Property title

Title companies insure real estate buyers against technical mistakes that might create questions about ownership of the property after the sale. Before the advent of title companies, buyers hired lawyers to study the legal history of a property, disclose and correct any issues concerning ownership, and write a legal opinion indicating the rightful owner of the property after closing.
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Escrow

Escrow refers to a special account set up by a lender to hold monthly installments from a borrower to cover property taxes and insurance. In the early 1930s, the federal government mandated that lenders manage escrows on all FHA insured mortgages to help ease the burden on homeowners, who had to come up with large, lump sum payments at tax time.
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Home affordability

According to the National Association of Realtors affordability index, the San Diego area has the least affordable housing market in the U.S. San Diego's median income was nearly 30% less than the income needed to buy a median-priced home. The most affordable homes were in Peoria, Illinois, where median income was nearly three times the income needed to buy a median-priced home.
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Hetty Green on real estate

"I advise women to invest in real estate. It is the collateral to be preferred above all others, and the safest means of investing money." - Hetty Green
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Septic systems

Nearly a quarter of all homes in the U.S. use a septic system to dispose of human and household waste. Septic systems are made of concrete or fiberglass and range in size from about 750 to 1,500 gallons. Septic systems are the largest producers of wastewater and are also the most common source of groundwater contamination in the U.S.
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Planned unit developments

A planned unit development combines individual home ownership with shared ownership of common facilities, such as roads, water systems, clubhouses, swimming pools, parks, and golf courses. The first planned unit development in the U.S. was developed in the late 1800s. There are over 200,000 residential planned developments nationwide, growing at the rate of 10,000 per year.
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ASHI

The American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) was established in 1976 by a group of home inspectors. Their common goal was to build consumer awareness and enhance the professionalism of their field by establishing high standards of practice and a code of ethics. ASHI provides education, resources, and marketing to its 6,000 members in 80 local chapters.
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Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 was signed into law on the heels of the worst housing slump since the Great Depression. The primary focus of the far sweeping series of acts was a $300 billion bailout of troubled mortgages and increased oversight of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the federal banking systems that guarantee almost half of all American mortgages.
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Online resources

Real estate buyers and sellers are using a multitude of online resources to learn, research, compare, and search for real estate information and data. According to Nielsen/NetRatings, over twenty million unique visits were registered on real estate or apartment websites during a recent one-month period. This equates to nearly 15% of the active Internet population.
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Glengarry Glenross

The 1992 film "Glengarry Glenross" is based on the Broadway play about a group of real estate agents at Premiere Properties. The story is the core essence of sales as the character and emotions of each agent unfolds during a "sales contest" initiated by a corporate axe man. The film stars Allen Arkin, Alec Baldwin, Al Pacino, Kevin Spacey, Ed Harris, and Jack Lemmon.
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Reston, Virginia

Robert E. Simon conceived Reston, Virginia in 1964 as one of the largest modern planned communities in the U.S. The 7,000 acre development outside of Washington D.C. was developed and financed by the Gulf Oil Company. The community incorporated higher density housing to conserve open space, as well as mixed-use areas for industry, business, recreation, education and housing.
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Alaska

With the Russian treasury short of funds, Russian minister Baron Edouard de Stoeckl offered the United States the purchase of Alaska in December 1866. The United States purchased Alaska in July 1868 for $7.2 million. Although Alaska is twice as large as Texas, it was not until the great Klondike gold rush in 1896 that Alaska came to be seen as a valuable addition.
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Bing Maps

Use Bing Maps to view homes and lots from the air in several distinct viewing modes: 2D, 3D, aerial and bird's eye. Enter an address and take a virtual fly-over to view the property and surrounding neighborhood from all angles. See this essential real estate resource at bing.com/maps.
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Real estate brokers and agents

According to the latest data compiled by the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 460,000 real estate brokers and agents in the United States. The median annual earnings of salaried real estate sales agents was $35,670. The median annual earnings of salaried real estate brokers was $58,720.
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Highways

The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1925 was passed in response to the confusion created by 250 existing highways that were named and maintained by various private and public entities. The Act specified a uniform naming system for highways with a universally recognized sign shield. The most important change was that the roads would be administered by the states, not by for-profit private road clubs.
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National Housing Act of 1934

The National Housing Act of 1934 established the Federal Housing Administration to advance homeownership opportunities for all Americans. The FHA created the fixed-rate, long-term mortgage. The agency also established mortgage insurance for lenders, encouraging them to make mortgage loans to borrowers who might not qualify for conventional mortgages.
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Better Homes and Gardens

Better Homes and Gardens magazine has been publishing articles on design, decor, cooking, and gardening since its debut in 1922. The magazine was first called "Fruit, Garden, and Home" and changed to Better Homes and Gardens in 1924. Better Homes and Gardens is published by the Meredith Corporation and has a circulation of nearly eight million readers.
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Landscaping

According to a recent National Gardening Association study, homeowners spent $37.7 billion landscaping their property, up from $22.5 billion five years earlier. Many studies have shown that properly selected, sited and maintained landscaping can increase the value of residential and commercial property from five to as much as twenty percent.
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Trees

Trees increase the value of property by providing attractive landscapes as well as positive environmental benefits. They cool the air in their shade, they release oxygen while removing carbon dioxide, protect from ultraviolet sun rays, prevent soil erosion, provide wildlife habitat, provide food, and they screen sights and sounds.
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Carpeting

Wall-to-wall and room carpeting create a warm, quiet living environment. Carpet is the most popular type of flooring in the United States, covering an estimated 70 percent of the country's floors. Carpet has an average lifespan of about eight to ten years but is the least durable when compared to other flooring, such as hardwood floors and ceramic tile.
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Reduce move-related household waste

The millions of residential moves that take place annually produce enormous amounts of household waste. The EPA offers the following tips to reduce move-related household waste: hold a yard sale; reuse boxes; pack clothes in suitcases or duffel bags; use old newspapers to wrap items; use environmentally preferable packing materials; dispose of hazardous materials; donate leftover items to charity.
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Employee Relocation

According to data compiled by the Worldwide Employee Relocation Council, the top two reasons that employees give when reluctant to relocate for a job in the United States are family resistance to the move and high housing costs.
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Comparable properties

Real estate professionals agree that a worthwhile new home shopping task is to compare prices of comparable properties that are for rent and for sale. If a local market has higher monthly mortgage amounts versus rents, it may be far cheaper to rent than to own, especially if a buyer expects to sell in less than five years.
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Google Earth

Google Earth combines satellite imagery, maps and Google Search to put the world's geographic information on a computer's display. Companies are using Google and other methods to merge real estate listings, aerial imagery, and maps. Some good websites include housingmaps.com, homepages.com, and realestate.yahoo.com.
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Electricity rates

According to data compiled by the U.S. Department of Energy, the average electricity rate in the U.S. is 8.62 cents per kilowatt-hour. Residents of Hawaii (19.23) and New York (14.52) pay the highest electricity rates in the nation. Kentucky (5.05) and West Virginia (5.09) residents pay the lowest electricity rates.
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NIMBY

"Not In My Back Yard" (NIMBY) is the response sometimes given by neighborhoods and communities to proposed changes or new developments. NIMBY was coined in the 1960s in response to attempted placement of group homes in communities. Notable NIMBY projects include landfills, highways, airports, stadiums, schools, mixed-income housing, and group homes.
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The Welcome Wagon

The Welcome Wagon mails gift books to nearly two million new homeowners each year. The free gift books contain information regarding local civic and cultural activities, as well as coupons from local businesses. The Welcome Wagon began in 1928 and was known for its personal home delivery of gift baskets to new homeowners until recently switching to gift books.
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Step-rate mortgage

A step-rate mortgage is a loan that allows for the interest rate to increase at yearly intervals according to a specified schedule, resulting in increasing payments as well. At the end of the specified step period, the rate and payments will remain constant for the remainder of the loan. Step-rate mortgages are designed to ease home ownership affordability.
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Home energy audit

A home energy audit determines how much energy a home consumes and evaluates what measures to make a home more energy efficient. The audit shows where a house is losing energy, the efficiency of a home's heating and cooling systems, and ways to conserve hot water and electricity. The audit results may save the homeowner significant amounts of money over time.
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