The glossary
30 terms your borrowers, clients and compliance team will use — each defined in under sixty words, then explained.
Groups: Loan basics · Qualifying · Costs & insurance · Loan programs · Compliance · Marketing & tech
A
- Adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) Loan basics
- An adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) has a fixed rate for an initial period — commonly 5, 7 or 10 years — after which the rate adjusts periodically based on an index plus a margin, within caps.
- Amortization Loan basics
- Amortization is the schedule by which a loan is repaid in equal periodic payments, each split between interest and principal.
- Annual percentage rate (APR) Loan basics
- The annual percentage rate (APR) expresses the yearly cost of a loan including the interest rate plus certain finance charges such as points and some lender fees.
C
- Cash-out refinance Loan basics
- A cash-out refinance replaces an existing mortgage with a larger new loan and pays the difference to the borrower in cash.
- Closing costs Costs & insurance
- Closing costs are the fees and prepaid items due when a mortgage closes, beyond the down payment: lender fees, appraisal, title insurance, recording fees, transfer taxes, prepaid interest and initial escrow deposits.
- Conforming loan limit Loan programs
- The conforming loan limit is the maximum loan amount Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy, set annually by the FHFA.
D
- Debt-to-income ratio (DTI) Qualifying
- Debt-to-income ratio (DTI) compares monthly debt payments with gross monthly income.
- Discount points Costs & insurance
- Discount points are upfront fees paid to a lender at closing to lower a mortgage’s interest rate.
- Down payment Qualifying
- A down payment is the part of a home’s price paid in cash rather than borrowed.
E
- Embed code Marketing & tech
- Embed code is a short HTML snippet that places content from another service — such as a calculator — on your web page, usually as an iframe.
- Escrow account Costs & insurance
- An escrow account is a holding account managed by the mortgage servicer that collects part of each monthly payment to pay property taxes and homeowners insurance when they fall due.
F
- FHA loan Loan programs
- An FHA loan is a mortgage insured by the Federal Housing Administration, part of HUD.
- FHA mortgage insurance premium (MIP) Loan programs
- FHA mortgage insurance premium (MIP) is the insurance charged on FHA-insured loans.
H
- Home equity line of credit (HELOC) Loan basics
- A home equity line of credit (HELOC) is a revolving credit line secured by a home, typically with a variable rate.
J
- Jumbo loan Loan programs
- A jumbo loan is a mortgage larger than the conforming loan limit for its county, so it cannot be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
L
- Lead magnet Marketing & tech
- A lead magnet is something of value offered on a website in exchange for contact details — a guide, checklist or, very effectively, a personalised result such as a payment breakdown.
- Loan-to-value ratio (LTV) Qualifying
- Loan-to-value (LTV) is the loan amount divided by the property’s appraised value or price, whichever is lower, expressed as a percentage.
M
- Mortgage recast Loan basics
- A mortgage recast re-amortizes an existing loan after the borrower pays a lump sum toward principal, lowering the monthly payment while keeping the same rate and maturity date.
N
- NMLS ID Compliance
- An NMLS ID is the unique identifier the Nationwide Multistate Licensing System assigns to mortgage loan originators and companies.
P
- PITI Loan basics
- PITI stands for principal, interest, taxes and insurance — the four components of a typical monthly mortgage payment.
- Pre-qualification Qualifying
- Pre-qualification is an early estimate of how much a borrower may be able to borrow, usually based on self-reported income, debts and assets.
- Principal and interest (P&I) Loan basics
- Principal and interest (P&I) is the part of a mortgage payment that repays the loan balance (principal) and pays the lender’s charge for borrowing (interest).
- Private mortgage insurance (PMI) Costs & insurance
- Private mortgage insurance (PMI) protects the lender on a conventional loan when the borrower puts down less than 20%.
R
- Refinance break-even point Loan basics
- The refinance break-even point is the number of months until the monthly savings from a new loan repay the cost of refinancing.
S
- Seller net sheet Costs & insurance
- A seller net sheet estimates the cash a seller will receive at closing: expected sale price minus the mortgage payoff, real-estate commissions, seller-paid closing costs, transfer taxes, concessions and prorated property taxes.
T
- TCPA consent Compliance
- TCPA consent is a consumer’s agreement, under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, to receive calls or texts made with automated systems or prerecorded voices.
- Trigger terms (Regulation Z) Compliance
- Trigger terms are specific credit terms that, when used in a closed-end credit advertisement, require additional disclosures under Regulation Z (12 CFR 1026.24).
U
- USDA guarantee fee Loan programs
- The USDA guarantee fee is charged on USDA Rural Development guaranteed home loans, which allow eligible buyers in qualifying rural and suburban areas to buy with no down payment.
V
- VA funding fee Loan programs
- The VA funding fee is a one-time charge on VA-guaranteed home loans that helps fund the program.
W
- Webhook Marketing & tech
- A webhook is an automatic HTTP request one system sends to a URL at another when an event happens — for example, posting a new calculator lead as JSON to a CRM’s inbound URL.
Q.01What does this glossary cover?
30 terms used in mortgage calculators, loan programs, qualifying, closing costs, compliance and calculator marketing.
Q.02Are the definitions sourced?
Where a term involves a government-set figure (FHA MIP, VA funding fee, USDA fees, loan limits), the definition cites the source and effective date.
Q.03Can I link to a definition from my website?
Yes — every term has its own page and URL. Linking is welcome.
Q.04Is something missing?
Tell us on the contact page and we’ll consider adding it.
Q.05What is the difference between PMI and MIP?
PMI is private mortgage insurance on conventional loans; MIP is FHA’s own mortgage insurance premium with an upfront charge and different removal rules.
Q.06What is the difference between APR and interest rate?
The interest rate is the cost of borrowing the principal. APR adds certain finance charges such as points and some fees, expressed as a yearly rate.
Q.07What does DTI stand for?
Debt-to-income ratio: monthly debt payments divided by gross monthly income.
Q.08What is LTV?
Loan-to-value: the loan amount divided by the property’s value or price, whichever is lower.
Definitions are good. Calculators are better.
Show borrowers these terms in action with calculators that include them.
- Free plan, no card
- 14-day trial on Pro & Business
- Cancel any time