Info and Tips for Buyers and Sellers of Real Estate
Info and Tips for Buyers and Sellers of Real Estate
Info and Tips for Buyers and Sellers of Real Estate
Here are some home selling tips to help you get the most money, and the quickest sale for your home this year. Your property is NOT the only one on the market, and sellers should try and stand out from the competition, to entice buyers to make an offer.
Are you confused about real estate abbreviations or listing terminology? Do you feel like real estate agents are trying to confuse you with real estate terms and real estate acronyms?
If you’re working with real estate brokers in the search of a new home, most likely you are receiving MLS® real estate listings via the new Keystone Matrix® system. My buyers are always asking me to explain what some of the real estate abbreviations or real estate terminology stands for, so I thought I might create this post to help everyone out.
Generally from the top of the listing sheet on down, here is the list of abbreviations
DOM: Days On Market reflects how many days since the home has been listed by the agent
TYPE:Â This refers to one of the 4 different types of homes the listing service is displaying. They are:
RD = Residential Detached. This is the most common type of house, the one most people think of when looking at homes.
SA = Single Attached (Side by Side). These are two residences which share one common wall. They are cheaper to build, and therefor less expensive to purchase as well
TH = Townhouse. Usually found in rows of 4, 6 or even more. One long building which has a number of separate homes. The end units share one wall, while all interior units actually share 2 common walls.
MH = Mobile Home. Generally means a home which is located in a mobile home park. Careful here, as a ‘mobile home’ might actually be firmly attached to a foundation, and thus become real property.
TAX AMOUNT: This is supposed to be the TOTAL GROSS property taxes, including all Education Taxes, Local Improvements etc. As an owner-occupant, you would qualify for a $700 Provincial Rebate
RMA:Â Means Rooms Above Ground level. This indicates the total number of rooms such as any formal dining room, kitchen and living room, but NOT bathrooms or powder room, etc.
BDA: Bedrooms Above Ground. Includes the master bedroom and all secondary bedrooms located above ground level
TBD: Total Bedrooms (including basement bedrooms). This is how you can tell how many bedrooms are in the basement. Simply subtract the BDA from the TBD and see that the basement has 2 bedrooms, for example. Careful here: Just because a property sellers are listing it as a bedroom, does not necessarily mean it fits the legal description of a bedroom.
FB: Number of full Bathrooms (a “FULL” bathroom has at least 3 pieces, so for example: toilet, sink and shower, or toilet, sink and tub)
HB: Number of half Bathrooms (a half bath might have only 1 piece, such as a toilet, or just a sink, but most often has 2 pieces)
EN: Ensuite, which refers to a bathroom that is accessible from a bedroom directly
Exterior: Refers to the exterior surface of the home’s walls. Most common in Winnipeg is stucco, but could also include brick, siding (including vinyl and aluminum siding) and wood.
Foundation: Most common is concrete, but older homes often feature STONE or sometimes Cinderblock or even brick. In the 1980s there was a fad for ‘Preserved Wood’ foundations.
Heating: Most common is ‘forced air’ which indicates central heat (preferred). Other options might be Hot Water (radiators) or electric (baseboard heaters).
Heating Fuel: Indicates whether it is gas or electricity. Some new home builders are making the switch to electric furnaces. Careful as even in our province, producing heat with electricity is substantially more expensive than producing it with natural gas.
Basement: Full. This means that the area size of the foundation is the same as the main floor. It does not mean the basement is finished, as this is indicated in another section.
Other options for the basement category are: crawl, slab, half and 3/4. Real estate professionals should be able to point out the differences, benefits and shortcomings, of each type of basement construction.
Square Feet: I’ve had clients try to add up all the room measurements of a listing, and come to the conclusion that the 1,200 ft home is really just 850 square feet. While they are correct, this is not how buildings are measured and advertised.
The proclaimed total square footage of a house is the OUTSIDE measurements which includes all 4-season living space, excluding the garage. It includes ONLY the areas above ground, so for example the main floor, second floor and third floor if there is one. It does NOT include the basement, UNLESS there is a crawl space under that part of the basement.
For further explanation, see this article on how homes are measured. and remember that different provinces and states might have different rules.
Garage – AT or DT. This refers to the car garage which can be either attached or detached. Confusion here sometimes as an ‘attached garage’ might be physically attached, but not have a direct door leading into the house.
S/S: Showings Start date. NO showings can occur BEFORE that date
OTP: Offer To Purchase date. That the is FIRST date when offers can be considered.
In addition to the above listing terms, you will probably come across many of the next acronyms used by the listing agent in their advertisements
A/C or C/Air:Â Central Air Conditioning
APPL:Â Appliances (personal property)
ATT or DT: Attached or Detached also refers to single-family home vs. attached home.
CLG: Ceiling
C/Vac: Central Vacuum
CC: Clothes Closet or possibly “WICC” as in Walk-In Clothes Closet
AT/2 or DT/2:Â Attached double or detached double (as in garage)
EE and HE:Â Energy Efficient and High Efficient
F/Fin:Â Fully Finished
HWFS and HWDS:Â Hardwood floors and simply Hardwoods
S/S or SS indicating stainless steel (as in appliances)
WDW:Â Windows
WDWK: Woodwork (as referring to baseboards and window casings)
Im hoping that this list of most common terms is of great value to you.
If you’re thinking of buying a house or a condo in Winnipeg, call me for a free buyer consultation. There is a lot of information which is difficult to convey in a blog post but I’d be happy to discuss in person.
Below is the audio version of my popular post : Closing Costs When Buying A House Or Condo In Winnipeg.
If you’re thinking of buying a home, please be sure to check out “Buying a house or condo in Winnipeg; 6 important steps”
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Located along scenic Waterfront Dr. in Winnipeg, we find the this very special condo project. The Sky Waterfront Condos. Â This modern, all concrete building offers many amenities along with its central location. Â Close to the baseball park, the new Human Rights Museum and theatres, in the East Exchange District.
Sky Waterfront Condos are made up of 112 condos in 1 building. Â There are 2 sections to this building, one being 5 storeys tall, the other 7 storeys. Â Totally connected, each section also has its own elevator. Â Units range in size from 809 sq feet for a 1 BR plus den, to larger units of 1600 sq feet. Â There is even a 2,000 sq ft unit as well. Â Note, the 1 BR plus den could actually be called a 2-BR unit: even though the ‘den’ does not have a window, it is equipped with a sprinkler system.
Just the usual condo-restrictions, such as “No Laundry to be hung from the balcony” etc. Â Pets are allowed, so long as they don’t pose a nuisance to other owners. Â Owners are allowed to rent out their suites, however must put up a $1,000 leasing levy to assure that their tenants abide by all rules.
Gross Property Taxes range between approx. $2900.00 per unit to $6000, depending on size. Â Of course, as an owner who actually lives in their unit, you would qualify for the Provincial Home Owners Assistance Rebate, similar to when you own a house.
Condo fees range between $250 and $500 per month, which includes snow removal, property maintenance, water and management fees. Â Owners pay for their own hydro, telephone, and cablevision.
All units have their own insuite laundry, and most have an underground parking spot, although a few include an outdoor spot.
This building has some very nice amenities, including a spacious fitness room, a residents lounge with TV, kitchen and pool table, and a nice rooftop patio with gorgeous views of the river and downtown. Suites include central air and furnace.
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Very central location, right on Waterfront Dr, this condo is close to the theatre district, the ballpark, the Canadian Museum of Human Rights and much more. Â You’ll find restaurants close by, in the Exchange District of Winnipeg.
During the 2 yr period of 2016-17, condos at Chimney Ridge have sold for between $237,000 (for an 800 ft 1-BR) and $412,000 (for the 1555 multi-level unit) (MLS® stats)
If you’re in the market to buy a condo, whether at Sky I Waterfront Condos or anywhere else, please contact me anytime…. Â “Bo Knows Condos“
If you’re thinking of selling your condo, anywhere in the city, please contact me anytime.
Direct Cell  204-333-2202  or email me at [email protected]
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I think you would agree with me that selling your home with pets presents a special challenge. Personally, I am a pet lover, but not everyone shares our love and affection for our four-legged friends. Here are some tips to help you overcome this special obstacle.
When you are selling your home you need to make sure that everything is perfect when people come to visit. Open houses are especially important because you will have many people coming into your house but you need to always be ready to show your home. If you have pets there are even more things to keep in mind besides cleanliness and organization.
Follow these tips and you’ll improve your chances of NOT becoming an expired listing.
About the PublisherBo Kauffmann is a residential real estate agent with over 18 yrs experience in helping buyers and sellers achieve their goals. Inducted into the REMAX Hall of Fame in 2010 and receiving the REMAX Lifetime Achievement Award in 2019, Bo has sold over 500 houses and condos in the Greater Winnipeg market. He is an accredited buyer representative (A.B.R.) and a Luxury Home Marketing Specialist.
Bo provides exceptional service to First-Time Home-Buyers, Seniors looking to downsize and Home Sellers of all ages.
He can be reached easily  By E-Mail or call/text him  Call/Text Here
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