Terminology
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TACKING ON: Beginning a title examination, in point of time, at the end of a previous title examination.
TAKE-OFF: An abbreviated copy of the principal features of recorded instruments, required for the purposes of indexation in an abstract plant or for purposes of making abstracts or examining titles.
TAKE-OUT: A written commitment or agreement given by a permanent mortgage lender to a temporary mortgage lender under which the permanent lender agrees to purchase mortgages made by the temporary lender.
TAX LIEN: The lien which is imposed upon real estate by operation of law which secures the payment of real estate taxes.
TAX SALE: A sale of property by a governmental agency, for nonpayment of taxes.
TENANCY BY THE ENTIRETY: Modification of a joint tenancy between husband and wife. Has the quality of survivorship, but neither spouse can convey his or her interest to break the joint tenancy. Recognized in many states. (See &qoutEstate By Entireties.")
TENANT: (1) Usually one who holds possession of real estate under a lease. (2) In a broader sense, one who holds or possesses lands and tenements by any kind of title.
TENANT AT SUFFERANCE: One who continues to hold possession of real estate after his authorized term of occupancy has expired.
TENANT AT WILL: A tenant whose occupancy of real estate is subject to the will of the owner.
TENANTS IN COMMON: Two or more persons in whom title to a single piece of real estate is vested in such a manner that they have a common or equal right to possession and enjoyment of the property, but each holds a separate individual interest or estate in the property. Each owner may sell or encumber his respective interest or dispose of it by will, and if he dies without leaving a will, his heirs inherit his undivided interest.
TENEMENT: (1) A building or complex of buildings containing residential rental units. (2) A run-down, low-rental apartment or flat building or rooming house. (3) Real property held by a person under a right or authority conferred by an owner.
TERTIARY RETENTION: This retention is the same as secondary retention except that it only applies if the primary and secondary retentions are exceeded. (See Secondary Retention.)
TESTAMENT: Commonly used in the phrase "last will and testament" and generally considered synonymous with "will." Technically speaking, it is a document providing for the disposition of one's personal property upon his death.
TESTATE: Having made a legally valid will and leaving it at death.
THIRD PARTY: A term usually applied to persons who are not principal parties to a contract or other instrument, but who have some right, interest or duty which such contract or instrument affects. For example, where a sale contract between buyer and seller of real estate provides that the money and documents involved in the transaction will be deposited with a title company pending the closing of the deal, the title company becomes a third party to the transaction.
TITLE: (1) A combination of all the elements that constitute the highest legal right to own, possess, use, control, enjoy, and dispose of real estate or an inheritable right or interest therein. (2) The rights of ownership recognized and protected by the law.
TITLE ASSURANCE: Assurance of title through abstracts, attorneys' opinions, title insurance, and surveys.
TITLE COVENANTS: Covenants ordinarily inserted in conveyances and in transfers of title to real estate for the purpose of giving protection to the purchaser against possible insufficiency of the title received. A group of such covenants known as "common law covenants" includes (a) covenants against encumbrances, (b) covenant for further assurance (in other words, to do whatever is necessary to rectify title deficiencies), (c) covenant of good right and authority to convey, (d) covenant of quiet enjoyment, (See "Quiet Enjoyment."), (e) covenant of seisin, (f) covenant of warranty. (See "Warranty", also see "Covenant.")
TITLE DEFECT: (1) Any possible or patent claim or right outstanding in a chain of title which is adverse to the claim of ownership. (2) Any material irregularity in the execution or effect of an instrument in the chain of title.
TITLE INSURANCE: Indemnity against loss resulting from defects in or liens upon a title.
TITLE INSURER: A company which insures the title to real estate.
TITLE PLANT: (1) In many areas, synonymous with abstract plant. (2) A geographically filed assemblage of title information which is to help in expediting title examinations, such as copies of previous attorneys' opinions, abstracts, tax searches, and copies or take-offs of the public records.
TITLE REPORT: (See "Preliminary Report.")
TITLE SEARCH: The collection and review of recorded documents affecting a specific parcel of land. An experienced title officer or attorney reviews and analyzes all material relating to the search, then determines the sufficiency and status of title for issuance of a title insurance policy.
TITLE UNDERWRITER: Synonymous with title insurer.
TORRENS REGISTRATION SYSTEM: System of registration of land ownership wherein a court action is brought in order to obtain a torrens certificate which evidences an ownership interest.
TOWNSHIP: Part of a subdivision of United States Public Lands. A township contains 36 sections uniformly numbered starting with the northeast section, and each one mile square.
TRADE FIXTURES: Articles of personal property, fastened to real property, that are necessary to carrying on a trade. When installed by a tenant, they are ordinarily removable on expiration of the tenancy.
TRADE NAME: The name or any other designation under which a firm does business.
TRANSFER TAX: The tax payable on the conveyance of real property, measured by the amount of consideration paid.
TRESPASS: Invasion of an owner's rights in his property; wrongful entry onto the land of another.
TRUST: Fiduciary relationship in which one party (trustee) holds title to property for the benefit of another party (beneficiary).
TRUSTEE: Person who holds title in trust for the benefit of another person.
Security Title Company of Montana
600 South 19th Avenue
Bozeman, MT 59718
UNDERLYING FEE: A title concept in which ownership of all interests or estates in real property are less than or inferior to the most absolute interest one can have - that of fee ownership. It lies beneath all the other interests; it is basic, fundamental and implicit.
UNDERWRITER: An insurance company which issues insurance policies either to the public or to or through another insurer.
UNDERWRITTEN COMPANY: A title firm which conducts title searches but is not qualified to insure, and therefore issues policies of a qualified title insurer (underwriter) in return for a portion of the premium.
UNDIVIDED INTERESTS: Unsegregated interest of co-owners in the entire property owned in common.
UNIT: When used with reference to a condominium, a unit is that part of a condominium which is not part of the common area and is owned separately and not in common with the owners of other units in the project. When used in reference to a planned unit development the unit is the separate lot or parcel containing a house or other building.
UNJUST ENRICHMENT: Legal doctrine referring to the unjust enrichment of a person by way of taking advantage of another person's mistake, such as overpayment of an amount due. The doctrine prevents unjust enrichment and is based on a rule of fairness.
USURY: Any premium, profit, bonus, fee, or charge which is demanded, required, or exacted by a lender in excess of legal interest on money loaned.
Security Title Company of Montana
600 South 19th Avenue
Bozeman, MT 59718
VARIABLE INTEREST RATE: An interest rate that fluctuates with the current cost of money, subject to adjustment if the prevailing rate moves up or down.
VENDEE: The purchaser under a sale contract of real estate.
VENDOR: The seller under a sale contract of real estate.
VENDOR'S LIEN: An implied lien given by law to the vendor for the remaining unpaid and unsecured part of a purchase price.
VENUE: (1) The county in which a lawsuit is brought or tried. (2) The county in which an acknowledgment is taken.
VEST: To give an immediate, fixed right in property, with either present or future enjoyment of possession; also denotes the manner in which title is held.
VOID: Binding on no-one, constituting a nullity. Something which is conclusively of no effect, the defect of which is not subject to being waived, revitalized or cured by confirmation or ratification.
VOIDABLE: Sufficiently defective to make void, the deficiency, however, being curable by confirmation or ratification.
VOLUNTARY LIEN: A lien intentionally created by a debtor, e.g., mortgage or deed of trust, as contrasted with a judgment lien, which is an involuntary lien.
Security Title Company of Montana
600 South 19th Avenue
Bozeman, MT 59718
WAIVER: The voluntary and intentional relinquishment of a known right, claim, or privilege.
WAREHOUSING: In title industry parlance, the temporary funding and holding by a lending institution of mortgages originated by a mortgage broker, until such time as the mortgage market improves or until the mortgage broker accumulates a sufficient amount of mortgages to sell to a permanent mortgage purchaser.
WARRANTY: In a broad sense, it is an agreement or undertaking by a seller to be responsible for present or future losses of the purchaser occasioned by deficiency or defect in quality, condition, or quantity of the thing sold. In a stricter sense, it is the provision or provisions in a deed, lease, or other instrument conveying or transferring an estate or interest in real estate under which the seller becomes liable to the purchaser for defects in or encumbrances on the title. (See "Title Covenants.")
WARRANTY DEED: A deed containing one or more title covenants. (See "Title Covenants.")
WASTE: (1) The destruction or injury to premises by a tenant. (2) The impairment in value by a life tenant or by a mortgagor.
WAY OF NECESSITY: Generally, an easement for a roadway which the owner of a landlocked tract is entitled to acquire across adjoining land in order to provide a means of ingress and egress with respect to the landlocked property.
WILL: (1) An instrument executed by a competent person, in the manner prescribed by law, whereby he makes disposition of his property to take effect on and after his death. (2) A holographic will is a will entirely written and signed by the testator in his own handwriting. In some states some of the legal requirements regarding the execution of wills do not apply in the case of holographic wills. (3) A nuncupative will is one made orally before witnesses, usually during the testator's last hours of life. Under English law, sailors and soldiers may make nuncupative wills any time during their military service.
WRAP-AROUND MORTGAGE: A method of financing in which a second lender assumes payment of the present mortgage and gives the mortgagor an increased mortgage at a higher interest rate.
WRIT: A formal legal document issued by a court ordering or prohibiting the performance of some action. There are at least a hundred deferent kinds of writs each covering a different action or subject. In most writs an officer of the court, such as the sheriff, is directed to serve the writ or carry out its directions.
WRIT OF EXECUTION: A direct command from the court to the sheriff to carry out the action required in the writ. It may be to hang a convicted criminal, or to seize property and sell it to pay a money judgment.
YIELD: Ratio of income from an investment to the total cost of the investment over a given period of time.
ZONING ORDINANCES: Laws passed by local governments regulating the size, type, structure, nature and use of buildings. Zoning ordinances, often referred to as zoning laws and zoning regulations, are divided into two classes: (1) those which regulate the height or bulk of buildings within certain designated zones or districts - in other words, those which relate to structural and architectural design, and (2) those which prescribe the type of buildings which may be constructed, and the use to which buildings within certain designated zones or districts may be put.
Security Title Company of Montana
600 South 19th Avenue
Bozeman, MT 59718