A few months ago, we posted the first part of our new jargon buster articles – the series where we take complicated conveyancing terms and break them down into plain English for you. Because everyone deserves to understand what’s going on when they’re buying a house. If you haven’t read the first one yet, you can click here and read letters A-G. If you’re all caught up, then let’s
Gazundering
We ended our last part on ‘gazumping’, so it’s only fair we start with its opposite. Gazundering is much less common thing, but essentially it means that a buyer reduces their initial purchase offer on a property before contracts have been exchanged. This usually happens if something has been discovered during searches or inspections that make the buyer want to renegotiate the price. This happens even less often when the housing market is strong and prices are rising.
Help to Buy
A government scheme that helps first-time buyers purchase their new home. A few areas of this aren’t offered any more, but the scheme itself has been extended to 31st December 2025. So if you’re a first-time buyer, there’s still time for support.
HMO
HMO stands for House of Multiple Occupancy. It’s a single property with multiple people living in it who aren’t from the same household, but they share certain facilities like kitchen and bathroom. So if you’re looking to buy to let, then you’ll find HMOs in student housing and professional house shares.
Instruction
The fancy term for ‘hiring’ when you instruct a conveyancer or a solicitor, you’re asking them to work on your behalf for the property purchase. This usually has to be done in writing, and you will be asked to fill in an instruction letter.
Leasehold Property
A type of land ownership that applies for a fixed term of years. So while you own the property, you don’t own the land it sits on. You’re buying a lease from a landowner to have the property there for a set number of years. This is usually in the realms of 150-200 years, so you don’t usually have to worry about them expiring, but it’s something that will be reported in your searches.
Local Searches
When you hire a conveyancer, their job is to do a range of searches with the local authorities on your property. This includes the local council and planning, to make sure you have all the information you need for your purchase. This is usually done early on in the buying process so that you’re aware of any plans the council have that could affect your property once you’ve moved in. The usual searches will include:
· Local authority
· Land registry
· Drainage and water
· Environmental and contaminated land
There are more specific searches that can be carried out, but they will usually depend on your location and your mortgage provider. You can find more information on those here.
Listed Building
A listed building is any property that’s considered to have historic or architectural interest or importance. You’re likely to find these mainly on older properties. Listed buildings are given a grade (I, II or III), depending on the importance or interest of the property and the level of protection it’s given. You’ll find that you get special permission to do any major modifications to this type of building, and you may not be allowed to do certain types of works to it.
Mortgage Offer
This is the formal, in writing document from your lender saying that they will offer you a loan for a mortgage. It will say how much the loan is for, how long it will run for and all of the repayment terms. It will also list any conditions attached to the mortgage, so it’s important you read this thoroughly.
Stamp Duty Land Tax
Stamp Duty Land Tax (or Stamp Duty for short) is a tax the government charges when you’ve finalised the purchase of a property or land. The amount you pay depends on the price you paid for the property, what the current rates are, and if you’re in an exempt area. It’s not the easiest thing to work out, but there are lots of online calculators to help, and your solicitor or conveyancer can always support you.
We’ve written a whole blog about stamp duty and what it all means, so if you’d like a bit more detail on that, click here.
Phew! That’s another sizeable dent made in the jargon for conveyancing, but we still have a little way to go. We’re going to keep running through the entire A-Z of conveyancing until you can understand everything your conveyancer says, and you feel more confident in the property buying process. In the meantime if you’d like to know more about any of the terms we’ve talked about today, or if you just want some advice on the conveyancing process, we’d love to help. Just get in touch with us today to book your free consultation visit.
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