Early occupancy The condition
in which buyers can occupy the property
before the sale is completed.
Earnest money Money a buyer
gives with an offer to purchase a property.
Also called a deposit.
Earthquake insurance A policy
that provides coverage against damage to a
home from an earthquake.
Easement A right given to a
third party to use a portion of the property
for certain purposes, such as power lines or
water mains.
Eaves The projecting overhang
at the lower edge of a roof.
Effective age The age of a
structure estimated by its condition rather
than its actual age.
Effective gross income Additional
income that a lender considers when
assessing the loan application of a
potential borrower.
Egress A way out,
Exit, Emergency
Electric service panel A panel
that transfers power from the utility line
into a house to be distributed through fuses
or circuit breakers.
Elevations The exterior view of
a home design that shows the position of the
house relative to the grade of the land.
Ell An extension or wing of a
house that is at right angles to the main
structure.
Emblements Vegetables
chattels, growth of the earth which are
produced annually, not spontaneously, but by
labor and industry, and thence are called
"fructus industriales"
Eminent domain The
right of the people or government's to condemn private land for public
use, such as the routing of a public
highway.
Employer-assisted housing Programs
which help employees purchase homes through
special plans developed with lenders.
Empty nesters Potential buyers
who have raised their families and want to
move into a smaller home.
Encroachment Fences or other
structures that extend into the property of
another owner.
Encumbrance A claim or lien on
a property which complicates the title
process.
End loan The conversion from a
construction loan to permanent financing a
condominium buyer secures after all units in
a project have been completed.
Endorser A person who signs
over ownership of property to another party.
English Tudor style An
architectural design that features stone or
brick exterior walls and exposed beams.
Environmental impact statement A
government-mandated evaluation of all
aspects and effects a development will have
on the environment of a proposed site.
Environmentally friendly home
construction A method of construction
that utilizes recycled materials.
Equal Credit Opportunity Act. A
federal law that prohibits a lender or other
creditor from refusing to grant credit based
on the applicant's sex, marital status,
race, religion, national origin or age. The
law also prohibits a creditor from refusing
to grant credit because the applicant
receives public assistance.
Equifax Equifax Credit
Information Services, Inc., is one of the
"Big Three" credit-reporting bureaus that
operate nationwide. Address: P.O. Box
740249, Atlanta, GA 30374.
Equity A determination of the
value of a property after existing liens are
deducted.
Errors and omissions insurance A
policy that pays for any mistakes a builder
or architect makes in a project.
Escrow A neutral third party
holds the documents and money involved in a
real estate transaction and ensures that all
conditions of a sale are met.. Escrow also
refers to a special account that a lender
establishes to hold monthly installments
from the borrower to cover property taxes
and insurance.
Escrow account An account that
a lender or mortgage servicer establishes to
hold funds for the payment of expenses such
as homeowners insurance and property taxes.
Also known as an impound account.
Escrow agent A neutral third
party who ensures that all conditions of a
real estate transaction are met.
Escrow analysis A lender's
periodic examination of an escrow account to
determine if the lender is withholding
enough funds from a borrower's monthly
mortgage payment to pay for expenses such as
property taxes and insurance.
Escrow closing Escrow closes
when all conditions of a real estate
transaction are met and the title of the
property is transferred to the buyer.
Escrow company Firms that act
as neutral third parties to ensure that all
conditions that the buyer, seller and lender
establish in a real estate transaction are
met.
Escrow payment Funds that a
mortgage servicer withdraws from a
borrower's escrow account to pay property
taxes and insurance.
Estate The total assets of a
person, including real property, at the time
of death.
Estoppel A bar or
impediment raised by the law, which
precludes a person from alleging or from
denying a certain fact or state of facts, in
consequence of a previous allegation or
denial or conduct or admission, or in
consequence of a final adjudication of the
matter in a court of law.
Eviction A legal procedure to
remove a tenant for reasons including
failure to pay rent.
Examination of title An
inspection by a title company of public
records and other documents to determine the
chain of ownership of a property.
Excavation The process of
clearing trees, removing topsoil and grading
land before the foundation is laid.
Exclusive listing A contract
that gives an agent the exclusive right to
market a property for a specific period of
time.
Ex Contractu Latin.
From or out of contract.
Executor A person appointed to
carry out the instructions in a will. If
there is no will, a probate court will
appoint an executor.
Exempt To refuse to
admit, consider, include etc.
Exhaust fan Ventilating devices
that remove water vapor, undesired smells or
smoke.
Experian Experian,
formerly known as TRW Information Systems &
Services, is one of the "Big Three"
credit-reporting bureaus.
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