Real Estate Glossary | The House Decision

A

Absentee Owner Someone who owns a property they don't live in, flagged when the owner's mailing address differs from the property address. The most heavily prospected owner profile in distressed real estate.
After-Repair Value (ARV) What a house is worth fully renovated and sold at retail. Investors use it to size their offers, often as a percentage minus repair costs.
As-Is Sold in current condition, with the buyer accepting known and unknown defects. As-is does not mean unsellable on the open market, as-is listings are routine.
As-Is Market Value What a house would sell for today, in its current condition, on the open market. The number most often hidden from distressed sellers, and the one they most need.
Assignment Selling your purchase contract to another buyer. The original signer may never own your house. The "and/or assigns" language in a contract enables this.
Assignment Fee What a wholesaler earns by assigning your contract, the gap between the price you accepted and what the end buyer pays. Fair when disclosed and modest; harmful when hidden and large.

B

Back on Market A listing that went under contract and returned after the deal fell through. Investors treat this as a signal that the seller is now discouraged and likely to accept a discount.
Bird-Dog Someone who finds distressed properties and refers them to buyers for a fee, without taking a contract position themselves.
BPO (Broker Price Opinion) A quick value estimate a lender orders from an agent on a distressed or REO property, faster and looser than a full appraisal.

C

Carrying Costs The ongoing monthly costs of owning a house: mortgage, taxes, insurance, utilities, maintenance, HOA. Used honestly to price time; used dishonestly to manufacture urgency.
Cash Buyer A buyer who purchases without mortgage financing, enabling speed and certainty, usually in exchange for a below-market price.
Cash for Keys A voluntary payment to a tenant to vacate before a lease ends. The tenant can decline; some cities require a relocation fee instead.
Clouding Title Recording a memorandum or affidavit of a contract in the land records so a seller can't sell to anyone else until it's removed, a wholesaler tactic that can lock a property.
Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) An agent's estimate of value based on recent comparable sales. Often free, and a useful starting point for understanding your home's as-is market value.
Comps Comparable recent sales used to estimate a house's value. The foundation of any honest price opinion.

D

Days on Market (DOM) How long a listing has been active. Investors treat it as a "leverage thermometer", the longer you've sat, the bigger the discount they assume they can extract.
Deed The legal document that transfers ownership of real estate. Never sign one outside a legitimate, attorney-reviewed closing.
Deed Fraud / Title Theft Forging a deed or power of attorney to "sell" or borrow against a house the fraudster doesn't own. Vacant and estate-owned homes are the primary targets.
Default Falling behind on mortgage payments, beginning the path toward foreclosure. A default notice is a formal step, not the end of the road.
Distressed Property A house with physical problems, financial pressure, or a situational reason for urgency. Distinct from a distressed seller, the person who can be rushed.
Double Closing Two back-to-back closings where a wholesaler briefly buys and immediately resells your house, hiding the spread. Restricted in some states.
Driving for Dollars Operators cruising neighborhoods to spot vacant houses by physical signs, overgrown grass, piled mail, boarded windows, then skip-tracing the owners.
Due-on-Sale Clause A mortgage provision letting the lender demand the full balance at once if the property is transferred without consent. Central to the risk of subject-to deals.

E

Elder Financial Exploitation Using influence, a trusted role, or a power of attorney to take an older person's money or property, often aimed at home equity, often through someone trusted.
Equitable Interest The right in a property that a buyer gains by putting it under contract, what a wholesaler sells when they assign your contract.
Equity Your house's value minus everything owed against it. The money that's truly yours, and the target of equity-stripping schemes.
Equity Stripping Schemes that transfer your home equity to an operator through deeds, leasebacks, or refinances. A core foreclosure-era danger.
Estoppel Certificate A document signed by a tenant confirming the lease terms, rent, deposit, and that the landlord isn't in default. Standard in a tenant-occupied sale.
Expired / Withdrawn / Cancelled Listing Listing statuses meaning a sale didn't happen. Sold as leads to investors who bet the seller is now discouraged and ready to accept a discount.

F

Fiduciary Someone legally obligated to act in your best interest ahead of their own, a higher standard than a salesperson. The key test for any advisor.
Fix-and-Flip Buying an impaired house, renovating it, and reselling at retail. The most economically legitimate buyer in distressed real estate, and a useful mirror for your house's potential value.
Forbearance A temporary pause or reduction in mortgage payments granted by a servicer. Buys time but not forgiveness, the missed amounts must eventually be repaid.
Foreclosure The legal process by which a lender takes a house after default. A defined process with stages, notices, and options, not a sudden event.
Foreclosure Consultant Someone who, for compensation, offers to help stop or delay a foreclosure. Heavily regulated in most states; upfront fees are often illegal.
FSBO (For Sale by Owner) Selling without a listing agent. A stale FSBO is the most heavily targeted seller profile for investor lowballs, it combines high days-on-market, a public advertisement of motivation, no agent screening, and your own contact information.

H

Hard-Money Lender A lender making fast, short-term, high-rate loans secured by the property's value rather than your income. Risky for a distressed owner, some lend specifically hoping to foreclose on high-equity homes.
HUD-Approved Housing Counselor A government-approved advisor offering free or low-cost foreclosure and housing guidance. For most homeowners in distress, this is the best first call. Reach them at 1-888-995-HOPE.

I

iBuyer A technology-driven company making fast, automated offers, usually at a smaller discount than a flipper but with service fees that can offset the difference.

L

Lease Rides with the Land The rule (in most states) that a lease survives a sale, the buyer becomes the new landlord and must honor the existing tenancy.
Leaseback An arrangement to sell your house and stay as a renter. In foreclosure scams, a bait-and-switch that ends in eviction and lost equity.
Lien A legal claim against your house, mortgage, tax, mechanic's, judgment, or HOA, that must be paid before you receive sale proceeds.
Lis Pendens A recorded notice that a lawsuit affecting a property is pending, in judicial foreclosure states, a public trigger that lead vendors watch.
Loan Modification A permanent change to loan terms, rate, term, or balance, to make payments sustainable going forward. A key tool for keeping a house.
Loss Mitigation A servicer's department and process for avoiding foreclosure through modification, forbearance, short sale, and similar tools. This is where real help lives.

N

Net Sheet A calculation of what you actually walk away with after all costs for a given path. The cure for dishonest headline comparisons.
Non-Performing Note A loan on which the borrower has stopped paying, often sold at a discount to investors, some of whom buy to restructure the loan, some to foreclose.
Notice of Default (NOD) A recorded notice that a loan is in default, in non-judicial foreclosure states, the public starting gun that lead vendors scrape immediately.

O

Open Permit A building permit pulled but never closed out with a final inspection. A public condition signal that can scare conventional buyers, usually fixable.
Option Agreement A contract giving a buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy, binding you while leaving them free to walk away.

P

Partition Action A lawsuit by a co-owner asking a court to resolve a shared-ownership dispute, usually by forcing a sale. A legitimate legal right that can be weaponized by investors who buy one party's share.
Personal Representative / Executor The person the court authorizes to act for an estate. Their appointment is public record, and becomes the contact target for every operator working the probate lead list.
Power of Attorney Authority to act legally on behalf of another person. Rarely needed in an honest sale; a red flag when a buyer requests it.
Pre-Foreclosure The period after default but before the foreclosure sale, when many options still exist. The most heavily marketed period in distressed real estate.
Pre-Foreclosure List A packaged lead list of distressed homeowners, often "equity-screened" to surface those with the most equity, the highest-value targets.
Probate The court process that settles a deceased person's estate and transfers their property to heirs. Public, often slow (months to years), and a major lead source for operators.
Probate / Inheritance Advance A purchase of part of an heir's future inheritance for cash now, not a loan. Usually non-recourse, but the flat fee can hide a very high effective cost.
Public Adjuster A professional who helps you maximize an insurance claim for a percentage of the settlement. Mostly helpful, make sure they work for you, not for a buyer or contractor.

Q

Quick-Sale Value What a buyer pays for speed and certainty, below as-is market value. Fair as a modest discount for genuine convenience; unfair when driven by an information gap or manufactured urgency.
Quitclaim Deed A deed transferring whatever interest you have, with no warranties. Never sign one outside a reviewed closing, and in a divorce, confirm that your name is also being removed from the mortgage.

R

Reinstatement Bringing a defaulted loan current by paying the entire past-due amount. Often available until shortly before a foreclosure sale.
REO (Real Estate Owned) Property a lender owns after foreclosure, sold through REO listing agents and bank-disposition channels.
Reverse Mortgage A loan against home equity for older owners, repaid when they move or die, at which point the home must be sold or the loan repaid.

S

Senior Move Manager A professional who manages an older person's downsizing and move, sorting, disposal, relocation, new-home setup. Usually genuinely helpful.
Short Sale Selling for less than is owed, with lender approval. An option when there's little or no equity.
Skip Tracing Finding contact information for a property owner, how operators get your phone number, usually by matching your name and address against commercial data aggregators.
Subject-To A purchase where the buyer takes title "subject to" your existing mortgage, the loan stays in your name while they make payments. You transfer the house but keep the debt and the foreclosure risk.
Successor Trustee The person who takes over a living trust after the grantor dies, like an executor, they hold a valuable, often vacant house and are targeted by operators accordingly.
Surplus Funds Money left over when a foreclosure or tax sale brings more than is owed. Under Tyler v. Hennepin (2023), the surplus belongs to the former owner, not the government or the buyer.

T

Tax Redemption Period The window after a tax sale to pay what's owed and keep your home. The single most important date in any tax-delinquency situation.
Tax-Deed Sale A tax system where the property itself is auctioned for unpaid taxes, sometimes with little or no redemption time.
Tax-Lien Certificate What an investor buys at a tax-lien sale, your overdue taxes plus the right to collect them with interest, and to take the deed if you don't redeem in time.
Tired Landlord The industry's term for a worn-down small landlord, targeted via eviction, code, inspection, license, and below-market-rent signals.
Title Search A search of public records revealing all claims against a house. Running one early reveals your true equity and prevents closing-table surprises.
Tyler v. Hennepin County The 2023 Supreme Court ruling that surplus equity beyond a tax debt must be returned to the owner after a tax sale, home equity theft is unconstitutional.

U

USPS Vacancy Flag A postal indicator marking an address vacant after approximately 90 days of undeliverable mail, sold by data vendors as a vacant-property lead signal.

W

Wholesaler Someone who contracts to buy your house and sells that contract to a real buyer for a fee, often without ever owning the house. Their profit comes out of your equity.