When you’re buying or selling a house, there are lots of different phrases that you’ll come across that are used by estate agents and solicitors, it can feel frustrating if you’re left wondering what they mean – or even having to ask Alexa for help!
Here is our lingo busting guide to keep you in the know when it comes to buying and selling your property in York.
Are You Proceedable?
Being in a proceedable position means that you’re ready to buy. This could mean that you’re a first time buyer, you’ve already sold your house or you don’t have a house to sell.
If your house is on the market and hasn’t yet sold (stc), or if you’re yet to put it on the market, you are not in a proceedable position, as you can’t proceed with buying the next property until your own is under offer.
Have You Got A DIP? (MIP or AIP)
If you’re planning to get a mortgage to cover some of the costs of purchasing your new property, you’ll need a Decision In Principle (DIP). This is sometimes referred to as a Mortgage In Principle (MIP) or a Agreement In Principle (AIP). These are different ways of saying the same thing – there is no difference between the three terms.
A DIP is an agreement from a lender that they are willing to lend you the money you need to purchase a property (In principle, subject to you passing their further checks). You should get one of these in place before you start looking at properties, so that you are ready to offer if you find a property you love. You will need to show your agreement in principle to the estate agent when you put an offer in on a property, as evidence that you can afford to purchase a property.
To get a decision in principle, it’s best to speak to an independent mortgage broker.
What Is a Cash Buyer?
These are buyers who do not require a mortgage to purchase a property. The money is in the bank ready to go, and is also not reliant on a house sale to access the funds. This doesn’t guarantee a quick sale, but it does often mean that there are less complications and hold ups in the process.
Cash From Sale
When you are purchasing a property without a mortgage but require the funds from the equity of another property that you are selling.
What Does “No Forward Chain” Mean?
A chain is formed, in property, when buyers become linked by house sales and purchases. If a buyer has no chain, this means that they do not have a property to sell. So, they might be a first-time buyer, a cash buyer or a property investor. If a house is advertised as having “no forward chain”, this means that the vendor is not relying on the sale to purchase another property.
What Is Best and Final Offers?
When a property has multiple offers on a property, in order to try and make the offer process fair and for the offer process to be completed within a set timescale, estate agents may go to “Best and Final Offers”. Essentially this means you will have one opportunity to put your absolute best offer forward and hope it is accepted by the vendor. You won’t know what anyone else has offered or what position other people who have offered are in. Estate Agents should explain the process to you and give you a clear deadline for when your best offer should be made by and what information you need to provide with your offer to be considered.
What Is a Guide Price?
At Indigo Greens we hate this term as it is so ambiguous and leaves buyers confused rather than guiding them to an acceptable offer value.
So, what should you offer when you want to buy a house listed as a guide price? You should offer just as you would with any other property. A property is only worth what you want to pay for it, so when it comes to offers you should still only offer what you feel comfortable with.
SSTC
SSTC stands for Sold Subject to Contract. In real terms, this means that an offer has been accepted on the property and it is currently going through the conveyancing process. Property transactions in England, don’t become legally binding until contracts are signed (Exchange), so there is always still a chance that a property could come back onto the market.
Buying a property can feel confusing, especially with so much jargon around. We are here to make the process of buying and selling property as smooth as possible for you.
