Real Estate Vocabulary Terms List

This vocabulary list is featuring all the important words of the Real Estate. All the words are comprehensive terms and used in the Real estate industry.

Real Estate Vocabulary Words – A to Z

Let’s learn a few of the words that are used in the Real Estate world along with their explanation:

  1. Sublease: lease or rent all or part of to another person
  2. Easement: the legal privilege of using something that is not your own
  3. Lease: a contract granting use or occupation of a property
  4. Real estate broker: a person who is authorized to act as an agent for the sale of land
  5. Real estate: property consisting of houses and land
  6. Breach of contract: a breach of a legal duty
  7. Real estate agent: a person who is authorized to act as an agent for the sale of land
  8. Transaction: conducting business within or between groups
  9. Foreclosure: proceedings initiated to repossess the collateral for a loan
  10. Homeowner: someone who owns a home
  11. Litigation: a legal proceeding in a court
  12. Transactions: a written account of what transpired at a meeting
  13. Eviction: expulsion of someone, especially a tenant, from a property
  14. Vacate: leave behind empty; move out of
  15. Estate: extensive landed property retained by the owner
  16. Documentation: confirmation that some fact or statement is true
  17. Encroachment: any entry into an area not previously occupied
  18. Misrepresentation: a misleading falsehood
  19. Tenant: someone who pays rent to use property owned by someone else
  20. Workout: the activity of exerting your muscles in various ways to keep fit
  21. Landslide: the descent of a large mass of dirt and rock down a slope
  22. Participant: someone who takes part in an activity
  23. Law firm: a firm of lawyers
  24. Disclaimer: a voluntary repudiation of legal claim to something
  25. Upgrade: rate higher; raise in value
  26. Occupancy: an act of being a tenant
  27. Investor: someone who commits capital to gain financial returns
  28. Negotiate: discuss the terms of an arrangement
  29. Concise: expressing much in few words
  30. Liabilities: anything that is owed to someone else
  31. Financing: the act of funding
  32. Subordination: the state of being lower in rank to something
  33. Adjustable Rate Mortgage: A loan product with a mortgage rate that adjusts annually up or down depending on the market instead of remaining fixed or locked in like a fixed rate mortgage.
  34. Agent: A real estate agent is a person who works for a seller, buyer, or both during a real estate transaction.
  35. Amortization: A period in which a loan balance is gradually paid off from a mortgage payment that includes both principal and interest.
  36. Appraisal: The estimation of a property’s market value by a licensed appraiser to assist banks in making loans to home buyers.
  37. Appraiser: The person who visits a property, analyzes it, and determines its approximate value
  38. Appreciation: The annual increase in a property’s market value.
  39. Assessment: The value assigned to your home by a government tax assessor, which is used to calculate property taxes.
  40. Buyers Agent: A realtor who works specifically for the buyer, representing the buyer in the transaction.
  41. Capitalization Rate: A rate used to determine property value based on net income typically used for apartment buildings.
  42. Closing: This refers to the process where the deed of the property is formally transferred from the seller to the buyer.
  43. Closing Costs: The costs associated with completing a real estate transaction
  44. Commercial: A zoning classification for property that refers to property used for business activities such as retail stores, farms, offices, etc.
  45. Comparable Market Analysis: An evaluation of similar, recently sold homes that are near a home intended to be bought or sold. It establishes a price estimate based on current market activity that can be used as a guide for pricing a home.
  46. Comparables: The prices of houses that have recently sold with similar characteristics to the house you are currently valuing.
  47. Construction Loan: A type of loan that covers the construction cost of a new home being built by a builder
  48. Contingencies: Clauses in a contract that allow a buyer to not be forced to purchase a property if certain conditions are unsatisfactory either structurally or financially.
  49. Counter Offer: When a seller sends back a new or adjusted offer that differs from the original offer sent by the buyer.
  50. Deed: The legal document that determines who has ownership of a property. This is the document transferred from seller to buyer at closing.
  51. Default: Failing to make loan repayments by the required deadline.
  52. Down Payment: The amount of money paid upfront for the property.
  53. Dial Agency: When a real estate agent represents the seller and the buyer in the same transaction
  54. Earnest Money: The sum of money that is submitted with an offer as an add-on to prove the buyer is serious and not wasting either party’s time.
  55. Equity: The financial value above what is owed on the property.
  56. Escrow: A neutral third party or attorney that handles the exchange of money and documents between a buyer and seller once a mutual offer has been accepted and the parties move to closing.
  57. Fixed Rate Mortgage: An interest rate that stays constant over the entire life of the loan.
  58. Foreclosure: A property that defaulted on loan payments and failed to make them up over the course of the foreclosure process ultimately leading the bank to reclaim the property from the owner.
  59. Inspection: A thorough inspection of a home by a licensed inspector to discover any issues or repairs that need to be made before buying the home.
  60. Interest: The cost of borrowing money. It is the money owed in addition to the loan amount being paid back.
  61. Loan: Borrowing money from another person or institution to pay for the property.
  62. Lien: A right to keep possession of property belonging to another person until a debt owed by that person is discharged.
  63. Listing: A term for the property, or land being put up for sale for others to see.
  64. Mortgage: The charging of real property by a debtor to a creditor as security for a debt, on the condition that it shall be returned on payment of the debt within a certain period.
  65. Mortgage Broker: The company or person who helps a home buyer qualify for a loan and handles all aspects of getting the loan creating / lending in place for the borrower.
  66. Multiple Listing Service: The MLS is a local or regional service that compiles available real estate for sale by member brokers along with detailed information brokers and agents can access online.
  67. Net Income: The amount of income left over after operating expenses have been subtracted from revenues.
  68. Offer: The price that a buyer offers to the seller to purchase their property as well as any special terms the buyer requires as part of their offer to the seller.
  69. Pre-Approval Letter: A document buyers should obtain from a lender that provides proof they can afford to buy a home up to a certain amount so agents/sellers do not feel like they are being tricked or time wasted.
  70. Principal: The amount borrowed for a mortgage loan. Monthly mortgage payments include both the repayment of the principal and interest owed.
  71. Private Mortgage Insurance: A monthly payment added to the mortgage payment when a buyer has less than 20% as a down payment on the property.
  72. Property Tax: An annual or semi-annual tax paid to one or more government agencies based on the property value assessment.
  73. Real Estate Broker: A real estate agent who is licensed by the state to represent a buyer or seller in a real estate transaction.
  74. Real Estate Owned Properties: If a foreclosed property is not sold off during the foreclosure auction, the bank will take ownership of the real estate.
  75. Real Estate Purchase: A legal document that obligates a buyer to buy and a seller to sell.
  76. Refinance: Getting a new loan from the lender with better terms such as a lower interest rate or a lower monthly payment.
  77. Residential: Used as a residence or by residents. It’s a term for how property is zoned by the local zoning board in a city.
  78. Sellers Agent: Also known as a listing agent, the seller’s agent works for the seller to help them list their home on the market and get it sold to a buyer.
  79. Single Family: A single independent property that is used by a single family for living such as a house. In simple terms, the property is used by one family only.
  80. Title: A legal document listing the history of ownership of the home.
  81. Title Insurance: Title insurance protects against losses resulting from problems with the title.
  82. Zoning: Laws that govern how a real estate can be used.

With the knowledge of above mentioned words you can comfortably participate in real estate discussions.

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Quick Links

  1. Real Estate Abbreviations and Acronyms
  2. Banking and Finance Vocabulary
  3. City and Town Vocabulary

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