Buildings Insurance: Insurance to cover your property for the sum recommended by your surveyor/valuer. Cover usually commences from the moment you exchange contracts.

Bridging Loan: If the sale of one property and the purchase of another cannot be concluded simultaneously; for example, the purchase of the second property has to be concluded before the sale of the first, then additional financing may be necessary. This is a 'bridging loan' as it bridges the gap between the two transactions.

Chain: Where a Seller is also buying another property there is a chain of related transactions, all reliant upon each other. Any chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

Charge Certificate: An official certificate issued by the Land Registry, which displays mortgages and other interests over the property.

Completion date: The date when the buyer becomes the new owner of the seller's house and the day the seller must have left the property. The seller and buyer should discuss dates between themselves and then notify their respective solicitors who will obviously try to fit in with the suggested date. You should not make any firm commitments such as giving notice on a job, arranging removals or making holiday bookings without first contacting us so that we can advise you before making such a commitment.  

Completion statement: A written calculation of all the receipts and payments due in respect of the transaction.

Conditions of Sale: The legal terms of the contract.

Consideration: The amount which the buyer pays for the property in money or other items.

Contaminated Land: Land affected by contamination which could arise from a past use of a property (e.g. oil refinery) or by things stored on the property in the past (e.g. petrol station).

Contract: The form of legal agreement prepared in duplicate for signature by the seller and buyer setting out all the legal rights and obligations agreed between them. It sets out the main terms such as the property, the price and the names of the parties and also deals with the process if something goes wrong. The seller's solicitor draws up two copies of the same contract, and each party signs their own copy. When both parties are ready to legally commit, the two contracts are exchanged.

Covenants: Rules and conditions contained in the Deeds or Lease that relate to the upkeep of the property or place restrictions on its use. Some covenants are said to 'run with the land', meaning that the burden or benefit of the covenant is passed to the buyer of the land on transfer of the title.

Conveyance: A document transferring ownership of an unregistered property from one person to another.

Conveyancing: The name given to the house moving process where the ownership of a property is ‘conveyed’ from one to another. Work is undertaken by a solicitor or a qualified conveyancer.

Deed of Covenant: A document which confirms that the buyer will comply with the rules and conditions affecting the property.

Deed of Gift: A document transferring the ownership of property from one person to another without any payment being made for it

Deed of Guarantee: A document used where one person agrees to be responsible for someone else's debt or mortgage obligations, if that person fails to carry out their own obligations.

Deeds: Documents signed and usually witnessed, encompassing the terms of an agreement. These documents act as evidence that the person selling the property actually owns it, and also lay out any rights or obligations affecting the property.If you are selling, then valuable time can be saved if your title deeds can be obtained by us at an early stage. If you have a mortgage then your bank or building society will probably be holding on to your title deeds.

Deposit: Most buyers when they refer to their ‘deposit’ mean the part of the purchase price that they are putting down themselves (i.e. usually the difference between the amount of the mortgage and the purchase price). When Solicitors talk about the deposit they are referring to money that is handed over to the seller's Solicitors upon exchange of contracts. On exchange of contracts the seller can insist on receiving from the buyer a 10% deposit of the purchase price. However, given that many people are not in a position to contribute as much as 10% to the purchase, reduced deposits are often agreed. You should be aware, however, that if you are a buyer and you pay a reduced deposit then fail to complete the purchase through no fault of the seller, you will, under the terms of the contract, be required to make the deposit up to the full 10%. You may also have to pay compensation to the seller if the seller loses out through your failure to complete.

Disbursements: Payments paid on your behalf, such as search fees.

Drainage Search: Enquiries of the Drainage Company as to mains sewers and water pipes.

Easement: A right granted over another's property, e.g. a right of way which allows certain persons the right to walk or drive across a piece of land.

END Notification: An electronic method which some lenders use to notify Land Registry that a mortgage has been paid off.

Endowment Mortgage: A mortgage where you pay the interest on the mortgage only and a premium towards an endowment policy. The policy is then intended to pay off the original amount borrowed at the end of the mortgage term

Environmental Search: Enquiries relating to past and present land uses of the property and its surrounding area that may indicate the likelihood of contamination or pollution.

Equity: Usually means the difference between the value of a property and the amount owed to the mortgagee

Exchange of Contracts: The time when both buyer and seller commit themselves to the deal under a legally binding agreement. The seller's solicitor draws up two copies of the same contract, and each party signs their own copy. When both parties are ready to legally commit, the two contracts are exchanged. This is a very important moment – as soon as contracts are exchanged, the seller must sell, the buyer must buy, and this must all be done at the price set out in the contract. Until contracts are exchanged, nothing is binding and either party can walk away from the transaction with no penalty.

Expedition Fee: An additional fee which can be paid to the Land Registry to speed up registration

Fixtures and Fittings List: A schedule showing what sellers intend to include in and exclude from a sale.

Form DS1/DS3: A legal document signed by the Lender releasing the charge against the property.

Flying Freehold: When part of one property is built on top of part of another property and so the upper property owner does not own the building or land underneath the "flying" part.

Freehold: Outright ownership of the property and land on which it stands. A freehold estate in land (as opposed to a leasehold) is where the owner of the land has no time limit to his period of ownership.

Full Title Guarantee: The seller of a property must state the guarantee they are prepared to give. This is the normal guarantee given by a property owner.

Gazumping: Where a seller accepts a higher offer before contracts are exchanged with the buyer. A ‘lock out’ agreement can sometimes prevent this from happening.

Gazundering: Where a buyer, almost upon exchange of contracts, withdraws his original offer and offers less.

Ground Rent: Annual payment to Landlord in the case of Leasehold properties only.

Guarantees: Promises by those issuing them as regards their workmanship. Only as good as the company who issue them, however.

Headlease: Lease granted out of a freehold property. There may be subsequent leases (Underleases) created out of the headlease.

Homebuyers Report: An assessment of the main parts of a property which is less detailed than a structural survey but gives general indicators as to its condition.

Housing Association: Non-profit making body who can assist in the homebuying process by taking a share of the property to be bought. They often provide affordable housing and services to meet local needs.

Indemnity Insurance: You can insure against all manner of things arising in a property transaction e.g. your buyer or seller withdrawing, breach of planning or building regulations, an adverse search result etc. It is not a solution to the problem but it does provide compensation.

Index Map Search: A search at the land registry to see if a property is registered or unregistered.

Interest Only Mortgage: A mortgage whereby interest only is paid to the lender and the capital amount of the original loan is repaid at the end of the mortgage term either by an endowment policy maturing or a pension or other savings plan.

Joint Purchase: Property can be acquired either a beneficial joint tenants or tenants in common and advice as to the most appropriate method of ownership for your set of circumstances can be given.

Joint Tenants: One of two forms of co-ownership whereby the property, on the death of one of the co-owners, will pass to the survivor and will be owned in exactly the same way as if that person had purchased the property on their own, irrespective of the deceased’s will or the rules of intestacy.

Land charges: Certain pending actions, deeds of arrangement, mortgages, court orders, restrictive covenants, easements and other interests that a person may have over property of someone else can be registered as land charges and held electronically at the Land Charges Registry.

Land Registry: A central government body that keeps a record of who owns the land and under what conditions in England and Wales.

Land Registry Search: After exchange of contracts, a Buyer's solicitor makes this search to check that nothing has been added to the Land Registers since office copies were produced and to 'freeze' the Register in the Buyer's favour for 30 days.

Landlord and Tenant: the relationship between landlord and tenant relies on the contract which has been made between them. The landlord grants exclusive possession of premises or land to the tenant for a specific length of time and receives payment (“rent”) in return. This area of law is significantly regulated by Acts of Parliament such as rent acts and landlord and tenant Acts.

Lease: The contractual document setting out the agreement reached between landlord and tenant.

Leasehold: Method of owning property (usually a flat) for a fixed term but not the land on which it stands. Possession of the property will be subject to the payment of an annual ground rent. When the lease expires, ownership of the property reverts back to the freeholder. Nearly all flats in London are leasehold.

Lessee: The current owner of the leasehold property distinguished from the freeholder or landlord whose interest is subject to the lessees right of occupation until the lease term has come to an end.

Lessor: The landlord or freeholder who owns the freehold title and is entitled to the ground rent under the lease and possession of the property at the end of the lease term

Licence to Assign: Written permission by Landlord for the Buyer to buy leasehold property.

Limited Title Guarantee: The title guarantee given by a seller who cannot give the full title guarantee due to their limited knowledge of the property (e.g. a personal representative of a deceased owner or a mortgagee in possession).

Local Authority search: A standard number of enquiries that your solicitor raises with the local council. It relates solely to the property itself covers such things as whether the road serving the property should be maintained by the council and whether there have been planning applications on the property. Very importantly, the search is against the property only and does not cover the surrounding area and would not, for example, reveal proposals to develop or extend neighbouring land or property. The local council charge a "local search fee" which your solicitor will collect from you and pays to them when the search is done.

Management Company: Company formed to comply with certain obligations under a Lease, e.g. insurance, maintenance of main structure, repairs.

Mining Search: A search to check whether the property may be affected by coal mining activity which may result in subsidence.

Mortgage: Loan secured against the property by Deed, e.g. monies borrowed from a Lender to purchase a home. The lender obtains an interest in the property of the borrower for the purpose of securing the repayment of the loan (also called a "legal charge"). If you are selling, we will contact your mortgage lender at an early stage to ask how much it will cost to pay off the mortgage - we will send you a copy of this figure. You may find that you will be charged a financial penalty if you pay the mortgage off early. This is a consideration to be taken into account when agreeing a completion date, and often applies when your existing mortgage was set up on a fixed rate, or you obtained a 'cashback' figure.

Mortgagee: Lender, e.g. Building Society or Bank.

Mortgagor: Somebody who takes out a mortgage (ie. a borrower).

Mortgage Protection Policy: An insurance policy which guarantees your mortgage repayments should any of the following occur: Accident, illness, Redundancy/Unemployment.

NHBC: National House Builders Council. The NHBC grant a ten year insurance policy on the main structure of new properties.

Occupier's Consent: Any person who lives at the property but who will not be signing the mortgage deed, is asked to consent to the mortgage being taken out and agree to move out if the mortgagee takes possession due to the default of the mortgagor.

Official Copies (Office Copies): Official copies of the Land Registers sent to the Buyer's solicitor as evidence of the Seller's title to the property.

Party Wall: A wall owned jointly with a neighbour and repairable at shared expense.

Permitted Development: Minor alterations to a property that fall within certain criteria supplied by the Local Authority. They do not require Planning Permission.

Planning Permission: Approval by the local authority to build a property or to change the use of/build an extension to an existing property.

Power of Attorney: Document signed by somebody to appoint somebody else to act as their solicitor.

Property Information Forms: Forms completed by the Seller which give comprehensive information about the property for the Buyer. It covers such items as guarantees, neighbour disputes and boundaries.

Private Road:  A road maintained by property owners rather than by the local authority. The property owners must be sure they have rights over it as it is not necessarily a public access.

Redemption: When the mortgage loan is ‘redeemed’ or paid off.

Registered Land: The details of the property held by the Land Registry.

Repayment Mortgage: Loan where monthly payments include interest and part of the capital borrowed.

Redemption Penalty: A penalty charged by a mortgagee when you redeem a mortgage within a fixed rate, discounted rate or cashback period.

Remortgage:  Changing a mortgage from one mortgagee to another.

Rentcharge: Some freehold properties are subject to a rentcharge payable to the rentcharge owner, who may be the original land owner who wants to ensure income without the existence of a lease or it can be to ensure that estate covenants can be enforced more easily.

Repayment Mortgage: Loan where monthly payments include interest and part of the capital borrowed.

Requisition on Title: Queries raised on the Title to the property, e.g. details as to how much money is payable on completion and what documents will be handed over.

Retention: Monies held back from the advance, normally pending completion of necessary works to the property.

Service Charge: Money charged to owners of leasehold property and used by the Landlord or Managing Agents for maintenance, repairs and insurance to the property.

Smoke Control Order: The local authority makes an order designating an area within which only smokeless fuels may be burnt (i.e. not coal or wood).

Stamp Duty Land Tax: A tax on land transfers levied by the government and paid by the Buyer. If you buy for exactly £60,000 you pay nothing in stamp duty; if you pay from £125,001 to £250,000 stamp duty is charged at 1% on the whole of the purchase price. From £250,001 to £500,000 it is charged at 3%, and above £500,000 it is charged at 4%. Further elements of stamp duty land tax may be payable on the rent under a new lease.  

Structural Survey: This a report carried out by a surveyor on the physical state of the property you are buying. If you are buying a property you should be aware that the property is "sold as seen". It is for you, as the buyer, to discover any physical defects by means of inspections and surveys. A mortgage valuation is not a survey - it merely ensures that they property is of sufficient value to protect the lender's interest. We advise you to have at least an RICS Homebuyer's Report prepared by a qualified surveyor. This will cost more than a mortgage valuation but it is advisable. It is possible to go one step further and have a full structural survey (initially you should not chose this option unless the surveyor who carries out the Homebuyer's Report thinks any matter should be investigated further).

Subject to Contract: Negotiations prior to exchange of contracts between Buyer and Seller and not binding on the parties until contracts have been exchanged.

Subsistence: Where a property moves due to inadequate foundations or severe change to the underlying ground which causes instability in the structure of a building, often evidenced by cracks in walls

Tenants in Common: The other form of co-ownership whereby, on the death of one of the persons, their share will pass in accordance with any will that has been made, or in accordance with intestacy rules. (See also Joint Tenants).

Term Assurance: Life insurance which only lasts the term of the mortgage.

Tenure: Freehold or Leasehold.

Term: Period of Time, e.g. the length of the Lease or Mortgage.

Title: Documentary history of the property.

Transfer: Document which transfers ownership of a property from one person to another. It is dated with the completion date, and will be sent to the Land Registry after completion. The Land Registry needs this deed to change their records to show the buyer as the new owner of the property.

Transfer of Equity: A document transferring ownership of a share or interest in a property from one person to another.

Tree Preservation Order: An order made by the local authority designating a tree or group of trees as protected and requiring the local authority's permission to lop or fell them.

Underlease: A further lease of the whole or part of a property granted by an existing tenant of a property.

Unregistered title: Where the title to a property has not previously been registered at the Land Registry and ownership is proved by the production of a complete chain of deeds showing successive ownership.

Vacant Possession: Possession of a property free of the presence of any people, possessions or rubbish.

Valuation: Assessment of a property's value only, not a survey of the structure.

Variable Rate:  A mortgage interest rate which is variable and which is set by each individual mortgagee.

Wayleave Agreement: A binding agreement entered into with a property owner which allows a service provider such as an Electricity or Telephone company, a right for their pipe or cable to pass through or over their property