HOMESTEAD >> Status provided to a homeowner’s principal residence by some state statutes; protects a home against judgments up to specified amounts.

HUD-1 (or HUD-1a) >> Final statement of the actual settlement costs of the loan and all other disbursements of a loan’s proceeds. A Federal requirement under RESPA.

IMPOUND ACCOUNT >> Account held by the lender for the payment of taxes, insurance or other periodic debts against real property.

INDEX >> A published interest rate against which lenders measure the difference between the current interest rate on an adjustable-rate mortgage and that earned by other investments , which is then used to adjust the interest rate on an adjustable-rate mortgage. Examples include LIBOR, the Prime Rate and Treasury indices. The Wall Street Journal publishes index information.

INITIAL ADJUSTMENT CAP >> This is the 1st rate adjustment on an adjustable rate mortgage loan.

INQUIRIES >> An indication of credit investigations made by companies that are considering granting credit to a person who appears on the credit report.

INSTRUCTIONS TO TITLE >> A form that instructs the title company how to record a lien against a property and issue a title insurance policy.