| Term | Plain-language definition |
|---|---|
| Net-effective rent | Total you'll actually pay across the lease ÷ months of the lease. The only number that makes specials comparable. Calculator. |
| Flex cash | A builder credit spendable on closing costs, rate buydown, or upgrades — usually with a preferred-lender condition and an expiration date. Price it as cash. Ledger. |
| 2-1 buydown | Financing where the rate runs 2 points low in year one, 1 point low in year two, then full rate after. Budget the year-three payment on day one. |
| Permanent buydown / points | Paying up front (often with builder money) for a lower rate for the loan's life. Compare against taking the money as a price cut. Comparator. |
| MUD | Municipal Utility District — taxes property within it to repay the bonds that built its water/sewer/drainage. Adds to your effective tax rate. Guide. |
| PID | Public Improvement District — an assessment for improvements, sometimes carried as a payoff-able balance. Ask for the balance and terms. |
| BTR (build-to-rent) | Neighborhoods of new houses built for professional renting — house living, apartment-style management. Guide. |
| Option period | The Texas contract window where the buyer can terminate for a small fee — when inspections, HOA documents, and every verification this site recommends should happen. |
| Escrow analysis | The lender's annual recalculation of the tax-and-insurance portion of your payment — the mechanism behind payment changes on fixed-rate loans. |
| Homestead exemption | The free filing that reduces your primary residence's taxable value and caps assessed-value growth. Guide. |
| Inventory / quick move-in home | A completed or near-completed builder home — faster close, upgrades baked in, and often where the richest advertised incentives sit. |
| Attendance zone | The campus-level boundary inside a district — the actual answer to "which school," and the thing to verify by exact address. Method. |
Definitions are plain-language education, August 2026 — contracts and statutes govern the real thing.
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