“ABSOLUTE: Unconditional; complete and perfect in itself; without relation to or dependence upon other things or persons.

ABSTRACT: A succinct summary; (e.g. an abstract of judgment; an abstract of title, etc.)

ABSTRACT OF JUDGMENT: The essentials of a money judgment obtained via an adjudicated lawsuit. When an abstract is recorded in the recorder’s office the judgment becomes a general lien on all the debtor’s property located in that particular county.

ACCELERATION CLAUSE: Clause in a deed of trust or mortgage which “”accelerates”” the time when the indebtedness becomes due. For example, some deeds of trust contain a provision that the note balance shall become due immediately upon the resale of the land or upon the default in the payment of principal and interest.

ACCOMMODATION RECORDING: The recordation of title documents as a courtesy by a title company . . . without the assumption of responsibility for their correctness or validity.

ACCOMMODATOR: A party who temporarily holds the sale proceeds of a property, on behalf of the seller, who is involved in an IRS1031 exchange.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT: A formal declaration before a duly authorized officer (such as a notary public) by a person who has executed an instrument that such execution is his own. An acknowledgment is necessary to entitle an instrument (with certain specific exceptions) to be recorded, to impart constructive notice of its contents, and to entitle the instrument to be used as evidence without further proof. The certificate of acknowledgment is attached to the instrument or incorporated therein.

ACQUIESCENCE: Implied acceptance by an informed party. Witnessed by conduct that recognizes the existence of a transaction and permits it to be carried into effect; implied acceptance.

ACTUAL NOTICE: Notice in fact to a party . . . directly and personally.

ADJUDICATION: A judicial determination.

ADJUSTABLE RATE MORTGAGE (ARM): A loan with an interest rate that fluctuates based on a specified financial index, such as Treasury securities, or the 11th District Cost of Funds, etc.

ADVANCES: Moneys paid, on behalf of an owner, by a junior interest holder. Done to temporarily cure a delinquency on a senior encumbrance that threatens to extinguish the junior’s position. Thereafter the junior lien holder can start their own foreclosure if they are not immediately reimbursed for the advances paid out.

ADVERSE POSSESSION: A method of acquiring title to real property by physical possession of the property for a statutorily set time period, under certain conditions, by a person other than the owner of record. In California, see Code of Civil Procedure §324.
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