If you are a lay person who has no idea what your real estate agent is talking about when he says ‘Mortgage’, ‘Base Lending Rate’ and so on, fret not. You, like the majority of people out there, are not air headed. You’re just not familiar with the vocabulary that real estate agents and those in the property line use.

Here are some of those words that you might like to add to your vocabulary:

Capital Gains: The profits someone makes when they sell the property they’ve invested in (their ‘capital’)

Capital Appreciation: The increase of your property’s net worth

Certificate of Fitness for Occupation (CFO) : Local authority’s document stating that your property is safe for staying

Real Property Gains Tax: A tax that you have to pay ( if you are a citizen or permanent resident of Malaysia) if you sell your property within five years after buying it

Deed : A document stating the owner or owners of a piece of property

Strata Title : Strata Titles are similar to Deeds but are Certificate of ownerships for residents that share the building with others, like condominium, apartment or town house owners

Keepers and Flippers : Keepers are people who buy a property to stay in it long term, whereas flippers buy property to sell and make a profit.

Refinancing: Refinancing a home can take on many forms. Usually it involves repaying the current housing loan and obtaining another loan from another institution.

Sub-Let: The situation whereby a person rents a property and then re-rents out parts of it to other tenants

Disbursement Fees: Any small cost that is involved when you are trying to get a loan processed by the bank and your lawyers, including things like bankruptcy search fees and land search fee.

Term Loan: A loan structure whereby the monthly repayment is fixed

Overdraft Facility: A type of loan repayment whereby the amount repaid is not fixed and the interest is calculated on the amount of loan left on a certain day

Foreclosure: Process whereby an owner fails to pay the loan and defaults, causing the home to be returned to the bank

Mortgage: The act of using your house as a guarantee to the bank in order to secure a loan

Base Lending rate: The minimum interest rate the banks offer to borrowers. It is usually expressed as a negative number.