BY CH A R L E S SC U T TCTW Fe a t u re s

The shortest distancebetween two points may be astraight line,but the shortest wayto stuff as much information intoa real estate advertisement is touse acronyms.

Take one look at a home forsale ad or listing and you’ll quick-ly discover an alphabet soup ofabbreviations and truncatedterms—from FDR to FSBO. But ifthis industry idiom makes youfeel like an idiot, take heart – it’seasy to learn the short-form lingocommonly used today to market

and sell homes, say the experts.“In any profession, there is a

‘shortcut language’ in use,” saysLarry Schooler, a trainer withWealth Intelligence Academy,Cape Coral,Fla.“No matter whatthe industry, jargon exists tosome degree.With the increasingpopularity of the Internet, text-

and instant-messaging, wirelessdevices, and other abbreviatedforms of communication, a corre-sponding increase in real estateacronyms is natural and expect-ed.

“More people are writing ads

BY PAU L RO G E R SCTW Fe a t u re s

F i ve wo rds you never thoughtyo u ’d hear from a homeow n-e r : I need a smaller house.

Yet the concept of downsizing ahome – or doing more with less –has been gaining favor since thep u blication of architect Sara hS u s a n k a ’s “The Not So Big House”( Ta u n t o n ,1 9 9 8 ) .

Susanka espouses the beliefthat when smaller-scale homesa re done ri g h t ,t h ey are more liv-abl e ,e n j oyable and sociallyre s p o n s i ble than the eve r - ex p a n d-ing floor plans of today ’s deve l o p-m e n t s . (The size of the ave ragesite-built home grew 8 perc e n tf rom 1998 to 2004,rising to near-ly 2,350 square fe e t ,a c c o rding tothe U. S .D e p a rtment ofC o m m e rce.)

Jay Shafer has been a longtimesmall-house devo t e e .S h a fe r,owner of Tu m bl eweed Ti nyHouse Co.,S e b a s t o p o l ,C a l i f. ,h a sbeen building and living in hous-es ra n ging from 50 to 750 squarefeet since 1997.He lived in theo ri ginal 100-square - fo o tTu m bl eweed model for seve nye a rs befo re sw i t ching to thesmaller 70-square - foot XS Housein 2004.The homes,he say s ,n o to n ly suit a pare d - d own life s t y l e ,t h ey ’re affo rd abl e ,e c o l o gi c a l lyre s p o n s i ble and simply easier toc a re fo r.

“ For me pers o n a l ly,my bigge s treason for living in a tiny house isthat I have n ’t got the time orpatience to paint or maintain al a rger house,”he say s .

A strong mix of pra c t i c a l i t yand idealism lies behind the dri vet owa rd smaller homes. I n d e e d ,S h a fer says about half of the hous-es he builds are for people whointend to live in them full time astheir pri m a ry stru c t u re .But halfthe buye rs purchase the stru c-t u res to supplement their curre n t

h o m e s .People buy them as inex p e n-

s i ve vacation cabins or put themin their backya rds and use themas art studios,w ri t e r ’s garre t s ,home offi c e s ,guest rooms orclose-but-independent living quar-t e rs for a college - age child or anaging pare n t .Ti ny House Co.,Buena Vi s t a ,Va . ,built one homefor a day nu rse to have a pri va t espot to stay ove rn i g h t , and anoth-er for a mother who wanted herhandicapped son to have his ow n

place but still live nearby.On the idealistic side, t h ey

t ru ly do affo rd more socially con-scious living,using less buildingm a t e ri a l s , less land, less energy.F u l ly insulated, t i ny houses areeasy and inex p e n s i ve to heat andc o o l , and they ’re re l a t i ve ly inex-p e n s i ve to buy.S h a fe r ’s modelsra n ge from about $23,000 to$ 4 2 , 0 0 0 .A typical 20-foot by 24-foot model from Ti ny House Co.runs about $39,000.( T h o s ep rices are for materials and con-

s t ruction only,not for land.) The draw b a cks of a tiny house

a re obv i o u s :I t ’s tiny – “ great per-s o n a l ly, but not as good fo rg u e s t s ,”S h a fer say s .

That being said,m a ny of thes t ru c t u res sound smaller thant h ey fe e l .Opening the center ofthe houses,using a lot of win-d ows and maintaining unob-s t ructed thro u g h ways for tra ffi c ,means they maintain a sense of

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YO U R N E W S PA P E R . C O M / H O M E S

W h a t ’s the Deal withC redit Repair Companies?Can One Work for Me?

Q : I’ve heard about credit re p a i rcompanies. How do they work anda re they worthwhile?

A : In the same way that you can’tch a n ge history,you can’t undo past

c redit pro bl e m s .What you can do is start a new patternof credit responsibility by spending less, reducing debt,p aying on time and paying in full.

T h e re are organizations that will seek to re n e go t i a t ebalances and terms with credit card companies andother cre d i t o rs .Whether non-pro fit or fo r - p ro fi t ,i t ’si m p o rtant to ask about fees and ch a rge s .For instance,h ow mu ch of your fi rst payment will go to cre d i t o rsand how mu ch will go for credit repair services? W h a tabout other costs?

Fi rst though, s t a rt by rev i ewing your credit re p o rt .Get a copy without cost by going to www. a n nu a l c re d-i t re p o rt.com or call 1-877-322-8228. Look for out-of-date items and entries that fa c t u a l ly are incorre c t .

In terms of credit re p o rt s ,“ o u t - o f - d a t e ”t y p i c a l lymeans seven ye a rs old for most items, 10 ye a rs fo rb a n k ru p t c i e s .I n fo rm cre d i t - re p o rting agencies by cert i-fied mail with a re t u rn receipt requested if you fi n dn e g a t i ve items that are fa c t u a l ly incorrect or out-of-d a t e .Send copies of receipts and ch e cks and other ev i-dence to support your cl a i m . Keep the ori ginals fo ryour re c o rd s .

No matter how bad your cre d i t ,d o n ’t fall for cre d i trepair sch e m e s .N o , your credit will not be improved ifyou complain about eve ry negative item on your cre d i tre p o rt .N o , you can’t apply for credit using an employ-ee identification number instead of a social securi t ynu m b e r. S u ch “ file segregation“ schemes are illegal. I fb a n k ruptcy or fo re cl o s u re looms, contact an attorn eyor legal clinic immediately.

Q: My lender has suggested a loan pro g r a mthat includes both a mortgage and a home equityloan. I would borrow $308,000 in the form of afixed-rate first mortgage plus I would get a homeequity line of credit. As the mortgage is paiddown, the amount I can borrow on the homeequity loan increases. Is there a pitfall here that Iam missing?

A :You need to look at the specifics of the pro gra m .Is the fi xe d - rate interest level the best ava i l able? Howdoes the rate for the home equity line of credit com-

Ask Our Broker

a n dAWITH PETER G. MILLER

Q U n d e rstanding What those Ads are Trying to Say

The Big Ideas Behind Small Houses

See SMALL HOUSES Page 2

See S H O RTHAND Page 2

See ASK OUR BROKER, Page 2

T i ny houses offer socially conscious living by using less building materials, land and energ y.

Real Estate Shorthand

using the same language theyuse in these other forums.This isa general societal trend that isnaturally expanding into thebusiness and investing world,”Schooler says.“Why use 15 char-acters when three will get yourpoint across? At the same time,ask yourself,‘Will those threecharacters really get your pointacross to the audience you aretrying to reach?’ Brevity is onlyefficient when it works.”

Diane Saatchi, senior vicepresident with residential realestate firm The Corcoran Group,East Hampton, N.Y., says “The useof acronyms and abbreviations inreal estate ads is largely theresult of the cost of ad space.Thehigh price has caused us to useshortcuts to get lots of informa-tion crammed into a few adlines.”

The downside, says Schooler,is that if prospective buyersdon’t understand the acronyms,“they might just skip over the ador misunderstand the actual dealbeing offered. Buyers and sellersneed to be aware of the meaningof various acronyms and abbrevi-ations so they don’t waste theirtime on properties or deals thatdon’t meet their needs.”

To help decipher the vernacu-lar, there are several recommend-ed real estate resources, includ-ing the free online acronymguide at www.acronym-guide.com,“Dictionary of RealEstate Terms” (Barron’sEducational Series, 2004), and“Realty Bluebook” (DearbornReal Estate Education, 2003).Schooler says you also can useany search engine and type inthe acronym followed by thewords “stands for real estate.”Forexample, typing in “FROG standsfor real estate”will yield “finishedroom over garage.”

Additionally,a professionalreal estate agent should take thetime to explain these commonacronyms, says Jonathan D.Nicholas, regional director forRE/MAX of Indiana, Indianapolis.They also should make it a prac-tice not to speak these acronymsbut alter their language to speakthe words in order to be moreeasily understood,he says.“Instead of telling a client that hewill ‘drop off the CMA prior toputting the listing into the MLS,’he should say,‘I’ll drop off thecomparative market analysisprior to putting your listing intoour Multiple Listing Service.’”

Lastly, Schooler warns thatacronyms and abbreviationsshould never be used in con-tracts or any other official, legaldocument.Before you close thedeal,“make sure everything isspelled out and completelyclear,”he says.

© CTW Feature s

p a re with other home equity lines? Is there a pre p ay-ment penalty for either loan? If ye s ,h ow mu ch?

As we l l , consider your comfo rt leve l . Do you re a l lywant so mu ch debt – or potential debt? While the ideaof instantly ava i l able credit is attra c t i ve , the thought ofi n s t a n t ly ava i l able debt should be soberi n g .

Consumer A l e rt : Be wa ry if you re c e i ve an unsolicitede-mail “IRS notifi c a t i o n ”stating that yo u ’re owed are f u n d .The IRS say s ,“do not cl i ck on links contained inp o s s i bly questionable e-mails; i n s t e a d ,go dire c t ly to thesite alre a dy known to be ge nu i n e . For ex a m p l e ,t h eo n ly address for the IRS Web site is www. i rs . gov – anyother va riations on this will not lead to the legi t i m a t eIRS Web site.”For refund info rm a t i o n , contact the IRSd i re c t ly at 1-800-829-1040 and ask for assistance.

Q: We want to buy a new house directly from ab u i l d e r. The house is a spec house with certainupgrades. The price listed and quoted was dis-counted and we signed a contract. Now thebuilder says we have to use their mortgage com-pany to finance the home or pay a higher pricefor the house if we use our own financing. Ourfinancing is a better deal for us. What can we do?

A :The builder cannot fo rce you to use a specifi clender or closing company, and like ly did not.W h a toften happens is that a builder will say “ we ’ll offer a dis-count of x dollars if yo u ’ll use Smith Lending and Jo n e sS e t t l e m e n t s .”You don’t have to take the discount, but ifyou do then you also have accepted other term s .H avean attorn ey look at your contract and see if includes at ra d e .

Q: Does a private unit development have theright to charge late fees?

A: If the CC&Rs – the cove n a n t s , conditions andre s t rictions – allow it, then ye s .A PUD re a l ly is like atype of gove rn m e n t , and like any gove rnment it usesc e rtain tactics to protect group intere s t s .A late fee actu-a l ly is far better than fo re cl o s u re , something else like lyto be allowed when late fee notices are ignore d . If aPUD says you owe a late fe e ,t a ke it seri o u s ly, just like atax notice.

© CTW Feature s

Peter G. Miller is the author of The Common-SenseMortgage and a veteran real estate columnist.Have a ques-tion? Please write to peter@contentthatworks.com.

Ask Our BrokerCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

s p a c i o u s n e s s .The stru c t u res max-imize eve ry square foot through ava riety of design tri ck s ,l i ke turn-ing otherwise unu s able spaceunder stairways into storage .

“The secret to a great tinyhouse is knowing what’s neces-s a ry and eliminating all the re s t… necessary for happiness,because all those ex t ras get in theway,”S h a fer say s .“A sense ofspace has mu ch more to do withthe quality of a place than withthe quantity.A well-designed littlehouse can feel ro o my and a poor-ly designed mansion can fe e lc row d e d .”

And if the space does get tooc ra m p e d ,both Tu m bl eweed andTi ny House models are designedto be expanded easily.

The only real pro blems Shafe rhas encountered in building tinyhouses are zoning re s t ri c t i o n sand building codes that some-times set minimum size limits.M a ny of the stru c t u re s ,h oweve r,a re sold on wheels,w h i ch often-times puts them outside the juri s-diction of local housing authori-t i e s .

To be sure ,t h e re like ly isn’t tobe a rush of consumers lookingto ditch their bungalows andra n ches for the square - fo o t agee q u i valent of a modern masterb a t h ro o m . But Shafe r,who hand-c rafts all his stru c t u re s , has seen as i g n i ficant increase in his busi-n e s s .Tu m bl eweed builds ab o u tfi ve homes per ye a r,up from oneper year when he started thec o m p a ny. And he sees morepotential in the future because oftheir ve rs a t i l i t y.

One Tu m bl eweed home wa se rected on a city ro o f t o p ,a n dt h ey easily could be used as infi l lon small lots or cl u s t e red on aro o f.

“I fi g u red at some point some-b o dy out there would want small-er houses and it seems like that’s

the case,”S h a fer say s .“When Ibuilt the fi rst one, it seemedn ove l ,but now there are a lot ofbooks out there on the subjectand a lot of people interested insmall houses.”

© CTW Feature s

SMALL HOUSESCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

S H O RT H A N DCONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

T i ny houses, ranging from 50- to 750-square fe e t , sound smaller than theya p p e a r.The houses maintain a sense of spaciousness with open centers ,w i n d ows and unobstructed thro u g h w ay s .

CAM – common area maintenanceECOA – Equal Credit Opportunity ActEAL – exclusive agency listingEMF – electromagnetic field from power linesEMP – electrical, mechanical, plumbingERV – estimated rental valueESK – eating space in kitchenFDR – formal dining roomFMV – fair market valueFrplc – fireplaceGar – garageGard – gardenGFE – good faith estimateGrmet kit – gourmet kitchen

Hdwd – hardwood floors

Hi ceils – high ceilingsIOM – interest-only mortgageLsd pkg – leased parking areaLTV – loan to valueNr bst schools – near the best schoolsPITI – principal, interest, taxes and insurancePMI – private mortgage insurancePvt – privateSFT – single family detachedTOD – time of deliveryUST – underground storage tankWBF – wood-burning fireplaceWI – walk-in

Real estate acronym cheat sheetHere’s a list of common abbreviations and acronyms used in real estate ads and listings: