| Term | Definition |
|---|
| debt service | The total amount of credit card, auto, mortgage or other debt upon which you must pay. |
| debt-service ratio | The measurement of debt payments to gross household income which may include, in addition to the main wage earner's salary, salaries of other wage earners, commissions, bonuses, overtime, etc. |
| Deceptive Trade Practices Act | Part of the federal Consumer Protection Act originally passed in 1973 and made specifically applicable to real estate in 1975, specifically prohibiting a lengthy number of false, misleading and deceptive acts or practices. |
| deduction | In tax law, an amount that you can subtract from the total amount on which you owe tax. Examples of federal income tax deductions include mortgage interest, charitable contributions and certain state taxes. For example, if Aimee receives an income of $60,000 in 1998 and pays $12,000 in mortgage interest during that same year, she can deduct $12,000 when she fills out her federal tax return, leaving an amount of $48,000 upon which she must pay tax. |
| deed in lieu (of foreclosure) | A means of escaping an overly burdenome mortgage. If a homeowner can't make the mortgage payments and can't find a buyer for the house, many lenders will accept ownership of the property in place of the money owed on the mortgage. Even if the lender won't agree to accept the property, the homeowner can prepare a quitclaim deed that unilaterally transfers the homeowner's property rights to the lender. |
| deed of trust | The legal instrument in which the property is conveyed in trust to a trustee to be held as security for a loan. Commonly but inaccurately referred to as a "mortgage". |
| deed restrictions | Deed restrictions cover allowable land uses and home types and sizes within a neighborhood or on a specific property. |
| default | Non-performance of a duty arising under a contract or otherwise. |
| defeasanse | A clause in a deed, lease, will or other legal document that completely or partially negates the document if a certain condition occurs or fails to occur. Defeasance also means the act of rendering something null and void. For example, a will may provide that a gift of property is defeasable--that is, it will be void--if the beneficiary fails to marry before the willmaker's death. |
| delivery | The actual transfer of the deed, or an act of a seller showing intent to make a deed effective, without which, there is no transfer of title to the property. |
