Mortgage terms glossary Mortgage terms P-Z
Taking out a repayment mortgage will guarantee you will pay the loan off by the end of the term
Portability
A portable mortgage will allow you to transfer your borrowing from one property to another if you move, without paying any extra fees.
Rebuild cost
The cost of rebuilding your home for insurance purposes if it is destroyed.
Remortgage
When you change your mortgage without moving. You can do this to save money, to change to a different type of mortgage or to release equity from your home.
Read our guide to how to remortgage for more on this.
Repayment mortgage
You pay off the mortgage interest and part of the capital of your loan each month. This is the only type of mortgage which guarantees that you will pay off the mortgage by the end of the term.
Repayment vehicle
An investment or bank account you pay money into each month, to try to build up the amount of money you need to pay off the mortgage at the end of the term.
Self-certification mortgage
Also known as 'self-cert', these mortgages are designed mainly for self-employed people as it is difficult for them to prove their income. These mortgages have now virtually disappeared.
Shared ownership
Shared ownership schemes are designed to allow people who would otherwise be unable to get a foot on the property ladder to do so.
The home buyer takes out a mortgage on a share of a property from a local housing association and pays rent to it for the rest.
Visit our guide to shared ownership for more.
Stamp duty
A government tax you have to pay when you buy a property for more than £125,000, or £250,000 if you are a first-time buyer. For more information on stamp duty visit our tax guide.
Standard variable rate (SVR)
The default mortgage interest rate your lender will charge after your initial mortgage deal. When your 'tie-in' period is up, your interest rate will move to the lender's SVR, which could be higher or lower than your initial rate.
See whether you could save money by remortgaging at this point using our mortgage comparison tool.
Sub-prime/non-conforming
A sub-prime, or non-conforming, mortgage is geared towards people who have had credit problems. It is now much harder to get a sub-prime mortgage than before the credit crunch.
Tie-in period
This is the period during which you are 'locked in' to your mortgage deal, and would have to pay an early repayment charge to move your mortgage elsewhere.
You should avoid mortgages that tie you in after your deal period has ended.
Tracker mortgage
The interest rate on your mortgage tracks the Bank of England base rate at a set margin above or below it.
Valuation
Lenders require you to carry out a valuation to verify that the property is worth the amount you want to borrow.
You should also get a survey done, such as a Homebuyer’s report, home condition report or building survey, to find out about the condition of the property.
Variable-rate mortgage
The interest rate on your mortgage can go up or down according to your lender’s standard-variable rate.
Mortgage advice
We believe you should seek independent mortgage advice before taking out a mortgage. The Which? Group offers an independent mortgage advice service that looks at every mortgage from every available lender. You can also find an independent mortgage adviser using the Unbiased website.
To find out what your repayments would be at different interest rates, or to see how much you could borrow and work out how much you can afford to spend on a mortgage, take a look at the mortgage calculators offered by Which? Mortgage Advisers.
