Kolaboro / Glossary
Glossary for buying property abroad
The words developers, notaries and agents use, explained in one line each.
- Buyer's agent
- An agent who represents the buyer, not the seller, and is never paid by the seller.
- Certidão permanente
- Portuguese land registry certificate for a property.
- Ejido
- Communal land in Mexico that cannot be sold privately until it is converted to private property.
- Escrow
- An account held by a third party that releases money only when agreed conditions are met.
- Fideicomiso
- A Mexican bank trust that lets foreigners hold residential property near the coast or borders.
- Foreign quota (Thailand)
- The share of a condo building's floor area, up to 49%, that foreigners can own freehold.
- Freehold
- Full ownership of land or a property without a time limit.
- Hak Guna Bangunan (HGB)
- Indonesian right to build and own buildings on land for a renewable term; can be held by Indonesian companies, including foreign-owned ones.
- Hak Milik (SHM)
- Indonesian freehold title, available only to Indonesian citizens.
- Hak Pakai
- Indonesian right to use land for a renewable term, which foreigners who meet the rules can hold.
- Leasehold
- The right to use land or a property for a set number of years under a lease.
- Milestone payment
- A payment due when a stage of construction is finished, rather than on a calendar date.
- NIF
- Portuguese tax number, needed to buy property.
- Off-plan
- Buying a property before it is built, usually paying in stages during construction.
- Oqood
- Dubai's system for registering off-plan property sales.
- PBG
- Persetujuan Bangunan Gedung: Indonesian building approval.
- PPAT
- In Indonesia, the land deed official (often a notary) who registers land transactions.
- PT PMA
- A foreign-owned limited company in Indonesia.
- Rental yield
- Yearly rental income as a percentage of the purchase price; net yield subtracts costs.
- RERA
- Dubai's Real Estate Regulatory Agency.
- Retention
- Part of the price kept back until handover and a final inspection.
- SLF
- Sertifikat Laik Fungsi: Indonesian certificate that a finished building is fit for use.
- Snagging
- The inspection at handover that lists defects the developer must fix.
- Trust Score
- Kolaboro's 0 to 100 rating of a project or developer, built from nine evidence-based checks.
- Zoning
- The official plan that says what land may be used for.