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E
 

EARNEST MONEY - A deposit made by a prospective buyer when making an offer to show good faith and intentions.

EASEMENT - A right of access or passage onto the land of another for some special purpose.

EASEMENT APPURTENANT - A right of access or passage over a neighboring parcel of land.

EASEMENT BY CONDEMNATION - An access right claimed by the government under its power of eminent domain.

EASEMENT BY IMPLICATION - An access right created by the apparent intentions of the parties through other actions or contracts without an express document creating the easement.

EASEMENT BY NECESSITY - An access right acquired by a landlocked owner to gain a right of ingress and egress between the parcel and the road.

EASEMENT BY PRESCRIPTION - A right to continued use of an easement because the user has made open, notorious, hostile and continuous use of it for the period prescribed by law.

EASEMENT IN GROSS - An access right to someone's land that is not connected with any other parcel of land
 

Easement Rights-A right- of- way granted to a person or company authorizing access to or over the owner's land. An electric company obtaining a right- of- way across private property is a common example.

ECONOMIC - In the context of depreciation, devaluation due to external factors. In the context of rent, the market rent expected. In the context of age or life of property, the useful life of the property.

ECONOMIC OBSOLESCENCE - A decline in property value due to factors outside the property itself.

EFFECTIVE DEMAND - Need or demand in the marketplace supported by purchasing power.

EGI - Effective Gross Income - same as AGI.

ELIGIBILITY - The entitlement to a VA-guaranteed loan for veterans who have met certain length of service requirements.

EMBLEMENTS - Fructus industriales. Annual crops that do not become part of the real property upon which they grow, remaining personal property because they were planted rather than occurring naturally.

EMINENT DOMAIN - The right of the government to take private land for public needs in exchange for just compensation to the private owner.

Encroachment: An obstruction, building, or part of a building that intrudes beyond a legal boundary onto neighboring private or public land, or a building extending beyond the building line.  An illegal extension of some portion of property onto the abutting land of another owner.

 Encumbrance- A legal right or interest in land that affects a good or clear title, and diminishes the land's value. It can take numerous forms, such as zoning ordinances, easement rights, claims, mortgages, liens, charges, a pending legal action, unpaid taxes, or restrictive convenants. An encumbrance does not legally prevent transfer of the property to another. A title search is all that is usually done to reveal the existence of such encumbrances, and it is up to the buyer to determine whether he wants to purchase with the encumbrance, or what can be done to remove it.  

 ENTITLEMENT - See eligibility.

EQUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY ACT (ECOA) - A federal law prohibiting discrimination in credit transactions because of race, color, sex, age, national origin, religion, marital status or source of income.

EQUALLY DESIRABLE - A property with features that are sufficiently similar to the subject property that a buyer would have little preference between them; not necessarily identical.

Equity
The value of a homeowner's unencumbered interest in real estate. Equity is computed by subtracting from the property's fair market value the total of the unpaid mortgage balance and any outstanding liens or other debts against the property. A homeowner's equity increases as he pays off his mortgage or as the property appreciates in value. When the mortgage and all other debts against the property are paid in full the homeowner has 100% equity in his property.
 

Equity Sharing
A form of joint ownership between an owner/occupant and an owner/investor. The investor takes depreciation deductions for his share of the ownership. The occupant receives a portion of the tax write-offs for interest and taxes and a part of his monthly payment is treated as rent. The co-owners divide the profit upon sale of the property.  Compare, JOINT OWNERSHIP AGREEMENT.

ESCHEAT - The reversion of property to the state after a decedent dies without a will and no heirs can be located.

Escrow-Funds paid by one party to another (the escrow agent) to hold until the occurrence of a specified event, after which the funds are released to a designated individual. In FHA mortgage transactions an escrow account usually refers to the funds a mortgagor pays the lender at the time of the periodic mortgage payments. The money is held in a trust fund, provided by the lender for the buyer. Such funds should be adequate to cover yearly anticipated expenditures for mortgage insurance premiums, taxes, hazard insurance premiums, and special assessments.


ESTATE - The degree, quantity, nature and extent of an interest that a person has in real property. The interest is a possessory interest and identified by the termination of the estate.

ESTATE AT SUFFERANCE - A leasehold in which the tenant has overstayed legal right to possession.

ESTATE AT WILL - A leasehold of indefinite duration terminating upon the earlier of either party's death or notice by that other party.

ESTATE FOR YEARS - A leasehold for a fixed period of time that automatically terminates. The length of time is irrelevant.

EXCEPTION - In a deed, a portion of the real property rights subject to another's control. In title insurance, a defect not protected under the policy.

EXCEPTION/EXCLUSION - In a deed, a portion of the real property rights subject to another's control. In title insurance, a defect not protected under the policy.

EXCLUSIVE AGENCY LISTING - An agency employment contract under which the broker is paid a commission unless the seller produces the ready, willing and able buyer.

EXCLUSIVE RIGHT TO SELL LISTING - An agency employment contract under which the broker is paid a commission regardless of who, including the seller, produces the ready, willing and able buyer.

EXECUTED CONTRACT - A contract completed by performance of everyone's obligations.

EXECUTION - A court order for seizure and sale of property to satisfy a debt.

EXECUTOR - EXECUTRIX - A person named in a decedent's will to manage and distribute the decedent's property according to the terms of the will.

EXECUTORY CONTRACT - A contract that has not yet been completed in some terms and conditions.

EXEMPTIONS - An exception to compliance with a law. Most laws have exemptions.

EXPRESSED CONTRACT - An agreement between parties in which their intentions are clearly stated.

EXTERNAL OBSOLESCENCE - Problems with property due to factors outside the property rather than physical features of the property.

EVICTION - The legal and physical removal of a tenant's right to possession based on some breach of the lease.

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