Property Vocabulary

apartment^US	n. a room or group of rooms to live in, usually on one floor; flat^UK
	We're buying a two-bedroom apartment on the tenth floor.
development	n. an area of land, often subdivided, with newly-built houses or commercial buildings for sale or rent - real-estate developer n.
	How much do houses in that new residential development cost?
elevator^US	n. a compartment for moving people from floor to floor in a building; lift^UK
	The elevator was out of order, so we had to walk all the way up to the tenth floor.
en suite	*adj.* forming one unit, esp of a bathroom and bedroom - also *n. & adv.*
	The master bedroom has a luxury en-suite bathroom with shower cabin and whirlpool bath.
estate agent^UK	n. a person whose business is to help clients buy, sell or rent property; real estate agent^US
	How much commission will our estate agent get for selling the house?
first floor^US	n. storey of a building at the same level as the street or ground; ground floor^UK
	The reception area is on the first floor, right next to the entrance from the street.
flat^UK	n. a room or group of rooms to live in, usually on one floor; apartment^US
	We've rented the same one-bedroom flat for years, and we love it.
for sale	offered for purchase; to be sold; available to be bought
	Are there many houses for sale around here at the moment?
freehold	n. the holding of land or property for an unlimited period of time - also *adj.*
	I think freehold means you own all the land and buildings on your property outright.
furnished	*adj.* [of a house, apartment etc] offered for rent with furniture included - to furnish v.
	Have you ever seen a furnished apartment that has furniture you actually like?
garden	n. an area of land next to a house or other building on which grass and other plants can be grown; yard^US
	It's got a really nice garden with plenty of trees and flower beds.
ground floor^UK	n. storey of a building at the same level as the street or ground; first floor^US
	The ad says it's a fully-furnished flat on the ground floor with a private garden.
landlord	n. a man who owns an apartment, house, office etc and rents it out to tenants - also n. landlady a woman who does this
	Our landlord has given us one more week to pay the rent, but that's all.
leasehold	n. the holding of property by lease for a set period of time - also *adj.*
	Before purchasing a leasehold, get a real estate lawyer to check the contract.
let^UK	v. [let, let] to give someone who pays money ("the rent") the use of your property (house, apartment, building etc)
	If you decide to let your apartment, I'd suggest letting it to someone without kids or pets.
lift^UK	n. a compartment for moving people from floor to floor in a building; elevator^US
	Just as the doors were closing, I heard someone say, "Hold the lift, please!"
real estate^US	n. land and buildings; property^UK
	Any block of land next to the beach is a prime piece of real estate around here.
rent¹	n. the amount of money a tenant must pay (monthly, weekly etc) to stay in a house, apartment etc
	My greedy landlord is putting up the rent again!
rent²	v. to pay money regularly (monthly, weekly etc) for the use of a house, apartment, office etc
	Finding an affordable place to rent is getting more and more difficult as prices go up.
storey^UK	n. one of the levels of a building; floor; story^US
	Our new shop's on the ground floor of a sixteen storey office building.
tenant	n. a person who rents an apartment, house, office etc from a landlord
	They're the tenants from hell! They're noisy and dirty and their dog poops inside so the whole place stinks.
yard^US	n. space or ground surrounding a building; garden
	The house has a huge yard for the kids to play in.