Moon Title & Escrow

Glossary of Real Estate Terms

Closing	I real estate sales, the final procedure in which documents are executed and/ or recorded, and the sale (or loan) is completed
Closing Costs	Expenses incidental to a sale of real estate, such as loan fees, title fees, appraisal fees, etc.
Closing statement	The statement which lists the financial settlement between buyer and seller, and also the costs each must pay.
Deed	An instrument that passes fee title to property upon sale.
Easement	A right created by a grant, reservation, agreement, prescription, or necessary implication, which one has in the land of another. It is either for the benefit of land (appurtenant), such as right to cross A to get to B, or "in gross" , such as a public utility easement..
Escrow Contract	A installment contract for the sale of land. The seller (vendor) has legal title until paid in full. The buyer (vendee) has equitable title during the contract term.
Future Advance Clause	A clause in a mortgage or deed of trust which allows the borrower to borrow additional sums at a future time, secured under the same instrument and by the same real property security.
Joint Tenancy	An undivided interest in property, taken by two or more tenants. The interests must be equal, occurring under the same conveyance, and beginning at the same time. Upon the death of a joint tenant, the interest passes to the surviving joint tenants, rather than to the heirs of the deceased.
Lien waiver	For our purposes, a waiver of mechanic's lien right, signed by subcontractors so that the owner or general contractor can receive a draw on a construction loan
Life Estate	An estate in real property for the life of a living person. The estate then reverts back to the grantor or on to a third party (remainderman).
Mortgage	a conveyance of an interest in property as security for the repayment of money borrowed.
Quitclaim Deed	A deed operating as a release; intended to pass any title, interest, or claim which the grantor may have in the property, but not containing any warranty of a valid interest or title in the grantor.
Real Estate	Land and anything permanently affixed to the land, such as buildings, fences, and those things attached to the buildings, such as light fixtures, plumbing, and heating fixtures, or other such items which would be personal property if not attached.
Right of Way	A strip of land which is used as a roadbed, either for street or railway. The land is set aside as an easement or in fee, either by agreement or condemnation. May also be used to describe the right itself to pass over the land of another.
Sellers Affidavit of No Liens	An assurance that there are no liens against the property due to mechanics lien, state or federal tax liens.
Tenancy in Common	An undivided ownership in real estate by two or more persons. The interests need not be equal, and in the event of death of one of the owners, no right of survivorship in the other owners exists. The real estate would then pass to the heirs of the deceased.
Title	The evidence one has of right to possession of land.
Title Insurance	Insurance against loss resulting from defects of title to a specifically described parcel of real property.
Transfer on Death Deed	The act by which the title to property is conveyed from one person to another at time of death.
Warranty Deed	A deed used to convey fee title to real property, which warranties.