What do they mean?

It’s wise to keep up with agents’ wacky buzzwords, says Max Davidson

Flipping heck! it’s hard to keep up with English colloquialisms. Ten years ago, during the parliamentary expenses scandal, the word ‘flipping’ became used to describe the practice of Mps re-designating their main homes as second homes in order to maximise allowable expenses.

now ‘flipping’ is back — but with a new meaning. A flipper is now a canny investor who buys a property, then promptly re-sells it at a profit.

The term — like a lot of words in vogue with estate agents in this country — originated in America. Another good example is ‘tyre-kicker’, which is agentspeak for someone who looks at property, but has no intention of buying.

‘ Flipping’ is certainly a colourful metaphor — and, by the look of things, here to stay. Estate agent Countrywide has even done some research into the practice and established that the flipping capital of Britain is, of all places, Burnley.

The lancashire town would not normally be a magnet for savvy investors, but real estate there is changing hands at an extraordinary rate, with 8.3 per cent of all properties sold in the year to April ‘flipped’ within weeks.

Connoisseurs of flipping have identified two distinct types: a ‘smart flip’, where a property is renovated before being sold on, and a ‘speculative flip’, where the investor does nothing to the property, but just waits for its market value to rise.

What other buzzwords should we look out for?

We all know about gazumping. The word is nearly 50 years old. gazundering, or a buyer lowering their offer just prior to exchange of contracts, is almost as familiar. But ‘gazanging’ — a seller changing their mind and deciding not to sell after all — still feels slightly avant-garde.

property is a competitive business, and that is reflected in the innovative use of language. in the once ultra-traditional Cotswolds, for example, some properties are now being marketed as ‘Soho-centric’ — denoting a property close to hip private members’ club, Soho Farmhouse.

Another newcomer to the jargon of real estate, particularly in Central london, is ‘sales progression’. As soon as an offer has been accepted, the transaction is put in the capable hands of the ‘sales progression team’. it sounds impressive, and some agents have genuinely raised their game in this area, but often it is just hot air. like all salesmen, estate agents are inveterate gilders of the lily.

Ross Davies, a partner at Knight Frank, is always amused by the way that property particulars sneak in phrases that create a grandiose impression but convey little.

‘A term that gets used more and more is “lateral apartment”,’ he says. ‘it’s just a flat. A “half house” is what we used to call a bog-standard semi-detached.’

When an estate agent is in full flow, drafting a brochure, euphemism follows euphemism in bewildering succession. is the property at the top of a steep hill? it enjoys an ‘elevated position’. Does it overlook a railway line? it’s ‘characterful’.

is the main bedroom ten-foot square? Then it’s ‘compact’. is the owner desperate to sell? He is ‘motivated’. is he already dead? Well, there is ‘no onward chain’.

Unless we are super-vigilant, we are all susceptible to those little come-on words that lure unsuspecting buyers across the threshold. Take that most sought-after domestic feature — the ‘gourmet kitchen’. How can an inanimate space be invested with a discerning palate? The food eaten there will only be as good as the person cooking it. The term is beyond ridiculous.

We also have our American friends to thank for another property buzzword: turnkey. no, not turkey. Turnkey, with an ‘n’ — signifying that a property is in such immaculate condition that it’s fully fit for habitation.

Find the right lateral turnkey property, with a gourmet kitchen, and you should be able to flip it at a profit before you can say bijou second bedroom.