When you plan to buy or sell real estate, you come across all kinds of real estate terminology that many of them might not be familiar with. Russ Whitney emphasis on few terms to know what your real estate agent is talking about when they use common real estate term to help make it easier to communicate, thereby making the homebuying or home-selling process much easier.
If you plan to buy or sell property, then you need to be familiar with some of these common real estate terms. Understanding these terms will make the process of buying or selling real estate much easier.Here are a number of suggestions made by Russ Whitney interms of real estate that each one should familiarize yourself with:
Appraisal-
The estimated value of the property as determined by a qualified appraiser. Lenders require an appraisal of a property before providing the mortgage loan to the buyer.
Appreciation-
The amount that a property has increased in value over a specific time.
Closing-
The closing is the scheduled day on which the sale of the property is officially finalized. The buyer signs all the mortgage documents and pays the closing costs and the seller completes the transaction with the buyer.
Closing Costs-
The closing costs refer to all of the costs associated with the final sale of a property. These costs typically include agent fees, origination fees, lawyer fees, title insurance fees, survey fees and taxes.
Contingency-
A condition that must be met before the contract between the buyer and the seller becomes legally binding. If the home inspection reveals major problems, then the contingency allows the buyer to walk away from the contract without losing money.
Depreciation-
The amount that a property has declined in value over a specific time.
Down Payment-
The down payment is the amount of money you pay toward a property out of pocket before your lender provides you with the mortgage loan to cover the rest of the property’s price. It varies depending on the type of mortgage you take out.
Earnest Money Deposit-
The earnest money deposit is the money you provide along with your offer on a house. The earnest money deposit usually accounts for one to two percent of the property’s purchase price.
Escrow-
The escrow is a deposit of funds or documents, such as the earnest money deposit, that are held by a neutral third party (often an escrow agent) until the sale goes through.
Listings-
Real estate agents will often refer to homes that are for sale as listings. You can find listings online. These listings include basic information about the home for sale, such as the price, number of bedrooms and square footage.
Mortgage Pre-Approval Letter-
Buyers can get approved for a home loan (known as a mortgage) before they find a property they want to invest in. This is known as being pre-approved for a mortgage.
Multiple Listing Service-
The Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is a large database that real estate agents have access to that provides detailed information about most of the properties that are currently on the market.
Insurance-
This insurance helps to protect the lender and the buyer against any losses that occur due to a dispute over the property’s ownership.
