Jim Oak Home Improvement

Terms You May Come Across When Looking For Property

If you are looking to purchase a property, you will probably be viewing those listed by estate agents. If this is the case, you will need to know what all of the terms used by them mean.

The aim of this article is to explain a few of the most common terms.

Private Apartment: Residential unit found in a building that contains other residential units.

Penthouse: A residential unit on the top floor of a multi-storey building. If there is a garden it will be a roof garden.

Maisonette: A 2-level self contained residential unit within a building. The entrance is typically at street level but there are internal stairs to move between floors.

Bungalow: A property that only has a ground level. Sometimes you will find a bungalow with a loft conversion which gives a second level.

Detached House: House with no shared wall or roofing.
 
Linked House: One of a pair of houses joined by a shared wall which separates the garages of the 2 houses. The shared wall is the side wall of the garage.

Semi Detached: One of a pair landed houses joined by a common wall rising from ground to roof level. The common wall is the side wall of the house.

Terraced House: House in a row of at least 3 houses. It has 2 shared walls.

Corner Terrace House: House at the end of a row of terrace houses. It will only have 1 common wall and often has a larger land area compared to the other houses in the row.

Cul-de-sac House: House at the end of a dead-end road.

Town House: One in a row of not less than 3 residential units having ground contact and common ownership of the land.

Country House: Big house in the countryside with a traditional style.

Farm House: Main house on a farm or a house built in the style of a farmhouse.

Cottage: Modest country dwelling.

Leasehold: Property tenure where one party buys the right to occupy land or a building for a set period of time.

Freehold: Property tenure with no time limit to the ownership.

Make sure that you are well prepared when looking at a property. You need to do understand what the terms used by the agents actually mean. You need to make sure that you properly check out both the house and the area before you go ahead and buy and you will also need to be sure what your personal finances are. You will also need a residential conveyancing solicitor. Find one by looking online for something like ‘solicitors Salisbury’ or ‘solicitors Andover’ and checking whether they do conveyancing, or try something more specific like ‘residential conveyancing Salisbury’ or ‘residential conveyancing Andover’.

Don’t forget, property hunting can be fun so enjoy it.