Annual Percentage Rate (APR) - The real cost of a loan. This rate includes all the extra fees.

Bank of England base rate - The main interest rate set by the Bank of England. Lenders use this as a measure to set their own rates including their “standard variable rate”.

Completion - This is when the whole sales process finally ends and the ownership of a property is legally transferred to the new owner.

Conveyancing - The legal work involved when you buy and sell property.

Ten things you need to know about... buying your first home

Soaring property prices have made it difficult for first-time buyers to get onto the property ladder. But a slower market could provide new opportunities: find out how to make the most of them

• A step-by-step guide to buying your first home

Related Internet Links

• First-time buyer special

• Property guides

First-time buyers are deserting property market

According to figures, first-time buyers are leaving the property market, with numbers falling by a fifth in the past six months

• Where there’s the will there could be a way

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• How to get onto the property ladder

• Useful websites for first-time buyers

• Rise in buyers borrowing five times their income

• Where there’s the will there could be a way

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• A problem shared is a problem solved

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BACKGROUND

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BACKGROUND

• Keep it in the family

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Related Links

• A step-by-step guide to buying your first home

Freehold - Outright ownership of the property and the land on which it stands. It usually applies to houses. See leasehold below.

Ground rent - An annual charge payable by leaseholders to the freeholder. Do not confuse with service charge which is usually paid to a management company for the upkeep of the building.

Guarantor - The person responsible for paying the borrower’s debt if he or she defaults.

Interest-only mortgage - A loan where you pay only the interest rather than the capital.

Leasehold - The right to possession, but not ownership, of a property for an agreed period of time. Ultimate ownership remains with the freeholder. This usually applies to flats.

Loan to Value (LTV) - The size of a mortgage as a percentage of the price of the property.

Negative equity - Is what happens when prices fall sharply and your home is worth less than the mortgage

Title deeds/title documents - The legal documents which provide proof of ownership of a property.

Valuation - Or mortgage valuation. This is basically a price check that allows the lenders’ to decide whether to advance a loan. It is not the same as a Homebuyer’s Survey or a Full Structural Survey.