Real Estate Glossary - E

EASEMENT - A property interest which one person has in land owned by another entitling the holder of the interest to limited use or enjoyment of the other's land

EASEMENT IN GROSS - The limited right of one person to use another's land (servient estate), which right is not created for the benefit of any land owned by the owner of the easement; that is, there is no dominant estate, as the easement attaches personally to the owner, not to the land

EMBLEMENTS - Growing crops (called "fructus industriales"),such as rice and taro, which are produced annually through labor and industry

EMINENT DOMAIN - The right of government, both state and federal, to take private property for a necessary public use, with just compensation paid to the owner

ENCROACHMENT - An unauthorized invasion or intrusion of a fixture or other real property wholly or partly upon another's property, thus reducing the size and value of the invaded property

ENCUMBRANCE - Any claim, lien, charge or liability attached to and binding upon real property which may lessen the value of the property but will not necessarily prevent transfer of title

ENTIRETY, TENANCY BY - A form of joint ownership of property between husband and wife with the right of survivorship

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT - A report which includes a detailed description of a proposed development project with emphasis on the existing environment setting, viewed from both a local and regional perspective, and a discussion of the probable impact of the project on the environment during all phases

EQUITY - That interest or value remaining in property after payment of all liens or other charges on the property. A owner's equity is normally the monetary interest over and above the mortgage indebtedness

ERRORS AND OMISSIONS INSURANCE - A form of insurance which covers liabilities for errors, mistakes and negligence in the usual listing and selling activities of a real estate office or escrow company

ESCHEAT - The reversion of property to the state when a decedent dies intestate and there are no heirs capable of inheriting, or when the property is abandoned

ESCROW - The process by which money and/or documents are held by a disinterested third person (a "stakeholder") until the satisfaction of the terms and conditions of the escrow instructions (as prepared by the parties to the escrow)

ESTOPPEL - A legal doctrine by which a person is prevented from asserting rights or facts which are inconsistent with a previous position or representation he had made by his act, conduct or silence

ETHICS - A system of moral principles, rules and standards of conduct

EVICTION - The legal process of removing a tenant from possession of the premises for some breach of the lease contract

EXCHANGE - A transaction in which all or part of the consideration for the purchase of real property is the transfer of property of a like kind

EXCLUSIVE AGENCY - A written listing agreement giving one agent the right to sell property for a specified time, but reserving to the owner the right to sell the property himself without payment of any commission

EXCLUSIVE LISTING - A written listing of real property in which the seller agrees to appoint only one broker to sell the property for a specified period of time. The two types of exclusive listings are the exclusive agency and the exclusive right to sell

EXECUTIVE - The act of making a document legally valid, such as formalizing a contract by signing, or acknowledging and delivering a deed

EXECUTOR - A person appointed by a testator to carry out the directions and requests in the last will and testament, and to dispose of property according to the provisions of the will

EXECUTORY CONTRACT - A contract in which one or both of the parties has not yet performed

EXTENDER CLAUSE - A "carry over" clause (referred to as a safety clause) contained in a listing which provides that a broker is still entitled to a commission for a set of period of time after the listing has expired if the property is sold to a former prospect of the broker

EXTENSION - An agreement to continue the period of performance beyond the specified period.

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