Housing has a vocabulary that sounds technical and mostly is not. Almost every term below describes something ordinary in unfamiliar words, and the unfamiliar words are usually older than the thing they describe. Each entry links to the page that explains the idea in context.
A
- Agreement in principle
- A lender's provisional indication of what it might advance, based on figures supplied rather than verified. It is not an offer. Read more.
- Arrangement fee
- A charge for setting up a loan product. Belongs in any honest comparison of the cost of borrowing. Read more.
- Asking price
- The figure at which a home is marketed. It is a filter that determines who sees the property, not a record of value. Read more.
B
- Boundary
- The legal extent of the land owned. Recorded on the title plan, which is often less precise than people assume. Read more.
- Building survey
- The deepest general inspection: fabric and structure examined, causes explained, follow-up tests recommended where needed. Read more.
C
- Capital
- The amount borrowed and still outstanding, as distinct from the interest charged for using it. Read more.
- Chain
- A set of linked transactions that must all complete on the same day. It moves at the speed of its slowest member. Read more.
- Comparable
- A recently completed sale of a genuinely similar property, used as evidence for pricing. Asking prices are not comparables. Read more.
- Completion
- The day the money moves, the transfer is executed and possession passes. Read more.
- Condition report
- A professional visual inspection producing rated observations, without deep investigation of causes. Read more.
- Conveyancing
- The legal work of transferring ownership: establishing title, raising searches and enquiries, and preparing the contract. Read more.
- Covenant
- An obligation attached to land that binds successive owners, typically restricting what may be built or done. Read more.
D
- Deposit (mortgage)
- The share of the price paid from the buyer's own funds. Its main effect is on which loan-to-value band applies. Read more.
- Deposit (contract)
- The sum committed on exchange, which is at risk if the buyer fails to complete. Read more.
- Drainage search
- A check on whether the property connects to public foul and surface water drainage and whether public sewers cross the land. Read more.
E
- Early repayment charge
- A cost for repaying or leaving a loan product before its agreed period ends. Read more.
- Easement
- A right over someone else's land, such as a right of way or a right to run services beneath it. Read more.
- Enquiries
- Questions raised with the seller during conveyancing. The commonest source of delay in a transaction. Read more.
- Equity
- The share of a property's value not covered by borrowing. Read more.
- Exchange
- The point at which the agreement becomes binding and a completion date is fixed. Read more.
F
- Fixed rate
- An interest rate held for a defined period, after which the loan moves to another rate. It fixes a period, not the loan. Read more.
- Freehold
- Ownership of the property and the land it stands on, without a lease term. Read more.
G
- Grain
- The size and pattern of plots and blocks in a district. Fine grain means short blocks, narrow plots and many corners. Read more.
- Ground rent
- A periodic payment due from a leaseholder to the freeholder under the terms of a lease. Read more.
I
- Interest-only
- A loan on which the payment covers interest alone, leaving the capital to be repaid separately at the end. Read more.
L
- Lease
- A right to occupy for a defined term on defined conditions. Its remaining length materially affects value and lending. Read more.
- Loan to value
- The loan as a percentage of the property's value. Priced by band, so thresholds matter more than smooth changes. Read more.
- Local authority search
- A check of the authority's registers: planning history, enforcement, building control, road status and nearby schemes. Read more.
N
- Negative equity
- The state in which the outstanding loan exceeds the property's value. It restricts moving and re-fixing. Read more.
P
- Permeability
- How many routes exist between two points in a street network. High permeability supports walking and small businesses. Read more.
- Proceedable buyer
- A buyer whose funds are in place and who is not waiting on another transaction. Often worth more than a higher offer. Read more.
R
- Repayment loan
- A loan on which each payment covers interest and repays part of the capital, so the balance falls to nothing over the term. Read more.
- Restrictive covenant
- A covenant limiting use or alteration, binding on future owners regardless of who agreed it. Read more.
- Retention
- An amount a lender withholds until specified work is completed, where the property is not yet adequate security. Read more.
S
- Service charge
- A contribution to the cost of maintaining a shared building or estate. Its predictability matters as much as its size. Read more.
- Sinking fund
- Money accumulated against future major works on a shared building, reducing the shock of one-off levies. Read more.
- Stock
- The existing supply of homes. New building typically adds well under one per cent to it in a year. Read more.
T
- Term
- The period over which a loan is scheduled to be repaid. Longer term, lower payment, more total interest. Read more.
- Through-movement
- Traffic passing along a street on its way somewhere else. It is what supports passing trade. Read more.
- Title
- The record of ownership and of the rights and obligations attached to a piece of land. Read more.
U
- Under offer
- A property on which an offer has been accepted but which has not yet reached a binding agreement. Read more.
V
- Valuation
- The lender's assessment of the property as security for its loan. It is not a survey and says nothing about condition. Read more.
- Variable rate
- An interest rate that can change during the loan, following a reference rate or the lender's own decisions. Read more.
- Vendor
- The seller in a property transaction. Read more.