Fair Credit Reporting Act
Fair Housing Act
Fair Market Value
Fannie Mae
Farmer's Home Administration (FmHA)
FDIC
Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
Federal Reserve Board
Federal Reserve System
Federal Trade Commission
Fee Simple
Fee Simple Defeasible
FHA
FHA Loan
FICO
Fiduciary Duty
Finance Charge
First Mortgage
Fixed-Rate Mortgage
Fixture
Flood Insurance
Floor
For Sale by Owner (FSBO)
Forbearance
Freddie Mac
Free and Clear
Front-End Ratio
Full Documentation Loan
Functional Obsolescence
Funding

Fair Credit Reporting Act
A federal law determining how and what a credit bureau can report and for how long the credit bureau can report it for.

Fair Housing Act
A federal law prohibiting discrimination in housing based on race, religion, national origin, sex, disability, and family status.

Fair Market Value
The price an item would sell for assuming both buyer and seller have a good idea of the demand and value of the item at hand. In real estate the fair market value is determined by comparing other property sales around the subject property.

Fannie Mae
A government sponsored organization that buys mortgages from lenders and sells them to a secondary mortgage market, most often made up of private investors.

Farmer's Home Administration (FmHA)
An agency providing loan assistance programs to potential buyers of homes and farms in small, rural areas.

FDIC
An abbreviation for Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC)
An agency regulated and maintained by the government to insure bank funds up to $100,000 per account and $250,000 per retirement account. All banks are nationally chartered and are members of the Federal Reserve System and therefore all accounts with these banks have this FDIC guarantee.

Federal Housing Administration (FHA)
An agency of the Department of Housing and Urban Development establishing construction and underwriting standards for lenders as well as providing mortgage insurance for certain loans.

Federal Reserve Board
The goal of this government agency is to regulate banks and conduct national monetary policies in order to achieve a stable economy.

Federal Reserve System
The central national banking system that provides and maintains services to members of the Federal Reserve.

Federal Trade Commission
An agency created by the government to govern and enforce consumer protection laws including the Truth-in-Lending Act, Fair Credit Act, etc.

Fee Simple
(aka fee absolutely or fee simple absolute) Refers to the ownership of real estate without any liens or claims clouding title.

Fee Simple Defeasible
Ownership of real estate without any liens or claims clouding title, but with some restrictions on the usage of property.

FHA
An abbrevation of Federal Housing Administration.

FHA Loan
A residential mortgage from a lender selected by and insured by the FHA. The actual administration does not lend money but it does determine which lenders can lend money under their guidelines and restrictions.

FICO
(aka credit score) An abbreviation for Fair Isaac Credit Organization.

Fiduciary Duty
A requirement that a person in a position of power and trust must act in good faith, practice good ethics, and be honest on behalf of a client.

Finance Charge
(aka interest rate) Interest charged by a lender.

First Mortgage
The first or primary loan on a property.

Fixed-Rate Mortgage
A loan where the interest rate remains the same through the life of the loan.

Fixture
Personal property that becomes real property by being attached to the building.

Flood Insurance
An insurance policy covering damage caused by rising water. This policy is considered an add-on to normal homeowner's insurance and is lender-required for properties located in flood zones. For these properties without flood insurance lenders will not lend the money.

Floor
The lowest interest rate an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) can ever be during the life of the loan.

For Sale by Owner (FSBO)
The owner of a house sells his or her own property without the help of a licensed real estate agent.

Forbearance
An act to delay foreclosure, usually due to the borrower's attempt to reinstate the loan.

Foreclosure

Freddie Mac
A government sponsored entity that buys mortgages from savings and loan companies and sells them to investors.

Free and Clear
When a property is clear of liens and mortgages.

Front-End Ratio
(aka front ratio) The percentage of an individual's monthly gross income used to pay for his or her house payment, not considering any other debts.

Full Documentation Loan
(aka full income documentation) A type of documentation requiring proof of income and assets. This type of documentation offers lenders with the least amount of risk and therefore lenders offer borrowers the lowest interest rates available.

Functional Obsolescence
A design flaw or construction problem with a property that decreases its value.

Funding
The disbursement of loan funds to all appropriate parties.