In this age of TARP (toxic asset something or other) and other new acronyms creeping into jargon each day, is it becoming harder and harder to talk to one another?
I was using BPO in a conversation with a past client recently... more than once. He had to ask. Mea Culpa (forgive me.)
What is the Columbus MSA? After posting a couple of posts about home values recently I wondered if everyone reading would know what the Columbus MSA is.
Some will.
Some won't.
MSA from Answer.com include Medical Savings Account and Metropolitan Service Area. I always thought it was Metropolitan Statistical Area..... and that definition for the acronym is there.
An acronym that has become totally enmeshed in our collective minds in the US is ZIP which stands for Zone Improvement Plan. A ZIP code is not a place it is a route for mail delivery. Mail delivery was improved by us using a 5 digit code sometime in the 1960's? Then an additional four digits really, really helped at some point later.
Real estate and finance
BPO = Broker Price Opinion
CMA = Competative Market Analysis (some say Comparable Market Analysis)
FHA = Federal Housing Administration
FNMA =Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae)
HUD = Housing and Urban Development
MLS = Multiple Listing Service
MSA = Metropolitan Area
NAR = National Association of Realtors
VA = Veterans Administration (so much more than real estate but we talk about VA loans, VA Repos)
There are many more....
Real Estate Closer to Home
OAR = Ohio Association of Realtors
CBR = Columbus Board of Realtors
HER = Harley E. Rouda the founder of Real Living HER or the original company that is today Real Living HER, formerly HER Realtors. The #1 real estate company in Central Ohio.
The Real Living website has a glossary of real estate terms... not just acronyms... but some of the real estate acronyms are there if you need them. It's not just for first time buyers either. New words and acronyms creep in all the time... like TARP....
OK this is a guess...
TARP = Toxic Assets Relief Program
Here's an online Acronym Finder
They say Troubled Assets Relief Program...
I'd abbreviate my title "Creeping Real Estate Acronyms" to CREA but that means Canadian Real Estate Association and Certified Real Estate Appraiser and according to the Acronym Finder.
"Note: We have 70 other definitions for CREA in our Acronym Attic"
Oh my.
The word image is from Wordle.net
Maureen McCabe Real Living HER Worthington
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This is a good idea for a post. I sometimes forget that our real estate lingo is not common knowledge.
Wow.. how annoying. Some acronyms are just to much.
How about BFFL - Best Friends For Life - GAG ME!
forgot REO....
thanks for stopping by
Hi Maureen... every industry I have ever worked in has had its own set of acronyms to master. And as soon as you have them mastered, the list always seems to be amended to add new ones!
gotta say...I had wondered about HER for a while...was it just for She and not Him...glad that's straightened out...the biz just keeps creating new ones as it evolves....enjoy !
Inside jargon is not a problem... in most industries the people who talk to consumers seldom use it but as far back as I can remember we always have... with things like "MLS"... the past client I was talking to started a conversation about foreclosures and short sales so I say BPO over and over without batting an eye....
Sally there is a small local company who uses SHE for Sells Homes Everywhere.
HER is pronounced "H.E. R." The brokerage in Central Ohio is called "Real Living H. E. R." now which is a mouthful. We used to be "HER Realtors, which was pronounced "H.E. R. Realtors" so I never think of it as "her" as in him and her. It is the number one brokerage and has been for years. Harley E. Rouda Sr. started the company in his basement in 1956.
Some in Central Ohio will know what HER means, others may not.
Outside of Central Ohio some people assume HER meant something to do with women, that it is an all women company. I think locally people would see men and not make that assumption. Real estate is local.
I was at a Real Living conference (Real Living is the parent company although it is younger, not just Real Living HER, there are franchise offices with other names... ) yesterday. Harley E. Rouda Sr. was involved in the presentation of one of the awards. Harley E. Rouda looks like a thinner Red Skelton. He told a funny joke. Few people in this day and age could pull it off but Harley E. Rouda Sr. did.