Skyway Bridge Tampa Bay - Photo by Chuck Lockett 2006
Florida Real Estate has a language of its own. Even Americans in other States wonder what a “retention pond” or a “lanai” is.
The following are a few of the most common and what they mean in British English!
  • Condo Hotels: Are usually large, high-rise, luxury hotels that are sold to individual investors who may use their unit as a
    vacation home whenever they like. When they're not using their unit, owners have the option of placing it into an
    organized rental program
  • Den:  A room, often secluded, in a house or apartment, designed to provide a quiet, comfortable, and informal
    atmosphere for conversation, reading, writing, etc.
  • Escrow: A bank account holding funds by a third party in safe keeping ready for a transaction.
  • Flood insurance: Insurance that compensates for physical property damage resulting from flooding.
  • Home inspection: Recommended before purchase to advise the condition of the structure.
  • Homeowners association:  A group of homeowners from one subdivision that is formed in order to establish and
    enforce deed restrictions.
  • Homeowners' insurance:  Provides fire, theft and liability coverage. Homeowners' policies are required by lenders and
    often cover a surprising number of items.
  • Jack-n- Jill bathrooms:  Two bedrooms that share access to the bathroom between them.
  • Lanai: A veranda with seating usually screened and can have a pool/spa. Comparable to a patio or porch.
  • MLS: In Florida most resale properties in an area are entered onto a computerized database (the multiple listing system
    or MLS), and the property details are available to all Realtors (Estate Agents), who subscribe to the MLS.
  • Pre-approval: Means you have met with a loan officer, your credit files have been reviewed and the loan officer believes
    you can readily qualify for a given loan amount with one or more specific mortgage programs. Based on this information,
    the lender will provide a Pre-approval letter, which shows your borrowing power.
  • Realtor®: Real estate agent. Only those Realtors who have been licensed by the state can be members of the National
    Association of Realtors® NAR.
  • Retention Pond: Required by building codes to retain runoff from rainfall to help reduce flooding problems
  • Single family home: A residence one or two story.
  • Snowbirds: Visitors from the north or colder climates who come to Florida to escape the winters and stay for weeks or
    months.
  • Survey: A drawing or map showing the precise legal boundaries of a property, the location of improvements, easements,
    rights of way, encroachments, and other physical features.
  • Title insurance: Insurance that protects the lender (lender's policy) or the buyer (owner's policy) against loss arising
    from disputes over ownership of a property.
  • Townhouse: A type of attached home usually in a building that has 2-4 floors.
  • Villa: A cluster of smaller 1 story homes usually attached and sometimes associated with a golf course.
  • Yard: A garden.