drip pricing

Definition

The practice of advertising a low base price for a property while gradually revealing additional mandatory fees throughout the transaction. The 'budget airline' approach to real estate pricing.

Example Usage

The listing showed $300,000, but with HOA transfer fees, club memberships, and mandatory repairs, drip pricing brought it to $327,000.

Origin

Consumer protection terminology from early 2000s e-commerce regulation

Fun Fact

The Federal Trade Commission has cracked down on drip pricing in various industries, but real estate remains somewhat exempt due to the complexity of legitimate closing costs.

Source: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau disclosure regulations

Related Terms

Beginner

origination fee

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.

🏠 Real Estate

Advanced

riparian rights

Property rights of landowners whose property borders rivers or streams, governing water use and access. The reason your creek-front property doesn't mean you own the water or can dam it up.

🏠 Real Estate

Intermediate

points

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.

🏠 Real Estate

Beginner

distressed property

Real estate euphemism for a building that's either foreclosed, about to be foreclosed, or looks like it should be condemned. The fixer-upper's troubled cousin who really needs an intervention.

🏠 Real Estate

Beginner

comparables analysis

The process of evaluating recently sold similar properties to determine market value, essentially treating home pricing like comparison shopping for toasters. It's the foundation of appraisals and every pricing strategy that claims to be data-driven.

🏠 Real Estate

Advanced

boot

Additional cash or property value included in a 1031 exchange to equalize the values being swapped, which unfortunately becomes taxable income. Named perfectly for something that kicks you right in the tax deferral strategy.

🏠 Real Estate

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