Real Estate Terms - E

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Las Vegas real estate home page

earnest money deposit (EMD)

A deposit made by potential home buyers to show that they are serious about buying the house.

easement

A right-of-way giving persons other than the owner access to or over a property.

eminent domain

The right of a government to take private property for public use.

encroachment

An improvement that intrudes illegally on another’s property.

encumbrance

Anything that affects or limits the fee simple title to a property, such as mortgages, leases, easements or restrictions.

equal credit opportunity act (ECOA)

A federal law that requires lenders and other creditors to make credit equally available without discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, or receipt of income from public assistance programs.

equity

A homeowner's financial interest in a property. Equity is the difference between the fair market value of the property and the amount still owing on the mortgage.

escheat

The reversion of title to a property to the state. Can occur when an owner dies with no legal heirs or when a corporate owner is dissolved by act of law or by voluntary act while holding legal title to the property.

escrow

A state wherein consideration, benefits, legal rights, money, documents or other valuables are transferred to another party in advance of that party's legal entitlement to them, on the basis that the legal entitlement will arise at a given point in the future. A form of trust.

escrow account

An account in which a mortgage servicer holds the borrower’s escrow payments prior to paying property expenses.

escrow instructions

The buyer, seller and lender cause escrow instructions to be created, signed and delivered to the escrow officer. The escrow officer will then process the escrow, in accordance with the escrow instructions.

estate

The ownership interest of an individual in real property. The sum total of all the real property and personal property owned by an individual at the time of death.

estoppel

A legal doctrine which blocks a person from taking a position on any fact which is contrary to a position that same person previously took on that same fact. Also blocks a party from re-opening an issue that has previously been decided by a court.

eviction

The lawful expulsion of an occupant from real property.

examination of title

The report on the title of a property from the public records or an abstract of the title.

exclusive agency listing

A written agreement between a real estate broker and a property owner in which the owner promises to pay a fee or commission to the broker if specified real property is leased or sold during the listing period.

exclusive right-to-sell listing

A written contract that gives a real estate agent the exclusive right to sell a property for a specified time, but reserving the owner’s right to sell the property alone without the payment of a commission.

executor

A person named in a will to administer an estate. The court will appoint an administrator if no executor is named. "Executrix" is the feminine form.