TACKING:
Adding an extra period of time to the term of a contract.

TAKE-OUT LOAN:
The loan arranged by the owner or builder-developer for a buyer. The construction loan made for construction of the improvements is usually paid from the proceeds of this loan.

TAKING:
1. Government acquisition of land through condemnation.
2. Restrictions on the use of land that are so harsh as to block any reasonable use of the property.

TANDEM PLAN:
A joint program of the Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA) and the Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) to provide low-interest home loans.

TANGIBLE PROPERTY:
Assets that can be touched, that have a physical existence.

TANGIBLE PERSONAL PROPERTY:
Personal property having substance that can be delivered from one person to another.

TAX:
1. To strain or push to the point of exhaustion.
2. To levy an assessment against, usually by government powers. Unpaid taxes usually form a special lien on property owned by the taxpayer, ahead of registered mortgages.
3. The money charged as an assessment.

TAX AND INSURANCE ESCROW:
See ESCROW ACCOUNT.

TAX BASE:
The pool of property, value or income from which a government may draw assessments.

TAX DEED:
The instrument of conveyance when a property is sold by a government body to pay for arrears of taxes.

TAX FREE EXCHANGE:
An exchange of "like for like" properties for the purpose of deferring income tax.

TAX FORECLOSURE:
The process leading up to the sale of a property to pay for arrears in taxes.

TAX LIEN:
A claim registered against a property by a government authority for non-payment of assessed taxes.

TAX MAP:
A pictorial representation of the properties in a municipality, showing dimensions and other information about each property for tax purposes.

TAX ROLL:
A list or record containing the descriptions of all land parcels located within the county, the names of the owners, the assessed values and the tax amounts.  Also known as "assessment roll", the listing of all properties in a jurisdiction that are subject to taxation, including owners' names, assessed value of each property, municipal addresses, legal descriptions and assessment roll number.

TAX SALE:
Sale of property after a period of nonpayment of taxes.

TAX-EXEMPT PROPERTY:
A property that is not subject to realty taxes.

TEASER RATE:
A lower interest rate charged on an adjustable or variable rate mortgage for a brief, introductory period as an inducement to the borrower to accept the loan from the lender.

TENANCY:
The right to use and occupy all or part of a property under a rental agreement.

TENANCY AT SUFFERANCE:
An estate held by a tenant when his right to possess the property has expired.

TENANCY AT WILL:
An estate for an indefinite period that may be terminated at the will of either the landlord or the tenant.

TENANCY BY ENTIRETY:
See JOINT TENANTS.

TENANCY FOR LIFE:
See LIFE ESTATE.

TENANCY FOR YEARS:
Form of tenancy created by a written agreement in which the tenant has the right to occupy the premises for a stated period of time.

TENANCY FROM PERIOD TO PERIOD:
A leasehold estate continuing from period to period until the landlord or the tenant gives notice.

TENANCY FROM YEAR TO YEAR (MONTH TO MONTH):
A form of tenancy in which the tenant's right to occupy the premises lasts for a stated period of time but may be extended by mutual consent for another period.

TENANCY IN COMMON:
Ownership by two or more persons who hold undivided interest, without right of survivorship; interests need not be equal.

TENANCY IN PARTNERSHIP:
A title vesting which can be used by partners of a business when a business owns real property.

TENANCY IN SEVERALTY:
Ownership of property by a single person.

TENANT FIXTURES:
Items added to a leased premises by a tenant that might normally be considered fixtures (and, therefore, part of the premises) but that, by contract or law, the tenant is entitled to remove at the end of the lease period.

TENANT IN COMMON:
A person who owns property with one or more others, where each owns a stated portion of the property and is free to deal with his portion as he wishes.

TENDER:
An offer of performance. If it is unjustifiably refused, it places the other party to a contract in default.

TENEMENT:
All rights in land which pass with a conveyance of the land.

TENURE IN LAND:
The mode or manner by which an estate in lands is held.

TERM LOAN:
A loan that comes due on a given date, often before the periodic payments would pay the loan out.

TERM, AMORTIZATION:
Term: The period of time during which the loan contract is active, during which the borrower makes periodic payments to the lender and at the end of which the balance of the loan becomes due and payable.
Amortization: The period of time after which, if all periodic payments are made on time and in full, the loan will be paid out. Term may not be the same as amortization: a normal mortgage may be amortized over 25 years with just a five year term at which time the borrower has to re-finance.

TERMITE CLAUSE:
A term in an Agreement for sale which allows the Purchaser to inspect for termites. If any are found, the Vendor may be required to treat the problem or the Purchaser may rescind. Many clauses now refer more generally to "wood-damaging or destroying insects".

TERMITE INSPECTION:
The examination of a building for wood destroying insects.

TERMS:
The various clauses that make up a contract. Sometimes used to described the financial portions of the contract only.

TESTAMENT:
A person's will.

TESTAMENTARY DISPOSITION:
The transfer of ownership of an asset by way of a will.

TESTATE:
To die leaving a valid Will. Opposite of "intestate".

TESTATOR (TESTATRIX):
One who leaves a will in force at his/her death.

TESTIMONIUM:
The clause in a legal instrument that sets out the date and other information regarding the signing of the instrument.

THIRD PARTY:
A person who is not a party to a contract but may become involved in an indirect way or be affected by it.

TIER:
A row of townships running from east to west.

TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE:
A clause, which if included in a contract, makes failure to perform by a specific date a material breach or violation of the contract.  One of the essential requirements to forming of a binding contract; contemplates a punctual performance.

TIME-SHARING:
A form of joint ownership of property where numerous owners share title and enjoy use or occupation of the property according to a specific schedule.

TITLE:
Evidence that owner of land is in lawful possession thereof; an instrument evidencing such ownership.

TITLE COMPANY:
Also known as "title insurance company" or "title insurer". A corporation which is in the business of selling policies of insurance guaranteeing the ownership and quality of title to land.

TITLE COVENANTS:
Clauses and promises inserted into instruments of conveyance which are designed to give the Purchaser assurances that she is receiving good title.

TITLE DEFECT:
A claim against or competing interest in a property which affects the title of the registered owner.

TITLE INSURANCE POLICY:
A policy issued by a title company after searching the title and which insures against loss resulting from defects of title to a specifically described parcel of real property or from the enforcement of liens existing against it at the time the policy is issued.   Insurance written by a title company to protect property owner against loss if title is imperfect.

TITLE PLANT:
Also known as Abstract Plant. An assemblage, available to the public, of information and documents relating to title to a particular property.

TITLE REPORT:
A document which sets out the current state of title to a property.

TITLE SEARCH OR EXAMINATION:
The act of examining in detail the public records relating to ownership of a parcel of land to ensure that the current owner has clear title, free of any liens, claims, mortgages or competing and adverse interests. Usually performed by a lawyer, qualified title searcher, or title insurance company on behalf of a proposed purchaser or mortgagee.

TITLE THEORY STATES:
Jurisdictions in which ownership of land is divided into two interests: legal title and equitable title. When an owner registers a mortgage in favor of a lender, legal title is transferred to the lender while the owner retains equitable (or beneficial) title. Once the mortgage is paid out, legal title is transferred back to the owner.

TITLE VESTING:
The way that title is held by the owner.

TOPOGRAPHY:
Nature of the surface of land; topography may be level, rolling, mountainous.

TORRENS SYSTEM:
Developed in Australia, a system of the registration of interests in land in which documents are closely regulated, monitored and examined by the recording authority to ensure that they are correct and that title is transferred without flaw. Property may not be transferred if uncorrected title defects exist.

TORRENS TITLE:
A system of land registration operated by a state.

TORT:
A wrongful act; wrong, injury; violation of a legal right.

TOTAL DEBT RATIO:
Comparison of the total costs of living for a person (including debt, food, utilities) over a given period with the gross income of that person.

TOTAL INTEREST PAYMENTS:
A calculation of all interest paid on a loan over its life.

TOWN HOUSE:
A type of dwelling which shares at least one common wall with neighboring dwellings.

TOWNSHIP:
A territorial subdivision six miles long, six miles wide and containing 36 sections, each one mile square.

TRADE FIXTURES:
Articles of personal property annexed to real property, but which are necessary to the carrying on of a trade and are removable by the owner.

TRADE-IN:
An increasingly popular method of guaranteeing an owner a minimum amount of cash on sale of his present property to permit him to purchase another. If the property is not sold within a specified time at the listed price, the broker agrees to arrange financing to purchase the property at an agreed-upon discount.

TRANSACTION FEE:
A charge for making a withdrawal on a line of credit or other bank account.

TRANSFER TAX:
See LAND TRANSFER TAX.

TRANSFERABILITY:
Owner of a property is able to convey title or use of property to another. One of the four essential elements which create value.

TRESPASS:
An invasion of an owner's rights in his property.

TRIPLE-NET LEASE:
A rental agreement which requires the tenant to pay all operating costs of the building.

TRUST ACCOUNT:
A neutral bank account maintained by a broker for the deposit of money entrusted with him.

TRUST DEED:
Deed given by borrower to beneficiary to be held pending fulfillment of an obligation.

TRUSTEE:
One who as agent for others handles money or holds title to their land.  One who holds property in trust for another to secure the performance of an obligation.

TRUSTEE'S DEED:
A deed given by trustee when property is foreclosed and sold at a trustee's sale.

TRUSTEE'S SALE:
Sale conducted by a trustee (often the lender) under the terms of the deed of trust.

TRUSTOR:
One who deeds his property to a trustee to be held as security until he has performed his obligation to a lender under terms of a deed of trust.

TRUTH-IN-LENDING ACT:
A federal law which requires lenders to disclose all terms of a loan arrangement to the borrower in a specified form.

TUDOR:
A heavy looking, fortress like style of home in the English style. Stone and brick construction, may also feature stucco and exposed timbers. Windows feature stone trim.

TWO-STEP MORTGAGE:
A mortgage contract in which the interest rate changes after a given period of time, such that the rate charged is lower for the first part of the term of the mortgage and then market rate or higher later in the term.