The words you will hear from offer to closing, in plain English.
- Appraisal
- A licensed appraiser's estimate of the home's value for the lender. If it comes in below the price, the buyer, seller or both may need to make up the difference or renegotiate.
- Appraisal contingency
- Lets the buyer cancel or renegotiate if the appraisal is lower than the price, within the agreed time.
- Closing Disclosure
- The lender's final statement of the loan's terms and costs, given to the buyer at least three business days before signing.
- Contingency
- A condition in the purchase contract, such as the loan, appraisal or inspection, that must be met or removed by a deadline.
- Contingency removal
- The buyer's signed form saying a contingency is satisfied or waived. After that, the deposit may be at risk if the buyer backs out.
- Disclosure packet
- The documents a seller shares before or after an offer: seller disclosures, inspection reports, the natural hazard report, HOA documents and others.
- Earnest money deposit
- The buyer's good-faith deposit, usually sent to escrow within a few days of acceptance and credited toward the purchase at closing.
- Escrow
- A neutral third party that holds the money and documents and closes the sale when every condition is met.
- Homeowners' exemption
- A reduction of $7,000 in a home's assessed value for property tax, for owners who live in the home as their main residence.
- Impound account
- An account the lender keeps to pay property tax and insurance from part of each monthly payment.
- Natural hazard disclosure (NHD)
- A report that shows whether a property is in a flood, fire, earthquake fault or seismic hazard zone.
- Pre-approval
- A lender's conditional commitment to lend up to an amount, after checking income, assets and credit.
- Prop 13
- California's rule that sets a home's assessed value at the purchase price and limits increases to 2% a year.
- Prop 19
- Lets homeowners 55 and older and some others move their assessed value to a new home, and limits parent-to-child transfers.
- Seller Property Questionnaire (SPQ)
- A form where the seller answers detailed questions about the home's condition and history.
- Supplemental tax bill
- A property tax bill for the difference between the seller's assessed value and the new purchase price, for the rest of the tax year.
- Title insurance
- Insurance against problems with the ownership record. Buyers usually get a lender's policy, and the owner's policy protects the buyer's ownership.
- Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS)
- The California form where the seller discloses known facts about the home's condition.
- Transfer tax
- A tax on the sale, charged by the county and by some cities, usually paid by the seller in Santa Clara County.
Common questions
What does 'in escrow' mean?
The offer has been accepted and a neutral escrow company is holding the deposit and documents until the sale closes.
What is the difference between a pre-qualification and a pre-approval?
A pre-qualification is an estimate based on what you tell a lender. A pre-approval means the lender has checked your documents and credit, which sellers take more seriously.
General information, reviewed November 2026. Rules and rates change; it is not legal, tax or lending advice. Check with the official source or a professional before you rely on it.