| Real Estate 101 - Miscellaneous |
| What is an Acre? | |
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An acre is a unit of measurement, used for measuring land. 1 acre = 43,560 square feet. | |
| What is breach of contract? | |
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When one of the parties to the contract (buyer or seller in case of real estate contract) violates the legal obligation. (Please consult an attorney for your rights and obligations if you suspect there is a breach of contract.) | |
| What is Corporate Relocation? | |
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Corporate relocation is the arrangement made by an employer to move its employees from one location to the other. | |
| What is a Contingency? | |
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A contingency is a clause in a contract that contains a condition that needs to be satisfied for the contract to be legally binding. For example, if the contract has a financing contingency, the buyer needs to obtain financing to complete the purchase of the property. | |
| What is Down Payment? | |
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Down payment is the cash to be paid by the buyer to consummate a real estate transaction. Down payment is the difference between the sales price and the mortgage amount. For example, if the price of the property is $400,000, and 75% is financed, the buyer needs to make down payment of $100,000, including any deposit or increased deposit already submitted to escrow. Off course, the buyer needs to bring in more cash than this, to cover the closing costs. | |
| What is Fannie Mae or Federal National Mortgage Association? | |
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Fannie Mae is a corporation that is sponsored by government to buy loan from commercial lenders and sell them in the secondary market. Fannie Mae has very strict guidelines for the loans it buys. By providing steady stream of money to the lenders by selling their loans, Fannie Mae encourages lenders to offer more loans in the market. It also offers special loan programs for qualified first time buyers. | |
| What is Freddie Mac? | |
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Freddie Mac is a federal government agency that buys mortgages initiated by other government agencies or conventional lenders and sells them in the secondary market. Freddie Mac has very strict guidelines for the loans it buys. By providing steady stream of money to the lenders by selling their loans, Freddie Mac encourages lenders to offer more loans in the market. | |
| What is a Promissory Note? | |
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A promissory note is a written legal document in which the borrower promises to pay back the money at a predefined time. | |
| What is Zoning Ordinance? | |
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Zoning ordinance is the compatible usage of land established through the codes and regulations set forth by an authorized local government. Land is usually divided into commercial, residential, industrial, and rural zones. | |
| What is Mediation? | |
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Mediation is "Facilitated Communications for Agreement or Facilitated Negotiation", in simple terms, it is a type of process for resolving disputes, where a neutral party is actively involved in resolving the differences. | |
| What is an Agency or Agency Relationship? | |
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An agency or agency relationship is a relationship of integrity, trust and care that exists between an agent and his/her client (seller and/or buyer). | |
| What is Feng Shui? | |
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Feng Shui is an ancient Chinese ritual that is based on the belief that the fortune of the property owner is affected by the position of the property, as well as the physical characteristics of various components of the property. | |
| What is a Home Warranty? | |
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A home warranty is a kind of an insurance that provides coverage on repairs or replacements of certain systems or fixtures on a property. Most of the home warranties charge one-time fees to initiate the coverage. A typical buyer's coverage is in place for 1 year from close of an escrow (closing). There is additional coverage available for a seller during the listing period and for a buyer after the 1-year coverage is expired. Most of the home warranty companies charge a service fee when they are called with a problem. There is usually no deductible. Since the items covered, cost and duration can vary from company to company, please contact the specific home warranty company for further details. | |
| What is a MLS? | |
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A MLS is an entity that aggregates data on properties for sale and sold in a given geographical area, submitted by its members (real estate agents & brokers). The data is usually organized in a database that can be accessed by the members from a remote computer. In some cases the data is distributed to the members in form of MLS books. | |
| What are Zero Lot Lines? | |
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The term “Zero Lot Lines” is used to describe those homes that are built in such a way that the exterior wall of one home is the property boundary for another home. In other words, there is no space and no fences between two neighboring homes. Homes with zero lot lines have very small or sometimes no yards. Due to occupying smaller pieces of land, these homes are more affordable than the comparable homes on larger pieces of land. | |
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