- A -

Adverse Credit
If a borrower has defaulted on their credit repayments this can show on their credit history as adverse credit.

Annuity Mortgage
Also known as a Repayment mortgage – every month over a set number of years, you pay back a portion of the money you’ve borrowed (capital) along with the interest.  The mortgage is fully paid off at the end of the term.

Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
APR calculates the total interest to be paid over the whole term of the mortgage and includes any charges, arrangement fees to be paid as well as the main interest rate.

Appreciation
Any increase in the value of the property.

Approval/Agreement in Principle (AIP)
An approval in principle or AIP is simply an indication of the amount of money that a bank or lending institution is likely to lend a potential borrower to purchase a home. The approval is based on a sample of information provided by the customer. While an AIP is certainly a useful tool, in that it provides the customer with an indication of the amount of money that they could potentially spend on the purchase of a home, an AIP is NOT an approval for a mortgage and it should not be taken as such by a potential borrower

Arrangement Fee
A fee charged by a lender for setting up a new mortgage.

Arrears
The outstanding payment(s) due when a mortgage payment is not made in full or part by the due date.  A property may be repossessed if the owner fails to keep up repayments.

Auction
Sale of a property to the highest bidder, whom, on winning the bid is legally bound to buy the home.  It is important to have mortgage approved and 10% of purchase price ready to pay on completion of bidding during auction process.

- B -

Bankrupt/Bankruptcy
A bankrupt is an individual against whom a bankruptcy order has been made by the Court. The order signifies that the individual is unable to pay his/her debts and deprives him/her of his/her property, which is then realized for distribution amongst his/her creditors.

Bridging Loan
A temporary loan used to provide finance when you are purchasing a house and the sale of your current property is not complete.  It is repaid from the proceeds of the sale of the existing property.

Building Survey
A survey carried out on a property outlining in great detail the physical condition of the property.  It is highly recommended that anyone thinking of purchasing a home should get a building survey carried out by a qualified professional.

Buildings Insurance
An insurance policy to pay the costs of repair to or rebuilding of the property in the even of fire, flood, storms etc.  Buildings insurance must be in place in order to draw down a mortgage.

But to Let (BTL) – See RIP
An investment property purchased to rent out rather than live in.

- C -

CAIS
Credit Account Information Sharing – provides information on credit accounts.

Capital
Also known as the Principal – the original amount of money borrowed on which interest is calculated. 

Capital Gains Tax
CGT in general is tax placed on any increase on the value of an asset from the time you bought until the time you sold it. Does not apply to your Private Home.

CCJ - County Court Judgement
If you are unable to meet your repayments a County Court Judgement (CCJ) will charge you with the amount owed and give you one month in which to pay the full amount. If you do not pay the full amount within one month your CCJ will be registered with the Register of County Court Judgements and Credit Reference Agencies will note this on your file. This may make it difficult to obtain credit in the future.

CHAPS
Clearing House Automated Payment System processes payments electronically to reduce the use of paper cheques for routine payments.

Collateral
Your home, property or some other asset used as security for a loan.

Completion
This is when all legal transactions have taken place and the ownership of the property is legally passed to the buyer.

Contents Insurance
Insurance to provide reimbursement for loss or damage of contents in the home. Some policies cover against loss or damage of some personal possessions outside the home.

Conveyancing
The legal work involved in buying or selling a property.

Cost per Thousand
This is the cost of mortgage repayments for each thousand euro borrowed.  It is generally expressed in monthly terms.  It is calculated based on the bank’s standard interest rate and the term of the mortgage.

Credit Search
A check the lender makes with a specialist company, such as Experian, to find out whether you have a record of paying loans, credit card bills etc.

- D -

Debt Consolidation
This is taking all of your existing loans, such as car loans and personal loans, and pooling them into one loan secured on the property.

Deed of Postponement
Legal document which postpones a second mortgage in favour of the first charge.

Deeds of Title
The legal document that is used as evidence of the owner’s legal entitlement to the property.

Default
This is where the terms and conditions of a loan agreement are broken by failure to make repayments.

Deposit
A sum of money paid by the buyer to initially secure the property.

Depreciation
Any decrease in the value of the property.

Disbursements
Expenses paid by the solicitor on behalf of the purchaser i.e. administration, post, courier etc.

Drawdown
Following the exchange of contracts, the lender “draws down” the loan fund and sends them to the solicitor who receives them on your behalf in order to purchase the property.

- E -

ERC’s – Early Redemption Charges
Fees payable on certain mortgage products if the mortgage is paid off in full or part before the end of the agreed term.

Endowment Mortgage
Monthly repayments comprise of interest on the loan paid to the lender and also a monthly premium that pays into an endowment policy with a Life Assurance company.  As well as providing life cover during the policy term, the intention is that at the end of the term, the policy proceeds will be sufficient to clear the principal amount borrowed with a possible surplus.

Equity
This is the difference between what the property is worth and the amount owed on the mortgage.

Equity Release
This is when you increase your mortgage amount to release some of the property’s value as a lump sum.

- F -

First Time Buyer
A person who has not previously bought a house and is purchasing a property as their principal place of residence.

Fixed Interest Rates
An interest rate set for an agreed period e.g. 2 or 3 years.  At the end of this period, the rate will automatically convert to the current variable rate or the customer may be given the option to re-fix again to the rates on offer at that time.

Folio
A document describing the property registered and refers to a plan on the Registry maps; the registered owners; any burdens (charges, right of way) which may affect the property.

Freehold
This is a form of legal ownership of a property and land.  It is absolute outright ownership without payment of any rent and any limit of time.

- G -

Guarantor
Someone who agrees to pay the borrower’s debt if they should default on repayments.

Gazumping
The practice where a seller, having already accepted an offer from one buyer, accepts a higher bid from another buyer before the exchange of contracts.

- H -

Sorry, no Jargon beginning with H. But feel free to mail your question to info@rossbank.com and we can answer it and add it to our list.

- I -

Interest Only Mortgage
A mortgage whereby only interest is paid throughout the term of the loan. The original amount borrowed (together with any accrued or unpaid interest) will have to be repaid at the end of the mortgage term.

Income Protection Policy
An insurance policy which pays out if your income is reduced or stopped because of redundancy, sickness or accident.

Indemnity Bond (MIG – Mortgage Indemnity Guarantee)
An insurance premium which may have to be paid if the amount being borrowed is over 75% of the value of the property.  The indemnity bond is a one-off payment.

IVA – Individual Voluntary Arrangement

- J -

Sorry, no Jargon beginning with J. But feel free to mail your question to info@rossbank.com and we can answer it and add it to our list.

- K -

Sorry, no Jargon beginning with k. But feel free to mail your question to info@rossbank.com and we can answer it and add it to our list.

- L -

Land Registry
The Land Registry is the State institution responsible for maintaining and updating the register of all properties with registered titles. 

Leasehold
A leasehold title is a right of possession, but not ownership, of a property under the terms of a lease, for an agreed period of time, with the payment of rent.

Letter of Indemnity (LOI)
In order to clear the funds for a mortgage your lending institute will require evidence that your home is insured, this is known as a letter of indemnity.

Letter of Offer
When a mortgage application is approved the buyer will receive a formal loan offer that sets out the conditions of the loan.

Letter of Serviceability (LOS)
An institution will lend funds to a self employed applicant on the basis of a letter of serviceability completed by their accountant. A letter of serviceability basically states that the borrower can afford to repay amount he wishes to borrow over the term requested.

Listed Building
This is a building that has specific architectural or historic interest which in general has a lot stricter planning criteria for alterations than a non-listed building.

Loan to Value (LTV)
This expresses the mortgage as a percentage of the value of the property.

- M -

MIG – See Indemnity Bond.

Mortgage Protection
This is an insurance policy that will cover the repayments on the loan in the event of death, an accident and could include serious illness. 

Mortgage Interest Relief
Tax relief that is claimed on mortgage interest payments (also known as TRS – tax relief at source). 

- N -

Negative Equity
When the value of the property has fallen below the outstanding mortgage debt.

NHBC
Provide a broad range of services to the house building and wider construction industry. NHBC is an internationally recognised as an example of best practice.

- O -

Outstanding Commitments (OSC’s)
Any existing credit agreements – credit cards, personal loans etc etc

Owner-Occupier
A term used to describe a person who owns and lives in their own property, which is their sole or main residence.

Overpayment
A mortgage repayment bigger than one needed to meet the loan’s minimum requirements.  This can help reduce the term of the mortgage.

- P -

Planning Permission
Permission which must be granted from your local authority before building a new property or adding an extension or making changes to an existing property. 

Principal Dwelling House (PDH) (or Principal Private Residence)
Where the property being purchased is to be occupied by the borrower as their principal place of residence.

Private Treaty
A method of selling a property or piece of land where offers are made directly to the seller or his estate agent.

- Q -

Sorry, no Jargon beginning with Q. But feel free to mail your question to info@rossbank.com and we can answer it and add it to our list.

- R -

Redemption
When the mortgage is paid off in full including interest to date and all charges.

Remortgage
This is the process of switching a mortgage from one lender to another. The new mortgage is used to pay off the existing lender and at the same time new funds can be raised for other purposes.

Residential Investment Property (RIP) – see Buy to Let

Retention
A condition of a mortgage where the lender holds back a portion of the loan, pending work to be carried out by the borrower.

Rider
An amendment to an insurance policy that modifies that policy by expanding or restricting its benefits or excluding certain conditions from coverage.

- S -

Searches
A solicitor carries out searches on the property to establish if the seller has a legal right to sell the property and to determine whether there is anything that might affect the ownership of the property.

Security
The collateral used to purchase a property.

Stamp Duty
A government duty charged on a purchase deed and assessed on the market purchase prices of a property.  There are tiered rates of duty depending on the size and price of the property.

Structural Survey
A survey carried out by a qualified surveyor, to confirm the structural soundness of a property. 

Split Rate
This is where you can set a portion of the mortgage at a fixed rate and the balance at a variable rate.

- T -

Title Deeds
Legal documents setting out ownership of a property. They also contain other information such as planning permissions affecting the property and certificates confirming that all taxes payable on the property e.g. inheritance tax, have been paid in full.

Title Insurance
Title Insurance is an alternative to the traditional solicitor’s investigation of title.  It is an insurance policy that protects the lender’s interest against any defects in the title of the property.  With title insurance in place, the mortgage switching process can be carried out a lot faster.

Tracker Rate
This is a variable interest rate that tracks the European Base Rate with a margin that is fixed for the full term of the loan.

- U -

Underwriting
The process of analysing a mortgage application to determine the amount of risk involved.  It includes a review of the potential borrower’s credit history and a judgement of the property value.

- V -

Valuation Report
This is carried out by a Valuer who will assess the property and confirm it is suitable security for mortgage purposes.  They will also confirm the Rebuilding Cost.

Variable Base Rate
A mortgage interest rate that can change over the term of the loan depending on the rates of the Central Bank, meaning the monthly payments can go up or down in a given period.

Vendor
The term for the seller of the property.

- W -

Sorry, no Jargon beginning with W. But feel free to mail your question to info@rossbank.com and we can answer it and add it to our list.

- X -

Sorry, no Jargon beginning with X. But feel free to mail your question to info@rossbank.com and we can answer it and add it to our list.

- Y -

Yield
The amount of income an investment delivers after deduction of charges (not tax) expressed as a percentage of the amount invested.

- Z -

Sorry, no Jargon beginning with Z. But feel free to mail your question to info@rossbank.com and we can answer it and add it to our list.