| APR |
‘Annual
Percentage Rate’. Interest rates can be presented in a variety
of ways. APR shows what an interest rate works out over a year,
including interest charges and arrangement fees which makes it
easier to compare one rate with another |
| Arrangement
Fee |
Charged
by some lenders for providing a loan |
| Bankers
Draft |
A ‘cheque’ written by the Bank which is made payable
to the recipient. The draft is as good as cash. Banks charge about
£10 for this service. |
| Base
Rate |
Rate of interest set by the Bank of England |
| Bridging
Loan |
High
interest loan used to buy a property before your existing property
has been sold |
| Chain
|
Situation
in which the buyer and seller depend on each other simultaneously |
| CML |
Council of Mortgage Lenders, which has devised the Mortgage code
to ensure lenders treat customers fairly |
| Completion
Date |
When
all transactions concerning the property are concluded |
| Contract
|
Legally
binding agreement committing the parties to the transaction |
| Conveyancing
|
The
process that legally completes the purchase of your home, including
local land searches, checking title deeds, registering ownership
with the Land Registry and drawing up the sale contract |
| Deposit |
A percentage of the full amount that secures your transaction |
| DG
|
Double
Glazing |
| Disbursement
Fees |
that your solicitor has to pay such as: stamp duty, search fees
and payments to Land Registry. |
| Discounted
rate mortgage |
A
discount offered by mortgage lenders to new borrowers, reducing
monthly mortgage costs often for the first two or three years
of the loan period |
| Equity
|
Difference
between the marketable value of the property and the amount owed
on the mortgage |
| Exchange |
The signing of contracts by vendor and buyer. At this point both
parties are committed to the transaction |
| Excl
|
Excluding |
| Fixed
rate mortgage |
A mortgage in which the interest rate is set for an agreed period |
| Freehold
|
Ownership
of the land on which the property stands |
| Gazumping
|
Where
the vendor accepts a higher price even though a sum has been agreed
with another purchaser. The price is not final until contracts
are exchanged. |
| GCH
|
Gas
Central Heating |
| Ground
Rent |
Annual
rent paid by the owner of a leasehold property to the person who
holds the freehold land |
| Inc
|
Including |
| Inventory
|
Detailed
list of items and their condition in the property |
| Land
Registry |
Official
body responsible for recording the ownership of land |
| Leasehold
|
Ownership
of a property but not the land on which it stands. When the lease
expires, ownership of the property then reverts to the freeholder |
| OSP |
Off Street Parking |
| PCM
(pcm) |
Rent
‘per calendar month’ |
| PIA
|
Personal
Investment Authority which regulates the retail investment sector |
| PW
(p/w) |
Rent
‘per a week’ to arrive at the monthly rent use the
following formula |
Stamp
Duty
|
Tax payable on property purchases. Current rates correct as at
June 2003:
£0 to £59,999 @ no charge
£60,000 to £249,999 @ 1%
£250,000 to £499,999 @ 3%
£500,000 and above @ 4% |
| Title
Deed |
Legal document assigning ownership of a property and/or land.
These are held by the mortgage lender and are only released when
the mortgage is paid off. |
| Variable
base rate |
The
basic rate of interest charged on a mortgage. This may change
in reaction to market conditions, so your monthly payments can
go up or down |
| Vendor |
Legal name for the seller of the property |
| W/D
|
Washer/Dryer |
| WM |
Washing Machine |
