Impound - That portion of a borrower's monthly payments held by the lender or servicer to pay for taxes, hazard insurance, mortgage insurance, lease payments, and other items as they become due. Also known as reserves.

In-File Credit Report - Information issued by one credit repository that contains an individual credit history for you to review in determining a loan applicant's creditworthiness.

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 (such as one- three-, and five-year U.S. Treasury Security yields, the monthly average interest rate on loans closed by savings and loan institutions, and the monthly average Costs-of-Funds incurred by savings and loans), which is then used to adjust the interest rate on an adjustable mortgage up or down.

Initial Interest Rate - The initial interest rate is the rate you pay when you first get your loan. On an ARM, this rate may be for 5 years (5/1 ARM) or only a month.

Installment Debt - Liability that typically has a fixed interest rate, fixed term, and equal payments amortized over a set number of months, agreed upon by the lender and the borrower prior to disbursement.

Insurance - A type of legal relationship whereby individuals, companies and other entities concerned about the risk of losses pay premiums to an insurance company for protection against potential losses. Specific types of insurance relevant to vehicles include collision, comprehensive, uninsured motorist, underinsured motorist, rental reimbursement, and vehicle-related accident insurance.

Insurance Premium - The amount you must pay at specified intervals (e.g. monthly or semi-annually) to the insurance company to guarantee coverage from losses. The premium amount is calculated using various risk factors, which vary according to the type of insurance you are seeking.

Interest - A charge paid for borrowing money. Interest is usually expressed as a percentage of the amount borrowed or interest rate.

Interest Cost - Interest cost shows how much you will pay in interest over the life of the loan, assuming you keep the loan for the entire period.

Interest Due - Interest due is the portion of the mortgage payment that goes toward interest. When you close on your home, you will usually owe interest for the time between your closing date and when you make your first payment.

Interest Rate - The annual rate of interest on the loan, expressed as a percentage of 100.

Interest Rate Adjustment Period - The interest rate adjustment period is how often your rate is adjusted on an ARM after the initial rate period is over. For example, a 5/1 ARM means you have an initial rate period of 5 years that is fixed and then after 5 years, your rate changes every year.

Interest Rate Ceiling - The interest rate ceiling is the highest interest rate possible under an ARM. You may hear this called the lifetime cap and it based on the number of percentage points your rate can increase from your initial rate.

Interest Rate Decrease Cap - An interest rate decrease cap is the maximum allowable decrease in your interest rate (on an ARM) each time your rate is adjusted. It is usually 1 or 2 percentage points. If rates go down 4% your rate may only go down 2% due to the cap.

Interest Rate Floor - The rate floor is the lowest interest rate possible under an ARM loan.

Interest Rate Increase Cap - The interest rate increase cap is the maximum allowable increase in your interest rate (on an ARM) each time your rate is adjusted. It is usually 1 or 2 percentage points. For example, if your rate adjusts every year, each year it cannot exceed the stated cap.

Interest Rate Index - The interest rate index is the specific fund/security that your interest rate on an ARM is tied to. Common indexes are Treasury Constant Maturities or Cost of Funds indices. All the indices are published regularly in readily available sources.

Intro Period - The timeframe in which a special intro rate may be in effect. After the intro period ends, the interest rate will usually increase.

Intro Rate - Introductory rates are usually set below normal interest rates and may be offered only for a short period at the beginning of the loan or credit line. Lenders may use this special rate to attract borrowers. After a set timeframe, the interest rate will usually increase.

Investor - Money source for a lender.