Square Footage

Definition

The official measurement of how much space you're buying, generously calculated by including hallways, closets, and that weird alcove where the water heater lives. The number in the listing and the number you experience are two very different things.

Example Usage

"The listing said 2,000 square feet. My furniture disagrees. Either my couch is lying or the tape measure was feeling generous." - A spatially challenged homeowner

Related Terms

Beginner

duplex

A single building cleverly divided into two separate dwelling units, allowing property owners to live in one half while collecting rent from neighbors who share their walls. It's the real estate equivalent of having your cake and eating it too, assuming you don't mind hearing your tenant's TV through the drywall. In postal circles, it's also a fancy stamp cancellation, but nobody cares about that definition anymore.

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Beginner

Curb Appeal

The art of making a house look irresistible from the street so buyers fall in love before noticing the interior looks like a crime scene. A fresh coat of paint and some petunias can apparently add fifty thousand dollars to a listing.

🏠 Real Estate

Beginner

price per square foot

A metric that pretends all square feet are created equal, whether they're in a penthouse or a basement. It's the real estate version of judging a book by counting the pages without reading any of them.

🏠 Real Estate

Advanced

recourse loan

A loan where the borrower remains personally liable even after foreclosure if the property sells for less than owed. It's the lender's insurance policy that you can't just walk away.

🏠 Real Estate

Advanced

gcfr

Ground Coverage Floor Ratio—the percentage of a lot covered by a building's footprint, regulating density and preserving open space. A municipality's way of preventing you from covering every square inch with structure.

🏠 Real Estate

Intermediate

construction loan

Short-term financing for building or renovating property, typically disbursed in stages as construction progresses rather than all at once. It's banking's trust exercise, betting you can actually finish the project before the money runs out.

🏠 Real Estate

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