Real Estate Glossary
Our glossary is the largest dictionary of real estate and construction terms on the Internet with almost 10,000 definitions.
- Biangular
- Object with two angles.
- Biannual
- Occurring twice a year and also called semiannual.
- Bib or Bibb
- Faucet with a nozzle that is bent downward and used for outdoor hose connections. Also called a bibcock.
- Biconvex
- Convex on both sides.
- Bid
- Stated price given to perform a job.
- Bid Abstract
- Listing of jobs that government agencies have been awarded, showing the unit prices.
- Bid and Asked
- Real estate term describing the price wanted by the seller as opposed to the price a purchaser is willing to pay.
- Bid Bond
- Bonding company guarantee that the winning bidder will go into contract and supply performance and payment bonds.
- Bid Opening
- The reading of bids submitted for a job.
- Bid Out
- Prices that are obtained by contractors from sub-contractors so that they can estimate the building cost of a house or project, prior to construction.
- Bid Price
- Price a purchaser is willing to pay for a certain item.
- Bid Time
- Time between asking for a bid and when it is due to be received.
- Bidding War
- Multiple offers to purchase a piece of property or a house or competition between realtors for the listing of a piece of property or house.
- Bidet
- Bathroom fixture, similar in appearance to a toilet, which has water jets for cleaning the perineal area of the body.
- Biennial
- Occurring every two years.
- Bifold Door
- Door composed of panels that are hinged vertically in the middle, which fold back upon themselves.
- Bi-level
- Homes that are built on two levels with the garage and storage or recreation room in the lower level and the balance of the home in the upper. Homes of this style were built after 1950.
- Bilateral Contract
- A reciprocal contract in which the parties involved give mutual promises.
- Bilateral Listing
- Agreement between broker and seller agreeing on mutual performance, the broker to advertise at the agreed upon terms and the seller to sell the listed property. It may also mean listing two separate realtors.
- Bill of Material
- Listing of parts of an item as shown in a drawing.
- Bill of Sale
- A document transferring ownership.
- Bimetallic Strip
- Device made of two different metal with different rates of expansion.
- Bimetallic Thermometer
- Thermometer which uses the expansion of a liquid in a graduated glass tube with a reservoir bulb at one end or by a bimetallic strip that moves an indicator on a scale as the two metals expand at different rates when exposed to heat. Commonly used for the measurement of outdoor temperatures.
- Bind
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- To hold together or restrain.
- To sew carpet edges to avoid unraveling.
- Seizure between moving parts which stops further movement.
- Binder
- An agreement, prior to contract, between buyer and seller or the report which is issued by a title insurance company detailing conditions of a homes title and giving guidelines for the title insurance policy. Alternately:
- Compound which holds material together.
- Device that holds several pieces in place.
- Additive (starch) which increases the bond between the core of the board and the paper.
- Binder Bar
- Metal strip that covers the edge of carpeting where it meets in a doorway or entryway.
- Binding Arbitration
- The judgment, made by an independent third party, to settle a dispute between two other parties and may be either voluntary or compulsory.
- Bird Screen
- Screening covering vents and other openings in a building to prevent birds from entering.
- Birdbath
- Defect in an asphalt driveway that causes a depression, which fills with water.
- Bird's-eye
- Wood grain that forms into small circles or ellipses.
- Bird's Mouth Cut
- Cut that resembles the open mouth of a bird, which is made in the end of a rafter so that the rafter joints are snug with the top wall plate.
- Birdsmouth
- Cut that resembles the open mouth of a bird, which is made in the end of a rafter so that the rafter joints are snug with the top wall plate.
- Bisect
- Divide into two equal parts.
- Bit
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- Power screwdriver or screw gun part that turns the head of the screw.
- Drilling or boring tool.
- Soldering iron tip that heats.
- Bit, Annular
- Hollow cylinder shaped drill bit used to cut plugs of wood
- Bit Extension
- Extension to lengthen drill bits, for hard to reach places or deep holes, by use of a steel rod with a coupling to hold a drill bit, with the other end fitting into the chuck of the drill.
- Bit Gauge
- Device to limit the depth of a hole being drilled by clamping on the drill.
- Bitch Pot
- Asphaltic emulsion container.
- Bitumen
- Generic name for an amorphous, semi-solid mixture of complex hydrocarbons, which derive from an organic source. Asphalt and coal tar are two commonly used in the construction industry.
- Bituminous
- Containing or made with bitumen. Containing natural asphalt.
- Bituminous Coal
- Soft coal that yields pitch and tar and produces a large amount of smoke and ashes when it burns; containing volatile hydrocarbons.
- Bituminous Paving
- Paving composed of asphalt and aggregate.
- Biweekly Mortgage
- Mortgage that is paid every two weeks, rather than monthly, thus repaying the loan more quickly.
