G

    - Glossary

 

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Gap   a defect in the chain of title of a particular parcel of real estate; a missing document or conveyance that raises doubt as to the present ownership of the land.

General index   a county recorder's office index used by title company examiners when searching the chain of title of a property. The examiner uses the index to research all the grantors and grantees in the chain of title. The index lists all the things that apply to a person by name, including liens, judgments and power of attorneys

General lien   the right of a creditor to have all of a debtor's property—both real and personal—sold to satisfy a debt.

General partner   in a limited partnership, the individual or company acquiring, organizing and managing the investment.

General partnership   in a general partnership, all the partners participate in the operation and management of the business and share full liability for business losses and obligations

General plan   every city and county is required to develop a general plan of comprehensive zoning.

General real estate tax   General real estate taxes are levied to fund the operation of the governmental agency that imposes the taxes.

General warranty deed   A deed in which the grantor fully warrants good clear title to the premises. Used in most real estate deed transfers, a general warranty deed offers the greatest protection of any deed.

Gift deed  is a  deed in which the consideration is "love and affection." Because the deed is not supported by valuable consideration, the donee (recipient of the gift) may not be able to enforce against the donor certain promises or agreements contained in the deed.

Ginnie Mae (GNMA)  Government National Mortgage Association (also GNMA) is a wholly-owned United States corporation that guarantees privately issued securities backed by pools of mortgages insured by FHA (Federal Housing Administration), FMHA (Farm e r s Home Administration) or VA (Veterans Administration).

Goalpost shifting -  Some sellers keep the bidding on their homes going even after they’ve verbally said they'll accept an offer from a buyer.  Some home sellers are accepting a buyer’s offer (a contract is drawn up) only to ask for a higher price a few days later.  This is more common in competitive markets with limited inventories of homes for sale. Yes the practice is controversial.  In this scenario buyers are learning a tough lesson:  Until signatures are on a contract, a deal isn’t done.

Good-faith estimate  (GFE) a preliminary accounting of expected closing costs. The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) requires the lender to promptly give loan applicants a good-faith estimate of closing costs.

Good funds  (for payoff) - A Title company must be in receipt of "Good Funds" prior to disbursing monies on a "payoff".  Common types of Good Funds: (1) Funds wired into a Title companies sub-escrow account (2) a cashiers check drawn from an FDIC insured bank..... cashier's checks and personal checks that have cleared the bank.

Goodwill   an intangible, saleable asset arising from the reputation of a business; the expectation of continued public patronage; including other intangible assets like trade name and going concern value.  When a business is sold, the sales price often reflects its goodwill value.

Government National Mortgage Association (GNMA)   a federal agency created in 1968 when the Federal National Mortgage association (FNMA) was partitioned into two separate corporations. "Ginnie Mae," as it is popularly called, is a corporation without capital stock and is a division of HUD. The GNMA operates the special assistance aspects of federally aided housing programs and has the management and liquidating functions of the old FNMA. The FNMA is authorized to issue and sell securities backed by a portion of its mortgage portfolio, with the GNMA guaranteeing payment on such securities.

Government-Sponsored Enterprise (GSE)   a collection of financial services corporations formed by Congress to reduce interest rates for farmers and homeowners. Examples include Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Grace period   an agreed upon time after an obligation is past due when a party can perform without being considered in default.

Graduated-payment mortgage (GPM)   a loan in which the monthly principal and interest payments increase by a certain percentage each year for a certain number of years and then level off for the remaining loan term.

Grandfather clause   an expression that conveys the concept that something that was once permissible continues to be so, despite changes in the law.

Grantee   the person who receives a conveyance of real property from a grantor. The grantee must be a person, either natural or otherwise (e.g. corporation, public agency, partnership, etc.) existing at the time of the conveyance and is capable of taking title.

Grant deed   a type of deed in which the grantor warrants to the grantee, that he has not previously conveyed the estate, that he has not encumbered the property (except as noted in the deed) and that he will convey any and all title to the property. The Grant Deed document transfers title to real property or a real property interest from one party (grantor) to another (grantee). It must describe the property by legal description of boundaries and/or parcel numbers, be signed by all people transferring the property and be acknowledged before a Notary public. Importantly, a grant deed warrants that the grantor actually owned the title to transfer, which a "quit claim" deed would not since a quit claim deed only transfers what the grantor owned, if anything....The "transfer" is finalized by recording with the County Recorder or Recorder of Deeds. The recording of the grant deed is considered the "close of escrow" in Southern California.

Granting clause   words in a deed of conveyance that state the grantor's intention to convey the property at the present time. This clause is generally worded as "convey and warrant," "grant," "grant, bargain and sell" or the like.

Grantor   the person transferring title, or an interest in real property. A grantor must be competent to convey title. A corporate grantor must have legal existence and be authorized to hold and convey title to real property. The grantor must be clearly identified in the deed.

Gross income multiplier   a figure used as a multiplier of the gross annual income of a property to produce an estimate of the property's value.

Gross lease   a lease of property according to which a landlord pays all property charges regularly incurred through ownership, such as repairs, taxes, insurance and operating expenses. Most residential leases are gross leases.

Gross rental income   gross receipts for the rental of income property.

Gross rent multiplier (GRM)   the figure used as a multiplier of the gross monthly income of a property to produce an estimate of the property's value.

Gross scheduled income   the maximum amount of rent if the property were 100 percent occupied.

Ground Lease   a lease of vacant land.

Groundwater   water under the earth's surface, regardless of the geological structure in which the water is standing or flowing. It does not include water in underground streams that have identifiable banks and beds.

Growing-equity mortgage (GEM)   a loan in which the monthly payments increase annually, with the increased amount being used to reduce directly the principal balance outstanding and thus shorten the overall term of the loan.

Guardian - a person who legally has the general care and management of a minor/incapacitated person

Guardian Ad Litem - a person appointed by the court to represent a minor/incapacitated person in a specific suit.

Grant Deed  the legal document which transfers title to real property or a real property interest from one party (grantor) to another (grantee). It must describe the property by legal description of boundaries and/or parcel numbers, be signed by all people transferring the property, and be acknowledged before a notary public. The transfer is finalized by recording with the County Recorder.  Importantly, a grant deed warrants that the grantor actually owned the title to transfer.   (Grant Deed) A deed containing an implied promise that the person transferring  the property actually owns the  title/property and that it is not encumbered in any way, except as described in the deed. This is the most commonly used type of deed.

 

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