EARNEST MONEY a deposit made by a purchaser of real estate to evidence good faith.
Back to top --
EASEMENT the right, privilege, or interest that one party has in the land of
another.
Back to top --
EASEMENT BY NECESSITY the right of an owner to cross over another's property for a
special necessary purpose.
Back to top --
EASEMENT BY PRESCRIPTION continued use of another's property for a special purpose
can ripen into a permanent use if conditions are met.
Back to top --
EASTLAKE HOUSE a nineteenth-century-style house with three-dimensional
ornamentation made with a chisel, gouge, and lathe rather than the scroll saw. Many of the
parts of the ornamentation resemble furniture legs and knobs. This distinctive type of
ornamentation is the major characteristic of this style and separates the Eastlake-style
house from the Queen
Back to top --
ECONOMIC BASE industry within a geographic market area that provides employment
opportunities that are essential to support the community.
Back to top --
ECONOMIC DEPRECIATION loss of value from all causes outside the property itself.
Back to top --
ECONOMIC LIFE that remaining period for which real estate improvements are expected
to generate more income than operating expenses cost.
Back to top --
ECONOMIC OBSOLESCENCE same as economic depreciation.
Back to top --
ECONOMIC RENT 1. in economics, the cost commanded by a factor that is unique or
inelastic in supply. 2. in appraisal, the market rent. Contrast with contract rent
Back to top --
EFFECTIVE AGE the age of a property based on the amount of wear and tear it has
sustained. Contrast with actual age.
Back to top --
EFFECTIVE GROSS INCOME for income-producing property, potential gross income, less
a vacancy and collection
Back to top --
EFFECTIVE RATE the true rate of return considering all relevant financing expenses.
Back to top --
EFFICIENCY RATIO the proportion of a building's area that is leasable space.
Back to top --
EFFICIENCY UNIT OR APARTMENT a small dwelling unit, often consisting of a single
room, within a multifamily structure. In most cases, kitchen and bath facilities are not
complete.
Back to top --
EGRESS access from a land parcel to a public road or other means of exit.
Back to top --
EJECTMENT action to regain possession of real property, when there is no lease.
Back to top --
ELIZABETHAN OR HALF TIMBER STYLE an English-style 2- or 21/2 story house, often
with part of the second story overhanging the first. It has less tone work and is less
fortlike than the Tudor. Stone and stucco walls with half timbers are most common.
Back to top --
ELLWOOD TECHNIQUE in the appraisal of mortgaged income property, a technique used
to estimate the present value of the property. The appraiser determines and discounts to a
present value the annual cash flow to the equity owner and the expected resale proceeds.
Those amounts are added together to derive the equity value, then added to the mortgage
balance to offer a property value estimate. The late L. W. Ellwood provided capitalization
rate tables that accelerate the process.
Back to top --
EMBLEMENT a growing crop. Annual crops are generally considered personal property
Back to top --
EMINENT DOMAIN the right of the government or a public utility to acquire property
for necessary public use by condemnation; the owner must be fairly compensated.
Back to top --
EMPTY NESTERS a couple whose children have established separate households;
important segment of the housing market, since empty nesters often seek to reduce the
amount of housing space they occupy. Thus empty nesters are one source of demand for
smaller housing units.
Back to top --
ENCROACHMENT a building, a part of a building, or an obstruction that physically
intrudes upon, overlaps, or trespasses upon the property of another.
Back to top --
ENCUMBRANCE any right to or interest in land that affects its value. Includes
outstanding mortgage loans, unpaid taxes, easements, deed restrictions.
Back to top --
END LOAN same as permanent mortgage.
Back to top --
ENDORSEMENT 1. the act of signing one's name, as the payee, on the back of a check
or note, with or without further qualification; the signature itself 2. offering support
or credibility to a statement.
Back to top --
ENERGY EFFICIENT as applied to buildings, generally indicating the existence of
extra insulation, weatherproofing, and/or special features and equipment designed to
reduce the cost of energy for heating, co671ing and hot water.
Back to top --
ENERGY TAX CREDITS a reduction in income tax, generally based on the cost of
installing insulation and other energy-saving devices. Note: At the federal level, energy
tax credits generally expired before 1987 and were not renewed by the 1986 Tax Act.
Back to top --
ENTITY the legal form under which property is owned.
Back to top --
ENTREPRENEUR an individual who generates business activity. A businessman or
businesswoman. Often associated with one who takes business risks.
Back to top --
ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT (EIS) an analysis of the expected effects of a
development or action on the surrounding natural and fabricated environment. Such
statements are required for many federally supported developments under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969.
Back to top --
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (EPA) an agency of the U.S. government established to enforce federal pollution abatement laws and to implement various pollution prevention
programs.
Back to top --
EQUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY ACT a federal law, enacted in 1974, to
discourage discrimination by lenders on the basis of sex or marital status. Amended in
1976 to prohibit discrimination on the basis of age, race, color, religion, national
origin, or receipt of public assistance.
Back to top --
EQUALIZATION BOARD a government agency that determines the fairness of taxes levied
against properties.
Back to top --
EQUITABLE CONVERSION a legal doctrine in some states in which, under a contract of
sale, buyers and sellers are treated as though the closing had taken place in that the
seller in possession has an obligation to take care of the property.
Back to top --
EQUITABLE TITLE the interest held by one who has agreed to purchase but has not yet
closed the transaction.
Back to top --
EQUITY the interest or value that the owner has in real estate over and above the
liens against it.
Back to top --
EQUITY BUILDUP the gradual increase in a mortgagor's equity in a property caused by
amortization of loan principal.
Back to top --
EQUITY DIVIDEND the annual cash flow that an equity investor receives.
Back to top --
EQUITY OF REDEMPTION the right of an owner to redeem property securing a loan that
has been accelerated prior to fore- closure.
Back to top --
EQUITY PARTICIPATION same as participation mortgage.
Back to top --
EQUITY YIELD RATE the rate of return on the equity portion of an investment, taking
into account periodic cash flow and the proceeds from resale. Considers the timing and
amounts of cash flow after annual debt service, but not income taxes.
Back to top --
EROSION the gradual wearing away of land through processes of nature, as by streams
and winds.
Back to top --
ERRORS AND OMISSIONS INSURANCE liability protection against professional
malpractice, mistakes in business dealings by insured, etc.
Back to top --
ESCALATOR CLAUSE a provision in a lease that requires the tenant to pay more rent
based on an increase in costs. Same as stop clause.
Back to top --
ESCAPE CLAUSE a provision in a contract that allows one or more of the parties to
cancel all or part of the contract if certain events or situations do or do not happen.
Back to top --
ESCHEAT the reversion of property to the state in the event that the owner dies
without leaving a will and has no legal heirs.
Back to top --
ESCROW an agreement between 2 or more parties providing that certain instruments or
property be placed with a third party for safekeeping, pending the fulfillment or
performance of a specified act or condition.
Back to top --
ESCROW ACCOUNT same as trust account
Back to top --
ESCROW AGENT any person engaged in the business of receiving escrows for deposit or
delivery.
Back to top --
ESCROW CLOSING ten-n meaning the same as closing, especially in states where deeds
of trust are used instead of mortgages.
Back to top --
ESTATE the degree, nature, and extent of interest that a person has in real
property.
Back to top --
ESTATE AT SUFFERANCE the wrongful occupancy of property by a tenant after the lease
has expired.
Back to top --
ESTATE AT WILL the occupation of real estate by a tenant for an indefinite Period,
terminable by one or both parties at will.
Back to top --
ESTATE FOR LIFE an interest in Property that terminates upon the death of a
specified person.
Back to top --
ESTATE FOR YEARS an interest in land allowing Possession for a specified and
limited time.
Back to top --
ESTATE IN REVERSION an estate left by the grantor for himself or herself, to begin
after the termination of some particular estate granted by him or her.
Back to top --
ESTATE TAX a tax based on the value of property left by the deceased. Since 1987,
the estate and gift tax laws exempt approximately $600,000 of property.
Back to top --
ESTOPPEL a doctrine of law that stops one from later denying facts which that
person once acknowledged were true and others accepted on good faith.
Back to top --
ESTOPPEL CERTIFICATE a document by which the mortgagor (borrower) certifies that
the mortgage debt is a lien for the amount stated. The debtor is thereafter prevented from
claiming that the balance due differs from the amount stated.
Back to top --
ESTOVERS the legally supported right to take necessities from property. Contrast
with waste.
Back to top --
ET AL abbreviation of the Latin et alii "and others.'
Back to top --
ET CON abbreviation of the Latin et conjunx. Legal term signifying "and
husband."
Back to top --
ET UX abbreviation of the Latin et axor, which means "and wife."
Back to top --
EVALUATION a study of potential property uses, but not to determine its present
value.
Back to top --
EVICTION a legal proceeding by a lessor (landlord) to recover possession of
property.
Back to top --
EVICTION, ACTUAL exists where one is removed from the property, either by force or
by process of law.
Back to top --
EVICTION, CONSTRUCTIVE exists when, through the fault of the landlord, physical
conditions of the property render it unfit for the purpose for which it was leased.
Back to top --
EVICTION, PARTIAL exists where the possessor of the property, such as a tenant, is
deprived of a portion thereof.
Back to top --
EVIDENCE OF TITLE documents, such as deeds, that demonstrate ownership.
Back to top --
EXAMINATION OF TITLE research of the title to a piece of real estate; less thorough
than a title search, usually concentrates on recent records.
Back to top --
EXCESS ACCELERATED DEPRECIATION the accumulated difference between accelerated
depreciation claimed for tax purposes and what straight-line depreciation would have been.
Generally, excess accelerated depreciation is recaptured (taxed) as ordinary income upon a
sale, instead of receiving more favorable capital gains treatment.
Back to top --
EXCESS RENT when the rent of an existing lease exceeds the rental rate on
comparable existing space. Should the lease expire or the tenant break the lease, the new
rate will probably be at market rates.
Back to top --
EXCHANGE under Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code, likekind property used in
a trade or business or held as an investment can be exchanged tax-free.
Back to top --
EXCLUSIVE AGENCY LISTING employment contract giving only one broker for a specified
time, the right to sell the property and also allowing the owner alone to sell the
property without paying a commission.
Back to top --
EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO SELL LISTING employment contract giving the broker the right to
collect commission if the property is sold by anyone, including the owner, during the term
of the agreement.
Back to top --
EXCULPATORY CLAUSE a provision in a mortgage allowing the borrower to surrender the
property to the lender without personal liability for the loan.
Back to top --
EXECUTE to sign a contract; sometimes, to Perform a cOlItIO4 fully.
Back to top --
EXCUTED CONTRACT a contract whose terms have been completely fulfilled.
Back to top --
EXECUTOR a person named in a will to carry out its provisions for the disposition
of the estate.
Back to top --
EXECUTORY CONTRACT a contract under which one or more parties has not yet
performed.
Back to top --
EXECUTRIX a woman who Performs the duties of an executor.
Back to top --
EXEMPTION an amount provided by law that reduces taxable . income or taxable value.
Back to top --
EXPENSE RATIO a comparison of the operating expenses to potential gross income.
This ratio can be compared over time and with that of other properties to determine the
relative operating efficiency of the property considered.
Back to top --
EXPOSURE (MARKET) the advertising, whether free or paid, of property that is for
sale.
Back to top --
EXTENDED COVERAGE insurance that covers specific incidences normally excluded from
standard insurance policies.
Back to top --
EXTENSION an agreement between 2 parties to extend the time period specified in a
contract
Back to top --
|
