Real Estate Commissions Texas
How to Read real estate listings like a pro
If you’re in the market for a home, you’ve probably spent your fair share of time pouring over real estate listings online or in newspapers. As a buyer, it’s very important to understand the lingo involved in listing a home so you know exactly what you are looking at. Instead of being surprised on the walkthrough, you can know the situation ahead of time.
Closing costs – This is an important term for all buyers to know. The closing costs are various expenses that need to be paid by the buyer and seller when the home comes out of escrow. These include things like the commissions, settlement fees and taxes.
Fixture – Fixtures are anything that are a permanent part of the property. Lights, wall to wall carpet, doors and window frames are all examples of fixtures on a property.
Lock Box – The lock box is a device that holds a key to the property. By getting the open code from the selling agent, a buying agent can access the home at anytime to show their clients the property.
Expansion pon’tl – Expansion potential is the ability for a home to be expanded at some point, whether through a convertible attic or extra space on the property for an addition to the home.
Since most newspaper ads and some online ads have character limits, real estate agents frequently use acronyms to save on space. These acronyms are important to understand.
CMA – This stands for comparative market analysis or competitive market analysis. The CMA report shows the prices of other homes in the area that have comparable stats. They were recently sold so it gives both parties an estimate of how much the house in question should be worth.
4B/2B – This particular version of this acronym stands for 4 bedrooms and 2 baths, but this can be used with any numbers to represent how many bedrooms and bathrooms a home has. A half bath has a toilet and sink and a ¾ bath has a toilet, sink and shower.
FDR – This is a formal dining room which differs from an eat-in kitchen where the dining area is attached to the kitchen.
HDW, HWF, Hdwd – These are all acronyms for hardwood floors, a very popular feature.
In addition to acronyms, you’ll also find abbreviations in listings that will help you determine qualities and amenities of the home.
Upr – This stands for upper floor.
Vw, vu, vws, vus – All of these mean that the house has a great view or views of the area.
Pvt – This means private.
Pwdr rm – This stands for powder room, another term for a half bath.
Frplc, fplc, FP – These are all acronyms for fireplace.
Gar – This is short for garage.
Gard – Not to be confused with gar, this term means garden.
Grmt kitchen – This stands for gourmet kitchen
Hi Ceils – These are high ceilings, a great feature of a home for sale.
All of these terms will help you understand and interpret real estate listings better. When you know exactly what you are looking at, it will make it a lot easier to decide whether or not you want to go forward with an official walkthrough. By arming yourself with this information you’ll be able to read listings like a pro.
About the Author
Joe Cline writes articles for Round Rock real estate. Other articles written by the author related to Austin real estate and Rollingwood Texas real estate can be found on the net.
Is there a law in Texas preventing real estate agents from representing both buyers and sellers?
I was talking to a person who was a real estate agent. She told me that if I were ever in the market to give her a call. I told her that if I did I would want her to only be a buyers agent and not try to represent both the buyer and seller simultaneously. I am very leery of people who work for commission. I have worked with too many of them in other fields and I have learned that some will say anything in order to get that sale. She told me no problem and that Texas law prohibited an agent from representing both the buyer and the seller. I went home and tried to research this and could not find any reference to it on the web.
So the question is, does anyone know of a law in Texas that prohibits real estate agents from being both a seller’s agent and a buyer’s agent for the same transaction? Is this person lying to me or is this the truth? I would appreciate a webpage to back this up as well.
They can represent both, but both the seller and buyer need to sign a contract acknowledging they know it is a dual agency.
You can search for “texas dual agency real estate” if you want to see it on a web page, as if that makes it right, LOL.
Dual agents have to favor the seller, the disclosure laws prevent them from really helping the buyer in this situation.
100% commission to realtors in Texas “En Espanol”
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