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Glossary of Real Estate Terms
P
| Panel |
| A section or division of a wall, ceiling or a flat piece of building material that forms the part of the surface of a wall, door or cabinet. |
| Paneling |
| Strips of wood or wood material applied as a finish to a wall. |
| Parcel |
| An officially described parcel of land. |
| Parking strip |
| The strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street in front of a house. |
| Partition |
| An interior wall. |
| Partition |
| Any kind of structure dividing one room or space from another. |
| Partnership |
| There are several partnership options for unmarried individuals to buy a piece of property, such as live-in partnerships (in which both buyers share the residence) or a shared-equity partnership (in which one buyer lives in the home and the other is an investor in the property). |
| Passive loss |
| A tax term that refers to any loss from a passive activity, such as the ownership but not the operation of a piece of rental real estate. |
| Passive solar system |
| A system that supplies solar heat without the use of electric fans or pumps. |
| Patent defect |
| A visible deficiency in a piece of property, such as a cracked basement slab or a sagging porch. |
| Patio |
| An interior courtyard or a paved backyard area. |
| Payment cap |
| A legal limit on the amount a monthly payment can increase on an adjustable rate mortgage. |
| Percolation test |
| A test used to determine the ability of soil to accommodate a septic system. |
| Per-diem interest |
| Interest charged or accrued daily. |
| Perennial |
| Any plant that produces leaves, flowers and seeds from year to year, such as irises or peonies. |
| Pergola |
| An arbor with an open roof of rafters supported by posts or columns.; |
| Personal property |
| Any moveable property in a house .such as furniture or appliances. |
| Pest-control inspection |
| A common pest-control inspection is a termite inspection, which is required in some states, such as California. |
| Pier |
| A rectangular masonry support column. |
| PITI (Principal, Interest, Taxes, Insurance) |
| When a buyer applies for a loan, the lender will calculate the principal,, interest, taxes & insurance. The figure is designed to represent the borrower's actual monthly mortgage-related expenses. |
| Planned communities |
| The concept began in the 19th century and describes any town or neighborhood built with certain guidelines and goals. |
| Planned-unit development |
| Residents own the home and the land, and share the use and financial responsibility for common areas. |
| Plaster |
| A labor-intensive and more costly wall finish. |
| Pocket door |
| A sliding door that retreats into the wall when opened. |
| Point |
| Fees charged by lenders at the time a loan is originated. A point is equal to 1 percent of the total loan amount. |
| Porch |
| The structure can be a simple covered entrance to a home or a fully enclosed room on the outside of a residence. |
| Porte cochere |
| A porch-like roof extending over a driveway. |
| Portfolio lender |
| A lender who makes loans with its own funds and keeps the loans on the company's books--in other words, inside the institution's "portfolio"--rather than selling the loan on the secondary market. |
| Portico |
| A porch supported by a row of columns. |
| Possession |
| When a buyer signs the papers and receives the keys to the house, they officially take possession. |
| Power of attorney |
| A document that authorizes an individual to act on behalf of someone else. |
| Pre-approval letter |
| A letter from a lender that informs a seller about the amount of money that a potential buyer can obtain. |
| Prepaid expenses |
| The costs for taxes, insurance and assessments paid before the due date. |
| Prepaid interest |
| Interest paid before it is due. For example, at the close of a real estate transaction borrowers usually pay for the interest on their loan that falls between the closing period and the first monthly payment. |
| Prepayment penalty |
| Lenders can impose a penalty on a borrower who pays a loan off before its expected end date |
| Pre-qualification |
| Many lenders will pre-qualify a borrower hunting for a loan by completing a preliminary assessment of the buyer's ability to pay for a home. |
| Pre-sold home |
| Homes that are sold before they are built. |
| Pressure relief valve |
| A safety vent that relieves excess pressure in a water heater. |
| Price range |
| The range in which a buyer is willing to pay for a home. |
| Primer |
| The initial coat of paint that is applied before the final topcoat. |
| Principal |
| The amount of money that the borrower owes on a mortgage. |
| Principle of conformity |
| The idea that a house will more likely appreciate in value if its size, age, condition and style are similar to, or conform to, other houses in the neighborhood. |
| Principle of progression |
| An appraisal term which states that real estate of lower value is enhanced by the proximity of higher-end properties. |
| Principle of regression |
| An appraisal term which states that the value of higher-end real estate can be brought down by the proximity of too many lower-end properties. |
| Privacy fence |
| A structure erected between two pieces of property. |
| Private mortgage insurance (PMI) |
| A special type of loan insurance that many lenders require borrowers to purchase if the borrower's down payment is less than 20 percent of the home's purchase price. |
| Probate sale |
| A real estate sale triggered by the death of the owner, with proceeds to be divided among heirs or creditors. |
| Production home |
| Homes that are mass-produced by one builder in a project. |
| Programming |
| A written summation by an architect of a project's design objectives, constraints and criteria. |
| Project budget |
| A fiscal outline that includes the construction budget and all costs for land, furniture, equipment, financing, professional services, contingencies and owner-furnished goods and services. |
| Property line |
| The official dividing line between properties. |
| Property report |
| A disclosure issued by the state when a time-share project is located or sold. |
| Property tax |
| Property taxes are calculated at about 1.5 percent of the current market value. |
| Property tax deduction |
| The U.S. tax code allows homeowners to deduct the amount they have paid in property taxes. |
| Property value |
| The value of a piece of property is based on the price a buyer will pay at a certain time. |
| Proration |
| Agreed-upon percentages of certain expenses associated with a piece of property that must be paid by the buyer or the seller at the time of closing. |
| Punch list |
| Buyers compile a list during the final walk-through detailing items to be fixed before closing. |
| Purchase agreement |
| A document which details the purchase price and conditions of the transaction. |
| Purchase-money mortgage |
| A mortgage that a borrower obtains to acquire a property. |
