What do ingress and egress mean in real estate?
Ingress means entering a property; egress means leaving it. A driveway can provide physical access without giving its users a legal right to cross the land.
Ingress is the right or ability to enter a property; egress is the right or ability to leave it. In a property listing, “good ingress and egress” might describe how easily cars turn in and out. In a deed, those words can describe a legal right to cross someone else’s land. A paved driveway proves the route exists, not that your tenants have permission to use it.
Read the right of access, not just the site plan
Imagine a small retail center whose only practical delivery entrance crosses a neighbor’s lot. An access easement might permit passenger vehicles along a particular strip of pavement. Before counting on delivery trucks, check the recorded document for the route, allowed uses, beneficiaries and maintenance obligations. A wide enough driveway and an easement broad enough for deliveries are two different things. Cornell’s explanations of ingress and easements describe the distinction.
Why “egress” can mean something else on a floor plan
An architect discussing emergency egress is talking about the route people use to leave a building safely. A property-line access right does not establish that a fire exit meets code. For an acquisition, review the title documents and survey with the appropriate professionals, then visit the entrance during the hours that matter to tenants. A legally usable route can still back up at rush hour. The same distinction between access on paper and in practice matters for compact parking.