down payment

Definition

The chunk of cash you fork over upfront when buying property, proving you have skin in the game beyond just promises and good intentions. It's the financial commitment that separates dreamers from homeowners.

Example Usage

They scraped together a 20% down payment to avoid paying private mortgage insurance.

Origin

Traditional banking terminology from the practice of paying 'down' a portion before financing the rest

Fun Fact

The 20% down payment 'rule' isn't actually a rule—it's just the threshold where most lenders drop PMI requirements and offer better rates.

Source: Residential mortgage financing terminology

Related Terms

Intermediate

Comps

Short for comparables, these are recently sold nearby homes that agents use to justify whatever price they want. Finding the right comps is an art form -- you just cherry-pick the ones that support your narrative.

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Intermediate

triple net lease

A commercial lease where the tenant pays all property expenses including taxes, insurance, and maintenance in addition to base rent. Abbreviated NNN, it's the landlord's dream where they collect rent while you pay for literally everything else.

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Intermediate

alligator property

An investment property with carrying costs that exceed the rental income, effectively eating the owner alive month by month. Named because it takes bigger and bigger bites out of your bank account.

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Intermediate

remortgage

The financial equivalent of a do-over, where you replace your existing mortgage with a new one, usually to snag a better interest rate or release equity you've built up. It's like refinancing's British cousin—same concept, fancier vocabulary. Homeowners often remortgage when their initial deal expires or when they need cash for renovations, though banks will happily charge you fees for the privilege of switching.

🏠 Real Estate

Advanced

euclidean

Relating to the traditional geometry you suffered through in high school, where parallel lines never meet and the shortest distance between two points is a straight line. In real estate zoning, it refers to strict geometric separation of land uses—because apparently houses and corner stores can't peacefully coexist. Named after Euclid, the ancient Greek mathematician who never had to deal with modern city planning committees.

🏠 Real Estate

Advanced

HomeStyle loan

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.

🏠 Real Estate

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