LTV
This stands for "Loan to value". The means that the loan for the mortgage product must not exceed the specified percentage value of the property.

Capital and Interest Mortgage
Capital is the amount of the loan and interest is what you are charged for the use of the loan. Each monthly mortgage payment is made up of two parts: 1. A sum to repay a proportion of the amount of the loan (capital). 2. A sum to repay the interest. As a higher proportion of capital will be 'owed' in the early years of the mortgage, the interest element of the monthly payment is higher than it is in later years. As the mortgage term progresses and the amount of capital owed begins to decrease, the proportion of the monthly mortgage payment representing interest decreases. Providing all repayments are made, it is guaranteed that the loan will be repaid at the end of the term. This can also be known as a repayment mortgage.

Interest Only Mortgage
The monthly mortgage payment consists of an amount sufficient to pay just the interest due on the full amount of the loan. It is your responsibility to make other arrangements to repay the capital at the end of the mortgage term. This could include a savings plan, inheritance or even selling the property at the end of the mortgage term. You should review your plans regularly to ensure they are on target to repay your mortgage at the end of the term.

Discount Mortgage
With a discounted rate mortgage, the lender's standard variable mortgage interest rate is discounted for a specified period of time. The discounted rate could be a set amount for a specific term or be 'stepped'.

Variable Mortgage
A variable rate mortgage has an interest rate that can go up or down. If the mortgage interest rate falls, your monthly mortgage repayment reduces but if the rate goes up, so does your monthly repayment. All lenders have a standard variable mortgage interest rate on which they base their variable mortgage products. The lender will decide when to increase or decrease this standard rate, usually (but not always) based on the movement of the Bank of England’s base rate.

Tracker Mortgage
Tracker rates are another form of variable interest rate, usually linked to the Bank of England's base rate. The interest rate is usually a specified percentage above or below the Bank of England's base rate for a period of time.

Affordable Housing
This is a range of Government schemes available to help you buy your home. You need to be accepted by a registered social landlord before applying. Registered social landlords are Government registered organisations that provide and manage properties for people who would otherwise be unable to afford to rent or buy privately. They are inspected on a regular basis to maintain a good standard of management. We will require written approval of your application from your registered Social Landlord. For all affordable housing schemes, the property you are buying must be within our local lending area and the loan you require must be at least £40,000 to qualify for our affordable housing mortgages.

Shared Ownership
To qualify for a Shared Ownership mortgage you need to be accepted by a social landlord, usually a zone agent, housing association or local council. Under the scheme you purchase a share of the property and pay rent on the remainder of the value to the social landlord.

Offset Mortgage
Offset mortgage means you can use your savings to reduce the interest charged on your mortgage, while still having instant access to the money in your savings account. It has the effect of deducting the amount of your savings from your mortgage balance so you only pay the interest on the difference. There are also tax benefits if you are a taxpayer as you usually pay a higher rate of interest on the amount you borrow for your mortgage than you receive on your savings.

Buy To Let Mortgage
Buying a property to let is very different to buying a home for yourself. You need to research the market and find out what factors may have a positive or negative impact on the return on your investment. The type of property, furnishings, tenant, agent and economic conditions all affect the level of rent achieved.