The Real Estate
Encyclopedia: A-E

The payment of debt in regular and periodic installments of principal and interest, as opposed to interest-only payments. Amortization is a planned series of payments over the life of a loan that pay back the principal and interest on the debt in regular installments....

(American Land Title Association) A type of title insurance policy issued by title insurance companies which expands the risks normally insured against under the standard policy to include unrecorded mechanic's liens; unrecorded physical easements; facts a physical...

An owner's extended coverage policy that provides buyers and owners the same protection the ALTA policy gives to lenders. ALTA stands for American Land Title Association. An ALTA policy is a type of title insurance issued by title insurance companies. This policy...

A type of acceleration clause, calling for a debt under a mortgage or deed of trust to be due in its entirety upon transfer of ownership of the secured property. For example, if a homeowner with a mortgage transfers their property to another party, the lender may...

Adverse possession is a legal concept that, in certain situations, allows one party who is occupying another party’s land to take legal ownership of that land. This concept originated in medieval English common law; it intended to make sure that land that was being...

Accretion is the gradual and imperceptible addition of soil to a riparian or littoral property. The added waterborne soil deposits are known as alluvion or alluvium. Once added to the owner's property, the accreted soil becomes a part of the owner's property. If the...

An addition to property, often through natural geological events. Accession involves acquiring title to something added to the property, either by human-made action or through the operation of natural geological processes. A property expanding by the addition of land...

The right of an owner to have ingress and egress to and from owner's property over adjoining land. This is usually in the form of an easement. For example, one property may have an access right over another property, meaning that the owner of one property has the...

Voluntary agreement to the price and terms of an offer, which creates a contract. For example, upon communication of the seller's acceptance of the offer back to the buyer, a real estate sale agreement becomes a legally enforceable contract. The offer is not a...

Most condominium ownership is structured around the concept of airspace. This means that the building, walls, and common areas are owned communally by all owners through the homeowners association (HOA). Thus, the individual condominium owner only controls the...