ResalesReal Estate Abbreviations Defined
If you"ve ever scanned the real estate category of your newspaper"s classifieds section, you"ve probably been stumped by cryptic abbreviations. Realtors, otherwise known as CRSs, CDEs, CBAs, GRSs, and other abbreviations understood only by themselves, often use the same method of shorthand when advertising their listings in the newspaper. For example, does any consumer out there know what the abbreviation "LA" stands for? No, it"s not "Los Angeles." It"s Living Area.
For the puzzled or mildly confused, Real Times has translated Realtorese in an effort to make the classified section a little more user-friendly for all of you consumers out there. And for experienced house-hunters who think you"re in the know, quiz yourself. You might be surprised at your score.
AC or A/C: Air Conditioning
BR: BedRoom
C H/A: Central Heat and Air conditioning
Fixer Upper: Read: You"ll have a lot of work to do. The home is charming, perhaps, but when you"re covered in paint with a mile-long list of necessary household repairs and renovations, that charm might disappear. Don"t romanticize. Unless you"re a Tim Allen wannabe -- or you"ve got extraordinary patience -- keep looking.
Foreclosure: The bank, VA, or HUD had to take the property from the owner, who failed to make payments.
FP: FirePlace
FSBO: For Sale By Owner
Full Bath: A bathroom containing at least a bathtub, toilet, and sink.
3/4 Bath: A bathroom with a shower, toilet, and sink.
1/2 Bath: A bathroom with a toilet and sink.
HUD: The Department of Housing and Urban Development
LA: Living Area (how obvious is this?)
Panel Door: Technically, a door that slides into the wall. However, some listings use the term to describe doors, such as French doors, that contain panels on the outside. Listings will occasionally specify the number of panels on the door -- usually six or eight.
SF: Square Feet
TLC:Tender Loving Care -- in other words, you"ve got some work ahead of you if you purchase this house.
VA: Veterans" Administration
WBFP: Wood-Burning FirePlace (and most fireplaces do burn wood)
x: Used in an example: 12x18. This is a room"s size measured in feet.
4/3/2: A 4-bedroom, 3-bath, 2-car garage home. Although the numbers vary according to the individual listing, any configuration containing "*/*/*" means "number of bedrooms/number of bathrooms/number of cars that fit into the garage."
Happy house-hunting. Now, if we can just convince all of those GRSs and CRSs to start spelling out their own abbreviations ...