In the study of any new subject, there is unfamiliar terminology. In the study of real estate, words that end in OR and EE cause people a lot of grief; words like grantor/grantee, vendor/vendee, trustor/trustee, transferor/transferee, offeror/offeree, optionor/optionee, lessor/lessee, and mortgagor/mortgagee. On and on it goes. Sometimes, to answer intelligently, you have to know exactly which party the word refers to. In this article, I will show you how to deal with this, and give you a way to remember.

If the word ends in OR, that party is the giver of some item. The grantor is giving title. The optionor is giving an option on his property. The trustor is giving naked legal title, and so forth. If the word ends in EE, that party is the receiver of some item. The grantee is receiving title. The optionee is receiving an option. The trustee is receiving naked legal title. But you must always stay within the context of the word. Don’t try to generalize and say that if it ends in OR, that’s always a buyer. That is not correct. An offeror would be a buyer-the giver of an offer. But what about a grantor? That party is the seller, the giver of title. So if you stay within the context of the word, this method will be consistent and help you figure out who the party is.

Here’s an easy way to remember how this works. If I were to make an allegation against you, you are the receiver of the allegation. So what shall we call you? That’s right, you would be known as the alligatee. I am the giver of the allegation, so what shall we call me? You’re catching on! I am the alligator! If you can remember the difference between the alligator and the alligatee, you can remember all of these. Happy studying!