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Hello! It’s time again for Words and
Their Stories from VOA Learning
English. Many Americans and people
who come to America want to own a
home.
Home ownership is part of the
American Dream: the hope that if you
work hard and are treated fairly,
you can buy a place to call your
own.
to own: ser dueño de (una casa);
home ownership: (la)
propiedad inmobiliaria; treated
fairly: tratado equitativamente;
But buying a home can be difficult.
Even talking about it can be
confusing. The language of real
estate – the buying and selling of
property – includes its own terms,
phrases and expressions.
even talking about it:
incluso hablar de ello (del terma
inmobiliario); confusing:
confuso, complicado;
For starters, let’s talk about
who has the advantage in the
real estate market.
Well, that depends. A
buyer’s market
means a lot of people are trying to
sell their homes. People shopping
for a home – the buyers – have a lot
of choices, and the price of
property can be low.
starters: principiantes, recién
iniciados (en el tema inmobiliario);
advantage: ventaja; real
estate market: mercado
inmobiliario, mercado de compraventa
de propiedades; that depends:
eso depende; buyer's market:
mercado comprador (cuando existen
más vendedores que compradores);
a lot of choices: muchas
opciones (alternativas para elegir
casas); low =/= high:
bajo =/= alto;
But in a
seller’s market,
more people are trying to buy
property than there are homes
for
sale. As a result, people selling
their homes can charge a lot of
money. Or they can
wait for just the
right offer before deciding to
accept a
bid. In
other words, sellers
have the
upper hand.
seller's market: mercado
vendedor (cuando existen más
compradores que vendedores); for
sale: en venta; as a result:
por consiguiente; can charge:
pueden cobrar, pedir; wait for
just the right offer: esperar la
oferta justa (adecuada); before
deciding: antes de decidirse;
bid: propuesta, oferta en firme;
have the upper hand: dominar la
situación (literalmente = tener la
sartén por el mango);
So, let’s say you finally find a
place. You and the seller agree to a
price. But most houses cost a lot
more than anyone can simply buy
outright
in cash.
So you
put some money down.
For the rest, you
take out a mortgage
– a
loan from the bank to help you
pay for your home.
outright in cash: completamente
en efectivo; agree to a price: se ponen de
acuerdo en un precio; put some
money down: ponen algo de dinero;
take out a mortgage: contratan
una hipoteca; loan: préstamo;
Having a mortgage -- or carrying
a mortgage -- is normal. A lot of
Americans owe money on their homes.
But you never want to be
upside down
in
your mortgage. That means you owe
more than your house is worth.
owe: adeudan; upside down:
en ruinas (término
que describe un préstamo cuya deuda
es mayor que el valor de lo
adquirido);
than your house is worth: de lo
que vale tu propiedad;
Having a home with
more debt than value is also
called
being
underwater.
You can find yourself underwater if
you buy at the
peak of a
real estate
boom but
then something happens that causes
the value of your home to drop.
Maybe a highway is built through
your front yard, or a natural
disaster strikes, or violent riots
terrorize your once peaceful
neighborhood. Suddenly, your house
is
not worth as much as
you paid for it.
more debt than value: más deuda
que valor real; be underwater:
comprar una propiedad a precio más
alto del que puede venderse
(literalmente = encontrarse bajo el
agua, estar sumergido); peak:
pico, cima, máximo; real estate
boom: auge del sector
inmobiliario; causes the value
... to drop: hace que el valor
... caiga; strikes: sacude,
ataca; violent riots:
disturbios callejeros violentos;
once peaceful neighborhood:
alguna vez pacífico barrio;
suddenly: repentinamente; is
not worth as much as: no vale
tanto como;
People who find themselves upside
down in their mortgage often have no
choice but
to
foreclose.
This means the bank becomes
the
official owner of the house. The
buyers have
to move out, and they
lose the money they had originally
paid for the property.
to foreclose: ejecutar la
hipoteca (retirar la propiedad a
quien no cumple con los términos de
la hipoteca); becomes the
official owner: pasa a ser el
propietario legal; to move out:
cambiar de vivienda;
Before foreclosing on a family,
banks sometimes offer a
grace period.
This extra time allows the
homeowner to pull together
some funds to pay the mortgage.
before foreclosing on a family:
antes de iniciar juicio hipotecario
a una familia; grace period:
período de gracia, plazo de prórroga;
homeowner: propietario de la
vivienda; to pull together:
organizarse, aunar esfuerzos;
funds: fondos (dinero);
Now, let’s listen to a dialogue
using some of these terms.
terms: términos, palabras
específicas;
DIANA: Hey, thanks for coming over. I
have big news to tell you!
MARIO: You’re getting married.
DIANA: No. But it’s almost as
life-changing.
MARIO: Well, don’t keep me waiting.
DIANA: I’m buying a house!
for coming over: por venir;
big news: novedades importantes,
grandes noticias; you're getting
married: vas a casarte;
almost as life-changing: casi
como un cambio de vida; don't
keep me waiting: habla de una
vez, no me hagas esperar;
MARIO: But I love your apartment. It’s
so hard
to find a rental
with a great
outdoor deck like this!
DIANA: I know. Believe me, I love this
apartment too. But I’m tired of
paying rent. It’s time
to invest in some property. And right now, it’s a
buyer’s market.
MARIO: That’s true. There are so many
houses available that
prices have really hit
rock-bottom.
DIANA: I know!
Housing prices have
not been
this low in decades. Now
is the time to look for
a great deal.
MARIO: My cousin Bernie bought a place
15 years ago in this neighborhood
for a song.
It was so cheap! And now he owns it
free and clear.
to find a rental: encontrar una
propiedad en alquiler; outdoor
deck: balcón terraza; to
invest in: invertir en;
houses available: casas
disponibles (a la venta); hit
rock-bottom: (los precios) están
muy bajos (literal = están por el
suelo); housing prices: los
precios de las viviendas; this
low: tan bajos (expresión
coloquial; la expresión formal es
so low); a great deal: un
buen negocio (en este contexto);
for a song: baratísimo, casi por
nada; free and clear: libre
de hipotecas;
DIANA: Lucky guy. My friend Rebecca is
not so lucky. She bought her place
three years ago when the market was
peaking.
MARIO: Is she carrying a big
mortgage?
DIANA: Not only is she mortgaged
up to her eyeballs,
she’s actually
upside down
in
her mortgage.
MARIO: Oh no. She
owes the bank more
than
the house is worth in the
current market? Being
underwater
is the worst situation to be in.
DIANA: It gets worse. She just lost her
job and can’t make payments. The
bank is threatening to
foreclose!
MARIO: Yikes.
That is serious. Maybe she
can ask her bank for a
grace period.
If they give her three or four
months to find a job and
get back on her feet,
maybe they won’t have to
foreclose
on her house.
peaking: alcanzando el máximo
valor de venta; mortgaged up to
her eyeballs: endeudada hasta el
cuello (literal = hasta los ojos);
threatening: amenazando;
yikes:
no me digas (exclamación de sorpresa y
preocupación);
that is serious: eso
sí que es serio (enfatizando el
verbo IS); get back on her feet:
recuperarse (literal = volver a
ponerse de pie);
DIANA: Actually, she found a job in
another city. But she can’t move and
sell her house right now because
she’s
underwater
and will lose all the money she has
invested.
MARIO: Well, that’s a
catch-22
if ever I heard one.
DIANA: Stories like my friend Rebecca’s
scare me to death. Maybe I’ll
wait a little longer before becoming
a homeowner.
MARIO: Just
keep an eye on the market
and do your research. You don’t want
a big mortgage
hanging over your head,
but it also sounds like you don’t
want
to rent forever.
DIANA: Exactly. Especially with my other
big news. I got a puppy! Come here,
boy! Come and meet Uncle Mario!
invested: invertido; a catch-22:
un callejón sin salida (muy difícil
situación); scare me to death:
me aterrorizan; keep an eye on
the market: vigila el mercado;
hanging over your head: colgando
sobre tu cabeza; to rent forever:
alquilar eternamente; puppy:
perrito, cachorrito;
And that brings us to the end of Words and Their Stories. Whether you
own or rent, now you have some
expressions for the next time you
talk about real estate.
I’m Anna Matteo.
brings us: nos conduce;
whether: ya se trate de que;
you own or rent: eres
propietario o alquilas (rentas,
tomas en alquiler). |
