Wardsmith & co decode Estate Agent jargon

Finding your next home in the Cambridge or Bishop's Stortford area is exciting and to help you with your next purchase or sale here is a jargon buster list, courtesy of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) – UKs leading professional body for estate agents.

'Chain' refers to the sequence of buyers and sellers. Most sellers are also buyers, meaning there can often be a chain of people waiting on each other. This means that deals are dependent on other deals going through. For instance, if a buyer or seller drops out then the chain can collapse and the purchasing of a home can be cancelled or delayed.

'Completion date' is the point when the transaction is complete and ownership of the property passes from the seller to the buyer, while 'conveyancing' is the legal process where all the issues arising from the sale or purchase of a house is taken care of and ownership of a property in transferred. The latter is managed by a solicitor or qualified conveyance.

'Disbursements', are payments made by your solicitor to other people on your behalf. These include stamp duty, land registry charges and search fees.

The point at which both parties are committed to the transaction is known as 'exchange of contracts'. Until the contracts are signed, the buyer and seller can walk away at any time.

'Freehold' means ownership of the land and any property that stands on it, while 'leasehold' means ownership of property for a certain length of time.

A 'building survey' is a report into the physical state of the property, also sometimes referred to as a full structural survey.

A 'vendor' is another word used to describe the seller of the residential property.

‘Agency fees’ are paid by the vendor to the Estate Agent for selling their property. Generally, the fee is based on a percentage of the sale price achieved, plus VAT where it is applicable. Not all agents charge the same fee and here at Wardsmith in Cambridge & Bishop's Stortford, we can offer significant savings over our competitors on the High Street.

But every agent offers something different for these fees, so always check what that is, and don’t forget to check if it includes VAT. Our locally focused teams in Cambridge & Bishop's Stortford offer a complete end to end professional service which includes our home staging service (hours of pre-photo property preparation to maximise your property’s full potential value), expert photography, glossy brochures and accompanied viewings.

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