Glossary of Terms

NWMLS: This refers to the Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Membership includes licensed real estate agents & appraisers in mostly Western Washington but also includes some Eastern Washington counties. Access to the NWMLS data base is reserved for licensed real estate agents & associates, only.

Purchase & Sale Agreement: This is the contract that we will utilize to sell or purchase your house or investment property. These forms are NWMLS Forms and these contracts can be anywhere from 7 - 25 pages in length, depending on the terms and conditions, as well as the type of property. Typical contingency addendums can include septic, well, financing, contingent upon the sale of another home, smoke detector, inspection, financing, optional clauses, payment options, presale addendums, etc.

Contingent Offer: This type of an offer is contingent upon the sale of the Buyer’s home. This includes a time frame for listing your home with a real estate agent, and a time frame for the maximum time that the Seller is willing to basically give the Buyer to sell their home. When a Seller sells their home to a Buyer who has to also sell their home, the Seller’s listing in the NWMLS will show as a home sold Contingent. This may slow the marketing of their home down, and often the Listing Agent will want to provide their Seller with a Market Analysis to ensure that the Contingent house is priced correctly. These Contingencies almost always include a clause that will enable the Sellers with an opportunity to Bump the Contingent Buyer if the Sellers receive a more attractive offer.

Escalation Clause: A clause typically included in a written offer by the Buyer that offers to pay a certain dollar amount more than the next highest offer up to a maximum price. This is seen during a multiple offer situation.

Mutual Acceptance: The date that both Sellers and Buyers have officially initialed & signed all terms and conditions of a Purchase & Sale Agreement. Most time frames included in a Purchase & Sale Agreement are counted from this date.

Market Analysis: This refers to information given to Home Owners that provide them with current information about similar homes on the market and those that have sold to provide the prospective Sellers with a recommended market price range for their house. My Market Analysis includes a variety of data including a tailor made Marketing Plan.

Pre-Approval: This is the process that all Buyers need to go through to become ready to purchase a house. This will entail speaking with a loan representative at a reputable mortgage lender, mortgage broker, or bank to become credit approved for a specific loan amount. This will assist Buyers to know their price range, learn about various loan programs available, and will include the loan representative pulling their credit report to determine their credit history, credit scores, and asking about current monthly payments and income.

Inspection: A structural inspection is almost always conducted by a certified home inspector and includes valuable information about the structural integrity and condition of the structure & its various components. Fees for this range from $300 - $500 per unit. Usually, the home inspector provides Buyers with valuable information about future projected maintenance or ideas on repairs if a Seller may not repair a condition. Professional Home Inspectors provide their clients, the Buyers, with written reports and it is these reports and this inspection that is the source for the Buyer negotiating with the Seller for repairs.

Closing: The day that the property title has been released to be recorded and all required funds are received by the escrow company and available to the Seller. This is usually 1 -2 business days after the Buyers and Sellers have signed their closing documents.