Real Estate Terms You Need to Know Before Buying or Selling a Home
Unless you’re very familiar with buying and selling homes, hearing people talk about the process can sound like a whole lot of gibberish. There’s a lot of jargon that’s only used in real estate, which makes it difficult for ...
Read More
Posted by Paula Henry on June 29, 2014 in Real Estate Terms
Simple Real Estate Definitions : Short Sale
A 'Short Sale' is when a home seller sells his home for a lesser amount than what is owed on his mortgage, and the mortgage lender agrees to accept the lesser amount in lieu of a full payoff.
By way of example, a Short Sale may be appropriate for ...
Read More
Posted by Paula Henry on February 2, 2010 in Real Estate Terms
Simple Real Estate Definitions : APR
APR is an acronym for Annual Percentage Rate. It's a government-mandated calculation meant to simplify the comparison of mortgage options.
A loan's APR can always be found in the top-left corner of the Federal Truth-In-Lending ...
Read More
Posted by Paula Henry on December 1, 2009 in Real Estate Terms
Real Estate Terms : Escrow Account
An escrow account is a designated savings account into which funds get deposited for a specific purpose.
With respect to real estate and home loans, escrow accounts are used to pay real estate tax bills and homeowners insurance payments.
Escrow ...
Read More
Posted by Paula Henry on October 9, 2009 in Real Estate Terms
Real Estate Terms - FICO
The basis of most mortgage lending is credit scoring. In general, the higher a person's credit score, the lower his offered mortgage interest rate. Despite the many credit scoring models in use today, however, just 3 are relevant to ...
Read More
Posted by Paula Henry on March 11, 2009 in Real Estate Terms
Simple Real Estate Definitions : Refinance
A mortgage is a contract between a lender and borrower, defining the terms by which a home loan must be repaid. The paperwork, signed by both parties, includes provisions for things like:
The interest rate
The length of the loan
The amount ...
Read More
Posted by Paula Henry on December 12, 2008 in Real Estate Terms
Real Estate Terms - Distressed Properties
Distressed homes for sale tend to get lumped tgether, but there are some distinct diefferences between these type of sales. Most are simply called foreclosed homes. These are the terms used by our local Board of Realtor listing service to describe ...
Read More
Posted by Paula Henry on November 24, 2008 in Real Estate Terms
Simple Real Estate Definitions : Home Inspection
A home inspection is a complete, top-to-bottom, visual check-up of the structure and systems of a house. It is meant to be an objective determination of a home's condition. A home inspection usually takes 2-6 hours to complete, ...
Read More
Posted by Paula Henry on September 9, 2008 in Real Estate Terms
Real Estate Terms - BPO
BPO is short for Broker Price Opinion. A BPO is most commonly used by banks and investors when determining the property value of a home which is in the pre-foreclosure process.
In place of a full appraisal, the bank or investor will hire a broker or ...
Read More
Posted by Paula Henry on August 20, 2008 in Real Estate Terms
Simple Real Estate Definitions : PITI
Most homeowners make four housing-related payments each month:
Principal on a mortgage
Interest on a mortgage
Taxes on the real estate owned
Insurance for the real estate owned
Collectively, these payments are known by the acronym PITI but ...
Read More
Posted by Paula Henry on June 11, 2008 in Real Estate Terms
Simple Real Estate Definitions: Discount Points
More commonly called 'points', discount points are up-front fees charged by mortgage lenders in exchange for lower mortgage rates.
The cost of one point is one percent on the loan size and discount points appear on Line 802 of the HUD-1 ...
Read More
Posted by Paula Henry on April 4, 2008 in Real Estate Terms
Simple Real Estate Definitions : Loan-to-Value
Loan-to-value is a math formula that represents the relationship between how much a home is 'worth' and how much money is borrowed against it.
Loan-to-value is often abbreviated as 'LTV' and is one of the many factors that lenders consider when ...
Read More
Posted by Paula Henry on March 7, 2008 in Real Estate Terms
Simple Real Estate Definitions: Average Days On Market
In the world of real estate, Days On Market is the number of days between when a home lists for sale and when it goes under contract.
It is often abbreviated as DOM.
Average Days on Market is a similar statistic but instead of applying to one home ...
Read More
Posted by Paula Henry on February 12, 2008 in Real Estate Terms
Real Estate Term: Earnest Money
When a buyer and seller reach agreement on a home sale, the buyer typically puts a small amount of money into a trust account.
This up-front deposit is more commonly known as 'earnest money'.
A sales contract's earnest money requirement ...
Read More
Posted by Paula Henry on January 16, 2008 in Real Estate Terms
Do You Know Your Absorption Rate?
Absorption rate isn't a topic of interest to most people, as it relates to Indianapolis Real Estate. Unless, of course, you are buying or selling a home or are a Realtor who studies the market. Then, it becomes a very interesting topic. While it may ...
Read More
Posted by Paula Henry on August 7, 2007 in Real Estate Terms