T

Tax sale	A sale of real property ordered by the court in order to raise money to cover delinquent taxes
Tenancy in common	A version of joint tenancy of a property, but without any right of succession by survivorship among the owners
Testate	To die having prepared and left a valid will
Testator	The individual who makes out a last will and testament
Time is of the essence	A condition in a contract requiring the completion of a certain act within a designated period of time
Time-share	A form of ownership interest which allows use of the property only for a fixed or variable period of time
Title	A legal document that evidences a person’s ownership of and right to possess a property
Title insurance	Insurance that protects the owner or mortgagee against loss arising from disputes over or defects in the title to a parcel of real estate that arise after ownership has been transferred
Title search	Research into public title records to determine the current status of ownership of a piece of property; a licensed attorney must provide any legal interpretation of the records found
Torrens Title	Now a dated system (only used in a few US states) whereby the court issues a certificate establishing the extent of an individual’s estate, including any exceptions noted
Township	A division of land that is six miles square, containing 36 square-mile sections
Tract	A specific parcel of land
Transfer of ownership	Any circumstance in which the ownership of a property changes hands, e.g., via outright, titled purchase, or the assumption of an existing on a property, or possession of the property via a land sales trust, even any transfer of a beneficial interest in the trust
Transfer tax	State or local taxes imposed on a transfer of ownership of real property
Trust	A right to a piece of property that is held for the benefit of another
Trust deed, or a Deed of trust	A written document that grants the trustee the title to a piece of property for the benefit of another, and which gives the trustee the power to sell, mortgage or subdivide the property
Trustee	A party who holds property for the benefit of another
Trustee’s deed	A deed conveying land ownership executed by the trustee who holds the land in trust
Trustor	The borrower in a trust loan transaction
Truth-in-Lending	A federal law that requires disclosure by a credit institution or lender of the terms and conditions of a loan or mortgage, including the annual percentage rate and any other charges, to the borrower when they apply for the loan. Also see Regulation Z
Two-step mortgage	An adjustable-rate mortgage that charges a below-market interest rate for a designated number of years (usually 5 or 7) after which the interest rate is adjusted to the current market conditions