MHENGLISH

MHE
ENGLISH FOR PROPERTY

PART THREE

SELLING/RENTING A HOUSE

The aim of this part is to speak about the financial part of the business: valuations, prices, offers, deals, mortgages, etc.

VALUING A HOUSE

Let’s start at the beginning, valuing a house:

To VALUE a house

The house has been valued at 600,000

The noun is a valuation:

The valuation of the house is 600,000

The SURVEYOR is the person who evaluates the condition of the property before a sale.

SPEAKING ABOUT PRICES

About prices in general, when we speak about prices changing, we use the following vocabulary.

To RISE/INCREASE/GO UP

Rents in the city centre are rising

To INCREASE/RAISE the price/offer

The client has increased the offer

To DECREASE/LOWER the price

The owner has refused to decrease/lower the offer

OFFERS

The ASKING PRICE

The house has only been on the market for a week so the owner will not drop the asking price.

To MAKE an offer

The client has made an offer close to the asking price

To ACCEPT an offer

The owner has accepted the offer

To REJECT/TURN DOWN an offer

The owner has rejected the offer

SELLING + RENTING

To RENT/LEASE a house/property

The owner has two flats to rent

The TENANT (the person who rents the house)

The OWNER (or the LANDLORD)

The TENANCY is the duration that the tenant rents a house. It’s also the name of the agreement.

The tenancy can be extended another year if both parties are in agreement

To ACQUIRE/BUY/PURCHASE a house/property

The client is interested in buying a property in central Madrid

The SALE is the noun

We have made three sales this month

The people are the BUYER and the SELLER

To PAY a deposit

If you want the house, you will have to pay a one-month deposit

To SIGN a contract

As soon as the mortgage is approved, the contract can be signed

The SIGNING

As soon as the notary has a free slot, we can proceed with the signing

The NOTARY is the lawyer who supervises the signing.

The FEE/COMMISSION

Our fee is 5% / Our fees are 5% / Our commission is 5%

The GUARANTOR is the person who provides a financial guarantee of payment.

MORTGAGES

The MORTGAGE

The couple have applied for a 30-year mortgage

The MORTGAGE ADVISOR is the person who works for the bank and specialises in mortgages

To BORROW money

The client is paying in cash; they don’t need to borrow money

To LEND money

The bank will not lend the client the full price of the house

The DEPOSIT

Most owners/landlords ask for a deposit of between one and three month’s rent

The BANK GUARANTEE (aval)

In Spain, it’s typical that owners/landlords will ask for a bank guarantee in addition to the deposit. This guarantee is to protect the owners from non-payment of rent only.

INVESTING

To INVEST in

I want to invest in property

BUILDING

To DEVELOP

The company buy land to develop

To BUILD/CONSTRUCT

The house was built in the 1950s