Real Estate Jargon - what does it all mean?!!

Real Estate jargon that is commonly used on listing adverts can confuse and annoy buyers who are searching for the most basic piece of information on a property such as - PRICE. The price in my opinion should be on all listings, especially as people who often search for properties do not live in the area and won't know that the property they are searching for (and possibly fell in love with), is out of their price range. We could all be saved a lot of time, frustration and hassle if prices were on listings!

I must admit that when I am searching for property, I do tend to skip the ones that don't have a price, and I know a lot of other people who do the same.

I would like to shed a bit of light on the following common phrases and acronyms used by Real Estate Agents, instead of putting the price on their listings:

POA - Price on Application

This means you just need to make contact with the Agent to obtain the price or price range. It is sometimes said that POA is used when the vendor is testing the market so therefore may not be too motivated to actually sell.

Buyer Enquiry Over

Obviously this is what the Vendor would like the buyer enquiry to be over and at least with this one, Agents usually give you a figure to work off. However, being me, if I was going to offer, I would still probably offer just under the 'Buyer Enquiry Over' figure, you never know what vendors are willing to accept.

Tender

Tenders are a very good way, from a Vendors perspective, of drawing out the very best offers from potential buyers with minimal mucking around. As the buyer, you will need to make contact with the Agent to find out what the Vendors expected sale price range is. The Agent won't give you an exact figure but should at least give you a range so you have something to work off. If after asking the Agent you are still a bit unsure of the price - go to Zoodle - and purchase a sales report to find out what other like properties in the area are selling for. At the very least, download the free report on the property from Zoodle and check out the Capital/Rateable Valuation.

As a buyer, you need to go in with the leanest offer you can muster. What I mean by that is you need to have your offer look the most attractive to the vendor, so while a cashed up offer would be best, it is sometimes not possible, so what I mean by lean, is having minimal conditions on your offer and going in with your highest price. So, as a buyer, you have ZERO control of this situation and that is why I really really don't like it.

Auction

Auctions are a great way of Vendors relying on emotional buyers competing on Auction day which of course pushes the price sometimes well in excess of the valuation figures. Same goes as above in Tenders, for Auctions, you will need to get in touch with the Agent to discuss prices or check out Zoodle.

As a buyer, you need to have all your reports organised before the Auction day, such as valuation, building reports, LIM etc. Your 10% deposit needs to be on hand too. If you win at the Auction you are expected to pay your 10% deposit that day. If, you decide later that you don't want the property, you may find that you don't get your 10% back, so be very certain when you are bidding at Auction!

Negotiation

Another frustrating one as you will need to get in contact with the Agent to obtain the price expectancy of the vendor. At least with Negotiation you have a bit more control than Tenders and Auctions as it is a Offer and Negotiation process.

All this stuff and more is in my book, Young & Singles Guide to Property Investment - feel free to order yourself a copy.