Where cozy means tiny and charming means needs work.
One one-hundredth of a percentage point, used to describe interest rate changes and fees without dealing with decimals. It's how mortgage professionals make 0.25% sound more important by calling it 25 basis points.
After Repair Value—the estimated market value of a property after renovations are completed, used by flippers and lenders to determine how much to invest. It's the number that makes every renovation look profitable in your spreadsheet, before reality intervenes.
The transfer of property title from a lender back to the borrower upon full loan repayment, most common with trust deeds. The ceremonial return of your property's soul after years of mortgage servitude.
Days On Market—the number of calendar days a listing has been active, serving as a digital scarlet letter that either signals a property is priced wrong or has bodies buried in the backyard. The higher the number, the more desperate everyone becomes.
The minimum fixed rent amount in a commercial lease before any additional charges like utilities, insurance, or common area maintenance are tacked on. It's the starting point before your landlord creatively explains why you owe much more.
A closing where documents are signed but funds aren't immediately disbursed, with actual money transfer occurring later. The real estate equivalent of paying with a check instead of cash.
A fancy legal term for 'stuff that comes with the property,' particularly easements that transfer with the land rather than staying with the owner. It's the real estate equivalent of 'batteries included,' except it's more like 'right-of-way for your neighbor to cross your lawn included.' Lawyers love using this word to make simple concepts sound sufficiently billable.
Short for 'subject to'—acquiring a property while leaving the existing mortgage in place and making payments on behalf of the seller. It's a creative financing technique that makes attorneys nervous and investors wealthy.
The gradual escalation of luxury features in new developments, where yesterday's upgrades become today's baseline expectations. The reason your apartment complex needs both a yoga studio and a dog spa.
The potential for future value appreciation or income growth in a property, typically based on improvements, market trends, or repositioning strategies. It's what optimistic investors see when everyone else sees a money pit.
An offer significantly below asking price, typically submitted either by savvy investors testing motivated sellers or by delusional buyers who think every property is overpriced. It's a negotiating tactic that's either brilliant or insulting, depending on which side you're on.
A severely underpriced or distressed sale in a neighborhood that drags down the comparable sales data for everyone else's properties. It's the one house that ruins the curve for the entire class.
A socially acceptable form of gladiatorial combat where participants wave paddles and bankrupt themselves in public, all for the thrill of outbidding strangers. The highest bidder wins the dubious honor of paying more than everyone else thought something was worth. Popular in real estate, art, and estate sales where dead people's stuff finds new homes.
The specific property being appraised, analyzed, or discussed, as opposed to all those comparison properties. It's like referring to the guest of honor at a party—everyone else is just there for context.
The legal sleight of hand where a buyer transfers their purchase contract to another buyer before closing, often used by wholesalers who never intended to own the property. It's contract flipping without the renovation show.
The practice of advertising a low base price for a property while gradually revealing additional mandatory fees throughout the transaction. The 'budget airline' approach to real estate pricing.
An averaged interest rate combining multiple loans or tranches of debt, making your actual cost of borrowing sound better than it is. Financial smoothie blending various percentages into one palatable number.
Shared expenses for maintaining lobbies, parking lots, landscaping, and other communal spaces in commercial properties, billed proportionally to tenants. Abbreviated as CAM, it's where landlords demonstrate remarkable creativity in defining what counts as 'maintenance.'
The beautiful moment when someone gets paid a percentage for making something happen, whether that's selling a house, brokering a deal, or convincing someone to buy timeshares. It's the financial incentive that turns salespeople into your new best friend until the contract is signed. In real estate, it's typically the 5-6% that makes agents answer your calls at 9 PM.
A Fannie Mae renovation loan that lets you finance both the purchase and renovation costs in a single mortgage. It's for people who want to combine two stressful experiences into one convenient financial nightmare.
The physical structure and materials of a property, as opposed to the land or location. It's what contractors care about and what investors try to look past while focusing on cash flow.
A tax-deferral strategy allowing investors to sell a property and reinvest the proceeds into another 'like-kind' property without immediately paying capital gains taxes. It's the IRS-approved version of kicking the can down the road.
Money put down to show a seller you're serious about buying their property, essentially a financial hostage that says 'I mean business.' If you back out without a valid contingency, kiss that money goodbye.
A fancy architectural and legal term for "exit" or "way out," used by people who think "door" sounds too pedestrian. It's particularly important in building codes and real estate, where proper egress can mean the difference between passing inspection and violating fire safety regulations. Essentially, it's the escape route that lawyers and architects prefer to call by its Latin-derived name.