If you are buying or selling a home, the chances are good you
struggle with the meaning of descriptive real estate terms.
Here's the first in a series of articles explaining them.
The Wise Seller
Be very truthful if you are a seller advertising your home.
Mention your home's best features, but do not exaggerate. If
someone comes to look at your home and feels disappointed, they
are not apt to buy. You are probably wasting your time and
advertising money if your ads mislead.
The Wise Buyer
Take advertisements with a grain of salt and don't get too
excited until you've seen the property. Many sellers do not take
the advice given above.
Now let's examine some of the terms themselves and what they
commonly mean.
"Open Floor Plan"
Describes a home in which rooms open out of each other and it's
possible to see from one room to another. Often entertaining
rooms (living room, dining room, sun room, entrance foyer) are
open to each other, and family living areas (kitchen, breakfast
room, family room) are open to each other, while bedrooms have
doors and open off a hall in a more traditional way.
"Traditional Floor Plan"
Used to describe a home with rooms opening off a hall or halls.
Each room can usually be closed off with a door.
"Split Bedroom Plan"
A term often used to describe a home (usually one level) with
the master bedroom on one side of the living areas and the rest
of the bedrooms on the opposite side.
"Dormer Window"
A window in an upstairs room that has a slanting ceiling which
follows the slope of the roof. The window is in an upright
position, but that causes it to stick up above the roof, so it
gets its own little roof (usually a gable roof) that is tied
into the main roof where they meet at right angles.
If you can get the verbiage down, you'll be way ahead in the
real estate game. Look for future articles on this subject or
visit our site to read more terms.
About the author:
Raynor James is with
http://www.fsboamerica.org - FSBO homes for
sale by owner. Visit our "sell my home" page at
http://www.fsboamerica.org/seller.cfm to sell your own home
yourself with a free 1 month listing.
