DAYS ON MARKET (DOM)
The number of days a property has been on the market.
DBA
Doing business as.
DEBT
An amount owed to another.
DEBT-TO-INCOME RATIO (DTI)
Often used in qualifying a consumer for a home loan, DTI reflects the consumer's monthly debt and debt-related costs, such as taxes, fees, and insurance premiums as a percentage of their monthly gross income.
DECLARATION PAGE
A short form provided by an insurance company outlining pertinent information about an insurance policy, such as the insured party’s name and address, amount of coverage, terms, and additional provisions.
DECREE
A judgment of the court that sets out the agreements and rights of the parties.
DEED
The legal document conveying title to a property.
DEED-IN-LIEU
Short for "deed in lieu of foreclosure," this conveys title to the lender when the borrower is in default and wants to avoid foreclosure. The lender may or may not cease foreclosure activities if a borrower asks to provide a deed-in-lieu. Regardless of whether the lender accepts the deed-in-lieu, the avoidance and non-repayment of debt will most likely show on a credit history. What a deed-in-lieu may prevent is having the documents preparatory to a foreclosure being recorded and become a matter of public record.
DEED OF TRUST
Some states, like California, do not record mortgages. Instead, they record a deed of trust which is essentially the same thing.
DEFAULT
Failure to make the mortgage payment within a specified period of time. For first mortgages or first trust deeds, if a payment has still not been made within 30 days of the due date, the loan is considered to be in default.
DELINQUENCY
Failure to make mortgage payments when mortgage payments are due. For most mortgages, payments are due on the first day of the month. Even though they may not charge a "late fee" for a number of days, the payment is still considered to be late and the loan delinquent. When a loan payment is more than 30 days late, most lenders report the late payment to one or more credit bureaus.
DENSITY
The ratio of land area to the number of structures built upon it.
DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT (HUD)
A governmental entity responsible for the implementation and administration of housing and urban development programs. HUD was established by the Housing and Urban Development Act of 1965 to supersede the Housing and Home Finance Agency.
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS (VA)
A cabinet-level agency of the federal government. The Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 authorized the agency to administer a variety of benefit programs designed to facilitate the adjustment of returning veterans to civilian life. Among the benefit programs is the VA Home Loan Guaranty program, which encourages mortgage lenders to offer long-term, no-down-payment financing to eligible veterans by partially guaranteeing the lender against loss upon foreclosure.
DEPOSIT
A sum of money given to bind a sale of real estate. Also known as “earnest money.”
DEPRECIATION
A decline in the value of property; the opposite of appreciation. Depreciation is also an accounting term which shows the declining monetary value of an asset and is used as an expense to reduce taxable income. Since this is not a true expense where money is actually paid, lenders will add back depreciation expense for self-employed borrowers and count it as income.
DISCOUNT POINTS
In the mortgage industry, this term is usually used in only in reference to government loans, meaning FHA and VA loans. Discount points refer to any "points" paid in addition to the one percent loan origination fee. A "point" is one percent of the loan amount.
DISCOUNTED LOAN
When the interest rate on a loan is less than the market rate, it is a discounted loan. However, the lender requires additional discount points to raise the yield or return on the loan to the market rate.
DIRECT HOME-SELLING COSTS (DHSC)
Carrying costs, loss on sale, repairs and improvements, commission, closing costs, principal, interest, taxes and insurance, interest on equity loans, and utilities.
DISCLOSURES
Federal, state, county, and local requirements of disclosure that the seller provides and the buyer acknowledges.
DIVORCE
The legal separation of a husband and wife effected by a court decree that totally dissolves the marriage relationship.
DOM
Days on market.
DOWN PAYMENT
The amount of cash put toward a purchase by the borrower.
DRAW PERIOD
The fixed period of time — usually 10 to 15 years — during which a borrower may access or “draw” money from a home equity line of credit.
DRAW SCHEDULE
A schedule of payments agreed to by the borrower, Agency and contractor under which the contractor will receive payments for work completed.
DRIVE-BY
When a buyer or seller agent or broker drives by a property listing or potential listing.
DUAL AGENT
A state-licensed individual who represents the seller and the buyer in a single transaction.
DUE DILIGENCE
Refers to a legal obligation, e.g. in connection with the public sale of securities in real estate syndicates, of the underwriting or selling group to ensure that the offering statement or prospectus does not misstate or omit material information.
DUE-ON-SALE PROVISION
A provision in a mortgage that allows the lender to demand repayment in full if the borrower sells the property that serves as security for the mortgage.
