Glossary of Terms

Ownership

Normal Ownership: You have absolute ownership of a parcel of land and dwelling.
Condo Ownership: You own the dwelling unit but share common areas with the other unit owners of the complex. Maintenance fees are paid.
Coop Ownership: A home which is owned by a corporation in which the residents own shares.

General Description

Heated Sq Footage: For North Carolina - Please use the Guidelines from the North Carolina Real Estate Commission to figure the square footage of the home.

Style of Home:

A Frame: A house with a strong roof pitch which looks like a giant A.
Bungalow: A house relatively long and low in proportion, rectangular in plan, with an irregular interior floor plan, featuring integral porches and low-pitched roofs
Cape Cod: A style of wood-frame house with a front slanting, steep roof and windows projecting outward from the second floor (with or without dormer windows).
Cottage: A small one-story house, usually with attic space above the first floor
Colonial: Two or two-and-a-half story homes and are usually rectangular in shape. Windows and doors are symmetrically placed and highlighted by cornices, columns and shutters.
Contemporary: Modern/ Contemporary home plans were born by using asymmetrical configurations, and horizontal orientation. Contemporary house designs are designed with flat roofs without overhangs, eves, or cornices. Cube-like shapes incorporated into the home design process give the modern home a streamlined appearance.
Dutch Colonial: Colonial with a gambrel (Dutch) roof design. Gambrel roofs can be steep or shallow, the angles can change as the builder likes.
Farm House - A dwelling on a farm.
Georgian - A four-room symmetrical house with a central hall, usually hip-roofed with interior or end chimneys; possibly the most enduring house type in Georgia.
Loft: An open space under a roof; an attic or garret.
Log House - Can reflect any home style and are typically built with wood logs as the primary building material.
Patio Home - A detached home built on a small lot, normally with a PUD project.
Queen Anne - A multi-room house, asymmetrically arranged without a hall and with a square main mass with projecting gables, usually hip-roofed.
Rambler/Ranch:A house with long, low proportions and extended rectangular plan, sometimes with L- or T-shaped extensions at one or both ends, rooms clustered with family living spaces at one end and bedrooms at the other end, often with integral carport or garage; low gabled or hipped roof.
Split Foyer: Any home with a foyer entrance with steps leading up and/or down.
Salt Box - A four-room house, one-to-two stories high in front, one story in the rear; gable roof has a short, steep front slope and a long, shallow rear slope. Imported from New England, found mostly in mill villages.
Spanish - Usually has a low-pitched roof, red tiles, minimal eaves, stucco siding and many arches.
Traditional - Hard to identify as they can be virtually any architectural style that has established a historic presence in North America. Cape Cod house plans, Victorian house plans, Craftsman house plans, Federal house plans, Georgian house plans and Colonial home plans are all considered to be traditional styles.
Transitional: Transitional house plans are influenced by two or more different house styles combined into a single exterior.
Tudor - Reminiscent of English Medieval times use unique decorating characteristics such as overlapping gables, parapets, decorative half-timbering and patterned brick.
Victorian - An asymmetrical footprint, steeply pitched roofs. Looks like a gingerbread house, with spindles and lacy fretwork, along with adorned, gable roof ends.
Williamsburg - A variation of a colonial home usually larger with a steep, gabled roof and dormers.

Interior Details

Appliances:

Central Vacuum - Vacuum inlets are installed around the house, allowing coverage of the entire home. A vacuum hose is plugged into the inlets in order to vacuum.
Chlorinator - A device used for the injection of chlorine into drinking water for the purpose of disinfection.
CO Detector - Used to detect the presence of CO in homes and some other gasses.
Conventional Oven - Uses a simple thermostat that both turns the oven on and off and selects the temperature at which it will operate.
Electric Range - A kitchen range in which the heat for cooking is provided by electric power.
Gas Range - A kitchen range in which the heat for cooking is provided by gas power.
Humidifier - A piece of equipment used to raise the humidity of the air in a room.
Self Cleaning Oven - Continuous cleaning oven that has the oven chamber coated with a catalytic surface that helps break down (oxidize) food splatters and spills over time.
Trash Compactor - A device used for compressing and compacting waste or trash.
Walter Filter - A filter to remove impurities from the water supply.
Water Softener - A substance (such as sodium chloride) that lessens the hardness of water by replacing calcium and magnesium ions with sodium ions and so gives the water more efficient sudsing power.

Attic:

Attic Finished: An improved area at the uppermost point of the home, sometimes used for living area.
Attic Unfinished: An unimproved area at the uppermost point of the home, normally used for storage.
Attic - Pull Down Stairs - Folding stairs are intended to provide access to an attic.
Attic - Scuttle - Framed in the field opening, most often with removable cover, providing access up into the attic.

Ceilings:

Beamed - A squared-off log or a large, oblong piece of timber, metal, or stone used decoratively and as support for the home.
Cathedral - A high, open, usually slanting or pointed ceiling.
Tray - Has edges that slant toward the middle from the walls.
Vaulted - A ceiling that angles upward on one or both sides to create volume in the room.

Floors:

Ceramic Tile: Any of a wide range of sturdy floor and wall tiles made from fired clay and set with grout. May be glazed or unglazed. Colors and finishes vary. May be used indoors or out.
Laminate: Laminate flooring has the look of hardwood and the maintenance of vinyl.
Parquet - Flooring made up of wood that is laid or inlaid to create patterns, most often geometric ones.
Slate Stone or Slate - A dark gray stratified stone that is highly weather-resistant.
Terrazo: A sturdy flooring finish of marble chips mixed with cement mortar. After drying, the surface is ground and polished.
Vinyl - Flooring material made with a vinyl compound.

Roof:

Architectural: Asphalt or fiberglass shingles that has a shadow design. It is thicker than the 3-tab shingles, and does not have notches cut through the shingle.
Shingle/Asbestos: A type of roof shingle with asbestos as part of its composition.
Shingle/Asphalt: A type of roof shingle with asphalt as part of its composition.
Shingle/Fiberglass: Consist of a fiberglass mat, top-and-bottom layers of asphalt, and mineral granules.
Shingle/Shake: A type of roof shingle with wood being the main component.
Slate: A type of roof shingle with slate being the main component.
Wood Shingle: A type of roof shingle made from thin pieces of wood.

Rooms:

Breakfast Room - A separate room or nook usually with space for a table, separate from the main kitchen.
Formal Dining Room or Living Room - Reserved for more formal and quiet entertaining.
Mud Room - A small room or entryway in a house where wet or muddy footwear and clothing can be removed.
Parlor Room - Reception room where visitors can be received.
Solarium - A glass-enclosed porch or room, often used to display flowers and other plants; also called a sunroom or garden room.

Miscellaneous:

Garden Tub - A hot tub in a garden setting, often inspired by the incorporation of baths with gardens in ancient Rome or the location of sauna facilities in garden rooms.
Hot Tub - A very large tub made of ceramic, acrylic, wood, or another substance and filled with hot water in which one or more bathers may soak.
Jacuzzi - A large bath like or pool like structure equipped electrically to direct jets of water and air bubbles at the occupant or occupants. May be internal or external as on a roof or terrace.
Sauna - A hot, dry, wood-lined room used for relaxing while sitting or lying down.
Whirlpool - A bathtub or pool having jets of warm water that can be directed toward a body part as for therapeutic purposes.

Exterior Details

Exterior Finish:

Aluminum - Metal siding that comes in long panels with baked-on enamel finish that can be smooth or textured. Composed of the same 3 basic parts as vinyl.
Block - A usually hollow building block made with concrete and coal cinders.
Brick Veneer - A veneer is a thin wall composed of bricks or stone that can be laid over your walls and provide excellent protection from moisture and temperature. Backed by metal tiers and equipped with special rivulets for moisture to escape through.
Cedar/Shake - Shakes are just like shingles except for the fact that they are hand-split or rough hewn rather than cleanly cut by a machine. They attempt to achieve a more rustic look.
Hardcoat Stucco - A durable finish for exterior walls, usually composed of cement, sand, and lime, and applied while wet. Applied on top of foam panels. Installed over wood or metal lath strips, does not have the foam underlayment.
Masonite - A trademark used for a type of fiberboard used for insulation, paneling, or partitions.
Synthetic Stucco - A durable finish for exterior walls, usually composed of cement, sand, and lime, and applied while wet. Applied on top of foam panels.
Vinyl Shakes - Shakes are just like shingles except for the fact that they are hand-split or rough hewn rather than cleanly cut by a machine. Made out of Vinyl.
V inyl Shingles - Smoothly cut, they are as uniform as possible. They form rows that overlap the next.

Parking

Types of Driveways:

Asphalt - A black, tar-like driveway
Cement - A white, hard concrete surface.
Parking Pad - A paved area to park cars.
Paved - Can be any type of hard surface. Not dirt, stones or pine straw.
Stone - gravel or other hard loose rock surface.

Types of Parking:

Assigned - Designated parking spaces by an HOA or Condo association.
Carport - A structure used to offer limited protection to primarily cars from the elements. The structure can either be free standing or attached to a wall.
Garage - An fully-enclosed outbuilding (or part of a building) for housing automobiles.
Off Street - Able to park on a driveway.
On Site - Parking is available on the premises of the home. Usually applies to condominium units.
Parking Deck - A public or private structures composed of one or more levels of floors used exclusively for the parking of motor vehicles.
Security - Monitored parking
Underground - A public or private structures, which is underground, used exclusively for the parking of motor vehicles.

Utilities

Types of Cooling Sources:

Central Forced Air - A system which uses ducts to distribute cooled and/or dehumidified air to more than one room or uses pipes to distribute chilled water to heat exchanger in more than one room, and which is not plugged into an electrical convenience outlet.
Electric - Usually a heat pump.
Wall Unit - An air-conditioning unit, mounted through an exterior wall, that cools using water evaporation.
Window Unit - An air-conditioning unit, mounted in a window, that cools using water evaporation.

Types of Heat Sources:

Active Solar - Mechanical means are used to collect, store, and distribute solar energy.
Baseboard - A heating system with the heating unit located along the perimeter of the wall where the baseboard would be. It can be either an electric or hot water system.
Electric - Usually a heat pump.
Fireplace - An open recess for holding a fire at the base of a chimney; a hearth.
Forced Air - A type of heating system that uses a blower motor to move air through the furnace and into the ductwork.
Floor Furnace - A furnace placed directly below a floor, which has no ducts and heats only through a grill the floor.
Geothermal - Using heat from the earth usually through a heat pump system.
Hot Water - A pump circulates water from a boiler through a system of pipes to radiators or convectors in rooms.
Natural Gas - Gas used to heat the home.
Oil - Oil used to heat the home.
Passive Solar - Relies on architectural design; the building's siting, orientation, layout, materials, and construction are utilized to maximize the heating effect of sunlight falling on it.
Propane Gas - Bottled gas that is used to heat thehome.
Radiant - Heat is transmitted by radiation from a heated surface. Usually employ either electric-resistance wiring or hot-water heating pipes.
Steam - Steam is generated in a boiler and led to radiators through pipes.
Wall Furnace - A small furnace that is placed between the studs in a wall.
Wood Stove - An appliance of steel or beautiful cast iron that burns cordwood and can be equipped with a blower.

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All definitions above are general definitions and are therefore subject to different MLS interpretations.