appraised

Definition

The past-tense acknowledgment that a professional has officially determined your property's market value, often resulting in celebrations or tears depending on whose side you're on. This valuation becomes the gospel truth for lenders deciding how much money they'll actually give you. Getting appraised is like being graded on a test where the questions keep changing based on what your neighbor's house sold for.

Example Usage

Our home appraised for exactly the purchase price—suspiciously convenient for everyone except our negotiating leverage.

Source: Common real estate terminology

Related Terms

Advanced

nonrecourse loan

A loan secured only by collateral, where the lender cannot pursue the borrower's other assets if the property is insufficient to cover the debt. The 'take the house and leave me alone' mortgage.

🏠 Real Estate

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Equity

The theoretical money trapped inside your walls that everyone talks about but you can never actually touch without borrowing against it. It's like Monopoly money that your house keeps score with.

💰 Finance / Accounting🏠 Real Estate

Intermediate

foreclose

The bank's legal power move when you can't make mortgage payments, essentially repo'ing your house and evicting your dreams of homeownership. It's the financial equivalent of 'if I can't have you, nobody can,' except it's your lender and your property. The process involves courts, judgments, and that sinking feeling that you should have read the fine print.

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loan-to-value ratio

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.

🏠 Real Estate

Intermediate

net operating income

A property's annual revenue minus operating expenses but before debt service and taxes, the key metric for commercial real estate valuation. Abbreviated NOI, it's the number that makes or breaks whether your investment property is actually profitable.

🏠 Real Estate

Intermediate

hard money loan

A short-term, high-interest loan from private investors secured by property rather than creditworthiness, typically used by house flippers who need fast cash. It's called 'hard money' because of the asset-based collateral and the hard hit your wallet takes from those interest rates.

🏠 Real Estate

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