Real Estate Glossary
Plain English (and plain Spanish) for every term you'll hear
The vocabulary of buying or selling a home is full of acronyms designed to make you feel out of your depth. You're not. Here's what each one actually means — in both languages.
Financing
Loans, payments, and insurance
Pre-approval / Pre-aprobación
A lender's written estimate of how much you can borrow, based on a credit pull and verified income. Required to write a competitive offer in Denver metro.
PMI / Seguro hipotecario privado
Private Mortgage Insurance. Required on conventional loans with less than 20% down. Drops off automatically at 78% loan-to-value.
MIP / Prima de seguro hipotecario (FHA)
FHA's version of mortgage insurance. Permanent for the life of most FHA loans, even after you hit 20% equity.
DTI / Ratio deuda-ingreso
Debt-to-Income ratio. Your monthly debt payments divided by your gross monthly income. Most lenders want this under 43–45%.
DPA / Asistencia para el pago inicial
Down Payment Assistance — grants or second mortgages that help cover your down payment. Adams County and CHFA both offer programs.
Escrow / Custodia
A neutral third party that holds funds and documents during the transaction. Also: the account your lender uses to collect property tax + insurance.
The contract
What's in the offer and what it means
Earnest Money / Depósito de buena fe
Cash you put up when your offer is accepted, typically 1% of the price. It shows the seller you're serious. It applies toward closing — you don't lose it unless you breach the contract.
Contingency / Contingencia
A condition that has to be met for the contract to move forward — typically inspection, appraisal, financing, and title. Removing too many contingencies makes your offer riskier.
Appraisal Gap / Brecha de tasación
When the home appraises for less than the contract price. You either renegotiate, bring extra cash to cover the gap, or walk (depending on your contract terms).
Concessions / Concesiones del vendedor
Money the seller credits to the buyer at closing — usually for closing costs or rate buy-down. Common in slower markets.
Title / Título
Legal ownership of the property. Title insurance protects you against past claims, liens, or boundary disputes.
Closing / Cierre
The final meeting where you sign documents, transfer funds, and get the keys. Typically 30 days after the contract is accepted.
Senior + distressed
Specialty terms for SRES and SFR situations
SRES / Especialista en bienes raíces para adultos mayores
Seniors Real Estate Specialist — a National Association of Realtors designation for agents trained to work with clients 50+ on rightsizing, estates, and senior community transitions.
SFR / Recurso para ventas cortas y ejecuciones hipotecarias
Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource — NAR designation for agents trained to handle distressed-property transactions and lender negotiations.
Short Sale / Venta corta
Selling a home for less than what's owed on the mortgage, with lender approval. Used when the homeowner can't keep the home and doesn't want a foreclosure on their record.
Deed in Lieu / Escritura en lugar de ejecución
Voluntarily transferring the deed back to the lender to avoid foreclosure. Less damaging to credit than a full foreclosure.
Reverse Mortgage / Hipoteca inversa
A loan against home equity available to homeowners 62+. Loan is repaid when the home is sold or the owner moves out. Has trade-offs — I always recommend talking to a HUD-certified counselor first.
Probate Sale / Venta por sucesión
Sale of a home owned by a deceased person, going through court-supervised probate. Timelines and disclosures differ from a standard sale.
Market terms
What the headlines actually mean
Days on Market (DOM) / Días en el mercado
How long a listing has been active. Low DOM means a hot market; high DOM means buyers have leverage.
Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)
What I prepare to estimate what your home is actually worth, using recent comparable sales — not a Zestimate.
Buyer's vs. Seller's Market
Buyer's market: lots of inventory, prices soft. Seller's market: low inventory, multiple offers. Most Denver-metro sub-markets are currently balanced or slightly seller-leaning.
List-to-Sale Price Ratio
What homes actually sell for compared to what they were listed at. A ratio over 100% means homes are routinely going over asking.
Bilingual representation
Full Spanish-language service, not Google-translated
Soy puertorriqueña y hablo español como mi primer idioma en casa. If your family is more comfortable handling a real estate transaction in Spanish — full contracts, lender conversations, inspections, everything — that's what we do. No translator middleman, no half-translated documents.
Tell me upfront which language each family member prefers and I'll structure communication around it.
Send it to me, I'll add it
If something showed up in your contract or your lender's email and you don't know what it means, ask. I'd rather build this glossary out from real client questions than guess at what you need.