Broker's Open- typically during the week real estate agents will hold an open house for other real estate agents to come see what is new on the market. This is a great time for us to be able to get into the houses and see what they look like in person and become familiar with the homes for sale in our area. As a buyer, don't be shy to walk into these if you see an Open House sign out front. After all, this is all ultimately for you.
Caravan- This falls under the "Broker's open" category. When we go out to see these houses that are open for brokers to see during the week, sometimes we simply say we are going on caravan.
Under Water- this is when someone owes more on the loan than the house is currently valued at. For example: John Doe owes $500,000 on his loan but his home has been appraised at the value of $450,000
Short Sale- If a home is "under water" or someone owes more money on that home than it is worth and the house needs to be sold, it would be called a "short sale". In this type of sale the lender may accept less than the amount owed on the property.
Over, At, or Under Asking: This is just a short way of referring to an offer put on a house. If the person selling the house is asking $500,000 and he received an offer of $510,000 it is said to be "over asking"
Vesting- You may here this when someone is asking you how you would like your title to be held. This refers to your name being put on the title and "how your title will be held" which refers to things such as "a single woman", "an unmarried man", "joint tenancy" and other similar terms. This will be something your escrow officer will ask you but for tax purposes, you should ask a CPA how you should do this before you buy a home.
Escrow- Here in California we use Escrow companies as a neutral party to help during the transaction of buying a selling property. Escrow companies hold funds (such as deposits) and handle all the paper work involved with a transaction. You may hear terms such as "In Escrow" which, simply put, means the time between when an offer is accepted and when the transaction is complete and the sale is made. (don't forget, not all states go about a real estate transaction the same way so if you don't live in Southern California, this may not be a familiar term to you.)
Dual Agency or Dual Representation- This is when both buyer and seller are represented by the same real estate agent. I wrote an entire blog on this subject. To find out more, read Dual Representation: Good or Bad?
Held In Trust- This is something that everyone should find our more about! If you own property, and you pass away, there are a number of things that could happen to your property. One of the things that could happen is referred to as "probate". Probate involves lawyers, courts and a lot of money and time. To avoid probate, property owners will create a Living Trust and then transfer their property's title under the name of this Trust. I know this is the most simplistic explanation of a very large subject but, I hope, if it's not something you are familiar with, that it's something you research more.
Free and Clear- when you hear someone say that a title of a home is "free and clear" this can mean that the person who owns the home does not owe any money for a loan on that home. It should also infer that there are no liens on the house but all of these matters should be looked into by a title company to truly know whether these things are correct.
Lien- Well, first off, if you have a mortgage or loan on your home, you have a lien on your home. A lien is a document used to secure a payment if you are in debt to someone. If you have a loan, then you are in debt to the bank where you got the loan. There are other types of liens though as well. Mechanic's Lien- if someone does work on a home and doesn't get paid in full, they can put a mechanic's lien on a home
Judgment- this can get complicated but, if it is decided in court that one person owes another money, someone can formally file a judgement against the person who owes the money. This judgment can become a lien on the person's property that owes the money.
Tax Liens- if someone owes the government taxes, the government can put this type of lien on a home
Wet Signature- In this modern day of computers, we use online programs that allow our clients to sign documents over the Internet. Sometimes we need them signed with a pen instead and this is called a wet signature.
Contingencies- You will hear this term mostly used when referring to a Purchase agreement, or an offer. There are certain things in the sale of a home that must happen in order for the sale to go through. These things are known as contingencies. An example of one is: if John Doe is buying a home and using a loan to do this, he needs to be able to secure this loan. The sale of this home is said to be "contingent" upon John Doe getting this loan.
Equity- This can be looked at like a math equation. The value of a home minus the money owed on it equals equity. So if you have a $500,000 home and owe $300,000 on that home, then you have $200,000 in equity.
At-Value appraisal- This is a very misunderstood term and many people interpret this term at face-value (no pun intended...okay, just kidding, pun intended) If you hear that the appraisal of a home came in "At-value" this does not mean that it is valued at the exact dollar amount of the accepted offer. It simply means the value of the home is at or above the accepted offer amount. You may or may not hear the exact amount a home is valued at unless that amount is less than the accepted offer amount.
As-Is I actually wrote a whole blog on this term that you can read below.
But what the term is meant to imply is that the home is being sold in the condition that it is currently in. This term can go a lot deeper so for further explication, please read my other blog about this Sold As-Is
I hope this helps and if you are thinking about buying or selling your home and don't understand the lingo or terms that you may hear your agent say, please ask what they mean. An important part of our job is to help you understand as much as you need to know about the process of buying or selling. If you have questions regarding a loan or terms referring to loans, feel free to call Michael Razak. He is an excellent loan broker and can help you understand about that part of a transaction. http://2933208649.brokersite.com/Default.aspx
And if you can think of any other terms you hear that you may not be familiar with, I bet you are not alone and I would love to hear from you so that I can add them on here.
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