Aug. 4, 2014
Real Estate Has its own Vocabulary
Real Estate is a huge, complex industry. Just like anything else that you spend time at, the more you do, the more you know, and the greater the level of detail that you see. One of the first barriers that anyone must overcome when entering a new industry is the vocabulary problem. Where a novice might say "house" a more nuanced person might say "Cape" or "Colonial" or "split". In an effort to help get first time home buyers - or anyone really - up to speed on the language of house selling and purchasing, I have created this list for those to peruse. Readers should note, that some of the terms here are ones I use frequently as short-hand, and may not be widely used among industry professionals.
Antique
See my house styles Overview
Assessed Value
See my post on assessed values and home prices.
Bead Board
An wall covering that can add some depth and detail to a room. The wall covering comes in sheets (board) and is often glued in place (beads of glue). Pictures from google!
Betterment
An improvement on a lot or area, usually financed by the city or town, but paid for by the owner(s) affected. Many betterments must be paid off if the home is sold. Here's more information about Betterments
Buyer Agent
An agent who represents the buyer. Read More from the state of Massachusetts about agency
Cape
See my house styles Overview
Clear to Close
The best words a home buyer can hear from their mortgage company, telling the the loan is finished and they can buy the house.
Cliffhanger
Homes that are referred to as cliffhangers have back yards that are very steep, and often are not seen as "useful" backyards due to the strict grade of the land. These homes often sell at discounts to otherwise similar houses.
Colonial
See my house styles Overview
Commitment Letter
An occasionally worthless piece of paper that is provided by lenders, usually with so many "conditions" as to render the commitment nonsensical. A more useful concept is "clear to close"
Clear To Close
When your loan is clear to close, that is the bank saying they are done with the processing, and you are virtually assured of getting financing for your loan. This is really when the bank makes a commitment to your transaction.
Condominium
A condominium, or condo, is a home that shares some common elements with other homeowners. Mostly, condo associations are like apartment complexes, except the units are owned outright by individuals, and not a landlord. There are many, many, varieties of condo complexes, but in general, the land is owned "in common", they have condo fees, and larger associations often have amenities, like pools, gyms, and function halls. Condos with really high fees often sell for what look like very low prices.
Consumer Confidence Index
Can be viewed here Generally, a good indicator of the optimism of home buyers and sellers in the market place. High levels of consumer confidence often correlate with speculative housing investment, and low-levels with declining market prices or bad housing markets with long sale times.
Country Road
A country road is a street that is useful for many people to get from point A to point B, that is not a highway. They often lead to major intersections with lights, highways, and retail areas. These roads are often carry moderate to heavy traffic during rush hour, are often marked with double yellow lines, and have higher speed limits. Houses on these streets often sell for less than similar houses on quieter roads for various reasons.
Country Road, Quiet
A quiet country road is a road that has some useful purposes, but the number of people for whom it has such a use is very small. They often do not connect to anything other than busy country roads. Thus, although traffic may appreciably increase on such road, the increase is likely to be modest. Such roads are often marked by homes that are spread out and relatively private. In addition, there are generally few if any yellow lines on the road. These homes are often priced between neighborhood homes and country road homes, depending on traffic levels, which can vary.
Crown Molding
Crown moldings is additional woodwork (although sometimes it is plastic) around top of the walls and ceilings, often giving rooms a more elegant feel. There are many different styles.
Dental Molding
Crown moldings with features that look like rows of teeth, generally considered fancier than more simple types of crown molding.
Duplex
See Single-Family Attached Housing.
Entry Level Market
Homes between 900-1800 square feet are typical entry points for first time buyers. Condos can also be considered part of the entry level market in this area, as many of the condos rival the homes in space and amenities at similar price points.
Fieldstone
Fieldstone is a type of foundation made from individual stones, typically found in older homes. It can be mortared or un-mortared, and in general should be expected to leak or at least weep from time to time. Current building codes require concrete for foundations.
Flip
A flip is an investor who buys a home that is typically in need of so much work the average buyer can not fix the property. He then invests significant capital into the property, and then sells the home to make a profit. Typically, such investors own a home for less than 180 days, and such investment - while risky - can be lucrative when done right.
Floor Plan
The layout of a house. A house that has a floor plan that has wide appeal is often referred to as a "good" floor plan, or a useful floor plan. Houses that have less overall utility are often said to have poor floor plans, although some odd floor plans are good fits for some people who have non-standard needs. Houses with popular floor plans receive higher prices on a square foot basis than houses that do not.
Granite Counter Tops
Counter tops that are stone with uneven color distribution are usually granite and referred to as such. Very durable, very popular, most granite surfaces do need resealing from time-to-time (they are not zero maintenance).
Hollywood Bath
A full bathroom in between 2 bedrooms, without access to the common hallway
Hardi-plank Siding
A composite siding (exterior) that is often called Hardi-plank (a name brand) or cement board. It is a durable composite designed to have the look and feel of wood, but the durability of vinyl.
If Only
A clue that your may be looking for unicorns (see below) in a town above your budget. "This home would be perfect, IF ONLY...." Typical things said after "If Only" include "long driveway" "powerlines" "train tracks" "highway" and many other clues that tell you a town might be outside your budget.
Listing Agent, Seller's Agent
An agent who represents the Seller. Read More from the state of Massachusetts about agency
Lot
The land that a house sits on. Popular lots are often flatter, with good sunlight. Lots come in all different shapes and sizes, with different pluses and minuses and should be evaluated careful when assessing valuation.
Luxury Market
Easily defined in this area as homes above 1 million, but more accurately defined as houses that are greater than 3500 above grade square feet and are a little less than twice the town's average sale price.
Mid Level Market
Homes between 1800 and 3500 square feet in each town generally make up the mid-market or mid level home market. These are often colonials from 1985 or younger, and generally command premiums in square footage prices due to their popular styles, youthful age, and high levels of utility for all sorts of demographics.
Multi-Level
See my house styles Overview
Neighborhood, Neighborhood Street
A neighborhood street is a street that generally only leads to other residential streets, and is often not the fastest way to get from point A to point B. As such, they have lower traffic speeds, no road markings, cul-de-sacs are common, and often times the only people who know the names of the streets are the people who live or visit there. Houses tend to be more tightly clustered together in such areas, on smaller lots.
Points
Points are additional origination charges that are paid when you get a mortgage. Origination charges are one time charges that are paid for doing the loan. Points are often used to get a "lower than market" interest rate, but they can be used to in non-traditional financing as well.
Ranch
See my house styles Overview
Raised Ranch
See my house styles Overview
Re-hab Project
A re-hab project is short-hand for a house that needs extensive updating or repairs, usually throughout 80% or more of the house.
Single-Family Attached Housing
Also known as duplex, these homes are like single family properties, except you share a wall and a roof with your neighbor. There's generally no condo fee, but be aware that when you need a new roof, you need to pay for half yourself, and your neighbor has to agree! Because you share things (like condo associations) but also own things outright (the land your home sits on), it's kinda like a cross between a single family home and a condo.
Single-Family Housing
A single family home (single family, or SF) is the most common - and most expensive - type of home. Generally it means one home on a lot of property, and is usually what comes to mind when people say "house".
Solid Surface Counter Tops
Any counter top that is a single material, and not a composite. Includes: Granite, Concrete, and solid plastic countertops like Corian.
Split-Level, Split-Entry
See my house styles Overview
$/Sq feet
A metric used in evaluating real estate. It is generally not useful unless in a large aggregate of data or in looking at a narrow subset of similar houses.
Underwriter
The person who is charged with reviewing your loan and saying "yes" or "no". The underwriter is both a person, or persons, as well as a department. Common usage: "The loan is in underwriting." "The loan is with the underwriter." "We are waiting on underwriting."
Unicorn
A mythical house that solves your problems and is in your budget, in a town outside of your price range. It doesn't exist.
Vinyl
Vinyl is a tough, durable plastic. It comes in many shapes and sizes and solves many housing problems. Floors and exterior siding are the most common areas we see vinyl, but there are many others.
