A Bankruptcy Search is a search made on behalf of a lender to ensure that a prospective borrower is not or has not in the past been made bankrupt or has writs or orders made against them.

Buildings Insurance is insurance to cover your property for the sum recommended by your surveyor/valuer. Cover should usually commence from exchange of contracts when you become legally bound to purchase the property.

Latin for "Let the buyer beware".

Where a Seller is also buying another property there is a chain of related transactions, all reliant upon each other.

Completion is the point where the purchaser’s conveyancing solicitor sends the purchase money to the seller’s conveyancing solicitor’s bank account, the buyer then becomes the owner of the property.

The form of legal agreement prepared in duplicate for signature by the seller and buyer setting out all the legal rights and obligations agreed between them.

The Council for Licenced Conveyancers, or CLC, is the statutory regulatory body for licensed conveyancers in England and Wales.

Rules and conditions contained in the Deeds or Lease that relate to promises to do, or not to do, certain rules and regulations i.e. a covenant to erect a fence.

Title deeds are documents showing ownership, as well as rights, obligations, or mortgages on the property. A title register from Land Registry will collate a snapshot of the deeds in one place.

On exchange of contracts it is normal practice for the buyer to pay the seller a deposit. The deposit is normally 10%, however if agreed, this can be lower. When the exchange of contracts takes place on the same day as completion. If the buyer is also selling, the deposit will usually pass from the buyer’s buyer on to the buyer’s purchase.

Payments paid on your behalf with your money to third parties, such as search fees, land registry fees and stamp duty.

An Engrossment Fee may be charged when a buyer is purchasing a property that has just been built or converted. An engrossment fee is payable to the Freeholder's conveyancing solicitor for preparing a final version of the completion documents.

Usually means the difference between the value of a property and the amount owed to a lender.

The time when both buyer and seller commit themselves to the deal under a legally binding agreement. Once exchange of contracts has taken place, the buyer is legally bound to buy the seller's property. Until exchange of contracts either party can pull out of the conveyancing process.

A list showing what sellers intend to include in and exclude from a sale.

Outright ownership of the property or the land upon which it stands. A freehold property is where the owner of the land has no time limit to his period of ownership.

A freeholder is normally a company or person that owns the actual freehold of the building. The leaseholder will own the house or flat on a lease for a certain number of years, but the freeholder will own the property outright.

Gazumping is when a seller accepts an offer from one buyer and then accepts a higher offer from another buyer later on.

A department of the government created to register ownership of land and property throughout England and Wales.

The professional association that represents and governs solicitors for the jurisdiction of England and Wales. It provides services and support to practising and training solicitors, as well as serving as a sounding board for law reform.

Leasehold ownership of a property is similar to a very long tenancy. Your ownership is normally limited by time and a third party normally owns the Freehold (land on which the Leasehold property sits or building within which the property is located).

A person who holds the lease of a property (residential or commercial).

The Legal Ombudsman is an ombudsman service that opened in October 2010. It is a free service that investigates complaints about lawyers in England and Wales.

Once an offer has been accepted on a property, the estate agent selling the property produces a 'Memorandum of Sale'. The memorandum of sale lists the details of the sale including buyer, seller, solicitors details for both parties and the price.

Where a property is being purchased for the first time from a Builder or Developer.

This is the granting of power to a person providing them with the power/right to deal with a deceased person's estate . It's also sometimes called 'administering the estate'.

Repayment in full of a mortgage or loan.

Take out another mortgage to replace a current loan.

A conveyancing search pack includes Local Authority, Chancel, Water/Drainage and Environmental searches, for a fixed fee.

Shared ownership is a cross between buying and renting. It is where a purchaser buys part of the property (for example 50%) with a normal mortgage. The purchaser then pays rent on the remaining share to a landlord such as a housing association. You normally have the right to buy a larger share or the remaining share at a later date.

Sharehold is when somebody owns both the leasehold of a property and a share of the freehold.

The Solicitors Regulation Authority is an independent body which regulates Solicitors in England and Wales. Its key purpose is to protect the public.

Normally referred to as Stamp Duty. This is a Government tax on property transactions. The rate varies depending on the purchase price. See the HMRC calculator here.

A Telegraphic Transfer is a bank payment and a CHAPS is a payment that is received on the same day that it is paid.

The type of ownership of property referring to the conditions attached to it. There are 3 main types of tenure: freehold, leasehold and sharehold.

A transfer of equity happens when the owner of a property wants to deal with the equity in a property, either by transferring equity to somebody (and adding them to the title) or from somebody (and removing them from the title). For example, if you divorce a partner, you can buy/transfer their share of the property so that you are the sole owner.

The legal owner of a property being sold is known as a vendor. Also known as the ‘seller’.