Glossary — national and regional terms
How to use this glossary
Read it once, top to bottom. Keep it open beside the other lessons. Then quiz yourself: cover the right column, define each term out loud. By the end of week one you should define the core 30 from memory — they're the terms you'll hear daily in Slack, email, and every deal file.
Agents and roles
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Realtor® | Agent who's an NAR member (dues + ethics code); not all agents are Realtors |
| Agent / Broker | Licensed to sell / higher license that can run a brokerage and supervise agents |
| Managing broker | Legally responsible for all agents in the brokerage |
| Listing agent | Represents the seller |
| Buyer's agent ("selling agent") | Represents the buyer — "selling agent" is the confusing legacy name |
| Dual agent | One agent, both sides; allowed in MN with written consent |
| Designated agents | Two agents, same brokerage, one per side; disclosure required |
| Facilitator | MN non-agency relationship; facilitates without representing. Rare |
| Sub-agent | Pre-1990s relic; functionally extinct |
| TC / LC / ISA | Transaction Coordinator (contract-to-close) / Listing Coordinator (launches) / Inside Sales Agent (calls + appointments) |
| OSA / Showing agent | Licensed showing help — not a VA seat |
| Ops Manager / DO | Runs the team's back office and systems |
| Lead agent / rainmaker | The principal agent who originates business |
Listings, the MLS, and statuses
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| MLS | Shared listing database; Northstar MLS dominates Minnesota |
| Listing Agreement | Seller–brokerage contract; "exclusive right to sell" is standard |
| Open / pocket listing | Multi-brokerage listing (rare) / off-MLS sale, restricted by Clear Cooperation |
| Coming Soon | On MLS, not yet showable |
| Active / Active Contingent | On market and showing / under contract, contingencies pending, often still showing for backups |
| Pending / Sold | Under contract, contingencies cleared / closed |
| Withdrawn / Expired | Pulled without selling / agreement ran out unsold |
| DOM / CDOM | Days on market / cumulative across all listing periods |
| Comp / CMA | Recent similar sale used for value / the agent's market-value analysis built from comps |
| Open house / broker open | Public tour event / agents-only version |
The buyer side and financing
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pre-qualification | Informal lender estimate — weakest signal |
| Pre-approval | Formal letter after documents + credit — strong |
| Fully underwritten / TBD approval | Buyer fully underwritten, property "TBD" — strongest |
| LTV | Loan ÷ value; 20% down = 80% LTV |
| Conventional / FHA / VA / USDA | Standard loan / 3.5% down + mortgage insurance / veterans, zero down / rural, zero down |
| Jumbo | Above the conforming limit (~$766,550 most areas) |
| Cash buyer | No financing, usually no appraisal contingency, faster close |
| BRA / BBA | Buyer–brokerage contract; mandatory before showings since Aug 2024 |
| Earnest money | Good-faith deposit at execution, held in escrow; 1–2% in MN |
| Down payment / closing costs | Buyer's cash at closing / fees — buyer side 2–5%, seller side 6–8% |
| Seller concession | Seller credit at closing: costs, repairs, rate buy-down, or buyer-agent fee |
| Rate buy-down | Credits used to lower the buyer's interest rate, temporary or permanent |
| PMI / MIP | Mortgage insurance under 20% down (conventional / FHA version) |
The contract
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Purchase Agreement | The offer-and-acceptance contract |
| Counteroffer / amendment / addendum | Modified offer / change to an executed contract / attached extra terms |
| Contingency | Condition that must be met to proceed — inspection, financing, appraisal, title, sale-of-home |
| Inspection period | The 5–10 day due-diligence window in MN |
| Inspection Response | Buyer's repair/credit request from findings |
| As-is | No condition promises — but disclosure duties still apply |
| Backup offer | Second accepted offer in case the first falls through |
| Highest and best | Call for final offers in a multiple-offer situation |
| Escalation clause | Auto-raises the buyer's price to a cap against rival offers |
| Time is of the essence | All deadlines are strict — miss one, face default |
Inspection, appraisal, and title
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Home inspection | Buyer-paid condition report, ~$400–600 in MN |
| TISH | Mandatory pre-sale inspection, Minneapolis + Saint Paul only; seller pays |
| Sewer scope / radon / mold / WDI | Common add-on inspections; WDI (pest) sometimes lender-required on VA loans |
| Appraisal / appraisal gap | Lender-ordered value opinion / shortfall when it lands below contract price |
| ROV | Reconsideration of Value — formal challenge to a low appraisal with better comps |
| Title / title search / title insurance | Ownership record / its investigation / protection against defects (separate buyer + lender policies) |
| Title commitment | Title company's conditional promise to insure |
| Lien / encumbrance / easement | Debt claim on the property / any claim or restriction / third-party use right (utility, driveway) |
| Deed: warranty / quitclaim | Transfers ownership — with clear-title warranty (MN default) / without warranty (family, divorce) |
| Fee simple / leasehold | Full ownership — the standard / long-term land lease, rare in MN |
| Abstract / Torrens | The two MN county title-record systems |
Closing, money, and taxes
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Closing / settlement | Ownership transfers, money moves |
| LE / CD / TRID | Loan Estimate (3 days after application) / Closing Disclosure (3 business days pre-close) / the federal rule requiring both |
| CTC | Clear to Close — loan fully approved, ready to fund |
| Final walk-through / possession date | Buyer's last check 1–3 days out / when the buyer may occupy |
| Recording | Filing the deed at the county — makes ownership official |
| Wire fraud | Fraudsters impersonate title to redirect funds — verify every instruction by phone via a separately-sourced number |
| Commission | The brokerage fee; buyer-side offer now lives off-MLS ("cooperating compensation") |
| Assessed value / mill rate | County tax value (≠ market value) / tax rate per $1,000 |
| MN deed tax / mortgage reg tax | $3.30 per $1,000, seller pays / $0.23 per $100 of mortgage |
| Homestead (MN) | Owner-occupied classification — lowers property tax |
| Special assessment / proration | Local-improvement tax / splitting taxes and dues at closing by date |
| Escrow account / prepaids | Lender reserve for taxes + insurance / closing items paid upfront |
| Short sale / REO / probate / 1031 | Lender accepts less than owed / bank-owned post-foreclosure / court-supervised estate sale / tax-deferred investment swap |
MN disclosures to know: Seller's Property Disclosure (Statute 513.55), disclosure alternatives (estates/foreclosures), lead-based paint (pre-1978, federal), well certificate, septic/SSTS, methamphetamine, radon awareness, wetlands, floodplain.
Tools, tech, and Slack slang
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| CRM | Lead/contact system: Follow Up Boss, kvCORE, BoomTown, LionDesk |
| ShowingTime | Showing scheduler, integrated with Northstar MLS |
| dotloop / SkySlope / Brokermint / DocuSign | Transaction management + e-signature platforms |
| Lockbox: Supra / SentriLock | Electronic key access systems on the front door |
| IDX | MLS data feed powering brokerage websites |
| Portals | Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com, Trulia, Homes.com — consumer-facing |
| Loom / Slack | Async screen recording / team chat — you'll live in both |
Slang you'll see in Slack: "under contract" and "in escrow" = pending · "fell out" = a pending deal that collapsed · "sphere" = the agent's personal network · "database" = the full CRM · "listing pres" = listing presentation · "buyer con" = buyer consultation · "hold open" = host a colleague's open house · "geo farm" = target neighborhood · "mailers" = direct mail · "hand-raisers" = leads who asked to be contacted · "drip" = automated follow-up sequence · "door knock" = in-person prospecting.
The core 30 — the highest-frequency terms of your first week. Cover this list and recite definitions out loud:
MLS · Comp · CMA · Pre-approval · Pre-qualification · Earnest money · Contingency · Inspection · Appraisal · Title · Escrow · Closing · Pending · Active · Sold · DOM · Listing · BRA · Purchase Agreement · Counteroffer · Disclosure · CD · LE · CTC · Underwriting · TC · ISA · GVA · Lockbox · Showing
Do this now
Build your personal glossary deck: pick the core 30 above plus 10 more terms you found hardest, and create flashcards (Anki, Quizlet, or index cards). Run the deck once now and mark your score.
Then write a 5-sentence "deal update" paragraph to an imaginary client using at least 8 terms correctly — earnest money, inspection period, appraisal, CTC, CD, and three of your choice. Save it as glossary-drill: together with your lesson-1 deal map, it's the portfolio proof that you speak the language. Rerun the deck daily until you score 100% two days in a row.
Last step for this course: go to the PHVA platform's events page and register for a live training session. Vocabulary sticks when you have to use it out loud — the live session is where that happens.
Tip: use your ← → arrow keys.