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GLOSSARY
Blanket mortgage
A blanket mortgage is a loan which land developers most commonly use to purchase an area of land with the intention of dividing it into many separate lots for resale or development. Rather than mortgaging each lot separately, a blanket mortgage can be used to reduce costs and make the transactions more time efficient.
Blanket recommendation
A blanket recommendation is buy or sell advice given by a brokerage to its customers. This recommendation may pertain to a particular security, security type or industry, and does not consider a individual investor's objectives or current holdings. A blanket recommendation is the equivalent of saying something like, "Acme Company stock is undervalued right now, so it's a good time to buy."
Blended rate
A blended rate is the weighted average interest rate of a loan that charges one rate for part of the debt, and another rate for another part of the debt. In the case of a cash-out mortgage refinancing, some lenders might offer to extend one rate on the portion of the debt that's already outstanding, and a separate rate on the cash-out part of the loan. The weighted average of the two rates would be the loan's blended rate. Blended rate can also refer to the weighted average rate of a homeowner's first and second mortgages.
Blind trust
A blind trust is a legal arrangement for holding and/or managing money or other assets for one or more beneficiaries, where the beneficiaries aren't privy to any information about the assets within the trust.
Blue Book
The Blue Book, also called Kelley Blue Book, is a printed valuation guide that assists vehicle owners, auto dealers, and insurance companies in determining the market value or sales price of a vehicle.
Blue Collar
Blue collar describes an individual or class of individuals who are employed in manual labor trades and earn hourly wages.
Blue sky laws
Blue sky laws are securities regulations passed by individual states. These regulations impose certain registration and filing requirements on issuers of securities in an effort to protect investors from securities fraud.
Blue-ribbon condition
Blue-ribbon condition describes a home or other asset that's in excellent form, with no signs of wear.
Board Certified In Estate Planning - BCE
Board Certified In Estate Planning, or BCE, describes an individual who has satisfactorily completed an industry-recognized course in estate planning. The Institute of Business & Finance (IBF) provides this course for financial planners and financial advisors.
Board foot
A board foot is a cubic measurement typically used for lumber. One board foot is the equivalent of an item that is 1 foot long by 1 foot wide by 1 foot thick.
Board of equalization
A government agency, typically governed by each state that hears appeals of property classifications. People appeal to a board of equalization because they believe their property has been assessed too highly, which increases their property taxes unfairly.
Boilerplate
Boilerplate describes standardized language that's used within a legal document. Any individual or company that frequently engages in contracts or agreements is likely to use boilerplates to avoid the expense of having each new contract reviewed and approved by legal counsel.
Bona fide
Bona fide is Latin for "in good faith." It's used as a synonym for genuine, original, or without fraud.
Bond
A bond is a loan that's sold in shares as a security. Corporations and government entities sell bond shares to raise money for special projects, expansion, or simply to cover budgeted expenses. One who purchases a bond is called the bondholder. The terms of the bond specify when and how the bond issuer will repay the principal to the bondholder.
Bond Buyer's 20-bond index
Bond Buyer's 20-Bond Index is a representation of municipal bond trends based on a portfolio of 20 general obligation bonds that mature in 20 years, with an average AA rating. The index is based on a survey of municipal bond traders rather than actual prices or yields. The 20-Bond Index is published by The Bond Buyer, a daily financial publication.