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Please note: These definitions are intended to give basic information about real estate terms. These are not legal definitions, and should not be considered exhaustive or complete.
Abstract: A document showing the history of a property, as shown in the county's public records. This generally includes each change of ownership, as well as mortgages and liens.
Closing: This is the final meeting, at which the property is officially purchased, paid for, and signed over. A closing may take place at a lawyer's office, or at the bank, or at the title insurer's office.
Deed: A legal document that describes the property (based on past surveys, official maps, surveyor's landmarks, measured distances, or other references), and states who owns the property. Deeds are public documents, filed with the County Clerk.
Easement: Rights, stated in the deed, that belong to someone other than the property's owner. This could mean the right of a neighbor to use a driveway, the right of power company trucks to use roads on the property to access their lines, or similar rights.
Fee Insurance: A form of title insurance that protects the property buyer. This protection is against title problems arising from competing claims to the property, liens, mortgages, or judgments. This policy covers legal challenges, as well as refunding the value of the property in extreme circumstances. For complete details, talk with your title abstractor.
Lien: A financial claim on the property. A lien gives a third party the right to a portion of the money from the property's sale. The most common type of a lien is a mortgage, because the bank has a right to a refund of their money from the property's value. However, liens can also be filed by unpaid contractors ("mechanic's liens"), or courts ("judgments").
Mortgage: A type of lien, in which a bank or a person lends the money to buy a property. The property itself is the collateral in a mortgage, so that the lender can take the property if the owner doesn't comply with the mortgage's terms.
Mortgage Insurance: This is a title insurance policy that protects the mortgage lender from default relating to the title. Mortgage insurance is usually required by banks issuing mortgages. It provides no protection for the actual property owner, though, which distinguishes it from fee insurance.
Title Insurance: Title insurance is a form of insurance that guarantees an owner's claim to a property. This guarantee comes after a title company has performed an abstract, of public documents, to uncover parties with competing claims to the property (heirs, liens, mortgages, etc.) Title insurance has several forms, including mortgage insurance (protecting the lender), and fee insurance (protecting the owner).