A
Abstract of title — A summary of every recorded document affecting a property — deeds, deeds of trust, liens, releases — assembled in order from the county land records.
Ad valorem tax — The annual property tax, figured on the property's assessed value. In a sale, the current year's ad valorem taxes are usually prorated between buyer and seller at closing.
Adverse possession — A way someone can gain ownership of land by occupying it openly, continuously, and exclusively, under a claim of ownership and without the owner's permission, for ten years.
C
Cash to close — The total a buyer brings to closing: down payment plus closing costs, minus credits and the earnest money already paid.
Chain of title — The unbroken sequence of owners a property has passed through, traced deed by deed through the county records. A break in the chain is a title problem.
Chancery Clerk — The county official who keeps Mississippi's land records. Deeds and deeds of trust are recorded in the Chancery Clerk's office of the county where the land sits.
Closing (settlement) — The meeting where documents are signed, money moves, and ownership transfers. In Mississippi, closings typically happen at an attorney's office.
Closing Disclosure (CD) — The final, itemized statement of loan terms and closing costs. On a mortgage deal, the lender must deliver it to the buyer at least three business days before closing.
Cloud on title — Any unresolved claim, lien, or defect in the records that leaves ownership uncertain until it's cleared.
Commitment (title commitment) — The insurer's written promise to issue a title policy once listed requirements are met. It also lists the exceptions the policy will not cover.
Covenants (restrictive covenants) — Recorded rules limiting how property in a subdivision can be used — minimum house size, no commercial use, and the like. They bind future owners.
D
Deed — The document that transfers ownership from one party to another, signed by the seller and recorded with the Chancery Clerk. The deed is the paper; title is the ownership itself.
Deed of trust — Mississippi's usual loan security document — the local equivalent of a mortgage. It allows a trustee to sell the property at foreclosure if the loan goes unpaid.
E
Earnest money — The deposit a buyer puts up when the contract is signed, held in escrow and credited toward the purchase at closing.
Easement — A recorded right to use part of someone else's land for a specific purpose — a driveway, a power line, a drainage ditch. Easements generally stay with the land through sales.
Encroachment — A physical intrusion across a boundary line: a fence, driveway, or building sitting partly on a neighbor's land.
Encumbrance — Any claim or restriction that rides along with the property — liens, easements, covenants, leases. Encumbrances follow the land unless cleared.
Escrow — Money or documents held by a neutral third party until agreed conditions are met. Earnest money sits in escrow; closing funds pass through it.
Exception — An item listed in a title commitment or policy that the insurance does not cover — a recorded easement, for example. Exceptions are specific to the property.
Exclusion — A category of risk written out of every title policy regardless of the property, such as zoning matters or defects the insured created. Compare exception, which is property-specific.
G
Grantor / grantee — The person conveying property (grantor) and the person receiving it (grantee).
Grantor–grantee index — The Chancery Clerk's master index of recorded documents, organized by the parties' names. Title searches run through it.
H
Heir property — Land that passed to family members without a will or probate, leaving ownership split among heirs who may not all be identified. A common Mississippi title problem.
Homestead exemption — A Mississippi property-tax reduction for owners who occupy their home. Owners who own and occupy on January 1 file with the county tax assessor between January 1 and April 1. The deed must be recorded by January 7 to count for that year.
Homestead (spouse's signature) — In Mississippi, a married owner who lives on the property with a spouse generally cannot sell or mortgage the homestead unless the spouse also signs, even if the spouse is not on the title.
J
Joint tenancy with right of survivorship — Co-ownership in which a deceased owner's share passes automatically to the surviving owner(s), outside of probate.
L
Legal description — The formal description of a property's boundaries in a deed — by lot and plat, metes and bounds, or section-township-range. It, not the street address, controls what is conveyed.
Lender's title policy — Title insurance that protects the lender's loan, not the buyer's ownership. Its coverage shrinks as the loan is paid down and ends when the loan does.
Lien — A creditor's recorded claim against property as security for a debt — unpaid taxes, judgments, contractor bills, mortgages. Liens generally must be paid or released at or before closing.
Life estate — Ownership that lasts only for someone's lifetime, after which the property passes to another (the remainderman). Common in Mississippi family transfers.
Lis pendens — A recorded notice that a lawsuit is pending which could affect the property's title.
M
Marketable title — Title clean enough that a reasonable buyer would accept it: free of undisclosed liens, breaks in the chain, and serious defects.
Metes and bounds — A legal description that traces the boundary by direction and distance ("thence North 40 degrees East 210 feet…"), often starting from a physical landmark.
Mineral rights — Ownership of the oil, gas, and other minerals beneath a property, which can be owned separately from the surface. See severed estate.
Mortgage — A loan secured by real estate. In Mississippi the security document is almost always a deed of trust, but "mortgage" survives as the everyday word.
O
Owner's title policy — Title insurance protecting the buyer's ownership, up to the policy amount, for as long as the buyer or their heirs own the property. One premium, paid at closing.
P
Patent — The original grant of land from the government into private hands. Most Mississippi land traces back to a United States patent. Some traces to a State of Mississippi patent, or to an earlier Spanish or British grant. Some Mississippi searches trace ownership all the way back to it.
Payoff letter — A lender's written statement of exactly what it takes to pay a loan off through a specific date. Needed to clear the seller's mortgage at closing.
Plat — A recorded map of a subdivision showing lots, streets, and easements. Lot-and-block legal descriptions refer to it.
PLSS (section, township, and range) — The Public Land Survey System: the federal grid dividing most Mississippi land into 36-square-mile townships of one-square-mile sections. Rural legal descriptions are written in it.
Power of attorney — A document authorizing one person to sign for another, used at closing when a party can't attend. It must meet specific requirements to be accepted.
Probate — The court process that settles a deceased person's estate and passes property to heirs or beneficiaries. Estates that skip probate create title problems years later.
Promissory note — The borrower's written promise to repay the loan — the IOU behind the deed of trust.
Property Condition Disclosure Statement (PCDS) — The written disclosure Mississippi requires most home sellers to deliver to buyers, describing the property's known condition and defects.
Proration — Splitting a cost between buyer and seller based on the closing date — most commonly the year's property taxes.
Q
Quiet title action — A lawsuit asking a court to declare who owns a property, used to cut off competing claims and cure defects that paperwork alone can't fix.
Quitclaim deed — A deed transferring whatever interest the grantor has — which may be everything, something, or nothing — with no promises about the title. Compare warranty deed.
R
Recording — Filing a document with the Chancery Clerk so it enters the public record. Recording puts the world on notice; an unrecorded deed can lose out to a later recorded one.
Redemption — A former owner's right to reclaim property sold at a tax sale by paying the taxes, interest, and costs. Mississippi's standard redemption period is two years.
Riparian rights — The rights of a landowner whose property borders a stream or river, including reasonable use of the water.
S
Settlement statement — The line-by-line accounting of every dollar in the transaction: who pays what, who receives what. Reviewed and signed at closing; the Closing Disclosure is the lender-required version on mortgage deals.
Severed (mineral) estate — What exists after mineral rights are sold or reserved separately from the land: one party owns the surface, another owns the minerals beneath it. Severances from decades ago still bind today's owners.
Sixteenth section land — Land set aside in each township for the public schools. In Mississippi it is generally leased, not sold, so a person who "owns" a home on sixteenth section land usually holds a long-term lease from the school board, not title to the land.
Survey — A licensed surveyor's measurement and map of a property's actual boundaries and improvements. It shows what the records can't — fence lines, encroachments, and where the property really sits.
T
Tax sale / tax deed — The county's sale of property for unpaid taxes, and the deed issued to the purchaser. Mississippi tax titles carry strict procedural requirements and are commonly uninsurable without curative work.
Tenancy in common — Co-ownership in which each owner holds a separate, inheritable share. There is no survivorship; a deceased owner's share passes through their estate. In Mississippi, a deed to two or more people creates a tenancy in common unless it clearly says otherwise.
Title — The legal ownership of property — the bundle of rights, not a piece of paper. A deed transfers title; a title search tests it.
Title insurance — A policy protecting against covered defects in a property's past: problems that existed before you bought, discovered after. One premium at closing, no renewals.
Title search — The examination of county records to trace the chain of title and find liens, easements, and other matters affecting a property before it changes hands.
U
Underwriter — The national insurance company that issues a title policy. Local agents — including law firms — search the title and write the policy on the underwriter's behalf.
W
Warranty deed — A deed in which the seller promises (warrants) the title against defects. A general warranty covers the property's whole history; a special warranty covers only the seller's own period of ownership.
Wire instructions — The bank account and routing details used to send closing funds electronically. Legitimate wire instructions do not change mid-transaction — a last-minute "update" is the hallmark of wire fraud, so verify by phone at a number you trust before any money moves.
Maples Richey · 801 Baptist Drive, Suite 203, Madison, MS 39110 · 601-707-4114 · [email protected] · Mon–Fri 9:00–4:30 © Maples & Richey, PLLC. This guide is general information, not legal advice, and does not create an attorney-client relationship.