The gaining or retaining of equity in a property by someone other than the buyer. For example: the seller retains a 25% interest in the property. This makes the buyer responsible for only 75% of the purchase price and, therefore, lowers the necessary financing by 25%. This obviously makes the property more affordable. By agreement, expenses are shared as well as any increase in value when the property is sold. Statement of Information (SI): A confidential information statement completed by the buyer, seller and borrower in every transaction where a policy or policies of title insurance are requested. Allows the title company to competently search documents affecting the property to be insured, documents which may not refer to said property. Allows title companies to differentiate between parties with similar names when searching matters such as liens and court decrees.

The seller gives the buyer a loan at a reduced rate in exchange for a share of any increase in the selling price when a piece of property is resold. This helps buyers with a small down payment and is usually given at a lower, below-market interest rate.