skuke n.— «In this little town on the south coast, people like me — summer folk — are known as skukes. I’ve never met anyone who knows the real derivation of the term, but it’s not a compliment. Skukes are annoying because...
regrat v.— «Grantor-retained annuity trusts, or GRATs, let a person avoid a gift tax when giving money earned on hedge funds, private equity, real estate, stocks and other assets. […] Market shocks that started last year threaten...
REO n.— «R.E.O. is industry lingo for “Real Estate Owned,” the term that bankers assign to homes they have taken in a foreclosure. Reomac is the industry group that serves the mortgage default trade, specializing in selling the busted-up...
cash for keys n.— «The celebration started early Saturday, with poolside music and drinks, as partygoers passed around business cards and compared notes on successful techniques for evicting residents who try to stay in bank-owned...
bank walkaway n.— «Banks are quietly declining to take possession of properties at the end of the foreclosure process, most often because the cost of the ordeal—from legal fees to maintenance—exceeds the diminishing value of the real...
silent second n.—Gloss: Someone who loans money to someone else in order to buy a home, usually to make them look like a good risk, without notifying the prime lender. «The holdback could be considered what is known as a silent second...