· Parcel An
officially described piece of land.
· Partition An
interior wall.
· Partnership There
are several partnership options for unmarried
individuals to buy a piece of property, such as live-in
partnerships (in which both buyers share the residence)
or a shared-equity partnership (in which one buyer lives
in the home and the other is an investor in the
property).
· Passive
loss A tax term that refers to any loss from a
passive activity, such as the ownership but not the
operation of a piece of rental real estate.
· Passive
solar system A system that supplies solar heat
without the use of electric fans or pumps.
· Patent
defect A visible deficiency in a piece of
property, such as a cracked basement slab or a sagging
porch.
· Payment
cap A legal limit on the amount a monthly
payment can increase on an adjustable-rate mortgage.
· Percolation
test A test used to determine the ability of
soil to accommodate a septic system.
· Per-diem
interest Interest charged or accrued daily.
· Panel A
section or division of a wall, ceiling or a flat piece
of building material that forms the part of the surface
of a wall, door or cabinet.
· Paneling Strips
of wood or wood material applied as a finish to a wall.
· Parking
strip The strip of grass between the sidewalk
and the street in front of a house.
· Partition Any
kind of structure dividing one room or space from
another.
· Patio An
interior courtyard or a paved backyard area.
· Perennial Any
plant that produces leaves, flowers and seeds from year
to year, such as irises or peonies.
· Punch
list Buyers compile a punch list during the
final walk-through detailing items to be fixed before
closing.
· Purchase
agreement A document which details the purchase
price and conditions of the transaction.
· Purchase-money
mortgage A mortgage that a borrower obtains to
acquire a property.
· Pergola An
arbor with an open roof of rafters supported by posts or
columns.
· Personal
property Any moveable property in a house such
as furniture or appliances.
· Pest-control
inspection A common pest-control inspection is
a termite inspection, which is required in some states,
such as California.
· Pier A
rectangular masonry support column.
· PITI
(Principal, Interest, Taxes, Insurance) When a
buyer applies for a loan, the lender will calculate the
principal, interest, taxes and insurance. The figure is
designed to represent the borrower's actual monthly
mortgage-related expenses.
· Planned
communities The concept began in the 19th
century and describes any town or neighborhood built
with certain guidelines and goals.
· Planned-unit
development Residents own the home and the
land, and share the use and financial responsibility for
common areas.
· Plaster A
labor-intensive and more costly wall finish.
· Pocket
door A sliding door that retreats into the wall
when opened.
· Point Fees
charged by lenders at the time a loan is originated. A
point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount.
· Porch The
structure can be a simple covered entrance to a home or
a fully enclosed room on the outside of a residence.
· Porte
cochere A porch-like roof extending over a
driveway.
· Portfolio
lender A lender who makes loans with its own
funds and keeps the loans on the company's books--in
other words, inside the institution's
"portfolio"--rather than selling the loan on the
secondary market.
· Portico A
porch supported by a row of columns.
· Possession When
a buyer signs the papers and receives the keys to the
house, the buyer officially takes possession.
· Power
of attorney A document that authorizes an
individual to act on behalf of someone else.
· Pre-approval
letter A letter from a lender that informs a
seller about the amount of money that a potential buyer
can obtain.
· Prepaid
expenses The costs for taxes, insurance and
assessments paid before the due date.
· Prepaid
interest Interest paid before it is due. For
example, at the close of a real estate transaction
borrowers usually pay for the interest on their loan
that falls between the closing period and the first
monthly payment.
· Prepayment
penalty Lenders can impose a penalty on a
borrower who pays a loan off before its expected end
date.
· Prequalification Many
lenders will pre-qualify a borrower who is shopping for a
loan by completing a preliminary assessment of the
buyer's ability to pay for a home.
· Pre-sold
home Homes that are sold before they are built.
· Pressure
relief valve A safety vent that relieves excess
pressure in a water heater.
· Price
range The range of how much a buyer is willing
to pay for a home.
· Primer The
initial coat of paint that is applied before the final
topcoat.
· Principal The
amount of money that the borrower owes on a mortgage.
· Principle
of conformity The idea that a house will more
likely appreciate in value if its size, age, condition
and style are similar to, or conform to, other houses in
the neighborhood.
· Principle
of progression An appraisal term which states
that real estate of lower value is enhanced by the
proximity of higher-end properties.
· Principle
of regression An appraisal term which states
that the value of higher-end real estate can be brought
down by the proximity of too many lower-end properties.
· Privacy
fence A structure erected between two pieces of
property.
· Private
mortgage insurance (PMI) A special type of loan
insurance that many lenders require borrowers to
purchase if the borrower's down payment is less than 20
percent of the home's purchase price.
· Probate
sale A real estate sale triggered by the death
of the owner, with proceeds to be divided among heirs or
creditors.
· Production
home Homes that are mass-produced by one
builder in a project.
· Programming A
written summation by an architect of a project's design
objectives, constraints and criteria.
· Project
budget A fiscal outline that includes the
construction budget and all costs for land, furniture,
equipment, financing, professional services,
contingencies and owner-furnished goods and services.
· Property
line The official dividing line between
properties.
· Property
report A disclosure issued by the state when a
time-share project is located or sold.
· Property
tax Property taxes are calculated at about 1.5
percent of the current market value.
· Property
tax deduction The U.S. tax code allows
homeowners to deduct the amount they have paid in
property taxes.
· Property
value The value of a piece of property is based
on the price a buyer will pay at a certain time.
· Proration Agreed-upon
percentages of certain expenses associated with a piece
of property that must be paid by the buyer or the seller
at the time of closing.
