A B C D E [F] G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y & Z
Facilitator – See nonagent.
Fair Housing Act – The federal law that prohibits discrimination in housing based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, and national origin.
Fannie Mae – A quasi-government agency established to purchase any kind of mortgage loans in the secondary mortgage market from the primary lenders.
Farm Credit System (System) – A federal agency of the Department of Agricultural that offers programs to help families purchase or operate family farms.
Farmer Mac – An agency that operates similarly to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, but for agricultural loans.
Farmer’s Home Administration (FmHA) – Currently known as the Farm Service Agency (FSA). An agency of the federal government that provides credit assistance to farmers and other individuals who live in rural areas.
Farm Service Agency (FSA) – Formerly the Farmer’s Home Administration (FmHA). An agency of the federal government that provides credit assistance to farmers and other individuals who live in rural areas.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) – An independent federal agency that insures the deposits in commercial banks.
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC) – See Freddie Mac.
Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA) – See Fannie Mae.
Federal Reserve System – The country’s central banking system, which is responsible for the nation’s monetary policy by regulating the supply of money and interest rates.
Fee-for-service – Arrangement where a consumer asks a licensee to perform specific real estate services for a set fee.
Fee simple – The highest interest in real estate recognized by the law; the holder is entitled to all rights to the property.
Fee simple absolute – The maximum possible estate or right of ownership of real property, continuing forever.
Fee simple defeasible – A qualified estate that is subject to the occurrence or nonoccurrence of some specified event. See also defeasible fee estate.
Fee simple determinable – A fee simple estate qualified by a special limitation. Language used to describe limitation includes the words, “so long as” or “while” or “during.”
Feudal system – A system of ownership usually associated with precolonial England, in which the king or other sovereign is the source of all rights. The right to possess real property was granted by the sovereign to an individual as a life estate only. Upon the death of the individual, title passed back to the sovereign, not to the decedent’s heirs.
FHA loan – A loan insured by the Federal Housing Administration and made by an approved lender in accordance with the FHA’s regulations.
Fiduciary – One in whom trust and confidence is placed; a reference to a broker employed under the terms of a listing contract or buyer agency agreement.
Fiduciary relationship – A relationship of trust and confidence, as between trustee and beneficiary, attorney and client, or principal and agent.
Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) – This act restructured the savings and loan association regulatory system; enacted in response to the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s.
Financing statement – A short notice of the security agreement that contains a complete description of the items against which a lien applies. See also Uniform Commercial Code.
Fiscal policy – The government’s policy in regard to taxation and spending programs. The balance between these two areas determines the amount of money the government will withdraw from or feed into the economy, which can counter economic peaks and slumps.
Fixture – An item of personal property that has been converted to real property by being permanently affixed to the realty.
Foreclosure – A legal procedure whereby property used as security for a debt is sold to satisfy the debt in the event of default in payment of the mortgage note or default of other terms in the mortgage document. The foreclosure procedure brings the rights of all parties to a conclusion and passes the title in the mortgaged property to either the holder of the mortgage or a third party who may purchase the realty at the fore closure sale, free of all encumbrances affecting the property subsequent to the mortgage.
Fractional section – A parcel of land less than 160 acres, usually found at the edge of a rectangular survey.
Fraud – Deception intended to cause a person to give up property or a lawful right.
Freddie Mac – A corporation established to purchase primarily conventional mortgage loans in the secondary mortgage market.
Freehold estate – An estate in land in which owner ship is for an indeterminate length of time, in contrast to a leasehold estate.
Front footage – The measurement of a parcel of land by the number of feet of street or road frontage.
Functional obsolescence – A loss of value to an improvement to real estate arising from functional problems, often caused by age or poor design.
Future interest – A person’s present right to an interest in real property that will not result in possession or enjoyment until some time in the future, such as a reversion or right of reentry.
