Real Estate Terminology for Home Buyers. If you’re just getting into the home buying process, you’re going to run into a whole vocabulary full of new words, here are a few to help you feel less lost as you begin.
Appraisal: Before buying, your lender needs an appraisal of your chosen home to establish its market value for the mortgage. They’ll use that value to help figure out the amount to lend to you to buy the home.
Closing Costs: On the day of property transfer to you, these fees are what you pay to take possession of your new home. They can include lender’s fees, title insurance, inspection or appraisal fees, attorney’s fees, and more. Good news? Some of these costs are tax-deductible!
Contingency: Sellers might delay the closing until they secure another house to buy, while buyers might request the same flexibility. Or, a contingency could specify that a buyer can opt out of the purchase if the inspection doesn't receive approval.
Earnest Money: You might pay a small fee to show that you are serious about buying a particular house. If the sale proceeds, you'll apply this fee to your down payment.
PITI: This acronym represents the four major parts of a mortgage payment: Principal (amount borrowed), Interest (fee on the principal), Taxes (property taxes), and Insurance (homeowners’ insurance).
Title: This deed proves your ownership and gets recorded in the land records office of your county. Contact Tony for all your Real Estate needs.