Property glossary

Property terms, in plain English

Bridging finance: Short-term borrowing, often used to buy before you sell or to meet an auction deadline.
Auction legal pack: The legal documents for an auction lot: title, searches, lease and special conditions.
Chain: A line of linked sales and purchases that depend on each other.
Completion: The day money changes hands, ownership transfers and you get the keys.
Conveyancing: The legal work of transferring property from one owner to another.
Disbursements: Costs your solicitor pays to others on your behalf, such as search and Land Registry fees.
Enquiries: Questions your solicitor raises with the other side about the property.
EPC: Energy Performance Certificate. Rates a home’s energy efficiency; needed before marketing.
Exchange: When signed contracts are swapped and the deal becomes legally binding.
Freehold: Owning the building and the land it stands on outright.
Gazumping: When a seller accepts a higher offer after already accepting yours.
Gazundering: When a buyer lowers their offer just before exchange.
Ground rent: A regular payment a leaseholder may pay to the freeholder.
Leasehold: Owning the right to live in a property for a set number of years under a lease.
Loan-to-value (LTV): Your mortgage as a percentage of the property’s value. A bigger deposit means a lower LTV.
LPE1: A standard leasehold information form, usually part of the management pack.
Mortgage in principle: A lender’s early indication of how much it may lend. Not a guarantee.
Report on title: Your solicitor’s summary of the legal checks on the property.
Searches: Checks on the property and its area, ordered by your solicitor.
Service charge: What leaseholders pay towards maintaining shared parts of a building.
Stamp Duty: A tax on buying property in England and Northern Ireland. Scotland and Wales have their own versions.
Transfer of equity: Changing who legally owns a property without selling it.

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