A Short Guide to Real Estate Lingo and Acronyms

Real estate ads are usually full of acronyms and terms that are unfamiliar to first-time buyers. Here’s a cheat sheet to let you in on the lingo.
4B/2B — four bedrooms and two bathrooms. “Bedroom” usually means a sleeping area with a window and a closet, but the definition varies in different places. A “full bathroom” is a room with a toilet, a sink and a bathtub. A “three-quarter bathroom” has a toilet, a sink and a shower. A “half bathroom” or powder room has only a toilet and a sink.
assum. fin. — assumable financing
closing costs — the entire package of miscellaneous expenses paid by the buyer and the seller when the real estate deal closes. These costs include the brokerage commission, mortgage-related fees, escrow or attorney’s settlement charges, transfer taxes, recording fees, title insurance and so on. Closing costs are generally paid through escrow.
CMA — comparative market analysis or competitive market analysis. A CMA is a report that shows prices of homes that are comparable to a subject home and that were recently sold, are currently on the market or were on the market, but not sold within the listing period.
contingency — a provision of an agreement that keeps the agreement from being fully legally binding until a certain condition is met. One example is a buyer’s contractual right to obtain a professional home inspection before purchasing the home.
dk — deck
expansion pot’l — expansion potential mean that there’s extra space on the lot or the possibility of adding a room or even an upper level, subject to local zoning restrictions.
fab pentrm — fabulous pentroom, a room on top (but under the roof) that has great views
FDR — formal dining room
fixture — anything of value that is permanently attached to or a part of real property. (Real estate is legally called “real property,” while movables are called “personal property.”) Examples of fixtures include installed wall-to-wall carpeting, light fixtures, window coverings, landscaping and so on. Fixtures are a frequent subject of buyer and seller disputes. When in doubt, get it in writing.
frplc, fplc, FP — fireplace
gar — garage (garden is usually abbrevated as “gard.”)
grmet kit — gourmet kitchen
HDW, HWF, Hdwd — hardwood floors
hi ceils — high ceilings
in-law potential — potential for a separate apartment, subject to local zoning restrictions
large E-2 plan — this is one of several floorplans available in a specific building
listing — an agreement between a real estate broker and a home owner that allows the broker to market and arrange for the sale of the owner’s home. The word “listing” is also used to refer to the for-sale home itself. A home being sold by the owner without a real estate agent isn’t a “listing.”
lo dues — low homeowner’s association dues. But find out how “low” the dues are compared to other dues in the area.
lock box — locked key-holding device affixed to a for-sale home so real estate professionals can gain entry into the home after obtaining permission from the listing agent
lsd pkg. — leased parking area. May come with additional cost.
MLS — Multiple Listing Service. An MLS is an organization that collects, compiles and distributes information about homes listed for sale by its members, who are real estate brokers. Membership isn’t open to the general public, although selected MLS data may be sold to real estate listings Web sites. MLSs are local or regional. There is no MLS covering the whole country.
nr bst schls — near the best schools
pot’l — potential
pvt — private
pwdr rm — half bathroom or powder room
REALTOR® — a real estate broker or sales associate who is a member of the National Association of REALTORS®. Not all real estate agents are REALTORS®.
title insurance — an insurance policy that protects a lender’s or owner’s interest in real property from assorted types of unexpected or fraudulent claims of ownership. It’s customary for the buyer to pay for the lender’s title insurance policy.

5 Flooring Choices to Make a Home Seem Larger
A few subtle tips for your sellers that will help stretch smaller spaces.
This was an article that was published by Floor Coverings International in Westchester/Western Fairfield. They believe that choosing the right flooring can improve the apparent size of a seller’s home.
1. Use lighter colors. Lighter makes the space look larger. The same goes for walls.
2. Use wider planks. Wider makes the space look larger. The same goes for tile; larger tiles make the space look larger. (Conversely, parquet hardwood makes the space look smaller, so stay away from this and from small tiles).
3. De-clutter. The more open space readily visible (be it floor or walls), the larger, cleaner, and neater the space will look. Remove some of the knickknacks and maybe even a piece of furniture that’s not necessary.
4. Use same flooring material and color across rooms. Whenever possible, continue that same surface across rooms. By continuing the same surface, you connect the space and it just looks larger. Be it hardwood, tile, or the wall color cafe au lait, try to be consistent and make the rooms appear seamless.
5. Lay your floor on a diagonal. Whether you have tile or hardwood, this will make you space look larger as it carries your eye along the longest length (In trigonometry — remember that? – the hypotenuse is the longest side of the triangle). It will also make your space look more visually intriguing. Note that occasionally when the space/room is very rectangular, a straight lay across the longest length is a better option, but most often, a diagonal is the better choice.

The recommended debt-to-income ratio is no more than 35%. If you have a gross salary of $5,700 per month, for instance, your monthly debt — including any mortgage payments, taxes, insurance, homeowners-association dues as well as auto and student loans and credit-card debt — would have to be a max of $1,995 to get a 35% ratio.

Make That Extra Payment

Borrowers who don’t meet those standards, or are worried about future loss of income, might be better served taking a longer-term mortgage but making extra payments to the principal to pay off the loan faster, Walters said.

For instance, if you refinance a $200,000 mortgage into a 30-year loan with a 4.5% rate, and then apply $100 of the savings to the principal payment each month, you’d save $31,700 in interest over the life of the loan, Cutts said. And you would pay off the mortgage in 25 years, instead of 30, she said.

What’s more, you would have the flexibility of not paying that $100 in months when money gets tight. “Maybe today you’re feeling flush with money. Maybe you’re worried in the future that income might change,” Cutts said. With a 30-year mortgage, you have more flexibility. “Shortening to 15 years is a pretty big bump in payment.”
This info was taken from Yahoo.com