Frequently Asked

Glossary

We have created the following glossary of mortgage and protection terms, words, products and phrases to help you understand your options. If you have any questions, please contact our team.

• Life Insurance – insurance that pays out a sum of money either on the death of the insured person or after a set period.
• Family Income Benefit – is a type of term life insurance policy that will give your family regular financial support if you die or are diagnosed with a terminal illness.
• Critical Illness Cover – provides you with a lump sum of money if you are diagnosed with certain illnesses or disabilities.
• Income Protection – pays you a regular income if you can’t work because of sickness or disability and continues until you return to paid work.
• Mortgage Protection – is a type of policy that helps to pay your monthly mortgage repayments if you can’t work due to illness or a serious injury.
• Private Medical Insurance – is designed to cover the cost of private medical treatment for ‘acute conditions’ that start after your policy begins.
• Rent Protection – protects landlords against loss of income if a tenant falls behind or defaults on rent payments.
• Limited Company Relevant Life Insurance – is designed to allow employers to provide an individual death in service benefit for an employee in a tax-efficient way, both for the employer, employee and the employee’s beneficiaries
• Equity release – the use of financial arrangements that provide the owner of a house or other property with funds derived from the value of the property while enabling them to continue using it.
• First-time Buyer Mortgages – if you’ve never owned a home previously, either in the UK or abroad. You only own, or have owned, a commercial property.
• Remortgages – when you move your mortgage on your existing property, from one lender to another.
• Buy-to-Let Schemes – is for people looking to buy a property to rent out, rather than live in it. Most Buy to Let mortgages are interest only. This means that the monthly repayments will only pay off the interest, not the amount owed on the mortgage.
• Government-backed 5% Deposit Schemes – The scheme means more 95% loan-to-value (5% deposit) mortgages. Under the scheme, first-time buyers, home movers and previous homeowners with a 5% deposit have access to 95% loan-to-value mortgages (meaning the loan is for 95% of the property’s value).
• Parent/Family Assist Mortgages – will allow your family members, and sometimes friends, to help you buy a home.
• Home Improvement Financing – is a type of unsecured personal loan – allowing you to borrow a lump sum to help fund renovations or refurbishments.
• Holiday Lets – this is where a property is let for the purpose of a holiday only. Generally, this will be where the guest has a main home elsewhere.
• Lifetime Mortgages to release equity for over 55’s* (via referral) -Involves securing a loan against your property (if you take out a lifetime mortgage) or selling a share of your home to the equity release provider.
• 2nd Charge Lending (via referral) – can be an ideal solution for fund raising when a remortgage or further advance are not viable.
• HMO Mortgages – is a type of specialist mortgage that is used to finance house in multiple occupations.
• Bridging Finance – is a short-term loan used until a person or company secures permanent financing or pays an existing obligation.
• Right-to-Buy – allows most council tenants to buy their council home at a discount.
• Help-to-Buy – is a government scheme to help first-time buyers get a property with just a 5% deposit.
• Shared Ownership / Shared Equity – involves buying a share of a property and paying rent on the rest. Shared equity involves paying a low property deposit, using an equity loan for a percentage of the property’s value, and getting a mortgage for the remaining amount.
• Debt Consolidation – when you take out a single, new loan to pay off several existing debts. This can be a good way of taking control of your finances but you need to be careful.
• Adverse Credit / Poor Credit Mortgages – mortgages designed for people with poor credit, and some lenders specialise in offering these. These are known as bad credit mortgages, adverse credit mortgages, or sub-prime mortgages.
• Rate Switch Comparison (up to 6 months before current deal ending) – is the process of switching to a better rate with your existing lender.
• Commercial Lending (via referral) – is a debt-based funding arrangement between a business and a financial institution such as a bank.
• Retirement Interest-Only Mortgage – is available to people over 55. It’s a loan secured against your home. You pay the interest each month, which means the amount you owe doesn’t increase over time. You can use it for most purposes (including paying off an existing mortgage).