Real Estate Resources

A real estate appraisal establishes a property's market value—the likely sales price it would bring if offered in an open and competitive real estate market. Lenders require appraisals when buyers use their new homes as security for their mortgages.

Closing costs include payments to a variety of people and organizations for services during the homebuying process. Standard closing costs might range from 2%-5% of your home’s purchase price. But that depends on where you live, the property you’re buying, and more.

A Realtor can be a real estate agent, a broker-associate, a managing broker, or an exclusive buyer's agent, and this is just the beginning of the list. What sets them apart is that they must subscribe to the Realtor Code of Ethics for membership, and this includes 17 separate articles that contain various underlying Standards of Practice.

An easement is one person's right to use land for a certain purpose when it is owned by someone else. If there is an easement on your land, the property is yours, but other people can use it or access it. It all depends on the terms.

An encumbrance is any legal thing that burdens or restricts usage or transfer of a property. An encumbrance can be a mortgage, a lien (voluntary or involuntary), an easement, or a restriction limiting the transfer of a title. A property free-and-clear of any encumbrances is rare. 

Real property, often also called “real estate,” is land plus any other tangible improvement that might rest upon it or be installed on it.

Earnest money is a deposit a buyer gives to a home seller to show that the buyer is serious about purchasing the property. Also called a “good-faith deposit,” earnest money accompanies an offer to buy a house.

A loan estimate is a form a lender issues to a loan applicant after they apply for a mortgage, to communicate how much the applicant can expect to pay for the loan if both parties agree to move forward with it.

The right of rescission is your legal right to cancel some home loan agreements without any financial penalties as long as it’s done within three days of signing. The right of rescission is only good for some types of loans and doesn’t include new home purchase loans.

A multiple listing service (MLS) is a database of broker-listed homes. Only real estate agents and other professional affiliates can access an MLS.

A real estate purchase contract is a binding agreement, usually between two parties, for the transfer of a home or other property. The parties must both have the legal capacity to make the purchase, exchange, or other conveyance of the real property in question, and the contract is based on a legal consideration, which is whatever is being exchanged for the real estate.