Property Terms

Real Estate / Property
Land, properties and buildings
Commercial
For business, office and shops use

Residential
For living use

Agriculture
For farming use

Industrial
For production and manufacturing use

Apartment
One of many units in a building

SOHO
South of Houston or Small office / Home office
A unit where for work and living

Terraced House
Units in a continuous row with shared walls and no space in between

Condominium
Building with apartments, owned by individuals, with shared common areas.
May have facilities like swimming pool, gym, fitness corner, bbq pits

Semi-detached House
Two two units with a wall in between

Bungalow
A stand-alone house

Developer
Building or renovation of land or existing building

Contractor
In charge of day-to-day oversight of a construction site, vendors and trades and sending information

Civil Engineer
In charge of design, construction, and maintenance of building

Architect
In charge of plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings.

Interior Designer
Design the inside of room or building

Landlord
The owner of the land or property

Property Agent
A person who buy or sell properties for customers

Leasehold
Temporary ownership to the right of land, building, property

Freehold
Forever ownership to the right of land, building, property

Strata Title
Ownership of units and shared ownership of common area

Caveat
A warning that action should not be taken without informing the person who gave the notice.

Conveyancing
Transferring title deed to another

Valuation
Process of estimating what the property is worth

Mortgage
Pledging the property for a loan

Instalment
Regular payment for loan

Rent
Temporary use of place

Rental
Amount to pay for renting the place

Foreclosure
Legal process of lender to recover the loan by selling the property