Amortization Schedule: A timetable for payment of a mortgage showing the amount of each payment applied to interest and principal and the balance remaining.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR): The total cost of a mortgage stated as a yearly rate; includes such items as the base interest rate, loan origination fee (points), commitment fees, prepaid interest and other credit costs that may be paid by the borrower.

Application Fee: A fee that some lenders charge to accept an application for a mortgage loan. It may or may not be refundable if the lender declines the loan.

Appraisal: a written report which determining the property's estimated value based on an analysis of sales of similar homes.

Approval: Acceptance of the borrower's loan application. Approval means that the borrower meets the lender's qualification requirements and also its underwriting requirements. In some cases, especially where approval is provided quickly as with automated underwriting systems, the approval may be conditional on further verification of information provided by the borrower.