The Specter Partnership
We have offices in London, Warrington & Wirral serving the entire UK region.
Helpful Information
Jargon Buster
Need help understanding confusing property jargon? Below is a list of the terms you are likely to come across when using our service - whether you are buying, selling or remortgaging a property.
- Completion Date
- Contract
- Deposit
- Environmental Search
- Exchange Contracts
- Fixtures, Fittings and Contents Form
- Freehold
- Land Registry
- Leasehold
- Legal Fee
- Local Authority Search
- Mortgage
- Mortgage Deed
- Mortgage Fees
- Online Case Tracking
- Property Information Form
- Redemption
- Redemption Fee
- Searches Pack
- Stamp Duty
- Survey
- Title Deeds
- Transfer Deed
- Water Drainage Search
Completion Date
This is the date that ownership of the property passes from the seller to the buyer.
The seller and buyer should discuss dates between themselves ad then notify their respective solicitors who will try to fit in with the suggested date. If there are unforeseen delays, for example, if the buyer does not receive a search or mortgage offer in time, or the "cash buyer" turns out to have a related sale then the completion date may have to be revised. For this reason you should not make any firm commitments such as giving notice on a job, arranging removals or making holiday bookings without first contacting us so that we can advise you of the situation.
Only when contracts are exchanged and a completion date is fixed can you be virtually guaranteed that the completion date will be met. It is not essential for you to be present on the completion date but if you are going to be away, then you should let us know so that we can arrange for one of your relatives (or ourselves) to act for you through a Power of Attorney.
Contract
This is the agreement between the buyer and the seller. It sets out the main terms of what has been agreed such as the property, the price and the names of the parties. It also deals with the process if something goes wrong. Rather than making the buyer and the seller meet to sign the same contract, the seller's solicitor draws up two copies of the same contract, and each party signs their own copy. When both parties are ready to legally commit, the two contracts are exchanged.
Deposit
This causes a lot of confusion. When most people talk about the deposit they mean the part of the purchase price that the buyer is putting down him/herself (i.e. usually the difference between the amount of the mortgage and the purchase price). When Solicitors talk about the deposit they are talking about the money that is handed over to the seller's Solicitors upon exchange of contracts. This might be the same amount, but it might not.
Environmental Search
This is carried out check if there are any known environmental issues affecting the property, these include matters such as landfill or waste disposal sites in the area, if the property has been built on an old industrial site and whether there are any risks from contaminated land, toxic emissions, flooding, subsidence etc.
Exchange Contracts
This is a very important moment. From the minute contracts are exchanged, the matter becomes binding. From that moment on, the seller must sell, the buyer must buy, it must be done at the price stated in the contract. Until contracts are exchanged NOTHING is binding - either party can walk away from the transaction with no penalty.
Fixtures, Fittings and Contents Form
This is a list of the items at the property which are either included or excluded from the agreed price. This form is completed at an early stage by the seller and sent to the buyer, so that both parties understand what is included in the selling price. If you are the seller, when you let us have the form we will send you a copy back so that you know what you have agreed on it. If you are the buyer we send you a copy of the form as soon as it is received by ourselves from the sellers solicitors so that any difficulties can be resolved at an early stage.
Freehold
Ownership of both the property and the land it stands on.
Land Registry
A central body that retains records of who owns the land, and under what conditions. This was set up in 1925, to simplify the conveyancing process. Not all land in England and Wales is registered today. This is partly due to the fact that land can only be registered following certain "triggering events". The Land Registry has their own web site which provides useful information: www.landreg.gov.uk
Leasehold
Temporary ownership of the property but not the land on which it stands. When the lease expires ownership of the property reverts back to the freeholder.
Legal Fee
This is a fixed cost which covers the cost of the time our team spend on your conveyancing.
Local Authority Search
This is a list of questions about the property, which are sent to the local authority. It covers such items as, whether the road serving the property should be maintained by the council, whether there have been any planning applications on the property, and a number of other things. The search is against the property only and does not cover the surrounding area.
A word of warning - the search will not show any Planning Permissions or matters affecting land or buildings outside the boundaries of the property. It is important that you let us know at the start of the transaction if you require information on any particular point or if you wish us to ask any particular questions of the local authority. We would not normally advise a buyer to exchange contracts without a satisfactory local authority search.
Mortgage
This is a loan to help you buy the house. The mortgage is 'attached' to your title deeds, and means that you cannot sell the property without paying it off at the same time.
Contracts should not be exchanged until an acceptable written mortgage offer has been received. It is not enough that you have had verbal confirmation from you bank or building society that they will grant you a mortgage.
In many cases a mortgage may be supported by an endowment, pension or mortgage protection policy and in these circumstances we must confirm to the lender before exchange of contracts that whether there are existing policies or arrangements have been made for new policies to be brought into effect immediately contracts are exchanged.
If you are selling, we will contact your mortgage lender at an early stage to ask how much it will cost to pay off the mortgage - we will send you a copy of this figure. You may find that you will be charged a financial penalty if you pay the mortgage off early. This is a consideration to be taken into account when agreeing a completion date, and often applies when your existing mortgage was set up on a fixed rate, or you obtained a 'cash back' figure.
Mortgage Deed
The legal charge of the property to the mortgage lender until such time as the loan is repair.
Mortgage Fees
These fees are normally charged for acting on behalf of your bank or building society. We do not charge an additional fee for acting on behalf of your bank or building society.
Online Case Tracking
By using your personal Online Case Tracking login you can follow the progress of your conveyancing over the web, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The data is updated regularly, as soon as a new stage is reached in your case.
Property Information Form
This is a questionnaire about the property completed by the sellers. It covers such items as guarantees, neighbour disputes and boundaries.
If you are buying then time can be saved if you tell us at an early stage if there are any particular points about the property that concern you. We can then ask the seller's solicitors the relevant questions.
If you are selling and the buyer's solicitor asks a question to which you do not wish to give an answer to, for whatever reason, it is essential that you discuss it with us. Failure to disclose information could give the buyer grounds for taking action against you.
Redemption
The final payment of a mortgage loan.
Redemption Fee
Penalty sometimes incurred if paying off a mortgage early.We do not charge an additional fee to redeem (pay off) your existing mortgage.
Searches Pack
This specially negotiated search pack includes Local Authority, Water/Drainage and Environmental searches, all for one fixed fee.
Stamp Duty
When you buy property you also pay a 'Stamp Duty Land Tax' to the Government. The amount of Stamp Duty you pay depends on what you are buying and how much it costs. If the purchase price is £125,000 or less, you don't pay any Stamp Duty Land Tax at all. If the purchase price is more than £125,000 you pay between one and four percent of the whole purchase price, on a sliding scale, as follows:
Property Purchase Price (£) Rate of Stamp Duty
| 0 - 125,000 | 0% |
| 125,001- 250,000 | 1% |
| 250,001 - 500,000 | 3% |
| 00,001 or more | 4% |
If you are buying property in a 'disadvantaged area', you don't pay any Stamp Duty Land Tax if the purchase price is £150,000 or less. You can work out the Stamp Duty Land Tax on a particular property using the HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) online calculator at www.hmrc.gov.uk
Survey
This is a report carried out by a surveyor on the physical state of the property you are buying.
If you are buying a property you should be aware that the property is "sold as seen". It is for you, as the buyer, to discover any physical defects by means of inspections and surveys.
Most houses are bought with the assistance of a mortgage and the bank or building society, will require a mortgage valuation. However, this is not a survey - it merely ensures that they property is of sufficient value to protect the lender's interest. Our advice is that you should at least have an RICS Homebuyer's Report prepared by a qualified surveyor. This will cost more than a mortgage valuation but it is advisable. It is possible to go one step further and have a full structural survey (initially you should not chose this option unless the surveyor who carries out the Homebuyer's Report thinks any matter should be investigated further).
Title Deeds
These documents firstly act as evidence that the person selling the property actually owns it, and secondly set out any rights or obligations that affect the property.
If you are selling, then valuable time can be saved if your title deeds can be obtained by us at an early stage. If you have a mortgage then your bank or building society will be holding your title deeds. We will need to know your mortgage account number and the name and address of the lender. Some lenders charge a fee to send out your deeds but this will normally be added to your mortgage account.
Transfer Deed
This document passes the ownership of the property from the seller to the buyer.
It is dated with the completion date, and will be sent to the Land Registry after completion. The Land Registry needs this deed to change their records, and show the buyer as the new owner of the property.
Water Drainage Search
This provides confirmation of whether the property is connected to a public or private water supply, confirmation of how the property is billed for the water and wastewater charges (either rateable value or water meter), confirmation of whether the property is connected to a public sewer or septic tank or other private disposal facilities, and confirmation as to whether the property is close to or is affected by water mains or public sewers.