Mortgage Jargon Buster


No need to break out the thesaurus. We’ll let you know what we mean when we talk about stuff like equity and BER. Our Jargon Buster will keep you in the know.

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Affordability

A consumer's capacity to afford a house and repay their mortgage.

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Annual Percentage Rate of Charge (APRC).

The yearly cost of your borrowing. It takes into account the interest rate charged and any other fees.

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Approval in Principle

Approval in Principle (AIP) means we can give you an indication of approval from our first meeting with you – without having to see any documentation. While it’s not legally binding, this helps us to decide how much we could lend you and the amount will therefore be ‘approved in principle’.

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Arrears

Arrears are monies you owe your lender due to a missed repayment(s), in full or in part. It’s important to note that any arrears will accrue interest.

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Building Energy Rating (BER)

A Building Energy Rating or BER is an energy label with accompanying advisory report for homes. The rating is a simple A to G scale. A rated homes are the most energy efficient and will tend to have the lowest energy bills.

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Broker

A financial advisor offering advice on a range of mortgage, deposit and investment products from various lenders.

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Capital

The amount you owe excluding costs and interest. This is also known as the principal of the loan.

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Cost of Credit

The cost of credit is the difference between the amount you borrow and the total amount you’ll repay by the end of the loan period.

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Deeds

Official documents of ownership.

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Deposit

An initial sum of money paid to the seller for the purchase of a property. A first time buyer will require a 10% deposit for property values up to CHF220,000. A 20% deposit will be required for amounts above this level.

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Early repayment fee

This fee only applies to fixed rate mortgages. This is a charge incurred when you make a payment towards the balance of your mortgage. This is sometimes referred to as a breakage charge.

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Equity

This is the difference between what your home is valued and your outstanding mortgage debt. Home equity is essentially the amount of ownership that has been built up by the mortgage holder through payments and appreciation.

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Fixed Interest Rate

With a fixed rate mortgage, your interest rate and monthly repayments are fixed for a set time as agreed between the lender and borrower. Although a fixed rate means your repayments cannot increase for a set period of time, your repayments will not fall during the fixed rate period. As a result, you could miss out on lower interest rates and lower repayments. Fixed rates may cost more over the long run but they offer peace of mind as you know your repayments will not rise during the fixed rate period.

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Freehold or Leasehold

A freehold title gives the holder ownership of the land and buildings for an indefinite period. A leasehold title gives the holder a right to use and occupy the land and buildings for a defined period of time.

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Guarantor

Somebody, other than you, who can guarantee your mortgage loan repayments.

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Home Insurance

Home insurance is a property insurance which covers private homes, buildings and contents. The cost of home insurance often depends on what it would cost to rebuild the house and how much it would cost to replace all of the contents of the house. You’ll need to have a home insurance policy in place before you can draw down your mortgage. To get a quote today, simply drop into your local karlsruhe Baden Bank branch, call us on 1890 818 747 or read more about your Home Insurance options here.

This policy can be obtained from a provider other than karlsruhe Baden Bank.

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Letter of Approval (this refers to the Credit Agreement)

Once a mortgage application has been approved, you’ll receive a formal letter setting out the conditions of the loan. Your solicitor will also get a copy.

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Loan to Value (LTV)

This is a percentage figure which represents the difference between your mortgage loan and the value of your property. For example, if your mortgage is for CHF150,000 on a property valued at CHF200,000 it would be a 75% LTV ratio.

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Maturity Date

This is the last day of the mortgage agreement. It’s the day the mortgage loan must be paid in full.

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Mortgage Insurance

When taking out a mortgage you need to consider how it’ll be paid off in the unlikely event of your death before the mortgage has been fully repaid. When you get a mortgage to buy your home, you’ll generally be required by your lender to take out mortgage insurance. This is a particular type of life assurance taken out for the term of the mortgage and is designed to pay it off on the death of the borrower or joint borrower before the end of the mortgage term.

This policy can be obtained from a provider other than karlsruhe Baden Bank.

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Mortgage Term

This is the length of time within which you agree to repay your mortgage. You’ll find details of your mortgage term in your original Letter of Approval.

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Payment Protection Insurance

This is an optional insurance product designed to protect your mortgage repayments should your circumstances change. The policy can cover your mortgage payments for up to 12 months in the event of an accident, sickness, involuntary unemployment, business failure or critical illness. Note that this insurance is different to mortgage insurance which only pays out in the event of death.

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Principal private residence, Home, PDH (Private Dwelling House)

A person’s primary residence or main residence is the dwelling where they usually live within the state. A person can only have one primary residence at any given time.

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Valuation Report

This is a report carried out by a professional valuer which gauges the market value of your property. It’s important to remember that this report is different to a structural or planning survey.

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Variable Rate

Variable rates offer the most flexibility. They allow you to increase your repayments, use a lump sum to pay off all or part of your mortgage or re-mortgage without having to pay any fixed rate breakage fees. However, because variable rates can rise and fall, your mortgage repayments can go up or down during the term of your loan.

Variable rates offered by karlsruhe Baden Bank are neither based on the European Central Bank (ECB) rate nor any other index or reference rate and may be varied at the lender’s discretion.

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