Terms Used In Michigan Laws > Chapter 445 > Act 332 of 1965 > Part 3

• agreement: means an instrument prescribing the terms of home improvement charge sales, whether secured or unsecured, which may be made under the agreement from time to time and under the terms of which a time price differential is to be computed in relation to the buyer's unpaid balance from time to time. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
• buyer: means a person who buys goods and services, or services from a contractor pursuant to a home improvement installment contract, or goods and services from a contractor pursuant to a home improvement charge agreement. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
• Cash price: means the cash sales price stated in a home improvement installment contract, or the cash sales price of goods and services that are the subject of a home improvement charge sale, for which the contractor would sell or furnish to the buyer and the buyer would buy or obtain from the contractor the goods and services which are the subject of the contract or home improvement charge sale, if the sale were a sale for cash, instead of a home improvement installment sale or home improvement charge sale, and may include any taxes. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
• contract: means an agreement covering a home improvement installment sale, whether contained in 1 or more documents, together with any accompanying promissory note or other evidence of indebtedness, pursuant to which the buyer promises to pay in installments all or any part of the time sale price or prices of goods and services, or services. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• contractor: means a person who sells goods and services, or agrees to furnish or render services, to a retail buyer pursuant to a home improvement installment contract, or sells goods and services to a retail buyer pursuant to a home improvement charge agreement, but not in connection with construction of new homes. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
• Down payment: means the amounts paid in money and in goods to the home improvement contractor and allowances given by the home improvement contractor to the buyer prior to or contemporaneous with the execution of a home improvement installment contract. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
• Finance charge: The total cost of credit a customer must pay on a consumer loan, including interest. The Truth in Lending Act requires disclosure of the finance charge. ^{Source: OCC}
• Financing agency: means a person other than a home improvement contractor engaged, directly or indirectly, as principal, agent, or broker in the business of purchasing, acquiring, financing, soliciting, or arranging for the financing or acquisition of home improvement installment contracts or home improvement charge agreements or any obligation in connection therewith. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
• Goods: means chattels which are furnished or used in the modernization, rehabilitation, repair, alteration, or improvement of real property, but not in the construction of new homes. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
• Holder: means a person, including a contractor, currently entitled to the rights of a contractor under a home improvement installment contract or home improvement charge agreement. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
• Home improvement charge sale: means the sale of goods and furnishing of services by a contractor to a retail buyer pursuant to a home improvement charge agreement and as to which sale the cash price is stated to be in excess of $300. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
• in writing: shall be construed to include printing, engraving, and lithographing; except that if the written signature of a person is required by law, the signature shall be the proper handwriting of the person or, if the person is unable to write, the person's proper mark, which may be, unless otherwise expressly prohibited by law, a clear and classifiable fingerprint of the person made with ink or another substance. See Michigan Laws 8.3q
• Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. ^{Source: OCC}
• Minimum finance charge: The minimum, or fixed, finance charge that will be imposed during a billing cycle. A minimum finance charge usually applies only when a finance charge is imposed, that is, when you carry over a balance. ^{Source: Federal Reserve}
• month: means a calendar month; the word "year" a calendar year; and the word "year" alone shall be equivalent to the words "year of our Lord". See Michigan Laws 8.3j
• Official fees: means the fees required by law to be paid to the appropriate public officer for obtaining any permit or filing or recording or releasing any judgment, mortgage, or other lien or perfecting any security interest taken or reserved as security in connection with a home improvement installment contract. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
• person: may extend and be applied to bodies politic and corporate, as well as to individuals. See Michigan Laws 8.3l
• Principal amount financed: means the cash price of the goods and services which are the subject matter of the home improvement installment sale minus the amount of the buyer's down payment, plus the amounts, if any, included for insurance and official fees. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
• sale: means the sale of goods and furnishing of services or the furnishing of services by a contractor to a retail buyer pursuant to a home improvement installment contract in which the cash price is stated to be in excess of $300. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
• Services: means work, labor, and services furnished in connection with the installation or application of goods. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
• state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories belonging to the United States; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o
• Time balance: means the sum of the principal amount financed and the finance charge. See Michigan Laws 445.1102
• United States: shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o