Jargon Buster

Administration Fee - An administration charge to assess the valuation report and process your application.  This is usually non-refundable. 
Advance - The amount of your mortgage.
Annual Percentage Rate (APR) - An interest rate calculation that reflects the total cost of credit over the term of the mortgage, including charges.
Arrangement Fee - A charge to cover the cost of providing a mortgage.  Normally payable just before the loan starts, this can be added to your mortgage account.
Arrears - Term used for mortgage payments that have fallen behind schedule.
Bank of England Base Rate (BBR) - The rate of interest set by the Bank of England.
Building Survey - A full structural survey that looks at all the main features of the property, including walls, roof, foundations, plumbing, joinery, electrical wiring, drains and garden.
Capital Repayments - A lump sum payment to reduce the loan outstanding, and which can reduce monthly repayments.  Please be aware that only some mortgages allow for overpayments, whilst others may impose early repayment charges (ERC).                       
Completion - The final legal transfer of the property when the outstanding balance is paid to the seller, and the buyer receives the property keys.
Conveyancing - The legal process involved between the seller and the buyer, usually managed by a solicitor or licensed conveyancer.
Credit Scoring - Assessment method to discover the applicant's ability to repay a mortgage.  Depending on your score your application may be accepted or declined, or you may be asked for further information.
Daily Interest - Interest is calculated daily on all accounts, meaning that any payments you make reduce the amount of interest you pay immediately.
Deeds - Legal documents that show who owns a property or piece of land.
Deposit - An agreed amount used as a down-payment on a property when the contracts are exchanged.
Direct Debit - An instruction from a customer authorising their bank or building society to permit a mortgage lender to collect payments from their account.
Disbursements - Fees involved in the legal work carried out by your solicitor, including search fees, land registry fees etc.
Discharge - Paying off a mortgage.
Discharge Fee - A charge made for administration work involved in closing your mortgage account.
Early Repayment Charge (ERC) - A charge levied on some mortgages in the event that the amount of the loan is repaid in full or in part before a specified date in the contract.
Equity - The difference between the value of the property and any loans secured against it.
Exchange of Contracts - This is where both the buyer and the seller are legally bound to the transaction.
Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) - An independent professional body which is set up by law to help settle individual disputes between consumers and financial firms, for example insurance companies, lenders and banks.
Financial Services Authority (FSA) - The regulatory authority for the UK financial services industry.  The FSA regulates mortgages, and all lenders and mortgage intermediaries must be authorised and regulated by the FSA.
Freehold - Legal title that gives you complete ownership of the property and the land it stands on.
Further Advance - An additional loan to raise extra funds on the security of your house for any purpose.
Guarantor - Someone who guarantees to pay the mortgage if the borrower can't or won't for any reason.
Higher Lending Charge (HLC) - A charge made when you take out a high Loan to Value (LTV) mortgage that protects the lender against you defaulting on the loan.
Home Buyers Report - A more detailed inspection than a standard valuation, listing faults that are obvious to the valuer.  It is not a full structural survey (Building Survey).
Home Information Pack (HIP) - A set of documents providing important information about a property, such as its energy efficiency, boundary ownership, evidence of title and planning permissions.
Income Multiplier - The formula used to calculate how much you can borrow.
Key Facts Illustration (KFI) - A document designed to contain all the important information you need in deciding whether a mortgage is suitable for you.  Mortgage lenders are required by law to produce a KFI in a prescribed format.
Land Certificate - A Land Registry certificate proving ownership of a property.
Land Registry Fee - A fee that must be paid to the Land Registry in order to register your details as owner of a property.
Leasehold - Legal title that gives you ownership for a set period of time.  Flats often have a leasehold title.
Legal Fees - The fees charged by a solicitor or other qualified individual to carry out the legal work associated with buying a house or re-mortgaging.
Loan to Value (LTV) - LTV refers to the size of the mortgage as a percentage of the property's value.
Mortgage Intermediary - A person who arranges a mortgage on your behalf with the lender.
Mortgage Offer - If we approve your mortgage application, we will make you an offer subject to our Terms and Conditions.  You can accept or decline this offer.  A copy of this will also be sent to your solicitors.  (Also known as an Offer of Advance).
Mortgage Term - The length of time over which the mortgage is to be paid back, for example 25 years.
Negative Equity - This is when the value of the mortgage which is outstanding on your property is more than the market value of the property.
Overpayments - An additional payment to a mortgage account, over and above the required monthly payment.
Payment Holiday - A facility that allows you to miss your normal monthly mortgage payments for an agreed period of time.  Payment holidays require one month's notice and interest will continue to accrue.
Re-mortgaging - Term used to describe moving your mortgage from one lender to another without moving house.
Retention - Holding back some or all of the mortgage advance until certain works have been carried out on the property.
Stamp Duty - A tax levied by the government on property purchases over a certain value. Please refer to www.hmrc.gov.uk/index.htm for details. The duty must be paid at the point of completion.
Standard Variable Rate (SVR) - The interest rate set by the lender that mortgage accounts may revert to after any initial concessionary rate.
Subject to Contract - Describes a sale that has been provisionally agreed.  It is not yet legally binding, and allows the buyer or the seller to withdraw.
Under Offer - Describes a property for which a formal offer has been received from a buyer and provisionally accepted by the seller.
Valuation - An inspection conducted on a property to ensure that it meets the lender's requirements.
Valuation Fee - The charge for the valuation of the property, whether you are purchasing or re-mortgaging.
You-View - The Society's customer online system for viewing and operating both mortgage and savings accounts, and sending and receiving secure electronic messages.