Glossary
Investor words, in plain English.
79 terms you meet in county records, deals and lender talk, each linked to the calculator or seller list that uses it.
A
- Absentee owner
- An owner whose mailing address is not the property itself: often a landlord or an heir. Absentee owners sell more often than owners who live in the house.
- Absentee owner list →
- After-repair value (ARV) · ARV
- What a house should sell for once it is fixed up, estimated from recent sales of similar, updated homes nearby.
- ARV calculator →
- Amortization
- Paying a loan down over time with equal payments; early payments are mostly interest, later ones mostly principal.
- Mortgage calculator →
- Assessed value
- The value the county uses to calculate property tax. In many states it is a fixed share of market value (the assessment ratio).
- Property tax calculator →
- Assignment fee
- The money a wholesaler earns for selling a purchase contract to a buyer: the buyer's price minus the price the seller agreed to. It is shown on the closing statement.
- Assignment fee calculator →
- Assignment of contract
- A wholesaler signs a purchase contract with the seller, then sells (assigns) that contract to a cash buyer for a fee.
- Assignment fee calculator →
B
- Balloon payment
- A large lump sum due at the end of a loan, common in seller financing: smaller monthly payments now, the rest paid in one go later.
- Seller financing calculator →
- BRRRR
- Buy, Rehab, Rent, Refinance, Repeat: buy below value, fix it, rent it, refinance to pull most of your cash back out, and do it again.
- BRRRR calculator →
C
- Cap rate
- Net operating income divided by price: the yearly return a property would make if you paid cash. Used to compare rentals.
- Cap rate calculator →
- Cash buyer
- An investor who buys without a mortgage, so they can close fast. Wholesalers sell contracts to cash buyers; deed records show who really buys.
- Cash buyers in the app →
- Cash-on-cash return
- Yearly cash flow divided by the cash you put in (down payment, closing and repairs).
- Rental cash flow calculator →
- Certified delinquent
- A property whose unpaid tax the county has formally certified, usually after a year or more. The step before a tax lien sale or tax foreclosure in many states.
- Certified delinquent list →
- Closing costs
- Fees paid at closing on top of the price: lender fees, title and escrow, recording, transfer tax and prepaid items.
- Closing cost calculator →
- Code violation
- A city citation for problems such as overgrown yards, unsafe structures or missing permits. Repeated violations often signal a tired owner.
- Code violation list →
- Comps (comparables)
- Recent sales of similar homes nearby, used to estimate value. Good comps are close, recent and similar in size, age and condition.
- ARV calculator →
D
- Deed
- The recorded document that transfers ownership. The deed type (warranty, quitclaim, survivorship, sheriff's, executor's) tells you a lot about the sale.
- Deed in lieu of foreclosure
- The owner hands the house to the lender to avoid foreclosure. It shows up in deed records as a transfer to the bank.
- Disposition · dispo
- The selling side of wholesaling: finding a buyer for the contract you signed with the seller. Wholesalers call it dispo and keep a buyers list for it.
- Off-market guide for wholesalers →
- DNC scrub · TCPA / DNC scrub
- Checking your phone list against the National Do Not Call Registry (and your own opt-out list) before you call or text. The TCPA sets the rules for calls and texts. This is general information, not legal advice.
- Skip tracing and calling rules →
- Double close
- A wholesaler buys the house and resells it the same day in two closings, keeping the fee private but paying two sets of costs.
- Assignment vs double close →
- Driving for dollars · DFD
- Driving a neighbourhood to spot run-down or vacant houses, then looking up each owner in county records. It costs time and gas instead of a list fee.
- Drive-by tools in the app →
- DSCR loan
- A rental loan approved on the property's rent instead of your income. DSCR = rent ÷ the monthly payment with tax, insurance and HOA.
- DSCR calculator →
- Due-on-sale clause
- A mortgage term letting the lender demand full payment if the property is sold. The main risk in subject-to deals.
- Subject-to calculator →
E
- Earnest money
- A deposit the buyer puts down when signing a contract to show good faith; it is applied to the price at closing.
- Equity
- Market value minus everything owed on the property. High-equity owners can sell at a discount and still walk away with cash.
- High equity list →
- Estate / probate
- When an owner dies, the estate settles debts and passes property to heirs, often through probate court. Heirs frequently sell inherited homes.
- Estate / heirs owner list →
- Eviction
- A court case a landlord files to remove a tenant. Repeated evictions often mean a tired landlord who may sell.
- Landlord in trouble list →
- Exempt conveyance
- A deed transfer exempt from transfer tax, often between family members or into a trust. A common sign of inheritance or estate planning.
- Exempt conveyance list →
F
- Fiduciary deed
- A deed signed by someone acting for another person, such as an executor or administrator selling or transferring a dead owner's house. In county records it often marks an estate sale or an inheritance.
- Inheritance deed list →
- Fix and flip
- Buying a distressed house, renovating it and reselling it for a profit, usually within 3 to 9 months.
- Fix and flip calculator →
- Foreclosure
- The legal process a lender (or the county, for unpaid tax) uses to take and sell a property after missed payments.
- Foreclosure list →
H
- Hard money loan
- A short-term, asset-based loan for flips: fast to close, often 10–13% interest plus points, interest-only.
- Holding cost calculator →
- Holding costs
- What a property costs while you own it: interest, tax, insurance, utilities and upkeep. Delays add holding cost every month.
- Holding cost calculator →
- Homestead exemption
- A property tax reduction for an owner's main home. Losing it after a sale or death can raise the tax bill.
I
- Inheritance deed
- A deed recording a transfer after a death: affidavit of death, transfer on death, survivorship or certificate of transfer.
- Inheritance deed list →
J
- Judicial foreclosure
- A foreclosure that goes through a court case: the lender sues, a judge orders the sale, and a sheriff or court officer sells the property. Slower than a non-judicial foreclosure, so owners have more time.
- Pre-foreclosure list →
L
- Lien
- A legal claim against a property for an unpaid debt (tax, mortgage, contractor, judgment). Liens must be paid off before a clean sale.
- Lis pendens
- A recorded notice that a lawsuit involving the property has been filed, often the first public sign of a foreclosure.
- List stacking
- Combining several seller lists (for example tax delinquent + absentee owner + high equity) to find owners with more than one reason to sell.
- List stacking explained →
M
- Maximum allowable offer (MAO) · MAO
- The most a wholesaler can pay and still leave their buyer a profit: ARV × the buyer's % − repairs − the wholesale fee.
- MAO calculator →
- Mill rate (millage)
- Property tax rate expressed per $1,000 of assessed value: 20 mills = 2%.
- Property tax calculator →
- Motivated seller
- An owner with a reason to sell quickly or at a discount: tax debt, inheritance, foreclosure, divorce, a tired landlord or a vacant house.
- All seller signals →
N
- NCOA · National Change of Address
- A US Postal Service database of change-of-address filings. Mailers run their list through NCOA so letters go to where the person lives now, which saves postage on mail that would not arrive.
- Skip tracing and mail hygiene →
- Net operating income (NOI) · NOI
- Rental income minus vacancy and operating expenses, before the mortgage.
- Cap rate calculator →
- Net sheet
- A breakdown of what a seller actually keeps after the payoff, commissions and closing costs.
- Seller net sheet →
- Non-judicial foreclosure
- A foreclosure without a court case, allowed when the loan has a power-of-sale clause (usually a deed of trust): a trustee sends notices and sells the property at auction.
- Pre-foreclosure list →
- Novation
- A contract change in which one party is replaced by another, with everyone's written agreement. Some wholesalers use a novation agreement so they stay in the deal while a new buyer takes over; the rules differ by state, so ask an attorney.
- Wholesaling rules: where to check →
O
- Out-of-state owner
- An owner whose mailing address is in another state. Distance makes managing a rental hard, so they sell more often.
- Out-of-state owner list →
P
- Parcel number (APN) · APN
- The county's ID for a piece of land; every tax bill, deed and map record uses it.
- PITI
- Principal, interest, taxes and insurance: the full monthly mortgage payment.
- Mortgage calculator →
- PMI
- Private mortgage insurance, charged on conventional loans with less than 20% down until the loan falls below 80% of value.
- Mortgage calculator →
- Pre-foreclosure
- The period after a default or foreclosure filing and before the sale, when the owner can still sell and keep some equity.
- Probate
- The court process that settles a deceased person's estate. Probate filings are a strong signal that an inherited house may be sold.
- Proof of funds · POF
- A bank or lender letter, or a recent account statement, showing you can pay for a purchase. Sellers, wholesalers and title companies ask for it before they take a buyer seriously.
- Off-market guide for flippers →
Q
- Quitclaim deed
- A deed that transfers whatever interest the owner has, with no guarantees. Common between family members and in divorces.
R
- Redemption period
- Time after a tax or foreclosure sale during which the owner can still pay and keep the property. Length varies by state.
- Rehab
- The renovation work on a property; the rehab budget is a key input in every flip and wholesale deal.
- Rehab cost estimator →
- REIA · real estate investors association
- A local real estate investors association: a club that meets to share deals, contractors, lenders and buyers. A common free place for new wholesalers to find cash buyers.
- What is off-market real estate? →
S
- Seller disclosure statement
- A form in which the seller lists known problems with the property. Most states require one for homes of one to four units; some allow a disclaimer instead.
- Seller financing
- The seller acts as the bank: the buyer pays the seller monthly instead of getting a mortgage.
- Seller financing calculator →
- Sheriff sale
- A public auction of a foreclosed property run by the county sheriff.
- Sheriff sale list →
- Short-term rental (STR) · STR
- A furnished home rented by the night (Airbnb, Vrbo). Judged by nightly rate × occupancy minus higher running costs.
- Airbnb calculator →
- Skip tracing
- Finding a property owner's phone number or e-mail from their name and address, using data vendors. Follow the TCPA and Do-Not-Call rules.
- Skip tracing guide →
- Subject-to
- Buying a house subject to the seller's existing mortgage: the loan stays in the seller's name and the buyer makes the payments.
- Subject-to calculator →
- Survivorship deed
- A deed where co-owners pass the property to each other automatically on death; the affidavit recorded after a death is an inheritance signal.
T
- Tax deed
- A deed issued when the county sells a property for unpaid tax (tax-deed states such as Florida and Texas).
- Tax-delinquent guide →
- Tax delinquent
- A property with property tax past due. One of the strongest and most-used motivated-seller signals.
- Tax delinquent list →
- Tax forfeiture
- In some states (such as Minnesota) a property with several years of unpaid tax forfeits to the state, and the county then sells it.
- Delinquent 3+ years list →
- Tax lien certificate
- In tax-lien states the county sells the unpaid tax as a certificate; the buyer earns interest and can foreclose if it is not paid.
- Tax lien list →
- Tax sale
- The county's way of collecting unpaid property tax: depending on the state it sells a tax lien certificate, the property itself (tax deed) or forecloses through the courts.
- Tax delinquent list →
- Tired landlord
- A long-time landlord showing signs of fatigue: an old rental, evictions, code cases or out-of-state ownership.
- Tired landlord list →
- Title
- Legal ownership of a property. A title search checks for liens and claims before closing; title insurance protects against missed problems.
- Transfer tax
- A state or county tax on recording a sale, usually a percentage of the price. Who pays depends on the state and the contract.
- Trustee's sale
- The auction at the end of a non-judicial foreclosure, run by the trustee named in the deed of trust.
- Sheriff and foreclosure sales →
V
- Vacant property
- A house nobody lives in: unpaid utilities, mail piling up, city vacant-building cases. Vacant-house owners often sell at a discount.
- Likely vacant list →
W
- Wholesaling
- Contracting a property from a motivated seller and selling the contract to a cash buyer for a fee, without buying it yourself.
- MAO calculator →
Y
- Yellow letters
- Simple, handwritten-style letters on yellow paper that investors mail to owners. The plain look is meant to feel personal instead of like advertising.
- Seller letter templates →
#
- 1% rule
- A quick rental screen: monthly rent should be at least 1% of the price plus repairs.
- 1%/50%/70% rule check →
- 70% rule
- A flipper should pay at most 70% of the after-repair value minus repairs.
- 1%/50%/70% rule check →
General information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Rules differ by state; check with a local attorney or title company.
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