The renter's glossary
Twenty terms that decide real money, defined the way we’d explain them across a kitchen table.
Twenty terms that decide real money in this market — each defined the way we'd explain it across a kitchen table. Every guide on this site links here when jargon appears.
Effective rent
Total lease cost divided by lease months — the real monthly price after concessions. A $1,450 unit with 8 weeks free on 12 months is $1,227 effective. Offices approve on sticker; smart renters compare on effective.
Reletting fee
Texas's standard early-exit charge, commonly ~85% of one month's rent, owed when you break a lease. It compensates the property for re-marketing the unit; it is not the end of your exposure — rent until re-let stacks on top.
Concession
Any move-in incentive — free weeks, waived fees, gift cards. This market's dominant form is 6–8 weeks free. Concessions are how a soft market clears without cutting sticker rents, which protects renewal pricing.
Concession clawback
The lease clause requiring repayment of your free weeks if you exit early. Those 8 free weeks were conditional on finishing the term — breaking month 6 can add $2,000+ to your exit bill.
Look-back window
How many years of history a screening actually examines — commonly 2–5 for rental records. A broken lease outside the window effectively vanishes; ask each property for theirs before paying an application fee.
Income multiple
The approval math: gross income must be 2.5–3x rent at nearly every managed property. Household incomes usually combine; the multiple is calculated on sticker rent, not effective.
Sticker (advertised) rent
The listed monthly price before concessions — the number screening uses, renewal quotes anchor to, and marketing shows. Rarely the number you actually pay in year one.
Prorated vs. upfront concession
Two ways to take free weeks: spread evenly across every month (prorated — honest budgeting, lower every check) or concentrated in months one and two (upfront — feels great, then full price hits). Many offices will structure either way if asked.
Look-and-lease special
A bonus (often $200–$500 or extra free weeks) for applying within 24–48 hours of touring — a designed urgency mechanic. Counter it by getting the quote in writing and confirming the offer stands 72 hours.
Reletting vs. subleasing
Reletting: property re-rents the unit, your lease ends. Subleasing: you remain liable while someone else occupies. Texas leases usually require landlord consent for either; reletting is almost always the cleaner exit.
Second-chance property
Informal label for communities with flexible screening on credit, broken leases, or older evictions. No official registry exists — criteria vary property to property, which is why asking criteria before applying is the entire game.
Deposit alternative (Jetty, Rhino)
A small non-refundable monthly or one-time fee replacing a traditional security deposit. Improves move-in cash flow, but 'non-refundable' means it's gone — a normal deposit usually comes back. Run both numbers.
Application & admin fees
The $50–$125 (application) and $100–$300 (admin) charges per attempt, mostly non-refundable. The defense: ask written screening criteria first; every plain answer saves a wasted fee.
Co-signer / guarantor
A person (or paid service) who accepts liability if you default — the standard bridge for thin credit or income under the multiple. Individual landlords often prefer a local guarantor to a higher deposit.
BAH (Basic Allowance for Housing)
The military housing allowance, set annually by paygrade, dependency status, and duty station ZIP. Near NAS JRB, current DFW rates comfortably cover the western pockets — verify yours at the official DTMO lookup.
Days-to-lease / vacancy
How long units sit before renting — the market's tell. Longer days-to-lease produce bigger concessions; when the Concession Index falls, days-to-lease is usually falling too, and leverage is shifting back to landlords.
Renewal cliff
The year-two shock built into concession pricing: your renewal quotes from sticker rent, not the effective rent you've been living at. Defense: know current market concessions 45–60 days before your notice deadline and counter with them.
Duty to mitigate (re-let)
Texas landlords must make objectively reasonable efforts to re-rent after you break a lease — they cannot simply let the unit sit and bill you. High-demand units re-let fast, cutting your exposure to weeks.
Preset purchase price
In rent-to-own programs (Pathway, formerly Divvy), the locked price at which you may buy the home later. In appreciating markets it's the program's most valuable feature; always compare it against current comps before signing.
Aledo ISD (as a market force)
The school district whose boundary shapes west-side pricing: rentals inside it carry premiums and move in days, and 'verify with the district' beats any listing-site boundary map. Two mined truths: it's the corridor's #1 relocation driver and its rental-house market is a campaign, not a browse.
See the terms working in context: the fine-print decoder, breaking a lease, and the second-chance playbook.