

This can be good or bad, but it will always be predictable. No-down-payment loans exist for veterans and others, and there are also down payment assistance programs for first-time buyers.Įxpansion pot’l: Expansion potential means 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an upper level-subject to local zoning restrictions.Įxpired: The property listing with the agent has expired and is no longer active, usually because it didn’t sell, says Matthews. That could mean the seller is still open to accepting an offer, so it’s worth touching base if your curiosity is piqued.įab pentrm: Fabulous pentroom, a room on top of the house-but under the roof-that has great views.įixed-rate mortgage: This mortgage’s interest rate will never change, even if the term of the loan is 30 years. It is possible to put less than 20% down, but mortgage insurance would then be required. Traditionally, down payments are 20% of the purchase price, so if you are buying a home for $500,000, your typical down payment would be $100,000. If your offer is accepted as a backup, you’re in line to go under contract if the first sale falls through.ĭown payment: The lump sum in cash that you can afford to pay at the time of purchase. Even though a sale is highly likely at this point, some pending properties may still accept backups. The status will show as pending until the closing. Examples of contingencies are home inspections, attorney review, buyer financing, appraisal, and title search, among other reasons.ĭeal pending (DP): This means the seller has an accepted offer and an executed contract, and all the contingencies have been met, so the home is pending sale. This is the escrow period, when both buyer and seller are working toward a closing. But the sale is conditional upon certain criteria being met by the buyer and/or seller before the deal can close. One example is a buyer’s contractual right to obtain a professional home inspection before purchasing the home.Ĭontingent: A contingent status means that the seller has accepted an offer and the home is under contract. While you can’t avoid closing costs, there are ways to reduce them.Ĭontingency: A provision of an agreement that keeps the agreement from being fully legally binding until a certain condition is met. The buyer should get an estimate of these fees shortly after applying for a loan. Most are paid by the buyer, but the seller covers some. The sold prices, known as comps, can help homeowners determine how much their home is worth in the current market.Ĭlosed (CL): The property is sold and no longer available.Ĭlosing costs: On closing day, when you finalize the purchase of your home, you’ll have to pay for a variety of fees associated with the home-buying process, such as the brokerage commission and title insurance. A CMA is a report that shows prices of homes comparable to a subject home and that were recently sold. This means that the home fell out of escrow, perhaps due to contract issues, says Tania Matthews, an agent with Keller Williams Classic III Realty in Central Florida.ĬMA: Comparative market analysis or competitive market analysis. You may pay a bit more for this option.īack on market (BOM): A property that has come back on the market after a pending sale. While the initial interest rate is typically lower than that of a fixed-rate mortgage, once that period is over, the rate could climb sharply.ĪRM cap: Some adjustable-rate mortgages have a cap that limits how high the bank can raise the interest rate on your loan once the introductory period is over. While any seller can entertain backup offers as a precautionary measure as long as this is made clear in the contract, this term most often crops up with short sales, since they can often fall through, and it can be helpful if a second buyer is waiting in the wings.Īdjustable-rate mortgage (ARM): After an introductory period that could be three, five, seven or 10 years, the interest rate on an adjustable-rate mortgage will be adjusted by the lender in accordance with current interest rates. Active with contract (AWC): This means that even though there’s an accepted offer on the home, the seller is looking for backup offers in case the primary buyer falls through.
