Environmental Consultant to Equity Dividend Rate

 

Environmental Consultant

Encompassing a variety of environmental areas, the environmental consultant typically assists developers, property owners, environmental organizations, local governments and other interest parties with compliance issues. Environmental consulting services are used for an array of specialties, including asbestos hazard assessments, environmental impact studies, waste management and renewal energy.

Environmental Impact Statement

The environmental impact statement (EIS) is a report required by the EPA on all development projects involving a federal agency. The purpose of the report is to determine the impact of the proposed development on the site and its surroundings. A requirement established by the National Environmental Policy Act, the EIS doesn’t specifically prohibit projects that may harm the environment, but it does require full public disclosure and must provide the public with at least two chances to comment on the study, its findings and the proposed development project.

EIS

See the Environmental Impact Statement entry.

EPA

See the Environmental Protection Agency entry.

Environmental Protection Agency

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was established as an independent agency in 1970, charged with administering and enforcing environmental laws, including the Clean Air Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Clean Water Act, Resources Conservation & Recovery Act, Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation & Liability Act, Superfund Amendment & Reauthorization Act, Coastal Zone Management Act and the Lead-Based Paint Hazard & Reduction Act.

Environmental Site Assessment

The environmental site assessment is a detailed inspection and examination of real property, which often entails soil tests and borings. The assessment is performed by environmental engineers, for the purpose of analyzing potential environmental contamination.

EPL

See the Environmental Protection Lien Endorsement entry.

Environmental Protection Lien Endorsement

Sometimes referred to as an ALTA Endorsement 8.1, the Environmental Protection Lien (EPL) endorsement insures the residential property lender against any loss of priority to an environmental protection lien, federal or state, filed in the public records, except for those liens identified in the title insurance commitment policy. This title company guarantee protects the mortgage lender against potential losses due to environmental (pollution) violations that should have been uncovered by the title company.

ECOA

See the Equal Credit Opportunity Act entry.

Equal Credit Opportunity Act

The Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) Notice is a federal law that prohibits creditors, lenders and brokers from discriminating against an applicant on the basis of race, color, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, age, marital status, receipt of income from public assistance programs, or past complaints based on the Consumer Credit Protection Act.

Equalized Value

For property tax purposes, the equalized value is the taxable value of a parcel after the equalizer has been applied to the assessed value.

Equalizer

In real estate, the equalizer is a formula or constant applied to real estate assessments, to assure state-wide or local equality when determining tax assessments.

Equifax

One of the three major credit reporting bureaus that collect, store and report consumer credit histories in the United States, Equifax is based in Atlanta, GA; it can be reached at www.Equifax.com.  The other two major consumer credit bureaus are Experian and TransUnion. For business and corporate credit history, the counterparts are Dun & Bradstreet and Standard & Poor.

Equitable Conversion

The legal doctrine of equitable conversion involves the extent to when elements of the ownership transfers from the seller to a buyer. The recording of the deed of conveyance with the county records office makes the transfer official. But the doctrine of equitable conversion posits that the buyer becomes the “equitable” owner of the property as soon as the buyer and seller sign the purchase agreement. Legally of course, the seller still has title to the property until the deed of conveyance is signed and the transaction is finalized, but the buyer now has equitable rights to the property.

Equitable Lien

The equitable lien is any lien established by the courts to ensure fairness or justice.

Equitable Mortgage

The equitable mortgage is a non-mortgage deed that is treated as a mortgage deed by the courts. Some lenders have tried to make foreclosure easier for themselves by insisting that borrowers provide them with a conditional deed of transfer (such as a quit claim or warranty deed). Their thinking is that instead of a mortgage deed, which only allows them to place a lien against the property’s title, the deed of transfer would allow them to immediately take title to the property if the borrower defaults. Legal precedence, however, treat such deeds as mortgage deeds – even though they were created by the lender to get away from the whole mortgage process. The key issue here is that since it is considered a mortgage, the borrower has an equitable right of redemption and lender must still go through the foreclosure process in order to take full possession of the property’s title.

Equitable Right of Redemption

The equitable right of redemption is the property owner’s interest in a real property that has been removed due to a mortgage loan’s default and/or foreclosure; and the property owner’s right to redeem the property from foreclosure.

Equitable Rights

As opposed to statutory or constitutional rights, equitable rights are those established by the courts or judicial decisions in the interest of fairness and justice. Critics sometimes refer to such pronouncements as judicial activism or legislating from the bench.

Equitable Title

Equitable title is the limited interest provided by a purchase agreement to a buyer who has agreed to purchase a property but has not closed on the transaction, as posited by the principle of equitable conversion.

Equity

In real estate, equity is economic resource of the subject property owed to the property owner.  More precisely, it is the portion of the property’s value beyond the liabilities or liens against the property.  Thus, a $120,000 home with $75,000 in mortgage liens has a net equity of approximately $45,000 ($120,000 – $75,000).  If the property is ever sold, that is gross profit that the owner can anticipate.

Equity Build-Up

The equity build-up is the property’s net worth that is produced by the appreciation of the property’s value and the simultaneous paying down of any mortgage debt.

Equity Dividend Rate

The equity dividend rate is the rate of return measurement that analyzes the strength of a property’s income stream.  The equity dividend rate is derived from the before-tax cash flow divided by the property’s equity.