Real Estate Terms ? From Easements to Good Title

When buying or selling a property, it always helps to have a basic understanding of real estate terms. In this on going series of articles, we take a look at definitions starting with ?easements.?

1) Easement ? permission given to (or acquired by) someone who does not own a parcel of real property enabling that person (or entity) to use that parcel for a specific purpose. It may add or detract value. It may be neutral so far as the value of the property is concerned. Examples include easements to utility companies for the purpose of running power lines, easements to municipalities for running sewer lines, and an easement to a neighbor to use your driveway for ingress and egress to his property.

2) Encroachment ? a building, fence, wall, driveway, etc. which is intended to be part of one property and is found to be on, or partially on, another property.

3) Escrow ? money and other items of value held by a third party for the benefit of the buyer and seller of real property. In California, items are accumulated in escrow for a stated period of time until all items needed to finalize the sale are in the hands of the escrow agent and properly processed. In Virginia, the items are accumulated but are not signed until everyone meets at the settlement table. Then the deed is signed, the lender releases funds, and so on. It is usually the next day before the change of ownership can be recorded at the courthouse, so while it isn?t customarily referred to that way, the settlement agent is usually an escrow agent for about 24 hours in Virginia.

4) Equity ? The wealth value of a property for the owner. The equity in a property is equal to the fair market value minus any debts such as mortgages and taxes.

5) Good Title ? title to the real property being clear and clean enough that a title insurance company will insure it and a lender will make a loan with it as collateral.

As you can image, there are many real estate terms for which you have a general understanding. In our next article, we continue with the terms starting with ?Home Inspection.?

Posted by William M. Dacus on December 13, 2008 at 12:00 AM

About William M. Dacus
William M. Dacus is affliated with Brookstone Realty, which is located in Olive Branch, MS. For further assistance please use the contact information located on the right.

As of 05/23/12 the William M. Dacus RePage is ranked at 8,855 with 305 points.

Local Information for Olive Branch, MS

Latitude: 34.963007 -- Longitude: -89.841627

ZIP Codes for Olive Branch, Mississippi	38654
Area Code for Olive Branch, Mississippi	662
Time zone for Olive Branch, Mississippi	CST

Other Area Cities: Tunica, MS Olive Branch, MS Horn Lake, MS Southaven, MS

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What is now the downtown area of Olive Branch was purchased by Milton Blocker and Stephen Flinn more than a century and a half ago, on April 13, 1836, from Chickasaw Indian Chief Lush-Pum-Tubby. The 1,280 acres were purchased for $1.20 per acre. The town was originally known as Cowpens, named for the cow pens that lined the primary road. The town was later renamed to Watson's Crossroads in honor of Sam Watson, a Methodist minister at Methodist Church of Olive Branch. This church, originally founded in 1840, is now known as Maples Memorial Methodist Church. In 1846, the town gets its first Post Office and changes its name to Olive Branch. 29 years later, on May 1, 1875, the area composed of 150 people was formally incorporated as Olive Branch. The first mayor of Olive Branch was Ben Wesson. In 1875, he constructs a new home, what is now known as Wesson House. -- Source: Wikipedia.com

Mississippi 2000 Census Population Profile Map

	Olive Branch	Mississippi	United States
Population	21,054	2,844,658	281,421,906
Median age	33.1	33.8	35.3
Median age for Male	32.5	32.2	34
Median age for Female	33.6	35.3	36.5
Households	7,546	1,046,434	105,480,101
Household population	20,992	2,749,244	273,643,273
Average household size	2.78	2.63	2.59
Families	6,035	747,159	71,787,347
Average family size	3.13	3.14	3.14
Housing units	7,935	1,161,953	115,904,641
Occupied units	7,546	1,046,434	105,480,101
Vacant units	389	115,519	10,424,540

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Real Estate Terms ? From Easements to Good Title

Local Information for Olive Branch, MS

Latitude: 34.963007 -- Longitude: -89.841627

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