| Fair Housing Act of 1968 - A federal law prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, or national origin with respect to all significant aspects of the sale or rental of housing, the financing of housing and other related activities. See also State Fair Housing Act. |
| Farmers Home Administration (FMHA) - An agency of the federal government which provides low-interest loans and other services to farmers and other eligible people who are unable to obtain credit from traditional sources. |
| Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) - The independent federal agency that insures the deposits of eligible commercial banks. |
| Federal Home Loan Bank System - The federal agency that regulates many of the activities of federally chartered (and some state-chartered) savings and loan associations, primarily through control of the reserve requirements of these institutions. |
| Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC or "Freddie Mac") - A corporation established to purchase conventional mortgage loans (primarily from savings and loan associations) on the secondary mortgage market. |
| Federal Home Loan Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) - A law that assists the federal government in enforcing the requirement that lending institutions not discriminate against minorities by redlining or similar practices. The Act requires lenders to prepare certain information about their loan practices and make that information available for public inspection. |
| Federal Housing Administration (FHA) - An agency of the federal government, operating under the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), that insures mortgage loans made by lenders to certain qualified borrowers. |
| Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA or "Fannie Mae") - A quasi- governmental corporation subject to the regulatory authority of HUD that plays an important role in the secondary mortgage market by purchasing mortgage notes from primary lenders. |
| Federal Reserve System - Commonly referred to as the "Fed," the nation's central banking system that, through various actions taken by its governing board, regulates the money supply and interest rates. |
| Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) - The federal agency that insures the deposits of federally-chartered (and some state-chartered) savings and loan associations. |
| Federal Tax Lien - A lien against the property of a taxpayer who is delinquent in the payment of federal income taxes. The tax lien becomes effective when filed in the office of the Clerk of Superior Court in the county in which the property subject to it is located. |
| Fee - When applied to real property, an inheritable estate in the property. |
| Fee Simple Absolute - The highest quality of estate that a person can have in real property. It is of a potentially infinite duration and is transferable, devisable, and inheritable. |
| Fee Simple Determinable - A fee estate in land that is of potentially infinite duration but that might terminate prematurely and automatically if a condition attached to the estate is breached. |
| Fee Simple on a Condition Subsequent - A fee estate in land that is of potentially infinite duration but that might terminate prematurely if a condition attached to the estate is breached. The chief distinction between this estate and the fee simple determinable is that forfeiture of the fee simple on a condition subsequent is not automatic if the condition is breached; i.e., the party who imposed the condition on the estate must step forward and enforce it. |
| Fee Tail - This is an obsolete fee estate that is created by the language "to A and the heirs of his/her body." Whenever this language occurs, North Carolina law automatically converts the fee tail into a fee simple absolute. |
| FHA Mortgage Loan - A mortgage loan that is insured by the Federal Housing Administration. |
| Fiduciary - A Person to whom property is entrusted; a trustee who holds, controls or manages for another. |
| Financing Statement - The form used for filing to give notice of a security interest in personal property under the Uniform Commerical Code. |
| First Mortgage - A mortgage (or deed of trust in North Carolina) that has priority as a lien over all other mortgages (or deeds of trust), which are "second" or "junior' mortgages. |
| First Right of Refusal - See Right of First Refusal. |
| Fit Premises - What a landlord must provide a residential tenant in North Carolina under N.C. Gen. Stat. §42-42. That statute requires the landlord to do a number of things including putting and keeping the premises in a fit and habitable condition. See Residential Rental Agreement Act. |
| Fixed Rate-Level Payment Mortgage - A mortgage with a fixed interest rate and a constant monthly payment the entire loan term. |
| Fixed Rental Lease - A lease calling for payment of a fixed amount of rent at regular intervals during the term of the lease. Also called a flat lease. |
| Fixture - An item of personal property, a chattel, affixed to a building or structure on land in such a manner that it becomes a part of the building, structure, or real estate to which it is affixed and annexed. Fixtures affixed to real estate become appurtenances of the real estate to which they are affixed and subject to the legal rules that apply to real estate, rather than the legal rules that apply to personal property. This means that a fixture automatically passes with the real estate unless the contract to convey provides otherwise. |
| Flat Fee - A brokerage fee arrangement in a listing contract whereby the broker is to receive a fixed sum upon sale of the property. |
| Flat Lease - See Fixed Rental Lease. |
| Flat Fee Listing - A brokerage fee arrangement in a listing contract that involves the payment of a fixed fee to a broker. The fee is not a percentage of the ultimate sales price and may not even be tied to whether or not the broker is successful in selling the listed property. |
| Floodplain - An area of land near a river or other body of water that is subject to periodic flooding and typically has its use restricted by zoning. |
| Foreclosure - A legal remedy to enforce security rights in land under a mortgage or deed of trust. The lender or creditor may bring an action in court to foreclose a mortgage or deed of trust to compel a public sale of the property involved and application of the proceeds to payment of the debt secured. In addition, most mortgages and deeds of trust provide that the secured lender or creditor can compel a foreclosure under a power of sale given to the mortgagee or trustee (in a deed of trust) upon default in payment of the indebtedness without the necessity of a court action. A valid foreclosure terminates the debtor-mortgagor's interest in the secured property and the proceeds of the foreclosure sale are applied to payment of his/her indebtedness. |
| Forfeiture - A loss of anything of value due to failure to perform, such as under a lease or contract for the sale of property where such is provided for in the lease or contract. |
| Fraud - Fraud covers a multitude of intentional and deceitful acts committed by one party to take unfair advantage of another. Traditional elements of fraud are: a false representation as to a material fact, made with knowledge of its falsity, made with an intent to deceive, and resulting in action by the victim in justifiable reliance on the misrepresentation. |
| Fraudulent Misrepresentation - With regard to real estate sales, the intentional misrepresentation of a material fact by a seller or his/her real estate agent to induce the purchase of property. The purchaser under these circumstances will be entitled to certain remedies including damages. See also Fraud. |
| "Freddie Mac" - See Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. |
| Freehold - An interest (estate) in real estate of not less than a life estate; either a fee sirnple estate or a life estate. |
| Front Footage - A property measurement for sale or valuation purposes consisting of the number of feet of street or road frontage. |
| Fructus lndustriales - Crops or vegetable products that are the result of annual labor and cultivation and treated as personal property for certain purposes. |
| Fructus Naturales - Plant life that is the natural and spontaneous growth of nature requiring no annual planting or cultivation and that is treated as real property as long as it remains unsevered. |
| Full Performance - In contract law, the complete performance of the contract terms by each party. See also Executed Contract. |
| Full-Service Lease - A type of lease, commonly used with multi-tenant commercial property, where the leasees share overall operating expenses for the building and common areas. |
| Functional Obsolescence - An impairment of desirability of a property arising from its being out-of-date with respect to design and style, capacity and utility in relation to site, lack of modern facilities or the like. |
| Future Estate (or Future Interest) - An interest in land entitling its owner to possession of the land at a future date, as, for example, the interest that a remainderman holds during the life of a present life tenant. |
