The 1-Year Challenge: Learn 52 Spanish Real Estate Terms in 52 Weeks
Did you know that Spanish is the second most widely spoken language in nearly every U.S. state? That means it's likely that you've either had clients or prospects that speak the language.
But even though translation apps have come far in recent years (more on that later), it's still difficult to accurately translate the specialized jargon of real estate into Spanish and other languages.
According to a government report, "translations may create more confusion than clarity. For example, when targeting materials and products to Latinos, financial education materials often are translated from English to their literal equivalent in Spanish, which may be unintelligible or difficult for the reader to understand."
So to help you better serve your Spanish-speaking clients and leads, we've compiled this list of 52 of the most-used real estate terms and their Spanish translations. It's drawn from the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau's Glossary of English-Spanish Financial Terms, a constantly updated list of hundreds of finance and real estate related terms.
You can bookmark or save this article to refer to later—or if you really want to boost your Spanish language skills, read on for a challenge that will help you master real estate's most commonly needed translations.
The Challenge
Ready for a low pressure way to build your Spanish vocabulary? We've included 52 real estate terms in this article--one for every week of the year. You can build your vocabulary slowly by committing to learning and using one term per week.
You can start this challenge now, next month, your birthday, the anniversary of your first sale, or any other date that motivates you. Here's the challenge:
Learn one term per week for 52 weeks, or exactly one year. Aim to use that term at least 1-3 times in your work during that week in order for it to really sink in. This is easy if you have Spanish speaking clients--just drop it into conversation, email, or text.
If you don't have any Spanish speaking clients, use that week's term to flex your online marketing skills. Write a blog post about the term, or share the term and its translation on social media with a memorable hashtag.
Dive in to the list below to get started!
The List
AppraisalTasación, valoración de la vivienda
AssessmentEvaluación, cargo, tarifa
Buyer's AgentAgente del comprador
Closing CostsCostos de cierre, gastos de cierre
Closing dateFecha de cierre
Commercial propertyPropiedad comercial
CommissionComisión
Comparative Market Analysis (CMA)CMA (Análisis Comparativo de Mercado)
Contingency / Contingency clause of saleContingencia / Cláusula de contingencia de venta
ContractContrato
CostsCostos, gastos
CounterofferContraoferta
DeedEscritura, título de inmueble
DisclosureRevelación, divulgación
Down paymentPago inicial, cuota inicial
Due diligenceDiligencia debida
Earnest money depositDepósito de buena fe, depósito de arras
EscrowDepósito en garantía, reserva, escrow, depósito para impuestos y seguros de la vivienda
Estimated property valueValor estimado de la vivienda
Fair Market ValueValor de mercado, precio de mercado
Fiduciary DutiesDeberes fiduciarios
ForeclosureEjecución hipotecaria, embargo, reposesión, reposeer
For sale by owner (FSBO)Casa en venta por el propietario (FSBO, por sus siglas en inglés)
Good faith estimateEstimado de Buena Fe/Estimación de Buena Fe (GFE, por sus siglas en inglés)
GranteeCesionario, beneficiario
GrantorOtorgante
Home buyerComprador de vivienda
Home EquityValor liquido, capital de su vivienda
Home, houseVivienda, casa, hogar
Home InspectionInspección de la vivienda
HomeownerPropietario de vivienda, propietario de casa, dueño de casa
Homeowner's associationAsociación de propietarios
Homeowner's InsuranceSeguro de la vivienda, seguro del propietario de vivienda, aseguranza de casa
Investment propertyPropiedad adquirida con fines de inversión, propiedad de Inversión
LienGravamen, derecho de retención, deuda, embargo preventivo
Listed for saleEn venta, para la venta
Listing price, list pricePrecio anunciado, precio de lista
Loan-to-value ratioRelación Préstamo - Valor (LTV, por sus siglas en inglés)
MortgageHipoteca, préstamo
Preapproval, preapprovedPreaprobación, preaprobado
PrequalifiedPrecalificado
Principal, interest, taxes, and insurancePrincipal, Interés, Impuestos y Seguro (PITI, por sus siglas en inglés)
Private mortgage insuranceSeguro hipotecario privado (pmi, por sus siglas en inglés)
Real estate agentAgente de bienes raíces
Real estate brokerCorredor inmobiliario
REALTORAgente inmobiliario
Seller's AgentAgente inmobiliario del vendedor, agente de bienes raíces que representa al vendedor
Short SaleVenta en corto, venta corta
TitleTítulo (de la propiedad)
WarrantyGarantía
Zip codeCódigo posta
Zone / zoningZona, Zonificación
Apps that can help
If language learning isn't quite your thing, lean on technology to provide the help you need. Google Translate is perhaps the most advanced, free translation app available today, and it takes advantage of several of your smartphone's features to do stuff like:
Translate text in the "real world" -- e.g., from street signs, newspapers, menus, etc. -- into the language of your choice by pointing your phone's camera at the object to be translated.
Translate conversations in real time. Speak into your phone to translate your words into the language of your choice, and your conversation partner can do the same. Google Translate acts as an interpreter that produces audio translations of both sides of the conversation.
Translate text from any app. No matter what app is open, Google Translate can step in and translate text for you. Simply copy the text to activate translate mode.
And more.
Google Translate is available for both Android and iOS devices.
For more on translation technology, see:
4 Apps that Let Real Estate Professionals Smash Language Barriers
Has Technology Brought Real-Time Translation to Real Estate?