Mortgage and Real Estate Glossary
Alberta Equity's glossary contains hundreds of terms. With this tool, you can click or search through the largest real estate and mortgage glossary in Canada!
- Offline Debit Card
- Cards that share traits of both ATM and credit cards. Offline debit cards have the VISA or MasterCard logo on them and can be issued by a bank, either instead of or in addition to an ATM card. These cards can be used at any establishment that displays the VISA or MasterCard logo, but using them doesn't access a line of credit — it debits a customer's chequing account. It is "offline" because the account isn't directly accessed — there's a delay of 24 to 72 hours before the debit is made in the account. If you sign a slip of paper to conclude the transaction, it was offline. In the Canada, a Personal Identification Number (PIN) may be required to use an offline debit card.
- On-Us Item
- Payment that is deposited at the same financial institution on which it was drawn or written, e.g., a cheque that was written by one customer of a bank and deposited by the recipient at another branch of the same bank. These items are not cleared between institutions and therefore are generally not represented in statistics of payments exchanged between financial institutions in the clearings.
- One-year Adjustable
- Mortgage whose annual rate changes yearly. The rate is usually based on movements of a published index plus a specified margin, chosen by the lender.
- Online Banking
- Access by personal computer or terminal to bank information, accounts and certain transactions via the financial institution's web site on the Internet. Also known as Internet banking.
- Online Bill Payment
- A service offered by online banks, usually for a small monthly fee, that relieves consumers from having to write cheques and lick stamps to pay their monthly bills. Online bill payment systems allow people to enter the names of their creditors and the numbers of their utility accounts and pay virtually all routine bills.
- Online Debit Card
- An online debit card deducts funds from the bank account immediately, as soon as the card is used. It may have the VISA or MasterCard logo, or only the issuing bank's logo, like an ATM card. There is no delay for processing the transaction — the money is immediately deducted from your account.
- Open House
- A selling tool in which a real-estate agent advertises a property for sale and invites people to visit without making an appointment.
- Open Listing
- A property that a number of brokers can market and sell for a commission.
- Open Mortgage
- A mortgage that can be paid off prior to maturity without penalty.
- Open-end Lease
- Sometimes called a finance lease. It usually offers lower payments, but carries a risk for the consumer. Under an open-end lease, the lessee must pay any difference between the residual value of the car as stated in the lease and the fair market value of the car, if lower, at the end of the lease. The lessor pays for the appraisal that sets the value. If the consumer doesn't agree with it, the consumer may pay for a binding, independent appraisal by someone agreed to by both parties.
- Operating Loan
- A loan intended for short-term financing, supplying cash flow support or to cover day-to-day operating expenses.
- Option
- A legal agreement giving someone the right to buy, sell or lease a property or item at specified terms for a specified period.
- Options
- Also known as add-ons. These are features added to the car often by the dealer such as a CD stereo, anti-theft system, detailing and undercoating. Some items are purely decorative, known as "mop and glow," and do not add any value to the car.
- Oral Agreement
- A spoken, unwritten legal agreement, worth the paper it's printed on.
- Ordinary Dividends
- Dividends that are distributions of a company's profits. They are fully taxable.
- Ordinary Income
- Income that does not qualify as a capital gain. Wages, interest, dividends and net income from a business are examples of ordinary income.
- Original Principal Balance
- The amount borrowed.
- Origination Date
- The date on which the loan is funded.
- Origination Fee
- The fee a lender charges to process a loan. It usually includes the cost to prepare loan documents, check a borrower's credit history, inspect the property and sometimes conduct an appraisal. CanEquity will in most cases use a lender who doesn't charge this fee or we will cover the cost in full.
- Over-the-limit Fee
- A fee charged for exceeding the credit limit on the card.
- Overdraft
- The amount that a cheque exceeds the available balance in the payor's account; also insufficient funds.
- Overdraft Annual Cost
- Fee charged to the accountholder by the institution to cover the overdraft feature on the chequing account. This fee is charged even if the overdraft protection is never activated. This fee may be charged in addition to the one-time fee.
- Overdraft Minimum Amount
- Minimum amount that will be transferred to the accountholder's account if a potential not sufficient funds situation occurs.
- Overdraft Protection
- A service that allows a chequing account to be linked to another savings or line of credit to provide protection against insufficient funds or overdrafts.
- Owner Financing
- A transaction in which the seller lends all or part of the money to the buyer.
- Owner Occupant
- A borrower who resides in the property used as security for the loan.
