Sunday mornings with the real estate section of the newspaper can be overwhelming for home buyers and sellers. Figuring out the shorthand for popular home features requires a questioning mind. Mark Nash, author of 1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home, takes the guesswork out of listing sheets and residential real estate classifieds.
BOOM! 3/2 FSTH,S/E Exp.,Wbfplc,2 Tan.Gar,SS Kit.,Motv. 1031 Sell. mid 5’s
What it really says: New on the market, 3 bed, 2 bath, single pay townhome with south and east facings, wood burning fireplace, 2 tandem garage parking spaces, stainless steel kitchen appliances. Motivated seller needs to sell to meet the guidelines for a 1031 exchange. Price $550,000.
What it really means: Either a deal fell through (buyers walked out) or sellers took the property off the market due to illness, repairs, or vacation. There are no homeowners association assessments because the townhome is owned in good standing. Indoor garage parking spaces are end-to-end or tandem. The seller who has not occupied the property because it is a 1031 exchange needs to sell within a short period of time to meet tax guidelines. Yes, the price is fifty thousand over half a million dollars.
The increase in real estate prices in recent years has created a new real estate discourse. The shorthand used by agents can be difficult for home buyers and sellers to decipher, but don’t be fooled by the lack of zeros in prices or the use of friendly words instead of the actual choice. Sounds a lot less expensive if you’re looking in the 1.1 to 1.5 range than a million, a hundred thousand to a million, five hundred thousand. Also, “repair top” sounds better than it really is: tired. “As is” translates to buyer beware.
Here are some additional abbreviations home buyers and sellers should be familiar with when interacting with real estate agents.
A/G. Above the ground. Pools that are above ground or grade.
Accompany accommodation. Listing agent must show property.
AC Air conditioning. W for windows, AC for central air.
Accessories app. Kitchen and laundry.
Apt. Supplement. Showings by appointment only, please do not ring the bell unannounced.
Approx. About. Check everything that is approximate.
How is.
asm. Evaluation. Annual, quarterly, or monthly fees from the homeowners association to homeowners.
Att. Attach. Any condominium, cooperative, duplex, townhouse, or two-bedroom apartment that is attached to another unit.
TO HAVE. Prosecution and inspection. Defined period under the terms of the purchase contract where both parties can have the contract reviewed by a lawyer and the buyers can carry out an inspection of the property at their expense.
Bsmt. base. Below ground or ground level.
Licensed in letters. Bath. Either half (no shower/tub), three quarters (shower no tub), or full (bath and/or shower).
Br. Bedrooms. To qualify you usually have to have a window and a closet otherwise a living room or office.
BOOM. Back to the market. It was available, it went off the market and now it’s available again.
building Building. Such as skyscrapers (more than eight stories) or mid-rise (5-8 stories) or low-rise (2-4 stories).
Cab. Cabinets. Kitchen or other built-in storage.
cancel Cancelled. A list is no longer available.
Crpt. Rug. Wall to wall and studded.
THAT. Central air conditioner. Originally ducted or retrofitted as space-pak (spc pk).
CLD. Closed. A property that has been sold and the buyers have received title.
constant construction. New, recent or quality.
CTG. Share. A property is under contract with provisions that must be met. Buyers must sell their home (home sale=HS) or receive a mortgage commitment (mort).
Cooperative. Cooperative. A form of ownership of an apartment (apt) or a commission paid to a real estate broker who procures a buyer for a property.
Det. Separate. A building that is not attached to another.
Noise. Dinning room. A separate space not combined (combo) with living room.
address Addresses. How to get to a specific property address.
D/N Dishwasher Built-in (an accessory) or portable (personal property).
Dist. District. School (sch) or historical (hist).
SUN. days on the market. The length of time a property has been on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS).
Dr. Driveway. Below is a description of the material that covers the driveway.
Eg Expired. A listing period for a property has passed.
Excl. Exclusions. The vendors are taking the lamp from the grandmothers in the breakfast room (brkft).
Exp. Exhibition. Address faces house or unit. E=East, W=West, S=South, N=North
ext. Exterior. Features on the exterior of a building and the grounds.
Family Family. Family room. Please note that use of this word may violate fair housing laws.
Final. Finish. Basements can be completely finished (full fin) or partially finished (part fin).
fplc. Fireplace. The fireplaces can be gas (gas fplc) or wood (wb fplc).
flr. Flat. Like first floor master bedroom (first flr mstr).
Grdn. Flower gardens or garden level. It can describe an exterior landscape or an interior dwelling level that is partially below ground level.
Gar. Garage. A closed space for storage.
GFA. Gas forced air. A type of heating system.
grt. Good room. A combined family (combo), kitchen and breakfast area.
HDWD. Laminate flooring. Watch out for the softer woods that fall into this category. Bamboo and poplar cannot withstand the same wear and tear as maple and oak. Diagonal hardwood (d/hdwd) and parquet (parq) are other options.
HVAC. Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning. It refers to an all-in-one heating and cooling system.
H/War. Home warranty. Sellers have purchased a home warranty to protect buyers from repair costs.
Hour. 24 hour notice to tour a property.
included Includes. Any item considered personal property (personal property) left in the home by vendors.
in t. Inside. As in decoration (decor) or professionally (pro) designed.
equipment. Kitchen. That is easy.
L. List price. The advertised price of a house.
Book. Living room. A formal room typically adjacent to the main entrance of a house.
Loc. Located or location. Rental rules in residential real estate.
LL. Lower level. A nice word for base.
LO listing office. The brokerage to contact regarding a specific listing.
Maintenance Maintenance. It can apply to the amount of work to maintain a home or what is included in the homeowners association charges to homeowners.
MOUNTAIN. market time. Just like the days in the market.
Mr. Master Bath or Bedroom. The designated space where the owners bathe and sleep.
mechanical Mechanical systems. The cooling, electrical, heating and plumbing systems of a home.
MONTH. Month. Monthly installments or month-to-month rentals.
from c. Office. Home office (hom ofc) or office space (ofc spc).
O/M Off the market. A property that has been removed from the Multiple Listing Service.
Prq. Parking lot. Options (opt) include off-street (off-st), space (spc), or covered (covd).
Hang. Earring. When a property in the MLS is under contract and is close to closing or escrow.
private private private. Entrance (entrance) or path (rd).
Pos. Possession. The date a buyer can occupy (occ) a property.
PCHG. Change of price. The price has been lowered motivated or raised (difficult sellers).
Room.
S. Selling price. The recorded price for which a property was sold.
Scrnd. Projected. Lanai’s (lan) or porches (per).
Dry. Security. System (sys) or building. Or a deposit (dep).
Separate Sep. Entrance or room not combined with another.
Sing in Family. single family Home. A single family home.
Slider. Sliding doors). Usually refers to sliding glass for patio doors (pat).
square feet Square feet. Check all square footage measurements in housing marketing materials.
Stye. History. Describe the number of levels in a house.
Stye. Style. The architectural character of a house. Colonial (Col), ranch (ran) or traditional (trad).
Tax. Taxes. Property taxes for the latest (2005=05) possible year (year).
Along. Along the. Hardwood floors in every room.
TH. town house Terraced house.
Trans. Transportation. Convenient to buses, trains, or highways (hwys).
U/C. According to the deal. A property has a fully executed purchase contract.
User Utility(s). Cable, electricity, gas, oil and telephone services provided to a home.
Came. Ancient. A house that was built before World War II.
washer/dryer Washer and dryer. Side by side (SBS) or stackable (stk).
W/. With. Wood burning fireplace with gas start. Wbfp with gas Str.
Wbfp. Fireplace.
Yard. Yard. Front, rear or side gardens.
And what about those capitalized initials after real estate agents’ names on their business cards, called Professional Designations? Here is a sample.
ABR Accredited Buyers Representative. Home buyers should seek the Accredited Buyers Representative designation. The Council of Real Estate Agents trains real estate agents with experience in the specific representation of the real estate consumer.
CRS Certified Residential Specialist. Agents who hold the CRS designation have additional education and sales experience with a focus on the latest in real estate professionalism, sales and marketing techniques.
GRI Institute Graduate Realtor®. REALTOR® Institute graduates earn the GRI designation by completing a national advanced education program consisting of programs in residential marketing, cost basis, appraisal methods, investment and taxes in real estate, construction, trades, capital gains and mortgages .
