Many people can get confused by the legal language used by Solicitors. To make it all a bit easier to understand we've produced a list of legal buzz words and their plain English equivalent:
Buzz words Explained |
APR |
Annual Percentage Rate |
Bridging Loan |
A loan taken out to buy a house when your existing property is unsold |
Chain |
Sale transactions linked to and dependent on each other |
CFR |
Process of registering Registery of Deeds title in the Land Registry to phase out Registry of Deeds |
Completion Date |
The day the money is paid and the keys are handed over |
Contract |
The legal agreement binding the seller and buyer to the sale |
Conveyancing |
The legal process of transferring the ownership of a property |
Deeds |
Ownership documents held by your lender or solicitor proving ownership of your property |
Deposit |
Between 5% and 10% of the price paid over by the purchaser as security when the contract is signed |
Outlays |
Additional expenses paid by your solicitor for VAT, Stamp Duty, registration and search costs on top of the solicitors fee |
Equity |
The net worth of a property to the owner of mortgaged property after deducting the outstanding loans |
Freehold |
Unencumbered ownership of property |
Gazumping |
A seller accepting a higher bid for property after agreeing to sell at a lower price |
Gazundering |
A buyer lowering his bid for property usually at the last minute before the contract is signed using one of a variety of excuses commonly "survey" or "financial difficulties" or perhaps more blatantly "market conditions" |
Ground Rent |
A rent charged twice yearly to the ground land owner under 900 year leases; the creation of new ground rents for residential houses (but not apartments) in Northern Ireland was banned from 10th January 2000 |
Land Registry |
Government agency responsible for registering the ownership of land |
LandWeb |
Land Registry's online access for registered users |
Leasehold |
The ownership of a property for a fixed period usually 900 or 999 years in Northern Ireland |
Legals |
Common slang for the conveyancing process |
Mortgage Indemnity Guarantee |
Required by lenders if your loan is for more than a required percentage of the value of house (75%) |
Penalty Clauses |
If you take out a discounted mortgage the lender may lose money in the first year. The lender will often stipulate the mortgage has to be kept for a number of years (perhaps 3 or 5). If the mortgage is paid off early penalty payments (usually a number of months payments) will have to be made to reimburse the lender its loss leading discounts |
Property Certificates |
Reports from the Department of the Environment and local councils as to whether roads, sewers, planning, building control, water, public health and other regulations have been complied with |
PropertyDirectNI |
The Specialist division of Wilson Nesbitt Solicitors which specialises in the conveyancing of residential properties |
Purchaser |
The buyer of a property |
Registry of Deeds |
Government run depository for lodging of copy documents where land is "unregistered" (i.e. not registered at the Land Registry) |
Repossession |
A lender seizing a property by evicting defaulting borrowers and selling it to repay a loan |
Searches |
Checks of bankruptcy, court judgement, Land Registry, Registry of Deeds and other public records for problems which could jeopardise a sale |
Stamp Duty |
A 1% tax on the purchase of properties of over £120,000, rising to 3% for properties over £250,000 and 4% for those over £500,000 |
Underwriting |
The process by which a lender decides whether a buyer is a good personal risk and whether a property is worth lending mortgage funds on |
Vendor |
The seller of the property |
Wilson Nesbitt Solicitors |
Northern Irelands largest law firm (per legal week) |
