Don’t Get Trapped by Real Estate Buzz Words

 Don’t Get Trapped by Real Estate Buzz Words

Even if you’re not in the market to purchase a home you’ve likely been exposed to certain buzz words used in ads and other marketing media to get your attention and make you want to see the home.

If you are in the market to buy a home, it’s important that you know the tricks of the real estate trade and not get sucked in to the hype. Besides wasting your time looking at duds, you may find yourself spending too much money on one.

One real estate agent said that words in real estate listings 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.

Exclamation points after the words should also alert you to problems you may find in the home. When ‘fantastic’ and ‘great neighborhood’ is followed with exclamation points in real estate ads you can expect to find problems in the house.

Some terms are used by real estate agents who are too lazy to choose something better. Such as – cozy. 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.

The top buzz words that are overused in the real estate market include - upgraded finishes, spacious, prestigious, trendy, upgraded finishes, diamond-in-the-rough, sun-drenched, dream house and great potential. 

All buzz words are designed to grab your attention, help you picture the coziness and trendiness the home offers and to extract the top selling price from you. When a realt 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.

Garnering the support of a real estate agent can help you maneuver the treacherous path of home buying. He or she will know the market in the area in which you’re looking and be better able to steer you away or toward a home you’ll love based on the conversation(s) you’ll have.

She’ll probably also be familiar with the property and know if buzz words were used to make it seem more attractive. She’ll tell you when the overused phrases aren’t really indicative of the property itself.

These real estate buzz words can be very misleading if you take them literally. But, it does help your real estate agent in her quest to find out what your requirements are. It’s best to create your own list of adjectives you’d use when finding your dream home.

That list can make it less likely that you’ll fall into the hype of buzz words and save you lots of time on fruitless searches.