A B C D [E] F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y & Z
Earnest money – Money deposited by a buyer under the terms of a contract, to be forfeited if the buyer defaults but applied to the purchase price if the sale is closed.
Easement – A right to use the land of another for a specific purpose, such as for a right-of-way or utilities; an incorporeal interest in land.
Easement by condemnation – An easement created by the government or government agency that has exercised its right under eminent domain.
Easement by necessity – An easement allowed by law as necessary for the full enjoyment of a parcel of real estate; for example, a right of ingress and egress over a grantor’s land.
Easement by prescription – An easement acquired by continuous, open, and hostile use of the property for the period of time prescribed by state law.
Easement in gross – An easement that is not created for the benefit of any land owned by the owner of the easement but that attaches personally to the easement owner. For example, a right granted by Eleanor Franks to Joe Fish to use a portion of her property for the rest of his life would be an easement in gross.
Economic life – The number of years during which an improvement will add value to the land.
Electromagnetic fields (EMFs) – Generated by the movement of electrical currents.
Emblements – Growing crops, such as grapes and corn, that are produced annually through labor and industry; also called fructus industriales.
Eminent domain – The right of a government or municipal quasi-public body to acquire property for public use through a court action called condemnation, in which the court decides that the use is a public use and determines the compensation to be paid to the owner.
Employee – Someone who works as a direct employee of an employer and has employee status. The employer is obligated to withhold income taxes and Social Security taxes from the compensation of employees. See independent contractor.
Employment contract – A document evidencing formal employment between employer and employee or between principal and agent. In the real estate business this generally takes the form of a listing agreement or management agreement.
Enabling acts – State legislation that confers zoning powers on municipal governments.
Encapsulation – A method of controlling environmental contamination by sealing off a dangerous substance.
Encroachment – A building or some portion of it–a wall or fence for instance–that extends beyond the land of the owner and illegally intrudes on some land of an adjoining owner or a street or alley.
Encumbrance – Anything–such as a mortgage, tax, or judgment lien, an easement, a restriction on the use of the land or an outstanding dower right–that may diminish the value or use and enjoyment of a property.
Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) – The federal law that prohibits discrimination in the extension of credit because of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, or marital status.
Equalization – The raising or lowering of assessed values for tax purposes in a particular county or taxing district to make them equal to assessments in other counties or districts.
Equalization factor – A factor (number) by which the assessed value of a property is multiplied to arrive at a value for the property that is in line with statewide tax assessments. The ad valorem tax would be based on this adjusted value.
Equitable lien – A lien that arises out of common law. It is created by a court based on fairness. See also statutory lien.
Equitable right of redemption – The right of a defaulted property owner to recover the property prior to its sale by paying the appropriate fees and charges.
Equitable title – The interest held by a vendee under a contract for deed or an installment contract; the equitable right to obtain absolute ownership to property when legal title is held in another’s name.
Equity – The interest or value that an owner has in property over and above any indebtedness.
Equity buildup – The portion of the loan payment directed toward the principal rather than the interest, plus any gain in property value due to appreciation.
Erosion – The gradual wearing away of land by water, wind, and general weather conditions; the diminishing of property by the elements.
Escheat – The reversion of property to the state or county, as provided by state law, in cases where a decedent dies intestate without heirs capable of inheriting, or when the property is abandoned.
Escrow – The closing of a transaction through a third party called an escrow agent, or escrowee, who receives certain funds and documents to be delivered upon the performance of certain conditions outlined in the escrow instructions.
Escrow account – The trust account established by a broker under the provisions of the license law for the purpose of holding funds on behalf of the broker’s principal or some other person until the consummation or termination of a transaction.
Escrow contract – An agreement between a buyer, seller, and escrow holder setting forth rights and responsibilities of each. An escrow contract is entered into when earnest money is deposited in a broker’s escrow account.
Escrow instructions – A document that sets forth the duties of the escrow agent, as well as the requirements and obligations of the parties, when a transaction is closed through an escrow.
Estate (tenancy) at sufferance – The tenancy of a lessee who lawfully comes into possession of a landlord’s real estate but who continues to occupy the premises improperly after his or her lease rights have expired.
Estate (tenancy) at will – An estate that gives the lessee the right to possession until the estate is terminated by either party; the term of this estate is indefinite.
Estate (tenancy) for years – An interest for a certain, exact period of time in property leased for a specified consideration.
Estate (tenancy) from period to period – An interest in leased property that continues from period to period–week to week, month to month, or year to year.
Estate in land – The degree, quantity, nature, and extent of interest a person has in real property.
Estate taxes – Federal taxes on a decedent’s real and personal property.
Estoppel – Method of creating an agency relationship in which someone states incorrectly that another person is his or her agent and a third person relies on that representation.
Estoppel certificate – A document in which a borrower certifies the amount owed on a mortgage loan and the rate of interest.
Ethics – The system of moral principles and rules that becomes standards for professional conduct.
Eviction – A legal process to oust a person from possession of real estate.
Evidence of title – Proof of ownership of property; commonly a certificate of title, an abstract of title with lawyer’s opinion, title insurance, or a Torrens registration certificate.
Exchange – A transaction in which all or part of the consideration is the transfer of like-kind property (such as real estate for real estate).
Exclusive-agency listing – A listing contract under which the owner appoints a real estate broker as his or her exclusive agent for a designated period of time to sell the property, on the owner’s stated terms, for a commission. The owner reserves the right to sell without paying anyone a commission if he or she sells to a prospect who has not been introduced or claimed by the broker.
Exclusive-right-to-sell listing – A listing contract under which the owner appoints a real estate broker as his or her exclusive agent for a designated period of time, to sell the property on the owner’s stated terms, and agrees to pay the broker a commission when the property is sold, whether by the broker, the owner, or another broker.
Executed contract – A contract in which all parties have fulfilled their promises and thus performed the contract.
Execution – The signing and delivery of an instrument. Also, a legal order directing an official to enforce a judgment against the property of a debtor.
Executory contract – A contract under which something remains to be done by one or more of the parties.
Express agency – An agency relationship based on a formal agreement between the parties.
Express agreement – An oral or written contract in which the parties state the contract’s terms and express their intentions in words.
Express contract – A contract that exists when the parties state the terms and show their intentions in words. An express contract may be either oral or written. See also express agreement.
External depreciation – Reduction in a property’s value caused by outside factors (those that are off the property).
External obsolescence – Incurable depreciation caused by factors not on subject property, such as environmental, social, or economic factors.
