Relating to buying or leasing real estate

beds (abbreviation)

bedrooms: used in advertisements for houses and flats

bond (noun)

businessSouth African an agreement to borrow money to buy a house, or the money that you borrow; a mortgage

British money that someone borrows when they have bought a house but have not yet sold their own house

a financial organization in the UK in which people invest money to earn interest, and from which they can borrow money to buy a house or flat. A building society is similar to a bank but all its customers have a share in owning it.

building society (noun)

an office of one of these organizations

chain (noun)

British a situation in which you cannot sell your house until the person whose house you are buying has bought their new house. This situation can involve many people because the sale of each person’s house depends on the sale of the next

commonhold (noun)

in England and Wales, the principle of ownership of a home in a building in which several people live, with shared areas owned by everyone

commonhold (adjective)

owned under a commonhold arrangement

completion (noun)

British the final part of the process of buying or selling a house, when you become the new legal owner of the house

conveyance (noun)

legal a document that shows that the person who has just bought a property is now its legal owner

conveyancing (noun)

the legal process by which someone becomes the new owner of a property

endowment mortgage (noun)

a mortgage with an endowment policy that is intended to pay back the money you have borrowed after a particular number of years

endowment policy (noun)

a type of insurance policy that you pay money to for an agreed period. At the end of this time, the money that you have invested is used for paying a large amount of money that you have borrowed, especially a mortgage.

equity (noun)

business the value of a property after you have taken away the amount left to pay on the mortgage (=money borrowed to buy it)

eviction (noun)

the process of forcing someone to leave the house they are living in, usually because they have not paid their rent

freehold (noun)

an arrangement in which someone completely owns a building or a piece of land

freehold (adjective)

owned under a freehold arrangement

gazump (verb)

Britishinformal if you are gazumped, someone who had agreed to sell their house to you sells it to someone else for more money

give someone notice ()

to tell someone officially that they must leave a place that they are renting

ground rent (noun)

British money paid by someone who lives or works in a building to the owner of the land that the building is on

home loan (noun)

an amount of money that a bank lends someone to buy a house

house-hunting (noun)

the activity of trying to find a house to live in, especially one that you want to buy

landholdings (noun)

formal the land that someone owns

land reform (noun)

a process in which land is given or sold at low prices to ordinary people, so that it is not owned only by a few rich people

lease (noun)

a legal contract in which you agree to pay to use someone else’s building, land, or equipment for a specific period of time

leaseback (noun)

an agreement in which you continue to use your property after you sell it, while making regular payments to the new owner

leasehold (noun)

a house or flat that you lease

leasehold (noun)

the use of property by leasing it

leasehold (noun)

owned or used for a specific period of time according to a lease

let (noun)

British a period of time in which a house or flat is rented to someone

mortgage (noun)

a legal agreement in which you borrow money from a bank in order to buy a house. You pay back your mortgage by making monthly payments

mortgage (noun)

the amount of money that you borrow in a mortgage agreement

negative equity (noun)

a situation in which your house has lost value and is now worth less money than the amount that you have borrowed as a mortgage

non-resident (adjective)

not living in a house that you own

open house (noun)

American a period of time when you can go to look at a house that is for sale without making an arrangement to go there

owner-occupied (adjective)

a house that is owner-occupied is lived in by the person who owns it

peppercorn rent (noun)

British a very small rent

private treaty (noun)

an agreement to sell property that is made directly between the person selling the property and the person buying it

property ladder (noun)

British a series of stages in which you start by buying a cheap house then buy and sell several times getting a bigger, better house each time

property tax (noun)

a tax that you pay based on the value of the land and buildings you own

rack-rent (noun)

rent that is unfairly high

rent (noun)

an amount of money that you pay regularly for using a house, room, office etc that belongs to someone else

rent strike (noun)

a period of time during which people refuse to pay rent for the place where they are living in order to protest against something

retainer (noun)

British a reduced rent that you pay to keep your house, flat etc when you are not living in it, so that you can live in it when you return

savings and loan association (noun)

American a building society

service charge (noun)

an amount of money that people who live in flats pay for services such as cleaning and keeping the garden tidy

sublease (noun)

a contract that allows someone to rent a flat, house, or office from a person who is renting it from someone else

survey (noun)

British an examination of a house done by an expert for someone who wants to buy it

survey (noun)

British a written statement that gives the results of this examination

survey (verb)

to examine an area of land in order to decide where buildings will go, or where the edges of someone’s property are

surveyor (noun)

British someone whose job is to examine a house or other building to see if it is in good condition, especially for someone who wants to buy it. The American word is appraiser.

tenancy (noun)

the right to use a flat, building, or a piece of land that you rent from the person who owns it

tenancy (noun)

the period of time for which you rent a place or piece of land

title deed (noun)

an official document that shows who legally owns a building or piece of land

to/for let ()

available to be rented

under offer ()

if a house or flat is under offer, someone has offered to buy it

vacant possession (noun)

British the fact that no one is living in a house when the new owner buys it

Synonyms and antonyms of Relating to buying or leasing real estate in British Thesaurus