“Mortgage offer” Most buyers of a property will require a loan from a bank or building society. Once the application for the loan has been completed some lenders will issue an acceptance or approval letter but the actual offer of a loan takes some time to process while the lender makes checks with credit reference agencies and employers for confirmation of earnings as well as carrying out a valuation of the property on which the loan is to be secured. Sometimes the lender will issue a mortgage offer which is subject to various conditions before the lender will release the funds to the solicitor, eg the lender may want reports carried out on a property in relation to check for damp or to check that there are no problems with drainage.

“Deposit” This is the sum of money paid by the buyer when contracts are exchanged and the agreement is then binding on both parties. If the buyer does not proceed he stands to forfeit the deposit. The size of the deposit has traditionally been 10% of the purchase price but sometimes a smaller sum will be accepted but the penalty for breach of contract remains the same.

“Vacant possession” – A buyer will want to be sure that the seller has not only moved out of the property on completion but also all items not included in the sale have been removed eg carpets furniture and rubbish. Also, any other person who lives in the property with the seller must also move out of the property.