Where cozy means tiny and charming means needs work.
A lease that gives the tenant the right to sublease the property to others, essentially making them a middleman landlord. It's landlording with training wheels, or a profit opportunity, depending on your perspective and local laws.
A contract where one lien holder agrees to take a backseat to another in the priority line for getting paid if things go sideways, voluntarily accepting second-class status. It's cutting in line, but in reverse and with lawyers involved.
Personal letters from buyers to sellers describing their emotional connection to a property and why they should be chosen. Technically discouraged for fair housing reasons, but still ubiquitous.
When one agent represents both buyer and seller in the same transaction, creating a conflict of interest wrapped in a commission opportunity. It's like having the same lawyer represent both parties in a divorce.
A legal right allowing someone else to use part of your property for a specific purpose, like utility access or a driveway. It's basically permanent permission to trespass, enshrined in your deed.
Upfront fees paid to the lender at closing to reduce your interest rate, where one point equals 1% of the loan amount. It's buying a discount on money you're borrowing—capitalism at its finest.
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.
The deed section beginning with 'to have and to hold' that defines the extent of ownership being conveyed. Medieval legal poetry that survived into modern contracts for no good reason.
The percentage of a property's value that's borrowed, calculated by dividing loan amount by appraised value or purchase price. The number that determines whether lenders think you're responsible or reckless.
A single loan that covers multiple properties, popular with developers and investors who find getting individual mortgages tedious. It's the financial equivalent of buying in bulk, often with a release clause letting you sell properties individually.
The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, Fannie Mae's government-sponsored sibling that also purchases mortgages to stabilize the housing finance system. Together they're like the Batman and Robin of mortgage liquidity, if superheroes needed periodic taxpayer bailouts.
An offer with no escape clauses—no inspection, no appraisal, no financing contingencies. It's the real estate equivalent of skydiving without checking if there's a parachute in the backpack, popular in markets where desperation trumps common sense.
Government-mandated caps on rent increases, beloved by tenants and blamed by landlords for everything from peeling paint to climate change. Economics' most passionate debate in apartment form.
The real estate agent's crystal ball that uses nearby home sales to predict what yours might sell for. It's part science, part art, and part wishful thinking depending on who's paying for it.
Strategies employed by lenders to avoid foreclosure when borrowers can't make payments, including loan modifications, short sales, or forbearance. The bank's damage control department.
Multiple Listing Service—a database where real estate agents share property listings and cooperate on sales. The original social network, except everyone's trying to sell you houses.
An organization governing a residential community with rules designed to maintain property values and busybody neighbors' quality of life.
Specific conditions that must be met for a contract to proceed, the legal equivalent of 'but first...'
Loan-to-Value ratio—the percentage of the property's value you're borrowing, expressed as a percentage of the purchase price.
The percentage of the sale price paid to agents—traditionally 5-6% split between buyer's and seller's agents because that's what we've always done.
When buyer and seller fight over who gets the deposit if the deal falls apart—the worst kind of relationship counseling.
Buying a property exactly as it is without repairs—the seller's way of saying 'don't say I didn't warn you.'
Breaking down property components into depreciable categories with different useful lives to accelerate tax deductions—basically legal tax magic for real estate investors.
Buying a property, renovating it, and quickly reselling for profit. A high-risk strategy that only works in appreciating markets and when unexpected costs don't destroy margins.