Real Estate Terms
Most professions have terms or phrases that are specific to their industry. They may even use some common words but they mean totally different things in the context of their work life. Abbreviations and slang are used in every day conversations in their office environment. But what if you’re an outsider? Would you know what they meant or would it be as if they were speaking in a foreign language? Here are 10 real estate terms that are commonly used in the industry that the consumer may not understand or know the meaning of, even if they think they do. CO – Certificate of Occupancy. In new construction (or a total “gut” renovation), the local authority (typically the Building or Codes division) will inspect the property when it is deemed to be complete. If they feel it is up to standards and complete enough to be occupied, they will issue a Certificate of Occupancy. Typically you will not be able to close on a new construction or totally renovated property if the Certificate of Occupancy or CO has not been issued.DOM – Days on Market. Different areas and MLS’s (see #3) may have different ways to calculate the number of days on market of a property. Most will either be from date of listing to date of contract OR date of listing to close date.MLS – Multiple Listing Service – not Major League Soccer. The MLS is where most real estate agents will enter a property that they have listed for sale. This is one of the places they will search to find properties that match Buyer’s criteria. Some areas have more than one MLS. This is important to know in case you live in an area that is close to more than one MLS that covers areas close by. You won’t want to miss out on potential Buyers because your agent is only a member of one MLS. Most MLS’s syndicate their listings to many other websites (like Realtor.com, Zillow, etc.) but you do not want to limit your exposure in any way.REALTOR©. (Pronounced REAL-TOR) This one may surprise you. Not all real estate agents are REALTORs. A person receives a license stating that they are allowed to represent Buyers and Sellers as a real estate agent. Only members of the National Association of Realtors are allowed to call themselves a REALTOR©. This is important because REALTORs must adhere to a Code of Ethics that real estate agents do not. See my blog “10 Questions to ask your Real Estate Agent” to read more about this.Pre-qual. Prequalification from a lender. A pre-qualification is not the same as a pre-approval. A prequalification is typically derived from a potential Buyer...
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