Main water shut-off valve The
primary valve that halts the flow of water
from the water meter into a home.
Mansard roof A roof with four
sides that slope upward from the roof edge
to the square peak.
Manufactured housing Prefabricated
homes that can range from simple trailers to
larger dwellings.
Mantel The facing of stone,
marble or other material around a fireplace.
Maintenance fee The monthly
assessment members of a homeowners'
association pay for the repair and
maintenance of common areas.
Managed-competition lots Lots
in which buyers choose between one of
several builders.
Margin The lender's "retail
markup" on the mortgage. For example, if the
index rate for an adjustable-rate mortgage
is 5 percent but the lender has a 2.5
percentage-point margin, the rate the
borrower will pay is 7.5 percent.
Market conditions Factors
affecting the sale and purchase of homes at
a particular point in time.
Market value The price that a
piece of property sells for at a particular
point in time.
Masonry The brick or stone work
on a building.
Master-planned community A
suburban plan that includes homes and
commercial, work, educational and community
facilities.
Maximum financing A loan amount
within 5 percent of the highest
loan-to-value ratio allowed for a property.
Mechanical systems A home's
plumbing, wiring, heating and cooling
systems.
Mechanic's lien Subcontractors
or suppliers sometimes will file an
encumbrance, or mechanic's lien, against a
property to seek payment.
Mediation A dispute-resolution
process in which a neutral party works to
resolve contract differences.
Median price The price of the
house that falls in the middle of the total
number of homes for sale in that area.
Merged credit report A report
that draws information from the Big Three
credit-reporting companies: Equifax,
Experian and TransUnion Corp.
Metes and bounds A time-honored
land surveying method of describing land in
terms of shape and boundary dimensions.
Mint condition Mint condition,
or blue-ribbon condition, refers to a house
that looks as close to new as possible.
Mixed-income housing A
neighborhood that contains houses of widely
varying prices.
Mixed-use development A project
that combines several different functions,
such as residential space above a commercial
establishment or an entire development
combining commercial, residential and public
accommodations.
Modification A change in any of
the terms of the loan agreement.
Molding Decorative trim
elements applied to walls, ceilings, and
window and door openings.
Money market account Accounts
that work like money market funds and allow
individual investors to participate in
certain managed investments and withdraw
funds under most conditions.
Money market funds A mutual
fund that pools the resources of individuals
to invest in certain managed investments.
Mortgage A legal document
specifying a certain amount of money to
purchase a home at a certain interest rate,
and using the property as collateral.
Mortgagee A bank or other
financial institution that lends money to
the borrower. The borrower is considered the
mortgagor.
Mortgagor The person who
borrows money to purchase a house. The
lender is called the mortgagee.
Mortgage acceleration clause A
clause which allows a lender to demand that
the entire balance of the loan be repaid in
a lump sum under certain circumstances. The
acceleration clause is usually triggered if
the home is sold, title to the property is
changed, the loan is refinanced or the
borrower defaults on a scheduled payment.
Mortgage banker A company that
provides home loans using its own money. The
loans are usually sold to investors such as
insurance companies and Fannie Mae.
Mortgage broker A company that
matches lenders with prospective borrowers
who meet the lender's criteria. The mortgage
broker does not make the loan, but receives
payment from the lender for services.
Mortgage insurance Required by
lenders in some loans to protect them from a
possible default . All conventional loans
with less than a 20 percent down payments
require private mortgage insurance, or PMI.
Mortgage-interest deduction The
tax write-off that the Internal Revenue
Service allows most owners to claim for the
annual interest payments they make on their
real estate loans.
Mortgage life insurance A
special type of insurance that will pay off
a mortgage if the borrower dies before the
debt is retired.
Motivated buyer Any buyer with
a strong incentive to make a purchase.
Motivated seller Any seller
with a strong incentive to make a deal.
Move-in condition A house that
is ready for a new occupant.
Move-up buyer A buyer who has
purchased a home before and is looking for a
bigger or more expensive home.
Mullion A vertical dividing bar
between window lights or panels.
Multi-dwelling property A
property that contains individual units for
several households but carries only one
mortgage.
Multi-family mortgage A mortgage
on a multifamily dwelling with more than
four families, typically an apartment
building.
Multiple listing service (MLS) The
service combines the listings for all
available homes in an area, except
For-Sale-By-Owner (FSBO) properties, in one
directory or database.
Multiple offers Multiple
purchase offers occur in hot markets or hot
neighborhoods.
Municipal housing inspector Inspectors
employed by cities or counties to check all
construction sites and verify that
contractors are meeting building codes.
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