Where cozy means tiny and charming means needs work.
A scheduled event where strangers wander through your home, judge your decorating choices, and eat your cookies with zero intention of buying. It's basically hosting a party where the guests critique your life.
Properties available for purchase that aren't publicly listed on the MLS or advertised to the general public. These are deals found through networking, direct marketing, or knowing someone who knows someone—real estate's version of insider trading, but legal.
In real estate and finance, a contract that gives you the right but not the obligation to buy or sell something at a predetermined price, essentially letting you call dibs with an expiration date. It's like having a golden ticket to purchase property or assets later while everyone else has to deal with current market chaos. The ultimate "let me think about it" that actually has legal teeth.
Someone who attends multiple open houses with no intention of buying, just enjoying free snacks and architectural tourism. They're often retired, bored, or working for a competing agent on reconnaissance.
The charge lenders levy for processing your loan application and creating your mortgage. It's basically an admission fee to the debt party, typically 0.5-1% of the loan amount.
The percentage of gross income consumed by operating expenses, revealing how efficiently a property performs. The financial equivalent of checking your car's MPG, but for buildings.
An agreement giving someone the right, but not obligation, to purchase property at a set price within a specified timeframe. It's essentially renting the opportunity to decide later, popular with investors who want to control property without owning it yet.
The recurring costs of keeping a property functional—utilities, maintenance, management, insurance, and property taxes—everything except debt service. It's the monthly financial hemorrhaging that separates rental income from actual profit.