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Buyers and Sellers: Are you confused by the alphabet soup used by Realtors?

By
Real Estate Agent with RE/MAX Gold, Fair Oaks

If you are thinking of buying or selling your home, are you confused by all of the trade jargon and abbreviations you see and hear? 

I hear many real estate agents who tend to use trade languageconfused by real estate jargon and abbreviations with their clients and prospects.  From the looks on the faces of the non-real estate pros, it seems clear that they often have no idea what those agents are telling them.

I accompanied a buyer couple to an open house recently and the listing agent began spouting all kinds of sales talk that she apparently thought would inform my clients about the house, the neighborhood and various features. 

My poor clients were very embarrassed because they didn't understand a lot of what she was trying to tell them, and they seemed eager to leave and get on to the next house. 

When we left, I asked them if they knew the terms she was using and they admitted they didn't.  It had made them uncomfortable and anxious to leave a house where they might otherwise have enjoyed spending more time.  These are intelligent and educated people who were made to feel stupid by this agent who seemed to be showing off.  And unfortunately this happens all too often.

confused by real estate jargonI'm talking about the agents who spout such terms as SFR, PUD, APN, TDS, MLS, NHD, HOA, CC&Rs and others that we use daily when speaking to other real estate professionals, but we shouldn't forget that folks not in our business may have no idea what we are talking about. 

I spend a great deal of time giving my clients definitions and explanations of commonly used real estate terms, and periodically when I use one again, I will remind them again of the definition.  Pretty soon my clients are spouting them like old hands, and pretty proud of themselves for sounding like experts!


Here are some definitions of a few of those terms heard most often.

SFR:    Traditionally, SFR has stood for Single Family Residence.  Although a condominium or apartment is technically a residence of a single family, an SFR is normally a detached stand-alone home. 

These days those initials also have a second meaning:  Short sale/Foreclosure Resource.  This is a designation that agents who have completed a training course may use to let consumers know that they have earned that status.  Most agents working short sales have achieved that designation or one of the others that have a similar meaning.

PUD:   A Planned Unit Development is usually a relatively large real estate development which has organized clusters of residential units (usually SFRs or duplexes), designated greenbelts or parks, sometimes a community center, pool or other recreational facility for the use of owners in the PUD, and sometimes including some commercial. 

Most PUDs have rules and regulations about ownership and property uses (CC&Rs or Covenants, conditions and Restrictions), and may have a homeowners' association (HOA) to enforce the CC&Rs and charge dues to maintain the common areas.

APN:  This is the Assessor's Parcel Number.  Each county has its own numbering system, and it is the official way of identifying a property - even better than the street address.

REO:   This stands for Real Estate Owned, and is the bank's term for the inventory of properties it has taken back by foreclosure.  Eventually, real estate agents
began using the term as well, as a shorthand way to refer to these properties.

TDS:   This is the Transfer Disclosure Statement, which every seller must complete, disclosing all that he knows about the property's history and condition.  It is important to note two things: 

First, the operative word is "knows" - no seller is required to research anything at the county, but is required to answer truthfully to the best of his ability as to known issues.  there are questions like whether there has been fire, flood, earthquake or other damage to that home, even if repaired; encroachments, environmental hazards, and what remodel work has been done, what appliances are included, etc.

Second, if you are buying a bank-owned property (REO), the bank might never have seen the property or know much about it at all and they will not normally complete the form.

MLS:   Most people these days have heard of the MLS (Multiple Listing Service), but surprisingly some do not know what it is - especially first time home buyers.  The MLS is where Realtors post information about their listings so that agents representing buyers can help their clients search for available homes.  Realtors can also find history of the property and the showing instructions.

NHD:   Natural Hazard Disclosure is required in California and many other states.  Normally the seller pays for a disclosure firm to research whether the property is in an earthquake or flood zone, whether there are hazardous materials stored nearby or a weapons depot, or other natural hazards that might impact the buyer's decision to buy.  This is different from and in addition to the TDS.

There are many other abbreviations, terms and phrases that those of us in real estate use daily, and which you as a buyer or seller might find in a listing on line. 

If you are in the area
in and around Sacramento and you have a question about something you have read or heard and you don't have an agent helping you, give me a call and I'll be glad to answer your questions.


******************
 Susan Neal

Broker / Realtor
Century 21 Noel David Realty
Fair Oaks, California

Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 30+ years experience. 

I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction.

"Happy clients make me happy."

 

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916)705-8951or visit my website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.

 HUD homes resource                  Search HUD Homes

 

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*******

Thinking of selling your home?  Remember, it costs you nothing for me to come out and discuss your home, the market in your area, and give you a market analysis and presentation so that you will know what you can expect to get for your home.

Call for appointment:  (916) 705-8951


Also Remember, if you are planning to buy a home, I can help you to tour any home for sale in Sacramento County and the surrounding areas, no matter what firm has it listed, and I can help you with your purchase if you find the perfect home for you.

Just give me a call at (916) 705-8951

***********
Susan Neal
Broker / Realtor

Susan Neal Fine Properties
RE/MAX Gold
Fair Oaks, California

Full time real estate services in Fair Oaks CA, with friendly professionalism, 30+ years experience. 
I work hard to give my buyer or seller a low-stress transaction.

"Happy clients make me happy."

For all your real estate needs or questions, call me at (916)705-8951 or visitmy website at www.SusanNealFineProperties.com.    

HUD homes resource            Search HUD Homes

Check out my business page on facebook:  Susan Neal Fine Properties

 

Comments (11)

Raul Rodriguez
Covenant Partners Realty - San Antonio, TX
Looking out for the client's interest and not my p

Being a fairly new agent I came up with one of my own...NSL ( No Sales Lately )

Nov 02, 2011 04:33 PM
Winston Heverly
Coldwell Banker Access Realty - South Macon, GA
GRI, ABR, SFR, CDPE, CIAS, PA

Susan, its funny I hardly get asked what the soup means beside my name. The others for the exception of a few, folks know already. I believe it is us who appreciates this as a form of accomplishment, which may take it to far.

Nov 02, 2011 04:33 PM
Doug Bullwinkel
E Mortgage Capital, Inc. NMLS 1416824 - Roseville, CA
Mortgage Loan Officer NMLS #281609

Susan:  I think this post will be very helpful for many buyers (and possibly a few Realtors out there).  Well written and interesting presentation.  Thanks for your post.  Suggested.

Nov 02, 2011 04:39 PM
Susan Neal
RE/MAX Gold, Fair Oaks - Fair Oaks, CA
Fair Oaks CA & Sacramento Area Real Estate Broker

Raul - lol  Keep at it and it will improve.

Winston - Yes, the string of alphabets behind some Realtors' names on their cards don't mean anything to clients.  They just want to know that you will take good care of them.

Nov 02, 2011 04:42 PM
Yvonne Van Camp REALTOR
To Buy and Sell Real Estate, see me at Southwest Missouri Realty - Springfield, MO
"Home"work, I have the Answers!

I believe our job is to educate not make ourselves look like know it alls.    It isn't hard, and the payoff is  that they want you to work for them.

Nov 02, 2011 04:43 PM
Susan Neal
RE/MAX Gold, Fair Oaks - Fair Oaks, CA
Fair Oaks CA & Sacramento Area Real Estate Broker

Doug - Thank you!  I appreciate your nice comment.

Yvonne - So true.  Too bad some agents haven't learned that.

Nov 02, 2011 04:44 PM
Eric Kodner
Wayzata Lakes Realty: Eric Kodner Sells Twin Cities Homes - Minnetonka, MN
Wayzata Lakes Realty: Twin Cities, Madeline Island

Like many other professionals, Realtors love jargon.  Jargon gives the professional an excuse to play "expert" and to impute a little mystery into the process with clients.  Great post and one might add all the alphabet soup of Realtor designations and certifications, like CRS, CRB, ABR, GRI, SRES, SIOR and so forth!

Nov 02, 2011 04:44 PM
Susan Neal
RE/MAX Gold, Fair Oaks - Fair Oaks, CA
Fair Oaks CA & Sacramento Area Real Estate Broker

Eric - I didn't even want to get into all the designations.  Clients don't care about that or even understand what that's all about.  I think it's great to get the education, but it does little for marketing to put all of that stuff on your cards.

Nov 02, 2011 04:48 PM
Jane Peters
Home Jane Realty - Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles real estate concierge services

This is a wonderful list of definitions of some of the terms we throw around.  I didn't know many of them myself for quite a while.

Nov 02, 2011 05:10 PM
Tom Arstingstall, General Contractor, Dry Rot, Water Damage Sacramento, El Dorado County - (916) 765-5366
Dry Rot and Water Damage www.tromlerconstruction.com Mobile - 916-765-5366 - Placerville, CA
General Contractor, Dry Rot and Water Damage

Hate to admit it, I'm one that doesn't know most of the acronyms Susan. Thanks for the help here.

Nov 02, 2011 06:40 PM
Sidney Kutchuk - Realty Works Temecula Kutchuk - Realty Works Temecula
Realty Works Temecula - Temecula, CA
Realty Works Temecula

Susan:  Excellent description of those terms that can be very confusing!  

Nov 04, 2011 04:39 PM