The cash deposit (including initial and additional deposits) paid by the prospective buyer of real property as evidence of his good faith intention to complete the transaction; called hand money or a binder in some states.

1. Planet on which people live, third planet from the sun 2. soil found on the surface of the earth

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

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.

The interface or transition zone between two ecosystems that differ in overall species composition, plant communities, structure, and function of key processes. These areas are often characterized by a higher degree of species diversity than either of the two adjoining ecosystems alone.

The amount of time that has passed since a building or other structure was built.

Height above sea level

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

The right of state, federal, or municipal government to take private property for a necessary public use, with just compensation paid to the owner. The court action that allows private property to be acquired by a government entity is known as condemnation.

State legislation that grants zoning powers to municipalities.

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

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.

A usually metal chain used to measure length and distance. Less commonly used in land surveys than a Gunter's or surveyor's chain, the engineer's or Ramsden's chain is 100 feet in length, with 100 1-foot links. The terms "engineer's chain" and "Ramsden's chain" apply primarily to the measuring utensil itself and not to any particular unit of length.

The right to enjoy and use one's real or personal property; one of the bundle of rights.

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

The right of a mortgagor who has defaulted on the mortgage note to redeem or recover the title to the property by paying off the entire mortgage note prior to the foreclosure sale.

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.

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

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.

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)

Definition:
1. All the property, possessions, and capital one owns, both real and personal, tangible and intangible.
2. The degree, level, quantity, quality, nature, characteristics, duration, and extent of the possessory interest one owns in real property.
3. In the feudal era, any of the three political classes: the Lords Spritual (the clergy), known as the first estate; the Lords Temporal (nobility, royalty, tenants-in-chief, etc.), known as the second estate; and the Commons (bourgeoisie), known as the third estate. In contemporary usage, journalists are known as the fourth estate.
4. The assets and liabilities of a deceased person, or one that is bankrupt.
5. A parcel of real property, varying in size but generally larger than a standard lot, with a residence (often a large house or mansion) and several outbuildings consisting of guest and servant quarters, barns, storage facilities, or the like.


Terms and Definitions: Real Estate, Legal (Law), Management, Appraisal, Auction, Finance and Investment, Taxes and Taxation, Title and Title Insurance

A freehold estate in real property in which the interest in the property is held until the death of the owner or some other person specified by the grantor of the estate. Unlike other freehold estates, life estates cannot be inherited by the heirs of the grantee. Transfer of property ownership following the end of a life estate occurs according to the provisions stipulated by the grantor. There are three types of life estates: legal life estates, conventional life estates, and estates pur autre vie (technically a type of conventional life estate).

A estate for the life of another is known legally as an estate pur autre vie, French for "for the life of another". An estate pur autre vie (also known as pour autre vie) is a form of conventional life estate wherein the duration of the estate is measured not against the life of the life tenant, but against the life of another person specified by the grantor of the estate. An estate pur autre vie is the only life estate that has a right of inheritance: during the life of this other person against whose lifespan the duration of the estate depends, the life tenant's heirs may inherit the property. Once the "other person" is deceased, this right of inheritance ends.

An estate in fee simple absolute is a type of freehold estate; it is the highest and most complete form of land ownership under the common law system. Fee simple estates are limited only by the governmental rights of taxation, eminent domain, escheat, and police power. Holders of estates in fee simple may transfer, give, sell, will (devise), or otherwise dispose of real property in any way they wish, within the confines of the law. Fee simple estates may be held indefinitely; in legal terms, they are said to run forever.
Also known as estate in fee simple, fee simple, fee, fee ownership, or estate of inheritance.

An estate in fee simple defeasible is a freehold estate with a less-than-absolute interest in real property and is subject to certain conditions or contingencies, such as the occurrence (or non-occurrence, as the case may be) of certain specified events. There are two types of fee simple defeasible estates: qualified fee conditional (also known as subject to condition subsequent) and qualified fee determinable. Defeasible estates allow for recovery of fee simple ownership of the property by the grantor if the grantee either commits certain acts (qualified fee conditional), or fails to comply with a special limitation (qualified fee determinable). Estates in fee simple defeasible are of unlimited duration, but only if the conditions or special limitations specified by the grantor are not violated or are continually met. An estate in fee simple defeasible differs from one in fee simple absolute in that it has a clearly defined potential endpoint, and the property interest is less than fee ownership.
Also known as an Estate in qualified fee or an Estate in fee simple qualified.