It can be hugely daunting buying a house for the first time, ensuring you’re choosing the right property in the right location. Add to that the stress of working out what all the property jargon means, and you might feel like you’re in over your head.
If you don’t know your freehold from your leasehold and your brain can’t take anymore lengthy contracts, our amazing Belvoir Corby team can help you to dissect the confusing language you’re bound to come across.
Our team can help make sense of any jargon and add their extensive local knowledge to help you ensure purchasing your dream home doesn’t turn into a nightmare experience. We can make buying a house in Corby easy to navigate and stress-free.
Here are the most common words and phrases that we find our customers get confused by.
Agreement In Principle – This is the amount of money a lender has agreed to loan to you, based on the information you have provided about your income and credit history.
Buy-To-Let – purchasing a property with the sole purpose of renting it out to someone else rather than living in it yourself
Chain – A chain is a group of linked house purchases which are dependent on each other for all parties to be able to move.
Chain free – your vendor isn’t reliant upon another property sale for you to buy yours
Completion – this is a legal term and describes the final stage in the sale of a property, at which point it legally changes ownership.
Deposit – Money given to secure the purchase – usually a percentage of the property price.
Exchange of contracts – the last step of the house buying process, in which the buyer and seller swap signed contracts, the buyer pays a deposit, and the contract becomes legally binding.
Fixed Rate – a type of mortgage loan in which the interest rate remains the same through the period of the loan
Fixtures and Fittings – a list of items that the vendor plans to leave in the house as part of the purchase, including items such as curtain poles, white goods and furniture.
Freehold – you own the building and the land it sits upon and you are solely responsible for them
Leasehold – You are buying a lease from the freeholder for the right to live in the property for a specified number of years.
Local Authority Search – checking with the council if the property you are buying has any restrictions, benefits or conditions linked to it.
Mortgage – a type of loan to enable someone to buy a house if they don’t have enough cash to finance the purchase
Mortgage Term – the number of years you agree with the lender in order to pay off the mortgage loan
Repayment Mortgage – your monthly repayments pay off the amount borrowed plus the interest
S.S.T.C – Sold subject to contract
Stamp Duty Land Tax – tax you must pay as part of a property transaction. The amount of stamp duty depends on the value of the property.
Vendor – Another word for the person selling the property.
Hopefully this short guide has helped you to better understand the property purchasing process. If you have any questions or require any further help at all, contact our sales team on 01536 261666.
