| Advertising | To publicise the qualities of a certain product - a house - in the case of an estate agent. Advertising can take numerous forms like internet advertising, newspaper advertising, radio advertising, window display advertising |
| Auction | A sale of goods or property at which intending buyers bid against on another for individual items |
| Bridging Loan | temporary finance 'bridging' the period between completion on the purchase of a property and the sale of an existing property, funds from which are intended to finance/part finance the new purchase |
| Building Preservation Order | Act 1990 to protect buildings of special architectural or historic interest from demolition or alterations that would affect their interest. |
| Building Survey And Valuation | (A more detailed inspection suitable for large or older type buildings). |
| Buildings survey | This is a technical report following an inspection of the property. It will give you a comprehensive account of the condition of the property, describing any structural or other defects. See also: Surveys |
| Built in | designed or fitted as a fixed or permanent part. Example: Built in wardrobe |
| Buy to Let mortgage | A type of mortgage designed for private individuals to invest in property to let. A large number of mortgage lenders now offer Buy To Let mortgages and take into account the rental income likely to be achieved |
| Capital Appreciation | growth or gain in the value of a property or asset over time. Added to income. This contributes to the overall or total return on a property or financial investment. |
| Caveat Emptor | Let the buyer beware. The buyer is responsible for making sure that a purchase is of reasonable quality - the onus is upon the buyer to discover, not on the seller to disclose. |
| Cavity Wall | An external wall of a building that is made up of two leaves of masonry, bricks or blocks separated by a cavity |
| Chain | A number of linked property transactions where exchange of contracts must take place simultaneously. |
| Commission | fee paid to your estate agent, usually following exchange of contracts. |
| Completion | the date when the purchaser and vendor complete the sale of land or property. The purchaser pays the balance of the purchase price and the vendor gives possession to the purchaser. |
| Contract | the formal document which details all the terms of sale. The contract is prepared by the vendor's solicitor and a copy is sent to the purchaser. |
| Conversions | the sub-division of residential properties into bedsits, self-contained flats or maisonettes. |
| Conveyancing | The legal work involved in buying and selling properties. |
| Covenant | A condition, contained within the Title Deeds or lease, that the buyer must comply with. This is usually applied to all future owners of the property. A restrictive covenant is one that prohibits the owner from doing something. |
| Deed | the legal documents relating to property. These will include all matters which relate to the property since it was built. |
| Deposit | The money you pay on exchange of contracts as part of your initial contribution to the purchase of your home. |
| Disbursements | The fees paid by your solicitor, such as Stamp Duty, Land Registry and search fees on top of conveyancing. |
| Draft contract | Unconfirmed version of the contract. |
| Draft Transfer | a legal document issued by the vendor's solicitor to the purchaser's solicitor setting out the terms and conditions of sale. |
| Edwardian | property built between approximately 1901 -1910. |
| Elizabethan | property built between approximately 1560 -1603. |
| Equity | the difference between what is owed by way of mortgage on a property and the value of the property. |
| Exchange of Contracts | point at which vendor and purchaser exchange binding contracts with the payment of a deposit, at the same time agreeing to a completion date. |
| Fixtures and Fittings | non removable items within the property. These are items that permanently fixed in position. e.g. the bath, toilet, doors and radiators. |
| Freehold | legal ownership of land.A freehold interest in property means absolute ownership, although technically all land is held from the Crown. |
| Gazumping | Gazumping is the term used to describe a situation in which the seller of an asset (let's say a house) accepts a purchase offer, having already accepted another lower offer from another potential buyer. |
| Gazundering | To lower the amount of money being offered to a seller of a property after a price has already been agreed. |
| Georgian | property built between approximately 1714 -1800. |
| Ground Rent | rent paid to the owner of freehold land by a person who has a Lease. |
| Guarantor | someone who guarantees an obligation of another. |
| Habitable Room | all living rooms and bedrooms, but not kitchens, bathrooms, WCs or circulation space, are normally regarded as habitable for the purposes of density calculations. A room fit to be lived in. |
| Home Infomation Packs (HIP) | The Government introduced Home Information Packs for 4 bed roomed homes in England and Wales on the 1st August 2007 and then plan to roll out to three bedroom properties on the 10th September. They aim to take the stress out of buying and selling a home by providing key information upfront. Every Pack will include Energy Performance Certificates which, like fridges will provide A - G ratings on the energy efficiency of a home, plus advice on how to make further energy savings. The Packs will also include information such as searches and other legal documents. A Home Condition Report giving details on the condition of a property will follow but can also be included in the Packs on a voluntary basis.Contact a member of the house revolution team for more infomation and to get one. |
| Home buyers report | The homebuyer's report comments on the structural condition of most parts of the property that are readily accessible, but does not involve in-depth investigation or the testing of water, drainage or heating systems. |
| Homebuyer Survey And Valuation | (carried out by a Chartered Surveyor and designed to focus on urgent or significant matters requiring attention). |
| Land Certificate | land document issued by the Land Registry to the owner of registered land as proof of ownership. It includes a copy of the register and the plan showing the extent of the land. |
| Land Registry | the Land Registry is a Government agency responsible for the registration of title to land. Registration enables the sale of land and property to take place without the laborious and expensive exercise of checking through title deeds. The Land registry website is www.landregistry.gov.uk |
| Land registry fee | Your conveyancer pays this on your behalf to register your details in the Land Registry records once you've bought a property or changed your mortgage lender. |
| Land Search | a formal application for an inspection of the Land Registry register. A certificate is issued showing the current situation of the land in question. |
| Leasehold | To be given ownership of a property but not the land it is built on. This normally requires payment of ground rent to the landlord. A leasehold is normally offered for either 999 years, 99 years or shorter terms. |
| Lessor | Person responsible for granting a lease - normally the landlord. |
| Letting | A property that is being Let |
| Listed Building | building or other structure of special architectural or historic interest |
| Listed Building Consent | a permission required for the alteration or demolition of a listed building. |
| Local authority search | Part of the conveyancing process when you buy a property, carried out by your conveyancer. It gives details of any matters which, from the local council's point of view, affect the property. It reveals any proposed changes to the local area, such as road improvements, and details any planning permission given for the property, or tree preservation orders etc. |
| Mezzanine | Intermediate floor usually in a multi-story building, which does not extend to the full floor area of the whole building. |
| Multiple Offers | Two or more offers made by different purchasers within a short space of time. |
| Offer | A bid made by a prospective buyer, this is not legally binding. |
| Open market value | An opinion of the best price at which the sale of an interest in the property would complete unconditionally for cash consideration on the date of valuation. |
| Part-possession | The term used when a property is being sold, where a tenant has legal right of occupation |
| Pre-contract enquiries | These are enquiries made by the purchaser's solicitor to the vendor's solicitor requiring information relating to the property being purchased prior to exchange of contracts. |
| Private Treaty | formal name given to the method by which most estate agents will undertake the sale of residential property. This term covers the whole range of services normally associated with the sale process, culminating in 'exchange of contracts' and 'completion' between vendor and purchaser. |
| Public Right of Way | a way where the public has a right to walk, and in some cases ride horses, bicycles, motorcycles or drive motor vehicles, which will be designated either as a footpath, a bridleway, a road used as a public path (RUPP) or a byway. |
| Purchaser | the buyer of a property. |
| Regency | property built between approximately 1800 -1837. |
| Retention | Holding back part of a mortgage loan until repairs to the property are satisfactorily completed. |
| Searches | procedure undertaken by a solicitor or legal representative during the conveyancing process to establish whether any issues exist which may adversely affect the property which is to be purchased. |
| Semi detached property | A property joined to a neighbouring building by a shared wall. |
| Sole agency | The choice of a single estate agent to act on the seller's behalf, incurring a lower fee than multi-agency. |
| Stamp Duty | a Government tax levied on the purchaser of a property and calculated as a percentage of the purchase price. Prices between £0 and £125,000 pay no stamp duty. Between £125,001 and £250,000 you pay 1%. Between £250,001 and £500,000 you pay 3% and finaly, anything above £500,001 you will pay 4% |
| Statutory Undertakers/Statutory Utilities | providers of essential services such as gas, electricity, water or telecommunications. |
| Structural survey | A specialist report from a structural engineer on the condition of a property. |
| Subject to contract | When an offer is made to purchase a property 'subject to contract' it means that all the dealings are subject to the actual exchange of the contract itself. Nothing is binding on either the vendor or purchaser until the contracts are exchanged. |
| Survey | the three main types are: Buildings survey, Home buyers report, Homebuyer Survey And Valuation, Structural survey |
| Tenancy In Common | when property is held jointly between two people and each of them own an individual share which can be passed on under a Will. |
| Tenant | person occupying a property, normally subject to the terms of a lease agreed with the landlord. |
| Tender | in the process known as 'For Sale By Tender' the asking price will not be stated. Instead, written offers will be invited and a closing date for such offers published. All offers are normally opened at the same time, usually with the vendor's solicitor present. Generally, the vendor is not committed to accepting the highest or any offer. |
| Tenure | a collective term relating to the nature of the vendor's title to a property i.e. freehold, leasehold or crownhold. |
| Terrace property | A row of houses built together in the same style, separated only by shared dividing side walls. |
| Title | The ultimate record of ownership of a property, the evidence of which is found in the title deeds. |
| Transfer | the legal transfer of ownership on completion of the sale of registered land or property. |
| Tree Preservation Order (TPO) | direction made by a local planning authority that makes it an offence to cut, top, lop, uproot or wilfully damage or destroy a tree without that authority's permission. |
| Tudor | property built between approximately 1485 -1550. |
| Under offer | When the seller has accepted an offer on the property but contracts have not yet been exchanged. |
| Unregistered land | Land which is not registered with the Land Registry. Proof of ownership is by production of the Deeds. |
| Vacant Possession | the date by which the vendor agrees to give up possession of the property (see 'Completion'). A well used estate agency phrase which means that the property being offered will be vacant upon completion of the sale. The property is therefore offered free from any such encumbrances as a sitting tenant or service tenancy. |
| Valuation | Arranged by your lender to find out if the property is worth the amount you've agreed to pay, and therefore suitable to lend a mortgage on. |
| Vendor | the legal owner of a property which is being offered for sale. |
| Victorian | property built between approximately 1837 -1901. |
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| Survey | the three main types are: Buildings survey, Home buyers report, Homebuyer Survey And Valuation, Structural survey |
| 1. Building Survey And Valuation | (A more detailed inspection suitable for large or older type buildings). |
| 2. Buildings survey | This is a technical report following an inspection of the property. It will give you a comprehensive account of the condition of the property, describing any structural or other defects. See also: Surveys |
| 3. Home buyers report | The homebuyer's report comments on the structural condition of most parts of the property that are readily accessible, but does not involve in-depth investigation or the testing of water, drainage or heating systems. |
| 4. Homebuyer Survey And Valuation | (carried out by a Chartered Surveyor and designed to focus on urgent or significant matters requiring attention). |
| 5. Structural survey | A specialist report from a structural engineer on the condition of a property. |
