Uncoding real estate lingo: Denise Dory unlocks real estate "talk"

Denise: Real estate agent Heather Perkins could talk forever about the highlights of this federal hill row home.
Heather: "Exposed brick, crown molding, stainless steel appliances..." Denise: But try putting all that in an ad.
Heather: "You have such a small amount of space in which to say so many things about a house you have to develop abbreviations."
Denise: So, realtors turn to short-hand to describe a home.
Heather: "A stainless steel appliance would be ss-appl." "Crn mld for crown molding". "Exp brk for exposed brick". Denise: And when it's all put together... Heather: "3 br, 2 fab ba tot rehab ths hwf new kit with slash grn"...."so 3 bed, 2 fabulous baths total renovation townhouse hardwood floors with new kitchen granite countertops side windows and garden"
Denise: Easy for her, but Perkins admits its hard for buyers to understand the "lingo" agents use.
Heather: "The abrev have gotten a life of their own and we all know what they are and we invent new ones as different amenities appear in houses" Denise: And it's a language where a few letters can offer big clues.
Heather: "If you read very carefully you can tell a lot about a house from it's description"
Denise: And spot common real estate cliches. If a house is a fixer upper? Heather: "They're going to say it's a handyman special, a blank slate you can bring personal touch to."
Denise: If it's small?
Heather: "Adorable, charming...or cozy, that's a big one.”
Denise: Decoding real estate lingo is just like anything else.
Heather: "Practice makes perfect, you have to see things often enough to identify them." Denise Dory, ABC-2 News.