Don’t get sucked in by real estate buzz words
If you’ve started looking around to buy a house, I’m sure you’ve come across some words used to describe the place, that are a nicer way to describe the facts, or are used to draw your attention to a positive aspect of the house, rather than highlighting a less desirable part.
It’s pretty important to get to understand these, so you don’t waste your time looking at something that just isn’t suitable, or waste your money on ongoing maintenance or repairs.
The Real Estate agent’s job is to sell the house on behalf of the vendor, so it’s understandable tat they will use words in their marketing to get your attention. Here’s a quick run down of terms that should raise a red flag for you.
Words such as charming, fantastic and cozy make the property sound great, but may actually mean something else. For example, the word, charming, may mean that it’s tiny, dark and old.
The term “Cozy” should alert you to the fact that the house is most likely small. Other terms used in ads such as ‘gourmet’ and ‘granite’ may signal you that the home is going to be higher priced than some others.
Exclamation points after the words should also alert you to problems you may find in the home. When ‘fantastic’ and ‘great neighbourhood’ is followed with exclamation points it may indicate that anything positive lies outside of the house itself.
There are a bunch of terms I see all the time in ads, such as upgraded finishes, spacious, prestigious, trendy,, diamond-in-the-rough, sun-drenched, dream house and great potential. These are all designed to grab your attention, help you picture the dream, and potential the home offers and to extract the top selling price from you.
When a real estate agent doesn’t list the size of the home, but calls it ‘open floor plan’ you might be disappointed to see a cramped apartment where that spaciousness includes the living room, bedroom and kitchen all in one room.
You can expect a home that’s advertised as ‘has great potential’ or ‘renovator’s dream’ to need repairs or renovation. And, ‘near transportation” could mean it’s in the middle of a very noisy area.
Enlisting the support of a Buyer’s agent can help you navigate the path of home buying. We know the market in the area in which you’re looking and can steer you away or toward a home you’ll love based on what you’re ultimately looking for. We are there to help you avoid getting lured in by catchy phrases or emotion proving terms. We support you 100% to get you in your dream home without the stress.
