jargon buster : b
Below is a glossary of the terms you may not be sure about now and should understand when taking out a new mortgage. These are not legal definitions but clear everyday descriptions to help you make a more informed choice.
Any examples given are designed solely to simply illustrate the basics of the concept and are not to be taken as anything beyond that.
A lot of mortgage adviser regularly used terminology were banned in October 2004 and replaced by industry standard phrases to help consumers understand things better. The old terms have been included for reference purposes.
No information given here should be taken as advice.
| Balance Sheet | A statement of financial accounts for a certain date, including, for instance, assets, liabilities and equity. |
| Bankrupt | An individual debtor (person, company, corporation) whose assets are administered by a court-appointed trustee for the purposes of redistribution to the debtor's creditors. |
| Bankruptcy | The legal process by which a debtor who owes more than their assets has these assets transferred to a court-appointed administrator. |
| Base Rate | The rate of interest set by the Bank of England. |
| Basic Earned Income | Your basic salary, before tax, and without any bonuses, commission, overtime, or shift allowances etc. |
| Beneficiary | A person entitled to benefit, for instance under the terms of a trust or a will. |
| Bond | A fixed length agreement to pay interest on a debt, for instance a Treasury Bond. |
| Booking Fee | A charge levied for the arrangement of a mortgage and which usually guarantees funds or guarantees a rate for fixed or capped rate mortgages. Also called a Reservation Fee. |
| Breach | A violation of any legal obligation, for instance breach of warranty or breach of trust. |
| Bridge Loan | A short-term loan commonly used to cover - or 'bridge' - the overlap between the purchase of a new property and the sale of an old one. |
| Broker | An agent or 'middleman' who brings parties together and who may also assist in the negotiation of contracts between them. |
| Broker's Fee | A fee charged by a broker for locating the most appropriate mortgage. |
| Building Society | A mutual society whose purpose or principal purpose is to provide mortgages and savings accounts. |
| Buildings Insurance | An insurance policy which pays the cost of repair or rebuilding in the event your property is damaged or destroyed. Most mortgage lenders will require you to take out buildings insurance as a condition of their loan. |
| Buildings and Contents Insurance | Combined insurance which covers both the structure of the property and its contents. |
| Buildings Survey | Regularly misused term for a survey of the property. Misused as it can mean one of the various types of survey. See Structural Survey and Valuations. |
| Buy to Let | A particular type of mortgage designed for borrowers who intend to let the purchased property to third parties for income or as an investment. |
Your home may be repossessed if you do not keep up repayments on your mortgage.
The actual rate available will depend on your circumstances. Ask for a personal illustration.
Think carefully before securing other debts against your home.
There will usually be a fee charged when we successfully arrange a mortgage / re-mortgage. The amount will depend on the complexity of your requirements and your personal circumstances, typically the fee charged will be 3% of the mortgage advance (minimum fee £3,000 up to a maximum of £10,000).
The overall cost for
comparison is
8.2% APR