Elizabeth Ann Stribling-Kivlan, president of real estate brokerage Stribling & Associates in New York, calls out several buzzwords that real estate professionals should stop using or use more appropriately in a recent Forbes article. Those words include:

Luxury

She calls “luxury” the most overused word on her list by real estate professionals and says the word has been so overused in describing its properties that its value has been reduced. “Real estate professionals need to really ask ourselves what ‘luxury’ means,” she says. “Is a one-bedroom apartment with a clean aesthetic and laundry in the basement truly a luxury property? Is it appropriate to lump in standard homes in the same breath as a magnificent chateau in France or a triplex penthouse with endless views? If the word ‘luxury’ applies to everything that comes on the market, then it has all but lost its meaning.”

Bespoke

Stribling-Kivlan says she finds “bespoke” used on plenty of property descriptions and it’s usually used in an incorrect way. The word means custom-made or tailored to fit an individual’s needs. “Mass-producing bespoke inventory is a contradiction, and constantly seeing this word in the wrong context is tiring for everyone, including consumers,” she writes.

Triple Mint

This phrase is similar to saying “mint condition,” which refers to a previously owned property that is in relatively good shape. “Triple mint” means the property is in mint condition in three ways: its overall condition, kitchen condition, and bathroom condition. “Saying a bedroom is in triple mint condition makes little sense, since there is no context for the triple,” she says. “An apartment that has never been lived in or is completely new shouldn’t be described as ‘triple mint’ because no one has used any of the features and there is no litmus test of time to stand up to.”

Read more of Stribling-Kivlan’s “dirty real estate words” at Forbes.com.

Source: “Real Estate’s Five Dirty Words,” Forbes.com (Feb. 21, 2018)