Mortgage Glossary
Standard variable rate (SVR)
A standard variable rate (SVR) refers to a lender’s standard interest rate, which can go up or down in line with the Bank of England’s base interest rate.
Lenders aren’t obligated to pass on full base rate changes to their own SVR.
But if your mortgage is on a lender’s SVR, generally you’ll pay less when the base rate falls and more when it increases.
Structural survey
A structural survey is a report outlined by a surveyor that tells a buyer whether a property is structurally sound or details defects that could require attention.
Structural surveys are the most comprehensive home-buying surveys in the UK.
Sub-prime/non-conforming mortgages
Another name for adverse credit mortgages.
Tie-in period
A tie-in period refers to the period of time you are committed to your mortgage deal.
Often, if you redeem your mortgage within a tie-in period, you’ll have to pay an early repayment charge.
Title deeds
The legal document which shows the ownership of land and property.
Tracker mortgage
Tracker mortgages follow the Bank of England’s base interest rate and track it when it changes.
These variable rate mortgages mean when the base rate rises, you’ll pay more in monthly repayments and when the base rate falls, you’ll pay less.
Valuation
To be certain that the property you’re buying is worth the amount you want to borrow through a mortgage, your lender will conduct its own valuation of the property.
Most lender valuations come with a fee chargeable to the borrower and lenders will not generally make a mortgage offer without a satisfactory valuation.
