- Construction loan
A short-term, interim loan for financing the cost of construction. The lender makes payments to the builder at periodic intervals as the work progresses.
- Contingency
A provision in a contract stating that some or all of the terms of the contract will be altered or voided by the occurrence of a specific event. A common example is a Buyer who enters into the purchase of another home before his current home is sold. The Buyer will usually ask for the Seller to make the sale contingent upon the sale of the Buyer's current home. If the Seller receives another offer for the property, the first Buyer must either agree to buy the home without any contingency, or step aside and let someone else purchase the home.
- Contract of sale
The agreement between the buyer and seller on the purchase price, terms, and conditions necessary to both parties to convey the title to the buyer.
- Conventional mortgage
Refers to home loans other than government loans (VA and FHA).
- Convertible ARM
An adjustable-rate mortgage that allows the borrower to change the ARM to a fixed-rate mortgage within a specific time.
- Conveyance
Written instrument, such as a deed or lease, that evidences transfer of some ownership interest in real property from one person to another.
- Cooperative (co-op)
A type of multiple ownership in which the residents of a multiunit housing complex own shares in the cooperative corporation that owns the property, giving each resident the right to occupy a specific apartment or unit.
- Cost of funds index (COFI)
One of the indexes that is used to determine interest rate changes for certain adjustable-rate mortgages. It represents the weighted-average cost of savings, borrowings, and advances of the financial institutions such as banks and savings & loans, in the 11th District of the Federal Home Loan Bank for the USA.
- Counter offer
The rejection of an offer to buy or sell that simultaneously makes a different offer, changing the terms in some way. For example, if a Buyer offers $160,000 for a home, and the Seller replies that he wants $175,000, the Seller has rejected the Buyer's offer of $160,000 and made a counteroffer to sell at $175,000. The legal significance of a counteroffer is that it completely voids the original offer, so that if the Seller decided to sell for $160,000 the next day, the Buyer would be under no legal obligation to pay that amount for the property.
- Covenant
A restriction on the use of real estate that governs its use, such as a requirement that the property will be used only for residential purposes. Covenants are found in deeds or in documents that bind everyone who owns land in a particular development.
- Credit
An agreement in which a borrower receives something of value in exchange for a promise to repay the lender at a later date.
- Credit history
A record of an individual's repayment of debt. Credit histories are reviewed my mortgage lenders as one of the underwriting criteria in determining credit risk.
- Credit report
A report of an individual's credit history prepared by a credit bureau and used by a lender in determining a loan applicant's creditworthiness.
- Credit repository
An organization that gathers, records, updates, and stores financial and public records information about the payment records of individuals who are being considered for credit.
- Creditor
A person or entity (such as a bank) to whom a debt is owed.
- Cul-de-sac
A dead end street which widens sufficiently at the end to permit an automobile to make a "U" turn.
