There is so much confusing jargon in property transactions. Here's our A-Z Jargon Translator to help you to understand everything about your property transaction.

 
  Maintenance (or service) charge   The cost of repairing and maintaining external or internal communal parts of a building charged to the tenant or leaseholder  
  Maisonette   A property arranged over more than one floor (ie: a portion of the house).  
  Mortgage An amount of money advanced by a lender such as a bank or building society on the security of a property and repayable over a long period.  
  Mortgage deed A legal document relating to the mortgage lenders interest in the property and containing the terms of the mortgage.  
  Mortgage indemnity guarantee (MIG) An insurance policy that mortgage lenders may require buyers to pay for if their loan is above a specified proportion of the purchase price.  
  Mortgage indemnity premium (MIP) An insurance policy that protects the lender against default of mortgage repayments. Although the policy benefits the lender, it is the borrower who usually pays the premium..  
  Mortgage payment protection (MPP) This is an insurance designed to pay your monthly mortgage for a limited period usually a year if you are unable to work through illness, disability or redundancy.  
  Mortgage rate The standard variable interest rate quoted by all mortgage lenders which normally varies with the Bank of England base rate. All discounted rates are based on this mortgage rate.  
  Mortgage term The period of time over which (repayment mortgage) or at the end of which (endowment mortgage) the loan is to be repaid.  
  Mortgagee The lender of a mortgage (ie: bank or building society).  
  Negative equity When the value of the property falls to less than the outstanding mortgage.  
  NHBC scheme (National House-Building Council) A type of building guarantee available on some newly built homes under which defects occurring within a specified time after construction are remedied.  
  Offer A sum of money that the buyer offers to pay for a property.  
  Offer of a loan A formal document approving the mortgage you have requested and detailing the terms and conditions that will apply.  
  Ombudsman Independent professional bodies who investigate complaints on behalf of customers against, for example, estate agents, solicitors and insurance companies.  
  Open market value The price a property would achieve when there is a willing buyer and willing seller.  
  Payment break An option on flexible mortgages that allows you to stop making mortgage payments for up to 6 months.  
  Penalties Costs that may be incurred if the borrower repays the loan too early or switches between lenders.  
  Peppercorn ground rent A nominal periodic rent usually paid annually. (Back to Top)  
  Pied a terre A property kept for temporary secondary or occasional occupation.  
  Preliminary enquiries The initial enquiries about a property put forward to a seller which the seller must answer before the exchange of contracts.  
  Premium The monthly amount payable for an insurance policy.  
  Premium lease Lump sum paid up front as rental for a property.  
  Principal The sum of the loan on which interest is calculated.  
  Public liability insurance Insurance which covers injury or death to anyone on or around your property.  
  Purchaser The person who is buying a property.  
  Redemption When a mortgage is fully repaid.  
  Re-mortgage Refinancing a property by either switching a mortgage from one lender to another or by taking out a second mortgage to draw down any equity gained by a rise in value.  
  Repayment mortgage A mortgage repaid by way of monthly repayments of capital combined with interest.  
  Repossession When the mortgage lender takes possession of your property due to non-payment of the mortgage.  
  Retention Holding back part of a mortgage loan until repairs or specified works to the property are satisfactorily completed.  
  Search A request or enquiry for information concerning the property held by a local authority or by the land registry.  
  Semi-detached A property which is joined to one other house.  
  Service charge See Maintenance Charge.  
  Sole agent When a seller chooses only one estate agent to sell their home.  
  Solicitor Legal expert handling all documentation for the sale or purchase of a property.  
  Stamp duty A tax paid by purchasers of properties with a value in excess of £60,000, of between 1% and 4% depending on value.  
  Structural survey See Building survey.  
  Studio Flat A flat consisting of one main room or open-plan living area incorporating cooking and sleeping facilities and a separate bathroom/shower room.  
  Subject to Contract Words to indicate that an agreement is not yet legally binding.  
  Surveyor Professionally-qualified expert who carries out the survey.  
  Tenancy A temporary possession of a property by a tenant.  
  Tenancy agreement A legal agreement designed to protect the rights of the tenant and landlord and setting out all the terms and conditions of the rental arrangements.  
  Tenant A person who has temporary possession of a property.  
  Tenants in common A form of ownership by two or more people in which if one of them dies, their share of the property forms part of their estate and does not automatically pass to the other(s).  
  Tenure Conditions on which a property is held (ie: length of lease).  
  Terraced house A property which forms part of a connected row of houses.  
  Title deeds Documents showing the legal ownership of a property.  
  Transfer deed The Land Rregistry document that transfers legal ownership from seller to buyer.  
  Under offer The status of a property for sale, when a seller has accepted an offer from a purchaser but before exchange of contracts.  
  Valuation A basic survey of a property to estimate its value for mortgage purposes. Mortgage lenders will insist on this before lending.any money.  
  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 The legal name for a person selling a property.  
  Yield Income from a property calculated as a percentage of it's value.  
     

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