The title industry has its own language. Many of its words and idioms are derived from the language of the law while others are common words given special meaning related to land titles. There are also words and phrases coined over the years by the title industry itself.
Glossary
F
FORFEIT
(1) Money or a right which a person loses upon failure to perform an agreement, obligation, or duty. (2) The act of losing money or a right as described.
FORGED
Fraudulently executed, counterfeited.
FORGERY
The fraudulent signing of another’s name to an instrument such as a deed or mortgage or check.
FRAUD
A deception deliberately practiced in order to obtain an unfair or unlawful gain. FRAUDULENT Obtained, performed, or characterized by deceit or fraud. FREEHOLD A life estate or a fee simple estate.
FRONT FOOT
A unit of measurement, one foot in length, along the front boundary line of a piece of property which measurement, when assigned a dollar value, is a factor in determining the total value or sale price of the tract.
G
GENERAL WARRANTY
A warranty provision in a deed or mortgage or other real estate instrument containing all of the common law items of warranty. Also known as a full warranty.
GORE
A sliver of land usually of triangular shape between two tracts, resulting from failure of land descriptions to adjoin.
GRANT
A transfer of real estate, between individuals, by deed. A transfer of real estate from a sovereign by patent or royal decree.
GRANTEE
One to whom a grant is made.
GRANTOR
One who makes a grant.
GUARANTY
An agreement in which a guarantee or assurance of a state of facts or the performance of an objective or obligation is given.
GUARDIAN
A person who is legally responsible for the care and management of the person or property of one who is legally incompetent to manage his own affairs.
H
HABENDUM CLAUSE
That provision in deeds which begins with the words “to have and to hold” and which, in effect, defines the quality of the estate or interest which is being conveyed to the grantee.
HAZARD
A danger, peril or risk. Incident to title insurance, it relates to the risk assumed under a title insurance policy.
