Real Estate Basics 

: Vocabulary

Choose the best answer for each question

Exercise 1

1. This house is definitely within your __________________________. = You can definitely afford to buy
this house.

price range cost dollars

2. I don't think they would __________________________ below $200,000. = I don't think they would
agree to a price below $200,000.

do go be

3. The first step to buying the house is to get a mortgage __________________________. 


approval approbation appraisal

4. It's a little below __________________________ value. = It's being sold slightly below what it is worth.

house market real estate

5. I'll __________________________ the owners with your offer. = I'll let the owners know what price
you're willing to pay.

press praise present

6. This house was ___________________________ ( = repossessed by the bank from the owner due to
non-payment)

closed enclosed foreclosed

7. This is one of the most _________________________ ( = popular, looked-for) neighborhoods in the city. 

desirable destitute designed

8. I have one ___________________________ ( = one story house) that would be perfect for you.

bunker bungalow shotgun shack

9. In real estate, one often uses the word "__________________________" as a nice way of saying "small".

Miniscule minute cozy

10. This house has both an attic and a __________________________ basement. ( = a basement where
some of the windows are above ground level.) 

look-out locked-in lights-out
Exercise 2
1. The type of basement in which one can't stand up is known as a __________________________.
crawl space/crawlspace
crawling space
lying down basement

2. There's a little bit of __________________________ ( = stains, etc. due to a water leak) on the ceiling.
water damage
water problem
liquid trouble

3. The roof would have to be __________________________. = You would have to get a new roof.
replicated
reviewed
replaced

4. There's lots of __________________________ room in the attic.

store
storage
stored-up

5. A __________________________ is a house that's in fairly bad shape, one that you have to invest a lot
of money in to make "liveable".
fifty-fifty
handyman
fixer-upper

6. The condo ___________________________ ( = monthly maintenance payments) are pretty high in this
building.
fees
payments
price

7. The _________________________ price ( = the initial price set by the owner) for this property is
$400,000.
list
last
lease

8. This house has two bedrooms on the lower ___________________________, and two more on the
upper ___________________________.
unit
floor
level

9. The bedrooms are __________________________ from the main entertaining area, so noise won't be a
problem.
put away
tucked away
set down

10. A __________________________ apartment = a fairly big apartment

sellable
sizeable
sensible
Exercise 3: Write the correct word (from the list at the bottom) to describe each picture — remember
that not all of the words should be used:

7.     

1.     
 




8.     



2.     




9.     

3.   back   






10.     



4.     




11.     




5.     




12.     

6.     


driveway closet

yard roof

chimney staircase

windows gazebo

attic bathroom

fireplace floor plan

deck garage
Exercise 4: Buying a house or apartment 1 



1. Which ________ are your looking in?


vicinities


neighborhoods



2. Can I take a look at the ________? 


floor plan


floor diagram



3. We'd like to buy a new house, but first we'll have to talk to a bank about ________ it.


finding


financing



4. I'm sorry, but the price is not ________. 


negligible


negotiable



5. We're looking for a house with three ________.


bedrooms


sleeping rooms



6. I'm sorry but that's a little out of our ________.


price limit


price range



7. If we want to buy this house, we'll have to take out a ________.


mortgage


credit



8. Most people agree that it's better to buy than ________. 


to rent


to purchase



9. One of my good friends works in real estate. He's a real estate ________. 


agency


agent



10. Let me think about it. I'll ________ tomorrow.


let me know


let you know




11. This house it's beautiful, but the neighborhood seems a little ________.


dangerous

 hazardous



12. Your mortgage ________ will be about $400 per month.


fees


payments



13. We're ________ ( = moving) to Atlanta and we're interested in buying a condo.


replacing


relocating



14. There's a ________ in the back yard. 


swimming pool


swimming tank



15. The back yard is really big, but there's almost no ________ yard.


front


face



16. This apartment is a little more noisy because it ________ the street.


looks


faces



17. The house has a two-car ________.


garage


car hole



18. I think that the owner is willing to ________ the price a little. 


diminish


lower



19. A "fixer-upper" is a house that needs a lot of ________. 


workplace


work



20. We'd like to ________ (to the new house) by the end of January.


move in


get in

 Answer sheet

Exercise 1:

Price range; go; approval; market; present; foreclosed; desirable; bungalow; cozy; look-out

Exercise 2:

Crawlspace; water damage; replaced; storage; fixer-upper; fees; list; level; tucked away; sizeable

Exercise 3:

Staircase; windows; yard; deck; closet; roof; driveway; garage; gazebo; attic; floor plan; fireplace

Exercise 4:

Neighborhoods; floor plans; financing; negotiable; bedrooms; price range; mortgage; to rent; agent; let
you know; dangerous; payments; relocating; swimming-pool; front; faces; garage; lower; work; move in

This worksheet was created using the interactive resources on http://www.businessenglishsite.com/

index.html and http://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/index.html.