If this is the first time you are apartment searching or looking into buying property perhaps you are hearing a whole lot of new words you never knew or cared to find out about before. Real estate is an incredibly exciting industry and can leave you in a head spin if you don’t know the lingo. Here are 10 real estate terms and jargons that will put you in the know, some unique to Ghana!

Common Real Estate Terms

1. Mortgage – a loan to finance the purchase of real estate with specified repayment period and interest rate. The borrower gives the lender a lien on the property as collateral for the loan.
2. Commission – a fee charged by a realtor/real estate agent for their involvement in facilitating the renting or buying of a property.
3. Condominium – Also known as ‘condo’, a building or complex of buildings containing owned apartments or units for sale
4. Self-Contained – a Ghanaian industry term at best; used to describe any property that has the bathroom and kitchen contained in the same ‘main house’ building
5. Self-Compound – any private property where the premises is not shared with any other residents (no one renting the boys’ quarters, for instance)
6. Amenities – desirable property features that provide convenience, comfort and pleasure like a gym, swimming pool or garages.
7. Listings – homes and apartments for rent or sale on a property search website. The listings give detailed information on the property including how many rooms and bathrooms, other amenities, locations and price. Our website has thousands of real estate listings from all over Accra.
8. Valuation – A basic survey of a property to estimate its value for mortgage purposes. Mortgage lenders will insist on this before lending
9. Townhouse – A dwelling unit, usually having 2 or more floors and attached to other similar units in a row by shared walls.
10. Mixed-Use Development – an urban or suburban development, or even a single building, that blends residential, commercial, cultural, institutional, or industrial uses. The property, for instance, may be a high-rise with apartments on the upper floors and a salon, grocery store and offices on the ground floor.

There are tons more real estate terms you will pick up along the way but these commonly used ones should help you understand better as you speak with estate agents during your property search. Follow us on Instagram and Twitter to enjoy our weekly #RealTalk posts where we educate on more real estate terminology!