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Glossary of mortgage terms

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Add fee to loan

You can add the product fee to the loan and spread the cost over the remaining term of the mortgage. If you choose this option the fee will be added to the mortgage balance and attract interest for the term of the mortgage.

Additional Borrowing

Sometimes called a further advance. This is the term used when an existing mortgage customer wishes to increase their mortgage borrowing, which can be done 6 months after the main mortgage loan has completed. Additional borrowing is often used to fund home improvements but can be taken for any purpose (except capital raising).

Annual Percentage Rate (APR)

The Annual Percentage Rate (APR) is the total cost of a loan taking into account all charges, including interest payments, arrangement fees etc. This can be used to compare the cost of different mortgages on offer from different lenders.

Arrears

An account is defined as being in arrears when the due date has passed and payment for that month has not been made.

Arrears Fees

These are fees that are charged when an account is in arrears. Any charges applied will be added to your mortgage account and interest will be charged on them.

Borrow back

For mortgages reserved on or before 3rd March 2010 you can apply to borrow back a lump sum from your overpayment reserve. Any mortgages reserved after this date will no longer include this facility.

Capital & interest mortgage

See 'Repayment (Capital and Interest) mortgage'.

Daily Interest

With a Nationwide mortgage your interest is calculated daily, which means you only pay interest on what you owe.

Early Repayment Charges

If you repay the loan or make an overpayment of more than £500 per month within the initial fixed or tracker term, an early repayment charge will be payable on the entire overpayment amount.

Some products are available without any Early Repayment Charges and are indicated in the rates tables. Please see ‘Fees and Charges’ within the ‘Important Information’ section for more information.

Equity

The monetary difference between the value of a property and the mortgage loan held against that property.

Extended Tie in

Many lenders require that you stay with them for a certain period after your deal ends. Nationwide do not charge extended tie-ins on any deal.

First Time Buyer

A person buying their first property.

Fixed Rate Mortgage

A fixed rate mortgage provides the security of fixed mortgage repayments until the end of the deal period, no matter what happens to interest rates.

Flexible features

Nationwide offers the following flexible mortgage features as standard:

  • Daily interest - With a Nationwide mortgage your interest is calculated daily, which means you only pay interest on what you owe.
  • Overpayments - This is when you pay more than your required minimum monthly payment and build up an overpayment reserve. This enables you to pay off your mortgage earlier, save interest, or make underpayments in the future (conditions apply) .
  • 'Switch and Fix' - Our tracker products offer the option to switch to a fixed rate within our 'Switch and Fix' range at any point in the deal period, without paying Early Repayment Charges on the tracker mortgage.
  • Payment holidays - For mortgages reserved on or before 3rd March 2010 you can apply for a payment holiday of between three and twelve months if you have had a mortgage for more than one year and your mortgage is less than 80% of the value of your home at the end of your payment holiday (conditions apply). Any mortgages reserved after this date will no longer include this facility.
  • Borrow back - For mortgages reserved on or before 3rd March 2010 you can apply to borrow back a lump sum from your overpayment reserve. Any mortgages reserved after this date will no longer include this facility.

Higher Lending Charge

Some lenders impose a Higher Lending Charge if you only have a small deposit. At Nationwide, we don't.

Home Mover

A person selling one property and purchasing another property.

Interest only mortgage

With interest only mortgages, your monthly payments only cover the interest on the amount you owe (so you're not reducing the outstanding sum each month).

You will need to put additional money aside to repay your mortgage at the end of the term, for example into an investment such as an endowment policy or ISA.

Interest Rate

This is the rate at which the lender calculates the interest they charge the borrower for the mortgage, expressed as a percentage.

Legal Costs

Moving your mortgage to Nationwide results in legal costs, and we will normally pay for these. However there are some items that we don't pay for. These include mining or any other unusual search fees, fees for the first registration of the title at HM Land Registry , dealing with a change of name on the title deeds or a transfer of equity and any additional legal work needed to put your title deeds in order. Please see ‘Fees and Charges’ within the ‘Important Information’ section for more information.

Loan to Value (LTV)

The loan to value represents the amount you are looking to borrow (or the remaining amount of your existing mortgage) as a percentage of the value of the property. For example, if a property is valued at £100,000 and you have a £80,000 loan, the LTV is 80% (80,000/100,000 x 100 = 80%).

Mortgage Exit Administration Fees

See 'Redemption charge'.

New Build Property

The definition of a 'new build' means a property that has not been occupied within two years of being newly constructed, converted or refurbished.

No Extended tie-ins

You won't be tied-in to any extended Early Repayment Charges.

Overpayments

This is when you pay more than your required minimum monthly payment and build up an overpayment reserve. This enables you to pay off your mortgage earlier or make underpayments in the future (conditions apply).

Part and part mortgage

Part and part mortgage deals allow you to combine elements of both repayment and interest only mortgage deals. Find out more about part and part mortgages.

Payment holidays

For mortgages reserved on or before 3rd March 2010 you can apply for a payment holiday of between three and twelve months if you have had a mortgage for more than one year and your mortgage is less than 80% of the value of your home at the end of your payment holiday (conditions apply). Any mortgages reserved after this date will no longer include this facility.

Permanent Resident

To be considered a Permanent Resident, you must have Indefinite leave to remain in the UK and you should consider the UK as your home.

Porting

Most of the mortgage products available through Nationwide are "portable" which means that they may be transferred from one property to another when you sell one property and buy another (terms and conditions apply).

Product Fee

A fee charged on some mortgages to secure a particular mortgage deal. For mortgages reserved on or before 3rd March 2010, this was known as a reservation fee.

Property Valuation

When you apply for a mortgage we may ask you to pay a valuation fee to cover the cost of valuing your property. The valuation fee is payable prior to valuation and is non-refundable if the valuation is carried out. The valuation is very basic and is carried out for our benefit. We strongly recommend that you have a more thorough survey undertaken, such as a homebuyers report. This will tell you about the quality and condition of the house you want to buy. There is an additional fee for this service, which can be arranged through Nationwide. Details of valuation fees. 

Where the property valuation figure differs from the purchase price:

Once you have submitted your application and the property valuation has been carried out, our lending decision and your product eligibility will be based on whichever is lower of the purchase price or property valuation. However, there are some exceptions, so if you are looking for a shared equity or shared ownership mortgage, or if you are purchasing a property at significantly below its market value from a family member/employer/landlord, please call us on 0800 111 44 10 (Mon - Fri: 8am-8pm, Sat & Sun: 9am-5pm) or visit your local branch to find out more.

Redemption Charge

If you enter into a new mortgage with Nationwide and subsequently repay your mortgage more than ten years before the natural term, you will pay a charge (currently £90) unless you are taking a new Nationwide mortgage at the same time.

Remortgage

When a person transfers their mortgage from another lender.

Repayment (capital & interest) mortgage

With a Repayment (capital and interest) mortgage you repay both the interest and a small percentage of the borrowed capital each month. That means that your mortgage will be paid off in full (if you continue to meet your payments) at the end of the mortgage term.

Reservation Fee

See Product Fee.

Switching

When a customer comes off one mortgage deal and moves to a new mortgage deal with the same lender.

Switch and Fix

Our tracker products offer the option to switch to a fixed rate within our 'Switch and Fix' range at any point in the deal period, without paying Early Repayment Charges on the tracker mortgage.

Telegraphic Transfer fee

If you or your conveyancer request money to be sent by telegraphic transfer when your mortgage completes, we charge a fee of £25.

Tracker Floor

Tracker mortgages often have a lower limit called a tracker floor or a collar. This means that if the Bank rate falls past this point, any cut will not be passed on to customers.

Tracker Rate Mortgage

With a tracker mortgage, the interest rate you are charged tracks the Bank of England's (BoE) base rate up and down by an agreed percentage. Thus your payments will go up and down in line with the rate changes, except where the BoE base rate goes below the tracker floor.

Underpayments

You can use any overpayment reserve you have built up to reduce your monthly mortgage payments (underpay) in the future. (conditions apply).

Valuation Fee

When you apply for a mortgage we may ask you to pay a valuation fee to cover the cost of valuing your property. The valuation fee is payable prior to valuation and is non-refundable if the valuation is carried out. The valuation is very basic and is carried out for our benefit. We strongly recommend that you have a more thorough survey undertaken, such as a homebuyers report. This will tell you about the quality and condition of the house you want to buy. There is an additional fee for this service, which can be arranged through Nationwide. Details of valuation fees.

Variable rate

The interest rate is variable so your payments may go up or down each month.

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Nationwide Building Society is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority under registration number 106078.
Credit facilities other than regulated mortgages are not regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
You can confirm our registration on the FSA's website, www.fsa.gov.uk or by contacting the FSA on 0845 606 1234.