Terms Used In Michigan Laws > Chapter 445 > Act 135 of 1977 - Mortgage Lending Practices

• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Chief judge: The judge who has primary responsibility for the administration of a court but also decides cases; chief judges are determined by seniority.
• Civil infraction: means an act or omission that is prohibited by a law and is not a crime under that law or that is prohibited by an ordinance, as defined in section 8701, and is not a crime under that ordinance, and for which civil sanctions may be ordered. See Michigan Laws 600.113
• Commissioner: means the commissioner of the office of financial and insurance regulation of the department of licensing and regulatory affairs. See Michigan Laws 445.1601
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Credit granting institution: means a state or nationally chartered bank, a state or federally chartered savings and loan association, a state or federally chartered credit union, the Michigan state housing development authority, or a business entity making or purchasing mortgage loans, that has a main office, branch office, or service center in the state of Michigan at which it conducts that business. See Michigan Laws 445.1601
• Credit report: A detailed report of an individual's credit history prepared by a credit bureau and used by a lender in determining a loan applicant's creditworthiness. ^{Source: OCC}
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Equal Credit Opportunity Act: Prohibits creditors from discriminating against credit applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, or because an applicant receives income from a public assistance program. ^{Source: OCC}
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Escrow: Money given to a third party to be held for payment until certain conditions are met.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. ^{Source: OCC}
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• Home improvement loan: means a secured or unsecured loan used for the purpose of repairing, rehabilitating, or remodeling an existing residential dwelling designed for occupancy by 4 or fewer families, as stated by the borrower in the loan application and as recorded on the books of the credit granting institution. See Michigan Laws 445.1601
• in writing: shall be construed to include printing, engraving, and lithographing; except that if the written signature of a person is required by law, the signature shall be the proper handwriting of the person or, if the person is unable to write, the person's proper mark, which may be, unless otherwise expressly prohibited by law, a clear and classifiable fingerprint of the person made with ink or another substance. See Michigan Laws 8.3q
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• judgment: as used in this act , includes decree. See Michigan Laws 600.112
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Loan application: means a written application for a mortgage loan or home improvement loan. See Michigan Laws 445.1601
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Mortgage loan: A loan made by a lender to a borrower for the financing of real property. ^{Source: OCC}
• Mortgage loan: means a loan secured by a mortgage on real property designed for occupancy by 4 or fewer families, including an individual unit of a condominium or cooperative, a refinancing of an existing mortgage loan on real property designed for occupancy by 4 or fewer families involving an increase in the outstanding balance of the principal due, or a loan secured by a junior lien on real property designed for occupancy by 4 or fewer families undertaken for any purpose. See Michigan Laws 445.1601
• Mortgagor: The person who pledges property to a creditor as collateral for a loan and who receives the money.
• Neighborhood: means either of the following: