing Clause

A provision in an exclusive listing for the authority and obligation on the part of the listing broker to distribute the listing to other brokers in the multiple-listing organization.



Municipal Court

An inferior trial court having jurisdiction in cases involving up to $15,000 in money damges and in unlawfurl detainer actions in which the rental value is under $1,000 per month.



Mutual Assent

An agreement between the parties in a contract. The offer and acceptance of a contract.



Mutual Water Company

A water company organized by or for water-users in a given district, with the object of securing an ample water supply at a reasonable rate. Stock is issued to users.