Where cozy means tiny and charming means needs work.
Real estate code for "the house is ugly, possibly condemned, but the foundation hasn't crumbled yet, so there's hope." It's the property equivalent of saying someone has a great personality.
Ground Coverage Floor Ratio—the percentage of a lot covered by a building's footprint, regulating density and preserving open space. A municipality's way of preventing you from covering every square inch with structure.
The ethically questionable act of accepting a higher offer on a property after already agreeing to sell to someone else but before contracts are signed. It's the real estate equivalent of leaving someone at the altar for a richer suitor.
The total potential rental income a property could generate if every unit were rented at market rates with zero vacancy, representing an optimistic fantasy land rarely visited in reality. It's the before-life-happens number that makes proformas look amazing.
Property price divided by annual rental income, a quick valuation metric for income-producing properties.
When a seller accepts a higher offer after already agreeing to sell to someone else, legal in some markets and utterly infuriating everywhere. It's the real estate version of being left at the altar, except the bride married someone richer.
Written proof that down payment money from family is a gift, not a loan, satisfying lenders' paranoia about hidden debts. The documented promise that Mom won't ask for it back.
A deed conveying property with implied warranties that the grantor owns the property and hasn't already sold it to someone else. The 'I'm pretty sure this is mine to sell' document.
The buyer's revenge for gazumping—lowering your offer just before closing when the seller is desperate and has likely already bought their next home. It's financial chicken played with people's entire lives.
A long-term lease (often 99 years) where the tenant owns the building but rents the land beneath it, common for commercial properties and some condominiums. It's the real estate equivalent of building your castle on someone else's sand.
A quick property valuation metric calculated by dividing sale price by annual gross rental income, used to compare investment properties. It's the back-of-napkin math real estate investors use before getting serious with cap rates and cash flow analysis.
A lease with predetermined rent increases at scheduled intervals, allowing tenants to budget for inevitable pain. The landlord's inflation hedge disguised as transparency.
When a seller (usually a family member) sells a property below market value and treats the difference as a down payment gift. It's nepotism in real estate form, and the IRS has feelings about it.
A commercial lease where the landlord pays most operating expenses, with the tenant paying a fixed rent—the landlord's optimistic version of budgeting.
The process of neighborhood improvement and rising property values that often displaces lower-income residents. It's real estate appreciation celebrated by investors and mourned by longtime residents who can no longer afford to live there.
The triangular portion of a wall at the end of a pitched roof, between the edges of the roof and the upper endpoints of the wall. Gables are a distinctive architectural feature found in many building styles and can be decorative or purely structural.
A freestanding, open-sided roofed structure, typically with six or eight sides, used as a garden ornament or outdoor gathering place. It provides shade and shelter while remaining open to breezes.
A roof with two slopes on each side, the lower slope being steeper than the upper one, creating a distinctive barn-like silhouette. It's also the hock joint of a horse's hind leg.
The person or entity receiving property rights through a deed—basically, the buyer in a real estate transaction. The happy person at closing.
Gross Commission Income—what real estate agents use to calculate how much commission they're making on your life-changing transaction.