Real Estate Glossary - Letter J

Joint and several liability

a description of a liability in which two or more parties can be held responsible, individually or as a whole, in fulfilling contractual obligations.

Joint venture

a business enterprise participated by two or more individuals whereby all profits and losses are shared equally.

Joint liability

legal term used to describe a single responsibility shared by two or more people in settling full debt.

Joint tenancy

a description of an ownership in which two or more people share equal right to a property.

Judgment

a decision rendered final and executory by a court of law.

Judgment lien

a legal claim by the creditor on all assets of a debtor as ordered under a judgment.

Judicial foreclosure

a legal action in which re-possession of a property is ordered by a court of law usually as payment of mortgage debt.

Judicial notice

a rule of evidence in which a fact is allowed as evidence based on its undeniable truth even without any evidence supporting it.

Judicial precedent

a previous court decision that establishes a new legal concept.

Jumbo loan

a housing loan that has an amount equal to or more than $250,000.

Junior lien

a lien on a property considered to be a subordinate to another lien upon the same property.

Junior mortgage

a mortgage that will be repaid only after the senior mortgage has been settled.

Jurisdiction

having the legal power and right to interpret and apply the law.

Just compensation

the amount of money paid to an owner when a government takes his property for public use.