There are hundreds of commonly used terms that could nearly make up a language of their own. Here is a list of real Estate terms that I think everyone should know or at least have handy reference for while they are looking at things real estate. I have written blog posts for many of them, particularly the ones where clients would benefit from a deeper understanding of them. Look for links to that other content below each description for further information.

Amenities
Features that enhance and add to the value or desirability of real estate. Common amenities include swimming pools, professional landscaping, gourmet kitchen and so on.

Amortization
This is a schedule that outlines your loan payments for the duration of the home buying loan. It details how much of each monthly payment goes toward the principal and how much goes toward the loan interest. Initially, the bulk of your payments will be applied toward the interest.

Appraisal
An estimate of the value of Property, made by a qualified professional called an “appraiser”.  In most cases people are getting these done in order to satisfy the Mortgage Lender as they don’t want to lend funds for something that isn’t worth the amount they are lending for. In theory these are supposed to closely reflect market value but in my experience… well that’s a blog post in itself.

http://www.movetonanaimo.com/real-estate-terms-assessment-vs-appraisal/

Bungalow/Rancher
A one-story house, cottage, or cabin.

In Breach of contract
Violation of an obligation in a contract. A situation to avoid for sure.

Broker
A real estate professional who has acquired a higher level of training and experience than a sales agent. A minimum number of classes must be taken along with passing a state  exam to acquire a broker’s license. Generally they are a legal representative or a proprietor of the office. Brokers usually charge a fee or receive a commission for their services. In Nanaimo, they are usually the Manager at a real estate office.

Building Code
A set of stringent laws that control the construction of buildings, design, materials and other similar factors.

Completion
The final procedure in a home sale in which documents are signed and recorded. This is the time when the ownership of the property is transferred.

http://www.movetonanaimo.com/real-estate-terminology-101-completion-possession-and-adjustments/

Closing Costs
Expenses in addition to the purchase price for buying and selling a property.

CMA
Comparative Market Analysis. A CMA is a report that shows prices of properties that are comparable to a subject property and that were recently sold, are currently on the market or were on the market, but not sold within the listing period. I will give you one of these for free if you ask me.

Conventional Mortgage
A first mortgage issued for up to 80% of the property’s appraised value or purchase price, whichever is lower.

Counter Offer
An offer made by the seller back to the Buyer altering one or several terms and/or conditions of the offer as originally written.

http://www.movetonanaimo.com/negotiating-a-good-price-as-a-buyer/

Deposit
Along with an offer, buyers are expected to make a deposit on the home to demonstrate the seriousness of the offer. When a deposit is made, it is held in trust until completion. It is then added to the down payment.

Foreclosure
The process during which the Mortgage Lender attempts to recoup their money once an owner of a property has failed to pay them for a time. Think hard before purchasing one of these for reasons I get into in the post linked to here:

http://www.movetonanaimo.com/myths-of-real-estate-3-foreclosures-are-a-great-deal/

Investment Real Estate
Real estate that generates income or is otherwise intended for investment purposes rather than as a primary residence. It is common for investors to own multiple pieces of real estate, one of which serves as a primary residence, while the others are used to generate rental income and profits through price appreciation. The tax implications for investment real estate are often different than those for residential real estate.

Land
Property or real estate, not including buildings or equipment that does not occur naturally. Depending on what shows on the title search (see below), land ownership may also give the holder the rights to all natural resources on the land. These may include water, plants, human  and animal life, fossils, soil, minerals, electromagnetic features, geographical location, and geophysical occurrences.

Property Transfer Tax
Payment to the provincial government for transferring property from the seller to the buyer. If you are a first time buyer you won’t have to pay for this unless the property is above a certain price. What that price is ever changing so I won’t state it here but suffice to say that I have not yet had a first time Buyer who is wealthy enough to buy a home that is above that price.

Lien
This is a legal claim that keeps the property from being sold until the lien is paid off. For example the owner may be behind in taxes or perhaps they had some work done by a contractor that they never settled up for.

MLS – Multiple Listing Service
An system that collects, compiles, and distributes information about properties listed for sale by its members, who are real estate brokers. Membership isn’t open to the general public, although selected MLS data may be sold to real estate listing websites.

http://www.movetonanaimo.com/real-estate-terms-multiple-listing-service-mls/

Property Disclosure Statement

The PDS is a multi page document that clearly asks a series of questions about the use, potential use and condition of the property. The Seller is required to answer these questions honestly to the best of their knowledge and to sign it.

http://www.movetonanaimo.com/real-estate-terms-property-disclosure-statement-pds/

Realtor
This would be me. A person with a provincial license to represent a buyer or a seller in a real estate transaction in exchange for commission. We are required to work in cooperation with a Real Estate Brokerage, in my case Royal LePage, but are ultimately working independently on our own or in a small group.

Sold

Oddly, it’s worth pointing out that this simple word is more complex in real estate that it seems at first.

http://www.movetonanaimo.com/real-estate-terms-sold-vs-the-various-stages-along-the-way/

Special Assessment

If a strata (see below) cannot afford to pay for some much needed work out of their regular budget or saved funds (aka Contingency Reserve Funds) then they will have to turn to the owners to each chip in their share to make sure the work is paid for. I have seen special assessments range from around $1000 to $120,000 in one extreme case.

http://www.movetonanaimo.com/real-estate-terms-special-assessment/

http://www.movetonanaimo.com/for-those-thinking-about-condos/

Strata
A property complex that is divided into individual units and sold. Ownership usually includes a non-exclusive interest in certain “common properties” controlled by the strata management. Condos and townhouses are the most common types of this but there are others as well.

Title Search

A title search is a government issued document that shows who has what rights to the property. In addition to who the owner is, what kind of ownership they have and who they have a mortgage with, there are a wide variety of things that can and do appear on title which may affect the property’s use or value. Sometimes, there are things on the title search that prevent the property from being sold at all until they are dealt with. However, such things should be dealt with at the time of listing so the Buyer or their Realtor rarely have to.

http://www.movetonanaimo.com/real-estate-terms-title-search/

Title Insurance
An insurance policy that protects a lender’s or owner’s interest in real estate property from assorted types of unexpected or fraudulent claims of ownership. It’s customary for the buyer to pay for the lender’s title insurance policy.

http://www.movetonanaimo.com/title-fraud-its-much-less-common-than-you-think/

Zoning
Government (usually municipal) laws that control the use of land within a jurisdiction.

http://www.movetonanaimo.com/nanaimos-most-useful-map/

Ryan Coffey