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| Earnest Money | The monetary advance by a buyer of part of the purchase price to indicate the intention and ability of the buyer to carry out the contract. |
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| Easement | A right of use over the property of another created by grant, reservation, agreement, prescription or necessary implication. It is either for the benefit of adjoining land (“appurtenant”), such as the right to cross A to get to B., or for the benefit of a specific individual (“in gross”), such as a public utility easement. |
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| 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. |
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| Economic Feasibility | A building or project’s feasibility in terms of costs and revenue, with excess revenue establishing the degree of viability. |
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| Economic Rent | The market rental value of a property at a given point in time, even though the actual rent may be different. |
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| Effective Rent | The actual rental rate to be achieved by the landlord after deducting the value of concessions from the base rental rate paid by a tenant, usually expressed as an average rate over the term of the lease. |
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| Efficiency Factor | Represents the percentage of Net Rentable Square Feet devoted to the building’s common areas (lobbies, rest rooms, corridors, etc.). This factor can be computed for an entire building or a single floor of a building. Also known as a Core Factor or Rentable/Usable (R/U) Factor, it is calculated by dividing the rentable square footage by the usable square footage. |
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| Ejectment | Action to regain possession or real property. This is a last-ditch effort that is used when there is no relationship between landlord and tenant. |
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| Emblements | Growing crops (called "fructus industriales"), such as rice and taro, which are produced annually through labor and industry. |
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| Eminent Domain | A power of the state, municipalities, and private persons or corporations authorized to exercise functions of public character to acquire private property for public use by condemnation, in return for just compensation. See also “Condemnation”. |
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| 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. |
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| Encumbrance | Any right to, or interest in, real property held by someone other than the owner, but which will not prevent the transfer of fee title (i.e. a claim, lien, charge or liability attached to and binding real property).. |
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| Endorsement | Signing one's name on the back of a check. |
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| 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. |
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| Environmental Impact Statement | Documents which are required by federal and state laws to accompany proposals for major projects and programs that will likely have an impact on the surrounding environment. |
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| Equitable Right of Redemption | The right of a mortgagor who has defaulted on the mortgage note to redeem or get back his title to the property by paying off the entire mortgage note prior to the foreclosure sale. |
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| Equity | That interest or value remaining in property after payment of all liens or other charges on the property. An owner's equity is normally the monetary interest over and above the mortgage indebtedness. |
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| 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. |
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| Escalation Clause | A clause in a lease which provides for the rent to be increased to reflect changes in expenses paid by the landlord such as real estate taxes, operating costs, etc. This may be accomplished by several means such as fixed periodic increases, increases tied to the Consumer Price Index or adjustments based on changes in expenses paid by the landlord in relation to a dollar stop or base year reference. |
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| 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. |
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| 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). |
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| Escrow Agreement | A written agreement made between the parties to a contract and an escrow agent. The escrow agreement sets forth the basic obligations of the parties, describes the monies (or other things of value) to be deposited in escrow, and instructs the escrow agent concerning the disposition of the monies deposited. |
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| Estoppel Certificate | A document signed by the Tenant that confirms they are the tenant, that their lease is legitimate, and the amount of any security deposit the Landlord is holding. It is usually required to be signed by the Tenant when an owner sells the property. |
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| Ethics | A system of moral principles, rules and standards of conduct. |
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| Eviction | The legal process of removing a tenant from possession of the premises for some breach of the lease contract. |
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| Eviction (Actual) | Physical removal of a tenant either by law or force. |
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| Eviction (Constructive) | The landlord or his agents disturb the tenant, rendering the leased space unfit for the tenant's previous use. |
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| Eviction (Proceeding) | A legal proceeding by the landlord to remove a tenant. |
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| 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. |
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| Exchange Agreement | A deferred Exchange is defined as an exchange in which, PURSUANT TO AN AGREEMENT, the Exchanger transfers the relinquished property and subsequently receives the replacement property. THEREFORE, AN EXCHANGE AGREEMENT IS VITAL. |
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| Exchange Period | The replacement property must be received by the taxpayer within the "Exchange Period", which ends on the earlier of 180 days after the date on which the taxpayer transferred the property relinquished, or the due date for the taxpayer’s tax return for the taxable year in which the transfer of the relinquished property occurs (such as April 15th). Due to the Taxpayer’s ability to extend the date of payment, the exchange period is usually 180 days. |
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| Exclusive Agency | An agreement in which one broker has exclusive rights to represent the owner or tenant. If another broker is used, both the original and actual broker are entitled to commissions. |
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| Executive | The act of making a document legally valid, such as formalizing a contract by signing, or acknowledging and delivering a deed. |
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| Executive Suite | An office within an office. Usually less than 200 square feet. In addition to the space, the tenant may receive secretarial-receptionists services, copies, fax, and phone. The price is usually 2 to 4 times typical space. Great option for one or two man shows or startups. Lease terms may be as short as month to month. |
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| 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. |
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| Executory Contract | A contract in which one or both of the parties has not yet performed. |
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| Expansion or Escape Clause | Wording in a lease document that allows Tenant to end their lease obligation earlier than the original term. Used for rapidly expanding companies or startups that may be at risk for success. Usually, there are associated written notices required and payments of additional fees to the Landlord. |
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| Expense Stop | An agreed dollar amount of taxes and operating expense (expressed for the building as a whole or on a square foot basis) over which the tenant will pay its prorated share of increases. May be applied to specific expenses (e.g., property taxes or insurance). |
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| 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. |
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| Extension | An agreement to continue the period of performance beyond the specified period. |
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