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A lease extension adds years to a leasehold term, and marriage value is an extra payment that becomes due once the lease is short — which is why extending early is dramatically cheaper than extending
Ground rent is a payment a leaseholder makes to the freeholder simply for the land the building stands on. Historically it was a token sum — a few pounds a year, sometimes a peppercorn — and it
Fundamentally, and the differences are legal rather than atmospheric. The critical one is that you are contractually committed the moment the hammer falls. The traditional auction process: The fall
A flying freehold exists where part of a freehold property overhangs or lies beneath land that belongs to someone else. The classic examples are a bedroom extending over a neighbour's passageway, a
A bridging loan is short-term secured borrowing designed to cover a gap — most often between buying one property and selling another. It is fast, flexible and expensive, and it is a tool for specific
They describe how many estate agents may market your property and who is entitled to a fee — and the contract wording matters more than the label. Sole agency. One agent has the exclusive right to
Snagging is identifying defects in a newly built property — the finishing faults, incomplete work and workmanship problems that are extremely common even in well-built homes. What counts as a snag:
When land is registered in England and Wales, HM Land Registry assigns a class of title indicating how confident it is in the ownership. Most buyers never notice it, and it matters when it is
An easement is a right one piece of land has over another. A right of way is the most common type — a right to pass over someone else's land. The structure. An easement benefits the dominant land and
A House in Multiple Occupation (HMO) is a property occupied by people from more than one household who share facilities such as a kitchen, bathroom or toilet. What counts as a household. A single
Porting means transferring your existing mortgage deal — the rate and its terms — to a new property when you move, rather than repaying it and taking a new one. Why anyone would want to. Two reasons:
Section 20 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 requires a landlord or management company to consult leaseholders before carrying out major works or entering a long-term agreement. It is the main
Negative equity is owing more on your mortgage than the property is worth. If you owe £250,000 and the home would sell for £220,000, you are £30,000 in negative equity. How it happens. Two things
Because it is an invasive plant capable of causing damage, is extremely difficult to eradicate, carries legal obligations, and — most consequentially — many lenders will not lend on an affected
Planning permission is explicit consent from the local planning authority for a specific proposal. Permitted development (PD) is a national grant of planning permission for certain types of work, so
The Party Wall etc. Act 1996 governs building work affecting walls and boundaries shared with a neighbour in England and Wales. It is a legal obligation, not a courtesy, and ignoring it has real
A restrictive covenant is a legally binding obligation registered against land, limiting what the owner may do with it. Crucially, it runs with the land — it binds future owners, not just whoever
In England and Wales, a landlord taking a deposit for an assured shorthold tenancy must protect it in a government-authorised scheme within 30 days of receiving it, and provide the tenant with
Both are notices a landlord uses to begin ending an assured shorthold tenancy in England, and they work on entirely different bases. Section 21 — the "no fault" notice. The landlord does not have to
A Lifetime ISA (LISA) is a UK savings account offering a 25% government bonus on contributions, intended for either a first home purchase or retirement. The mechanics: Who can open one: UK residents
Shared ownership lets you buy a share of a property — typically between 25% and 75% — and pay rent on the remaining share, which is owned by a housing association or similar provider. It is intended
Conveyancing is the legal transfer of property ownership, and the work is far more than paperwork — most of it is investigating things you cannot see and identifying problems before you are
Estate agency language is designed to shape expectations, and knowing what each phrase signals is worth real money. Guide price is an indication of the range the seller expects, most common with
They serve completely different purposes, and assuming the first covers you for the second is one of the most expensive mistakes a buyer can make. A mortgage valuation is for the lender, not for you.