Houses & Housing Slang, Jargon, and New Words from Double-Tongued Dictionary

Citations in the Category Houses & Housing

Homes, apartments, rentals, mortgages, real estate, realtors, land, renting, leases, renovation, etc. You can also see entries assigned to this category.

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bash and build n. Financially speaking, there are far worse fates for a homeowner than to be the neighbor of a “bash and build.” Love them or hate them, teardowns generally bolster the resale prices of their neighbors. [English-based Creole Construction & Buildings Houses & Housing Jargon] [full cite] (Dec. 20, 2007)

block busting n. A committee of civic politicians wants to know what the city and cops are doing to crack down on “unscrupulous property owners.” It comes following an inquiry made by Coun. Don Iveson, who was concerned about homes being purposely run down to depress the value of neighbouring properties. Those properties are then bought at a cut rate for redevelopment.…A number of stories have appeared in the Edmonton Sun exposing a similar scheme that cops refer to as “block busting.” In those cases, organized crime rings are involved. [English Houses & Housing] [full cite] (Jun. 27, 2008)

butt hutt n. Some boys end up in unsupervised group rentals they call “butt huts” because of the crowded sleeping, while others live in cars or end up in jail. [English Houses & Housing Slang] [full cite] (Sep. 8, 2007)

caming n. Some of the windows are made of hundreds of pieces of glass held together using brass strips, a technique called caming. [English Architecture Houses & Housing] [full cite] (Jun. 21, 2006)

caravanning n.

Wilson & Co., like other local real estate firms, hosts broker open houses, a practice also called caravanning. One firm organizes a collective open house in the same area and allows agents who represent buyers or sellers to preview new or existing properties.

[English Houses & Housing Jargon] [full cite] (May. 23, 2008)

cash for keys n. Contractors say the damage at vacant homes can be significant, though it is not always clear who the culprit is. It could be an angry homeowner upset about losing a home, but it also could be vandals and thieves scouring homes for copper plumbing, which they can sell. To limit losses, a few mortgage companies are making offers called “cash for keys” to delinquent borrowers if they leave their homes quickly and in good shape. [English Houses & Housing Jargon] [full cite] (May. 27, 2008)

cold shell n. Although there are no strict definitions, “cold shells” are generally facilities where tenants may have to install bathrooms, elevators and air conditioning. But that’s not as bad as an “arctic shell,” which doesn’t have much more than a roof and exterior walls. A “warm shell” at least has bathrooms and elevators. “Tropical shells” offer amenities beyond that. [English Construction & Buildings Houses & Housing Slang] [full cite] (Jul. 16, 2007)

Collyer’s Mansion n. In New York City, and along much of the East Coast, a dwelling jammed rafter-high with junk is referred to by rescue personnel, with dismay and no small degree of respect, as a “Collyers’ Mansion.” As in, primary searches delayed because of Collyers’ Mansion conditions. [English Firefighting Houses & Housing Slang] [full cite] (Jul. 5, 2006)

colonia n. The counties of South Texas are among the nation’s poorest, and their jumbled subdivisions, known as colonias, home to 400,000 Hispanic-Americans, can certainly look the part. Since the 1950s, developers have carved small lots from mesquite woodlands and floodplains, selling them to workers with the promises that utilities, sewers and paved roads would follow. They rarely did, and for decades the colonias were seen as hopeless slums. [English Spanish Houses & Housing] [full cite] (Aug. 27, 2007)

comp n. In the real-estate industry, they’re known as “comps,” which is short for comparables. If you’re thinking about selling your home or refinancing it, you find comparable homes in your neighborhood that recently sold. That gives you some sense of what your home is worth. [English Houses & Housing Abbreviation] [full cite] (Oct. 26, 2006)

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