|
You can use our glossary
to find the definitions of many terms you will come
across when arranging a mortgage
Click on a letter A
to Z for terms beginning with that letter
U
Underpayment
A mortgage repayment smaller than the regular agreed sum.
Some flexible mortgages have this feature, which can be
useful for people with irregular income.
Unemployment insurance
Another form of income protection, but one that does not
cover any form of sickness, injury or disability. The purpose
of this type of policy is to replace income lost through
a short to medium term period of redundancy. It provides
you with a monthly tax-free income to cover a portion of
your lost earnings. It is often sold in conjunction with
the accident, sickness and disability element of income
protection policies, in which case it is known as Accident,
Sickness and Unemployment (ASU).
Unitised with-profit endowment
This is a hybrid unit-linked endowment, designed to
smooth out price fluctuations that occur with unit-linked
policies. The value of units is declared each year and that
value is then guaranteed. The guaranteed value that is declared
is at a discount to the actual value of the units. The guaranteed
value will not reach the real value until the term of the
endowment is up, so the chance of being able to pay of the
loan early is minimised.
Unit-linked endowment
Your monthly premiums are used to buy units in a fund
or funds run by professional managers. Like unit trusts,
the price of these units can go up and down, so the value
of the endowment can constantly change.
Unmortgagable
A property for which you are unable to find a lender
willing to give to a mortgage due to the results or a survey,
the valuation to price or details of the lease or title
deeds.
Unpaid ground rent charge
If you are a leaseholder, and the freeholder notifies
the lender that you have not paid your ground rent or service
charge, the lender may penalise you. Costs £30 - £50.
Unpaid service charge
If you are a leaseholder, and the freeholder notifies the
lender that you have not paid your ground rent or service
charge, the lender may penalise you. Costs £30 - £50.
Unrecorded deed
An unrecorded deed transfers ownership from one party to
another without being officially recorded.
Unregistered land
Land/property not yet held on the database at HM Land Registry.
Unsecured loan
Any loan that is not backed by collateral.
V
Valuation fee
A fee paid by a borrower to cover the cost of the Valuation
Report.
Valuation report
This is carried out for the purposes of mortgage and is
prepared for the lender. A survey will also help you to
find out independently whether the price is reasonable.
Your mortgage lender will almost certainly insist on a basic
valuation to make sure that the property is worth the amount
you are paying for it. They want to ensure that you will
be able to sell it again and therefore that it is a safe
investment. Although it is often referred to as a survey,
it doesn't go into nearly as much detail as a homebyuyer
or full survey would do.
Variable interest rate
A loan rate that moves up and down based on factors including
changes in the rate paid on bank certificates of deposit
or Treasury bills.
Variable rate mortgages
As you would expect from the name, variable mortgage rates
go up and down and generally don't stay at the same level
for too long. This is because the interest rate and subsequent
level of repayment varies with the lender's interest rate.
This is usually derived from Bank of England base rate or
some other index. One such index is the banks' base rate
- an average of the rates of several leading lenders.
Verification of deposit
As part of the loan process, a lender will ask a borrower's
bank to sign a statement verifying the borrower's account
balances and history.
Verification of employment
As part of the loan process, a lender will ask the borrower's
employer for confirmation of the borrower's position and
salary.
W
Water authority search fee
A fee charged by a solicitor as part of his conveyancing
work for checking the infrastructture of the local water
system and sewerage.
With-profits endowment
Your monthly premiums are pooled together and invested for
you by a life insurance company. The policy will have a
basic sum assured which bonuses are added to, to build up
a cash sum. This should be enough at the end of the term
to repay the mortgage
Wraparound mortgage
A loan to a buyer for the remaining balance on a seller's
first mortgage and an additional amount requested by the
seller. Payments on both loans are made to the lender who
holds the wraparound loan.
X
Y
Z
|
Best buys
