Person or Company who own a property that is being rented out.

HM Land Registry is responsible for keeping a record of ownership of land (including properties) in England and Wales, which have registered titles.  A land registry shows details of the property including a plan and if the property certificate is leasehold property a copy of the lease is shown.  Land registry fees are payable to the Land Registry in order to register ownership of the property.  The Land Registry can be found on www.landreg.gov.uk

The Land Registration Act 2002 and land registration rules 2003 came into force on 13 October 2003.  Their effect is to replace the law for the land registration and to provide the method by which the land registry is to operate.  The main parts of the 2002 act are:  a) the simplification and modernization of land registry law - the first for over 70 years.  b)  To modernize the property register so that it provides a more complete picture of the property's title to land.

Leasehold is a legal term that indicates that property or land is not owned outright but that the leaseholder "owns", or holds title to, the land or property only for a particular length of time.  This is called the length, or term, of the lease. At the end of the lease, if it is not extended or renewed, the ownership of the property or land goes back to the freeholder.

This legal document grants rights of security over your property to the Lender.  There are various types of legal charge which will vary from Lender to Lender.  Sometimes a Lender will use a charge for a specific amount.  Others will use an all monies charge, which secures all borrowing the owner has with them.  A mortgage will normally be secured by the first charge.  Second or subsequent charges may be secured against the property if additional money has been borrowed using the property security.

A fee charged by solicitors acting for the Lender when creating a legal charge over a property.

The actual company that lends you money under a mortgage or other loan.

This is a fee charged by some Lender’s to cover its own administration costs.

A term assurance policy is where the sum assured remains constant throughout the term of the policy.

London Interbank Offer Rate is the rate at which banks nationally buy and sell money together in the money markets.  LIBOR changes daily and is closely linked to Base Rate.

A mortgage or secured loan linked to LIBOR (see above).

A professional person used as an alternative to a solicitor who specializes in property ownership transfer.  A licensed conveyancer must be properly qualified and licensed to carry out the work.

Life assurance is a general term referring to an insurance policy that pays out a sum assured on the death of the insured person.

An interest only mortgage currently only available to people over the age of 55 who own their property outright or with a small mortgage.  With a Lifetime Mortgage the loan and interest are repaid by the sale of your property when you die or go into long-term care.  Interest is charged throughout the term on the outstanding balance.  There are no monthly repayments to make and there are many different types of schemes available offering lump sums, income or a mixture of  both.  Lifetime mortgages are now regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

An amount of money borrowed from a Lender by an individual.

An Intermediary who arranges loans for applicants with a Lender able to provide it.  The Broker undertakes all the applicants’ research and carries out the administration involved in processing the loan.

The reason why someone would want to borrow money e.g. to pay for a home improvement or debt consolidation.

The loan to value ratio, is the amount of mortgage shown as a percentage of the value of the property.  For example, if a property was worth £100,000 and the mortgage was £80,000 it would have a LTV of 80%.

A loan designed for the homeowner that allows them to use the value in their property as security, this is to protect the Lender in the event that the loan is not paid back.  Because this protection is provided for the Lender, the interest rate that they charge is often lower than for an unsecured loan (see below).

A loan provided to a Borrower for which security is not required (such as a charge over their house).  The credit rating or financial position of the applicant is such that no security for the loan is required.  Because the risk to the Lender of not getting their money back is higher for unsecured loans than for secured loans, the interest rate charged is often higher.   

A search of local authority records to confirm the status of the property.  They should reveal any proposed changes in the area, details of planning permissions and whether any enforcement notices have been served by the local authority.

Refer to Loan to Value.