Glossary with Terms for the Real Estate Market

Detailed property glossary. Commonly used terms and phrases of international real estate as well as specialised definitions for better understanding of the Greek property market.

Agricultural water: Agricultural water, also known as Farm water, is water committed for use in watering gardens. It is provided OADYK, different company than the one that provides the drinking water.
Amenities: Certain features of a property or features of the area which increase a property's value.
Apartment building: Block of flats: a multi-unit dwelling made up of several (generally four or more) apartments.
Apostille: A legal certification that makes a document from one country valid in another (provided that both are signatories to the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement for Legalization for Foreign Public Documents)
Appraisal: A written justification of the price paid for a property conducted by a professional, primarily based on an analysis of comparable sales of similar homes nearby.
Appraiser: An individual qualified by education, training, and experience to estimate the value of real property and personal property. Although some appraisers work directly for mortgage lenders, most are independent.
Asking Price: The price at which the Seller is offering their property for sale.
Atrium: A central often glass-roofed hall that extends through several storeys in a building, such as a shopping centre or hotel
Balcony: A platform projecting from the wall of a building with a balustrade or railing along its outer edge, often with access from a door or window
Basement apartment: An apartment located below street level, underneath another structure—usually an apartment building, but possibly a house or a business.
Bathtub: A container large enough for a person to sit in to take a bath.
Beam: A beam is a long thick bar of wood, metal, or concrete, especially one used to support the roof of a building.
Bi-fold Doors (concertina doors): A folding door is a type of door which opens by folding back in sections or so-called panels. Folding doors are also known as ‘bi-fold doors', in spite of them most often having more than two panels. Another term is ‘concertina’ doors, inspired by the musical instrument of the same name.
Building allowance certificate: In case of a non-built land, it is possible to apply to the competent building authority of the location of the property in order to get a safe certification with the building terms applied, and the plot classification as building land.
Building permit: A certified copy from the archive kept at the competent urban authority office of the issued building permit referring to the selling property.
Bungalow: A bungalow is a one-story house, cottage or cabin. Bungalows are generally small in terms of square footage, but it is not uncommon to see very large bungalows. Bungalows were originally designed to provide affordable, modern housing for the working class.
Buyer's market: A buyer's market occurs when the supply (available properties for sale) exceeds demand (the number of buyers seeking to purchase properties). If you're buying a new home, a buyer's market is the ideal time to make your move. You might be able to buy a great home for a lower cost than you would in a seller's market.
Closing Costs: Closing costs are the expenses, over and above the price of the property, that buyers and sellers normally incur to complete a real estate transaction. Costs incurred may include loan origination fees, discount points, appraisal fees, title searches, title insurance, surveys, taxes, deed-recording fees and credit report charges. Prepaid costs are those that recur over time, such as property taxes and homeowners' insurance. The lender is required by law to state these costs in a "good faith estimate" within three days of a home loan application.
Coffered Ceiling: A coffered ceiling is a pattern of indentations or recesses in the overhead surface of an interior. In architecture, a "coffer" is a sunken panel in a ceiling, including the interiors of domes and vaults
Commission: Fee payable to an estate agent, usually a percentage of the property price, for providing certain services in relation to the transaction.
Comparable sales: Recent sales of similar properties in nearby areas and used to help determine the market value of a property. Also referred to as "comps."
Contract: Document outlining the terms agreed between the buyer and the seller and binding both parties to complete the sale/purchase transaction. Also known as Agreement.
Cottage house: A usually small, single story house on a farm or in the country, or on a resort and used as a vacation rental.
Deed: Legal documents proving ownership of a property. Also known as Title Deeds.
Deposit: Amount of money paid by the buyer to the seller on exchange of contracts in order to secure a property. Also known as Down Payment .
Detached House: Property that stands alone and has no shared walls with an adjoining property.
Double Doors: Two adjacent doors that share the same door frame, and between which there is no separating vertical member. Double doors are often referred to as “French doors”, due to their preponderance in French architecture
Easement: An easement is a legal right to use another's land for a specific limited purpose. In other words, when someone is granted an easement, he is granted the legal right to use the property, but the legal title to the land itself remains with the owner of the land.
En Suite: Used to describe a bathroom that is directly connected to a bedroom or a bedroom that is connected to a bathroom.
End of terrace house: An end of terrace house is a house situated at the end of a terrace. Like a semi-detached house, only one side of the house shares a common wall, while the other is detached.
Energy Efficiency Certificate: A document recognized by the Ministry of Environment which is issued by the energy auditor and reflects the energy efficiency of the building, classified in energy class (A+ to H), while the auditor lists his suggestions for improving the energy efficiency of the building. It is required for all buildings over a total surface of 50 s.m.
ENFIA: Annual property tax.
Engineer's Certificate: Αccording to L.4495/2017 that the property is not built or that the existing building and its use is in accordance with the building permit or (in case illegal constructions or uses have been installed in the plot) that all illegal constructions or uses have been settled. The engineer's certificate should be accompanied by a topographical diagram based on the state coordinates system E.G.S.A.'87. In case legalised constructions or uses, on addition to the above, a certificate of completion of the legalization process is required and the engineer’s drawings as well in which the illegalities are reflected.
Entryway: An entryway is a hall that is generally located at the front entrance of a house. An entryway often has a coat closet, and usually has linoleum or tile flooring rather than carpet, making it an easy-to-clean transition space between the outdoor and indoor areas.
EΟΤ License (for villas): License granted by the Greek organization of tourism (E.O.T.) for the lease of touristic Villas.
Fair market value (FMV): Fair market value (FMV) is an estimate of the market value of a property, based on what a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured buyer would probably pay to a knowledgeable, willing, and unpressured seller in the market.
Family room: A living room used by all family members for recreation and relaxation
Farmhouse: The main residence house on a farm, or a house built with the same type of styling and located anywhere.
Fitted kitchen: A kitchen fitted with units and appliances such as an oven, dishwasher, etc often attached to the wall.
Flat: A flat is a living area that is self-contained with in only part of a building and share a front door. Usually, a flat is situated in a building that is split up into multiple living areas for different residents. Flats are generally the primary housing solution in inner cities and metropolitan areas, because of the obvious space saving advantages of building vertically. They are called “apartments” in American English
Floor plan: A floor plan shows the architectural layout of the building and the specifications of each room.
French doors: Two adjoining doors that have glass panes from top to bottom and are hinged at opposite sides of a doorway so that they open in the middle
Gated community: A gated community (or walled community) is a form of residential community or housing estate containing strictly controlled entrances for pedestrians, bicycles, and automobiles, and often characterized by a closed perimeter of walls and fences.
Gazebo: A small decorated building or temporary structure, usually in a garden, that can be used for relaxing or entertaining guests… No windows, no walls, no worries with this favorite outdoor lounging spot.
Gazumping: When a buyer's offer is accepted on a property by a seller but, before the property sale completes, the seller accepts a better offer from another party.
Glamping: A type of camping that is more comfortable and luxurious than traditional camping. The word is a mixture of 'glamorous' and 'camping'.
Hall: The hall of a house is the space next to the front door to the rooms directly and/or indirectly. It may be called a passage, corridor or hallway.
Horizontal Ownership: Independent, exclusive ownership on a building or a flat, with a specific percentage of co-ownership in the land and the common parts of the building.
House Price Index: Statistical method of representing changes in house prices over time.
Housing Complex: A housing complex (or sometimes housing estate or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development.
Housing market: The housing market represents the market for properties being purchased and sold either directly to buyers or through real estate agents.
Jacuzzi: A brand name (Californian corporation) for a bath or pool into which warm water flows through small holes, producing a pleasant, bubbling effect
Land Registry: Government department responsible for recording ownership of properies. Searches will be requested from the Land Registry by conveyancers as part of any property transaction.
Land Registry Fees: Set fee paid to Land Registry to register ownership of a property.
Landlocked property: In real estate, "landlocked" refers to a property that has no direct access to a public street, so the only way on or off the property is to cross land owned by someone else. Usually, a landlocked property gains street access through a legal permission called an easement.
Landlord: The owner of property that is leased to others. A landlord is seen as a custodian of the property and is responsible for collecting rent.
Laundry room: A room where clothes are washed and dried.
Lease Agreement: Legal document detailing terms whereby the owner of a property grants rights to another party to occupy it for a specified period of time. Also known as Tenancy Agreement.
Maisonette: A flat (or apartment) that occupies two floors of a building, and so typically has internal stairs.
Manor: A big country house with a lot of land. They are old style houses with very large and beautiful gardens.
Master bedroom: The main or principal bedroom of a house or suite.
Mud room: A casual, generally secondary entryway intended as an area to remove and store footwear, outerwear, and wet clothing before entering the main house. A mud room serves to increase the cleanliness of a house proper.
Multiple Agency: Where two or more estate agents are instructed by a seller to market a property. Only the agent who introduces a successful purchaser is paid.
Notary: State civil servant responsible for editing the real estate transfer contracts. Permanently appointed by the Minister of Justice, his duty is to protect the public interest the public security and the fiscal and social policy. He is inspected for the lawful and diligent performance of his duties by the local public prosecutor.
Offer: This is the initial price offered by a prospective buyer to the seller. A seller may accept the offer, reject it, or counter with a different offer.
Open plan design: Any floor plan which makes use of large, open spaces and minimizes the use of small, enclosed rooms or few dividing walls between areas.
Patio: Similar to a terrace, a patio is an outdoor extension of a building, situated above the ground level, and open to the sky. Colloquially, a patio is a more informal space than a terrace.
Pavilion: A small but prominent portion of a building that juts out from a main building, either above its roof line, or to the side, and which is identified by a unique (usually diminutive) height and individual roof type. A pavilion may also stand alone, separate from a larger building, or may be connected to a main building by a terrace or path.
Penthouse: The top floor of multi-story building
Pergola: Open beams atop posts let the sun shine down on a special outdoor spot In a garden, a pergola is an arch or a structure with a roofover which climbing plants can be grown.
Pilotis: A set of posts raising a building up from the ground. In Greece pilotis is a common area shared by all co-owners of the building.
Pocket door: A usually interior door that opens by gliding along a track into a recess in the wall.
Power of attorney: A legal document that authorizes another person to act on one's behalf. A power of attorney can grant complete authority or can be limited to certain acts and/or certain periods of time.
Preliminary agreement: The notary's act by which the parties engage themselves to draw up the final contract in the future and generally determine the terms of the final contract. The preliminary contract is subject to the same type as the final contract, so a notary is demanded
Private Agreement: The parties may draw up a private agreement for the intended sale, which however can't be legally executed such as a notary's act, therefore it's not sufficient to complete the transfer of real estate property. In case of a legal dispute, it is simply a proof of assumption of obligations between the parties.
Property tax certificate: A certificate granted to the property owner by the competent tax authority to prove that his selling property has been included in the declaration of his real property for the last five years and that no property tax is due for this property for the same years.
Real estate agent: A real estate agent is a professional with a real estate license and assists both buyers and sellers in the home-buying process.
Real estate market: The buying and selling of land and buildings.
Return on Investment (ROI): Return on Investment measures the gain or loss generated on an investment relative to the amount of money invested. For investors who diversify their investment portfolio with real estate, it's important to measure the ROI to determine a property's profitability.
Right of access: The right of access is a type of easement that gives its holder a non possessory interest in someone else's real property (servient estate). It can be a right of roadway or pathway that benefits a particular person or benefits a particular parcel of land (dominant estate)
Sauna: A room or small building, often with wood attached to the walls, that is heated to a high temperature, usually with steam:
Seller's market: A seller's market is one in which there are more buyers than homes for sale. Since supply is less than demand, homes are higher priced and more attractive to sellers in the market.
Semi-detached house: It is a house which is joined to another house on one side, or two houses joined together.
Sliding Door: A door drawn across an aperture on a groove or suspended from a track, rather than turning on hinges
Solicitor: Professionally qualified legal expert who prepares documents for the sale or purchase of a property.
Studio Flat: Small single-room dwellings contain a kitchen, a bathroom, a sleeping area, etc., in one place, usually in a multistorey building.
Swing Door: Swing doors open easily in both directions, making it a classic choice for kitchens and laundry rooms.
Tenant: Person (or entity) who is entitled to occupy a property under the terms of a Tenancy Agreement.
Terrace: A flat area of stone or grass outside a house, where people sit and sometimes eat.
Terraced House: A terrace house is a house that is situated in a long row of houses. They all usually look the same- pretty much identical structurally. Both sides of each house in the row share common walls with a neighbouring house, with the exception with the houses at each end of the terrace.
Title Search: A detailed examination of the entire document history of a property title to make sure there are no legal encumbrances that effect the seller's right to sell.
Topographical plan: Topographical plans and maps are drawings which show the main physical features on the ground, such as buildings, fences, roads, rivers, lakes and forests, as well as the changes in elevation between land forms such as valleys and hills (called vertical relief). You base these plans and maps on the information you collect from topographical surveys.
Townhouse: A usually single-family house of two or sometimes three stories that is usually connected to a similar house by a common sidewall.
Under Offer: Status of a property from the point at which a seller has accepted an offer until exchange of contracts.
Underfloor heating: Heating system that is placed under the floor of a building.
Valuation: A written justification of the price paid for a property conducted by a professional, primarily based on an analysis of comparable sales of similar homes nearby.
Veranda: A veranda is a roofed platform along the outside of a house.
Vertical ownership: Ownership on a building built on the same plot with other buildings and on a specific part of the land, with co-ownership on the major plot.
Villa: Originally an upper-class, large country house in its own grounds, usually in a rural area or near the sea.
Walk-in closet: A closet that is large enough to walk around in.