We’ve seen it early, and we confess, Selling Sunset Season 5 on Netflix is the juiciest of them all! Granted, we love all the upscale real estate reality shows, but even if star Jason Oppenheim weren’t so very nice to us over the years, we’d still be transfixed.
We were stunned to find out, however, that four seasons in, many of the Selling Sunset fans on Twitter have confirmed that they have absolutely no idea what they’re talking about sometimes, and are oblivious to what some of the real estate terms mean.
Preply, a global language learning marketplace, connecting 140,000 tutors with tens of thousands of students from all over the world, found that hundreds of thousands of people per month are searching for these common real estate terms.
Some are indeed confusing— even to us. So we’ve picked the five terms from Selling Sunset Season 5 that we feel are the most confusing, and spell them out for you.
And we’ve also provided a trailer at the end so you can see why we’re all agog at the latest season.
Definitions of 5 Insider Phrases From Selling Sunset Season 5
1. Realtor vs. real estate agent vs. broker
Don’t get down on yourself for not knowing the difference between these terms. Even real estate professionals confuse them every day. Basically:
- A real estate agent has a professional license to help people buy, sell, and rent real estate. He/she must work for a sponsoring broker or brokerage firm.
- A realtor is a real estate agent that is part of an official trade association.
- A broker is a real estate agent who has completed additional training and licensing requirements. Brokers can work independently and hire other real estate agents to work for them. Broker can open up their own offices and they get a percentage of their employees’ commissions.
So in Selling Sunset terms, Jason Oppenheim gets a piece of every deal his agents make, so he wins no matter who sells what.
2. Double-ended deal
Also known as a “duel agent”deal, this is when an agent represents both the buyer and seller on the same transaction. This can be a tricky situation for novice agents, since they have a duty to negotiate the lowest price for the buyer while also achieving the highest price for the seller.
However, if it works, this is a great way for the agent to make even more connections and money, since there’s no need to split their commission with another agent.
3. Escrow
The reason this term is so confusing is that there are some states in the US that don’t require an escrow period at all.
California, where Selling Sunset takes place, of course does indeed require an escrow period. This is a certain amount of time, agreed on by both buyer and seller, when a third party holds the funds for the property while offer conditions are confirmed. It protects both the buyer and seller, and includes the amount of money a buyer puts down when they sign the contract.
If the sellers want time to find another house and move, they may request a longer escrow period. If they’ve already found a new home, however, and want to take the money and run, a shorter escrow period may decide who wins the bid on their house.
4. Contingencies
Contingencies are conditions that must be satisfied before the buying/selling process can continue. A contingent offer is an offer that is contingent on something the buyer needs to accomplish before the deal can proceed. For example, an offer may be contingent upon an appraisal that equals the agreed upon selling price—if the appraisal comes in below that price, a bank won’t make the loan on it. Or the offer may be contingent upon the seller making certain repairs or upgrades.
The contingency period protects buyers so their deposit is not at risk until both buyer and seller have signed off and contingencies are released. However, if a buyer insists on too many contingencies, they will likely lose the bid on the house. Such is the case in super hot real estate markets like those on Selling Sunset.
5. Under offer
When a property is under offer, it means that an offer has been made and accepted—under certain conditions. Until the seller agrees to the specific conditions under consideration, the property has not yet been sold and the transaction is not legally binding.
It’s common practice for the agent representing the seller to accept “backup offers” from other bidders, in case the original deal falls through. So don’t lose all hope if the house you’re bidding on goes “under offer” to someone else. You may have a chance at it yet.
And now, just as promised, the juicy trailer from Selling Sunset Season 5 :
Here’s a guide to the insider real estate lingo that will help you love Selling Sunset Season 5 even more—or any other dishy real estate reality show.