GLOSSARY

Building Regs 

Building regulations are statutory instruments or statutory regulations that seek to ensure that the policies set out in the relevant legislation are carried out. Building regulations approval is required for most building work in the UK 

Certificate of Title

This is the form that your solicitor will send to the mortgage company to request your mortgage funds are paid to your solicitor on completion day.

Certified Copies

 A Certified Copy is a photocopy of a document that has been Certified by a professional as a true copy of the original and, in the case of photographic ID, a true likeness of the person. In order to certify your ID the professional will need to see you in person or via a video call.
 

Client Account 

Solicitors have a special type of bank account called a Client Account in which to hold client money - your money. 

Completion

The date that the purchase Completes is the day that your solicitor will pay the remainder of the purchase price (you have already paid the deposit at exchange) to the seller and the property becomes yours. You will be able to collect the keys to your new home as soon as your solicitor contacts you to confirm that the purchase has Completed and key release has been authorised.

Completion Statement.

Your final Completion Statement or Financial Statement will show a full breakdown of all financial elements of your transaction. It will detail the purchase price, solicitors fees, VAT, and disbursements that have been paid as well as all payments received from you and your mortgage company, including that Payment On Account you made at the beginning.

Deeds

The Title Deed or Title Document is the modern version of the old Deeds of Conveyance that used to be used in property law.  We no longer have physical Deeds to properties, these days all records are held electronically.   Charge When you take out a mortgage it is on the condition that the amount of that loan is protected by registering a Charge against the Title at the Land Registry.  
 

Deposit

The deposit that you have saved up to add to your mortgage funds may be a different amount to the deposit agreed for the purchase.In terms of the Purchase transaction the deposit is usually 10% of the full purchase price (although in some cases a different amount may have been agreed) which will need to be paid on the day contracts are exchanged.

Disbursements

 A disbursement is any third party cost that needs to be paid as part of your purchase transaction. The usual disbursements include Search Fees, Land Registry Registration Fee, Priority and Bankruptcy Search Fees, Stamp Duty (or Land Transaction Tax if you're in Wales) and any fees that might be payable to a management company in connection with your property. At the beginning of the process your solicitor will ask you for a Payment On Account which they will use to pay for the disbursements that will be incurred during the purchase process.Disbursements are not refundable once they have been paid out by your solicitor.

Draft Contract Pack

 The Draft Contract Pack is the information your solicitor will receive from the sellers solicitors about the property and terms of your proposed purchase. It will contain draft Contract and Transfer for approval, Official Copies of the Register of the Title and Plan, a Property Information Form, a Fittings and Contents Form, an EPC for the property, and any other relevant documents such as guarantees for window installation or boilers etc
 

EPC

An Energy Performance Certificate gives an energy rating for the property.

Exchange of Contracts

The solicitors for both parties Exchange the Contracts by adding the date and time. This is now a legally binding Contract committing you to purchase the property

Fixed fee

Your solicitors fixed fee for the legal work that they do for your purchase. Once your quote has been agreed this fee will not change.

No completion no fee
If for some reason you decide not to go ahead with the purchase your solicitor will not charge a fee for their time. If any disbursements have already been paid out these will not be refundable. 

Fittings and Contents Form

Sometimes called Fixtures and Fittings form, this will tell you exactly what's included in the sale, from carpets and light fittings to garden sheds and plant pots.  
 

Freehold

If a property is Freehold you are purchasing the land as well as the building on it.   

Indemnity Insurance

Indemnity Insurance can cover many different situations but the one you will hear about most commonly during the purchase of your home will be Lack of Building Regulations Indemnity Insurance. This would be provided instead of a Building Regulations Certificate when this is not available.
 

Information Form

 Your solicitor will need some personal information from you in order to complete your transaction, as well as needing information to help them work out Stamp Duty or Land Transaction Tax liability. The Information Form or Property Information Form will ask you for all the information that will be needed to complete the transaction. 

Joint Tenants / Tenants in Common 

If you are buying your home with your partner or another person, you will be asked how you wish to hold the property. Joint tenants means that if one of you dies, the whole of the property now belongs to the survivor. If you hold the property as Tenants in Common you each own your own share of the property and can leave your share to whoever you choose.

Land Registry 

 The Land Registry are responsible for holding all the records about ownership of land.

Land Registry Fee

The Land Registry charge a fee to make changes to the title documents, the amount of the fee depends on the value of the property. 

Leasehold

If a property is Leasehold you are purchasing only the building itself, not the land it is build upon (the Freehold) for example when buying a flat, you own the leasehold, your flat, and the landlord owns the freehold which is the outside walls of the whole building and the land underneath. The Freehold will be owned by someone else, the Landlord, and there will often also be a Management Company involved who may charge you additional fees during the purchase process.  

Legal Transfer of Title

The legal process of putting your names on the deeds to your new home, and removing the name of the old owner.
 

Lender 

Your Mortgage Company or Bank is often referred to as the Lender.
 

Letter of Instruction

Before a solicitor can act on your behalf, in any legal matter, you will need to sign a Letter of Instruction to allow them to do so. Your solicitor will be unable to carry out any work for you without that signed letter of instruction.  

Management Company

Leasehold properties will have a Management Company that looks after the communal areas and will likely charge an ongoing fee to leasehold owners.

Money on Account

As part of the purchase process there are several disbursements (search fees) that will need to be paid by your solicitor on your behalf. They will ask you for a Payment on Account at the beginning of the process which will allow them to obtain these searches.

Mortgage Deed

The Mortgage Deed is the legal document which, once signed and dated, is presented to the Land Registry with the application to register the legal charge of your mortgage company against the property.
Stamp Duty/Land Transaction Tax

Mortgage Offer

The official document issued by your lender confirming that they will lend you the agreed amount towards your purchase. It will also contain the Certificate of Title - the form hour solicitor will use to request the money on completion day.  Your solicitor cant do much until they have received your official Mortgage Offer document. Your mortgage company will likely email you a copy of the offer straight away so you'll know it's been issued, but they always send the solicitors copy by post and your solicitor cant do anything until they receive that paper copy marked 'solicitors copy'.

New Build

 A new home that has just been built or is in the process of being built.

Notice Fees

 Notice fees can include Share Transfer, Deed of Covenant fees or share certificate fee payable to a Management Company. These are all disbursements. 

Official Copy of the Register / Title Documents and Plan The Title Documents

 are the legal papers that show who owns a property, any Restrictions registered against it and any Charges (mortgages or other secured loans). The Plan simply shows the property on a map, usually edged in red to mark the while of the property including any surrounding gardens or land, garages, outbuildings or parking spaces.

Priority and Bankruptcy Searches

Once a completion date has been agreed, your solicitor will obtain a Priority Search - this secures our priority to make the application to put your name on the deeds after completion.

Property Information Form

This form will tell you all you need to know aboy your new home, from who currently supplies the electricity and where the gas meter is, to when the conservatory was built and which neighbours are responsible for which garden fences.
 

Raising Enquiries

 When your solicitor examines the information contained in the draft contract pack they will likely have some questions to ask the seller, this could be things like 'when was the conservatory built and please provide the building regs certificate or insurance',
 

Registered Proprietor  

The owner of the property.
 

Report on Title

Those Title Documents are full of technical legal jargon that requires a law degree to decipher. That is exactly what your solicitor will do for you. They will read through all of the information and will summarise all the important points in a Report on Title. Whilst your solicitor will do their best to convey all this information in layman's terms, it can still be complicated and confusing so it's always best to call and ask if there is anything at all that you're not sure about.

Report on mortgage

Your solicitor will review your mortgage offer and will write up a report outlining all they key information. Your broker should already have made you aware of the full terms of your offer but if anything comes up in the solicitors report that doesn't seem right, this is your opportunity to address that before moving forward with the purchase.

Resident Management Company

Some areas or housing estates have a private Residents Management Company that takes care of maintenance of communal areas of the estate. There can be additional fees to pay to the Management company 

Searches

In order to advise you on your purchase (and to satisfy the requirements of your lender) your solicitor will obtain several searches. These will provide information about the area immediately surrounding your property such as flood and other environmental risks to the property and local planning applications.
 

Stamp Duty / Land Transaction Tax

Stamp Duty or Land Transaction Tax if you're in Wales, is a tax applied to any purchase of property. Most first time.buyers don't have to pay any stamp duty, unless the property they're buying is over the price threshold. There are different rates depending on whether you are buying your main home, a holiday home or a buy to let property. You can use the calculator at Gov.uk to work out what you would pay. 

Telegraphic Transfer Fee

When you pay the price of the property to the seller this payment has to be made by a same day Telegraphic Transfer - it's not just the same as when you pay a bill or transfer some money to a friend with your online banking! All solicitors have to charge a fee for this.


Title Deeds / Title Document
The document which records the legal ownership of the property - the Registered Proprietor. 

Transfer TR1
You and the seller will both sign the TR1 form which will be lodged with the land registry as your application to change the ownership o your property into your name.