Welcome...Jargon Buster

A quality of title awarded by the Land Registry. This is the best one.

The part of the document that contains the relevant signatures of the necessary parties.

A search against the name of each person borrowing money from a mortgage company to check that person(s) has not been bankrupt previously.

Term used to describe when there are a number of people involved in the conveyancing process.An example of this would be couple A are selling to Couple B, and Couple A are buying from Couple C. The chain can involve numerous parties.

There are technical differences between a mortgage and a charge, but even the Law Commission said the phrases are now used interchangeably so just forget about it. For current purposes a charge is a mortgage.

The agreed date that the sellers moves out of the property and the buyer is in position to receive keys for property. Completion date is agreed on exchange of contracts and are you are leaglly bound after exchange to complete on the date specified.

The account provided by a seller's conveyancer to see how much is due at completion and sometimes the phrase is used to describe the account prepared in any transaction to show a client how much is due to or needed from them in the conveyancing matter.

The very important document that binds you to complete the conveyancing transaction. As a minimum it gives details of the parties, property and price..

A legal document which must be signed, witnessed and delivered to have effect, i.e. 'Signed sealed and delivered'.

The point at which you become bound to buy/sell the subject property.

Fixtures are items on a building or land that have become part of the building or land and are therefore included in the sale. They are items that are usually physically fixed to the building such as shelves or fitted wardrobes.
Fittings are items that are not attached to the building or land and are not subject to the sale unless they are specifically included, carpets and curtains would normally be thought of as fittings.

Money usually paid annually to a freeholder or superior land owner by a tenant. Colloquially in some parts of the country it can also refer to a perpetual annual rent charge..

A maximum of four individuals who own an interest in land in such a way that their legal and beneficial interests transfer automatically to the survivors on death.

A documented contract by which one person gives another property rights for a term of years.

Property that is occupied under the terms of a lease.

The money loaned under a Mortgage.

The formal document making an offer of a loan under a mortgage which states how much the loan is for, the period and amount of repayment and all of the terms and conditions attached to the loan. The Mortgage offer will normally be sent by the lender to the borrower, with a copy to us.

The document which charges your interest in the property to the mortgage lender.

These fees are normally charged for acting on behalf of your bank or building society.

An official copy of a register or document held at the Land Registry.

To pay off a loan or mortgage.

The amount of money quoted by a lender to pay off a mortgage.

Lenders require solicitors to carry out "all usual searches". There are lots of them to choose from but the most usual are searches of the local land charges register (with extra questions about planning, etc.) known as "The Local Search", and water/drainage search, coal, environmental and a third party planning search. This latter is because although the local search tells you about Council proposals it says nothing about planning applications by others.

A payment made by an occupier usually in common with others to a landlord or his agent for maintenance to a property.

SMS stands for Short Messaging Service. We are able to keep you updated each step of the way regarding your conveyancing. Each and every time a key step in your conveyancing is completed you will receive a message on your mobile informing you of this keeping you always updated.

Using the Web Tracking, you can track the progress of your conveyancing over the web wherever you may be. This is service is available 24 hours and day all year round. As further stages of your conveyancing are completed, the data is updated simultaneously to keep you informed of exactly what has been done.

A tax payable to the Government on the completion of purchase of a property or land. The amount of duty depends on the purchase price of the property, although there are some areas in England and Wales where no Stamp Duty Land Tax is payable at all.

The electronic transfer of money from one Bank account to another. Usually to send money from the buyer's solicitors to the seller's solicitors on the day of completion. The system ensures same-day transfer of the money and it is a quick and reliable method of transferring money. However, it is not an instant transfer and the system can slow down considerably at peak periods, e.g. the Friday before a bank holiday.

Each owner owns a precise and specified share of the property and each is free to leave their share of the property by Will to whomever they choose. If the property is held as Tenants in Common, you must be specific about the proportions of ownership e.g. Owner A is to own 30% and owner B is to own 70%.

The phrase loosely refers to documents establishing ownership of property and on what terms. Becoming an anachronism, now title is registered at H M Land Registry.

An insurance policy that covers the mortgage lender and/or owner from specified defects in title (up to the limits that will be set out in the policy). This is often used to save money in the conveyancing process by covering against specific eventualities of the policy.

The document in prescribed Land Registry form that transfers Title from one owner to another. This is often the case in conveyancing cases when a partner joins or leaves Title(ownership of property).