Sunday mornings with the newspaper real estate section can be daunting to home buyers and sellers. Figuring out the shorthand for popular home features takes an inquiring mind. Mark Nash Cheap Jordan 32 , author of 1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home takes the guess work out of listing sheets and classified residential real estate ads.
What it really says: Back on market, 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom Cheap Jordan 28 , fee-simple townhouse with south and east exposures, wood-burning fireplace, 2 tandem garage parking spaces, stainless steel kitchen appliances. Motivated seller needs to sell to meet guidelines for a 1031 exchange. Price $550 Cheap Jordan 2 ,000.
What it really means: Either a contract fell-through (the buyers walked) or the sellers took the property off the market due to illness, repairs or the holidays. There are no homeowners association assessments because the townhouse is owned fee-simple. The indoor garage parking spaces are end-to-end or tandem. The seller who hasn't occupied the property because it is a 1031 exchange needs to sell within a short period of time to meet tax guidelines. Yes the price is fifty thousand over a half-a-million-dollars.
The run-up in real estate prices the last few years has created a new real estate speak. The shorthand used by agents can be difficult to decipher by home buyers and sellers, but don't be fooled by the lack of zeroes in prices or the use of friendly words in place of the real choice. It sounds a lot less expensive if you're looking in the 1.1 to 1.5 range than one million, one hundred thousand to one million Cheap Jordan 19 , five hundred thousand. Plus "fixer-upper" sounds better than what it really is: tired. "As-is" translates into buyer beware.
Here are some additional abbreviations home buyers and sellers should become familiar with when interacting with real estate agents.
AG. Above ground. Swimming pools that are above the ground or grade.
Accom. Accompany. Listing agent must show property.
AC. Air conditioning. W for windows, CA for central air-conditioning.
Appl. Appliances. Kitchen and laundry.
Appt. Appointment. Shown by appointment only, don't ring the bell unannounced.
Approx. Approximately. Verify anything that is approximate. As-is.
Assmt. Assessment. Annual, quarterly or monthly homeowners association charges to property owners.
Att. Attached. Any condominium Cheap Jordan 18 , co-op, duplex, town home or two-flat that is attached to another unit.
AI. Attorney and inspection. Defined period under terms of contract to purchase where both parties can have an attorney review the contract and the buyers can perform an inspection of the property at their expense.
Bsmt. Basement. Below grade or ground level.
Ba. Bathroom. Either half (no showertub), three-quarters (shower no tub) or full (tub andor shower).
Br. Bedrooms. To qualify usually have to have a window and a closet otherwise a den or office.
BOM. Back on market. Was available Cheap Jordan 17+ , went off-market, now available again.
Bldg. Building. Such as high-rise (more than eight floors) or mid-rise (5-8 floors) or low rise (2-4 floors).
Cab. Cabinets. Kitchen or other built-in storage.
Canc. Canceled. A listing is no longer available.
Crpt. Carpet. Wall-to-wall and tacked down.
CA. Central air-conditioning. Either originally built-in with duct-work or retrofitted as space-pak (spc pk).
CLD. Closed. A property that has been sold and the buyers have received title.
Const. Construction. New, recent or quality.
CTG. Contingent. A property is under contract with provisions that must be met. The buyers must sell their home (home sale=HS) or receive a commitment for a mortgage (mort).
Co-op. Cooperative. A form of ownership of an apartment (apt) or a commission paid to a real estate brokerage that procures a buyer for a property.
Det. Detached. A building that is not joined to another.
Din. Dining room. A separate space not combined (combo) with living room.
Dir. Directions. How to get to a specific property address.
DW. Dishwasher. Built-in ( a fixture) or portable (personal property).
Dist. District. School (sch) or historic (hist).
DOM. Days on market. The length of time a property has been in the Multiple Listing Service (mls).
Drv. Driveway. A description follows of what the material is covering the driveway.
Ex. Expired. A listing period for a property has passed.
Excl. Exclusions. The sellers are taking grandmothers light fixture in the breakfast (brkft) room.
Exp. Exposure. Direction home or unit faces. E=East, W=West Cheap Jordan 15 , S=South, N=North
Ext. Exterior. Features on the outside of a building and the grounds.
Fam. Family. Family room. Beware that use of this word can violate Fair Housing Laws.
Fin. Finished. Basements can be fully finished (full fin) or partially finished (part fin).
Fplc. Fireplace. Fireplaces can be gas (gas fplc) or wood burning (wb fplc).
Flr. Floor. Such as first floor master bedroom (1st flr mstr).
Grdn. Flower gardens or garden level. Can describe exterior landscaping or a interior living level that is partially below ground level.
Gar. Garage. A enclosed space for storage.
GFA. Gas forced air. A type of heating system.
Grt. Great room. A combined (combo) family, kitchen and breakfast room.
Hdwd. Hardwood floors. Beware softer woods are through into this category. Bamboo and poplar can't take the same wear and tear as maple and oak. Diagonal hardwood (dhdwd) and parquet (parq) are other options.
HVAC. Heating,ventilating and air conditioning. Refers to an all-in-one heating and cooling system.
HWar. Home warranty. The sellers have purchased a warranty on the home to protect buyers from repair expenses.