When my husband and I first started looking for a home, we went through newspaper ads and agent listings. We often found that when we actually went to look at the house, it left something to be desired. And now, thanks to a great post about the words real estate agents use from Kathy at Shak and Jill, I know what these real estate terms really mean:

Brick - Brick veneer on the front only. If it said all-brick, it’d be real brick all around.
Popular Neighborhood - Way overcrowded and possibly filled with gangs and/or crime.
Mature Trees - Nice shade, but let’s hope you don’t have septic because the roots will probably be eating away at it.
Immaculate - Not filthy.
Spacious - Not tiny.
Fenced Back Yard - To keep neighbor’s snarling rottweiler or pit bull out.
Affordable - Needs work.

My personal favorite is "affordable." I can’t tell you how many times we ran across that one. And it’s also probably why we went with new construction.