Advance Another name for a mortgage or loan
APR Annual percentage rate. This includes the stated interest rate on a loan plus any additional costs and charges
Arrangement fee A fee charged by lenders for setting up a mortgage. This is payable on completion or can be added to the loan
Banker’s draft A cheque signed by a bank manager or bank staff rather than the customer. A banker’s draft is treated as the equivalent of cash
Bridging loan A high-interest loan used to buy property before your existing property is sold. It is repaid at the time the proceeds from your existing home become available
Capital The original amount borrowed to buy a home
CHAPS A means of same-day electronic transfer of funds from one account to another. This is a conveyancer or conveyancing solicitor’s preferred method of money transfer on completion of a property sale
Completion date Date on which all transactions concerning the sale of a property are concluded. It is at this point that the ownership of the property officially passed to the buyer
Completion statement A statement prepared by the buyer or his solicitor detailing exactly how much the buyer should pay, including the price, the deposit and other costs
Compulsory purchase The purchase of property by a local authority or other official body, whether or not the owner wishes to sell
Contract Legal and binding agreement containing all the essential details of the sale and committing both buyer and seller to the transaction
Conveyancer Usually a solicitor; licensed to handle all matters arising from the sale and purchase of property
Deeds Legal title documents proving ownership. The deeds will be held by the mortgage lender and are only released on full repayment of the loan
Disbursements Fees paid by the solicitor on the buyer's behalf, such as stamp duty, Land Registry fees and search fees. These charges are recouped by the solicitor at the time of the completion of sale
Equity The difference between the market value of a property and the amount owed on the mortgage
Exchange of contracts The signing of contracts by both vendor and buyer. At this point both parties are committed to the transaction; the vendor must sell and the buyer must buy at the agreed price
FSA Financial Services Authority. An independent non-governmental body concerned with consumer protection in the financial market
Gazumping The practice by a vendor of accepting a higher offer from another buyer after a sale has been agreed
Gazundering The practice by a buyer of lowering his offer after a sale has been agreed
LTV Loan-to-value. The proportion of the value or price of a property that a lender is willing to offer as a loan
MIG Mortgage Indemnity Guarantee. Required by some lenders on loans over a certain LTV, usually 75 or 80 per cent. This is protection for the lender in case you default; it offers the buyer no protection
Redemption The final payment on a mortgage. Some lenders may levy a charge if a mortgage is redeemed before the date originally agreed
Stamp duty A tax levied by the government on the purchase price of any property over £125,000
Transfer document The document which legally transfers the property from the seller to the buyer
Valuation survey A simple survey that is carried out to give a property a value for mortgage purposes