Glossary - E

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Earnest money deposit: A deposit made by the potential buyer to show that he or she is serious about buying the house.

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

Effective age: An appraiser's estimate of the physical condition of a building. The actual age of a building may be shorter or longer than its effective age.

Effective gross income: Normal annual income including overtime that is regular or guaranteed. The income may be from more than one source. Salary is generally the principal source, but other income may qualify if it is significant proceedings.

Eminent domain: The right of a government to take private property for public use upon payment of its fair market value. Eminent domain is the basis for condemnation proceedings.

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 in a property. Equity is the difference between the fair market value of the property and the amount still owed on its mortgage.

Escrow: An item of value, money, or documents deposited with a third party to be delivered upon the fulfillment of a condition. For example, the deposit by a borrower with the lender of funds to pay taxes and insurance premiums when they became due, or the deposit of funds or documents with an attorney or escrow agent to be disbursed upon the closing of a sale of real estate.

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 time of death.

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 listing: A written contract that gives a licensed 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 and administrator if no executor is named. "Executrix" is the feminine form.

Egress: A way to exit from a property; the opposite of ingress.