Whether you are putting up your house for sale or on the lookout for a home to buy, there are several things that you need to make yourself familiar with in order to ensure that real estate agents do not get the better of you.

One of the jargons that you need to be familiar with is “flipper homes”. These are homes that were bought at a price lower than what the market dictates in a neighborhood that has a high real estate value. These homes are then “fixed” and are sold for a higher price. This practice is perfectly legal and is done by most agents in order to make more money.

On the other hand, a “short sale home” is one in which the seller’s lender is accepting discounted offers in an effort to release existing mortgage. This can be quite tricky as even if the seller accepts what you have to offer, the lender might not. Your best bet on this one is to get a real estate agent who specializes in short sales. Another term that you might come across is “gazumping”. This is when a seller verbally accepts a buyer’s offer and then sells the property to another buyer with a higher offer.

You might encounter a number of homes for sale in California tagged as halfplexes. These are different from a duplex and are usually, as the name suggests, half the size of a duplex. Halfplexes are located side by side with each other but are entirely distinct. These are suitable for first-time house buyers as they are quiet affordable. Duplexes, on the other hand, are semi-detached homes. These types of homes usually share a common wall.

There are also times when you would be offered California home for sale that are located “cul-de-sac”. These are homes that are located at a dead end and are usually priced for the security and privacy that they bring. You would also need to understand what a buyer’s market is as opposed to a seller’s market. The former occurs when the demand for property is less than the existing supply, while the latter occurs when there is a greater supply then demand for a property.