Our glossary results: 15 matches!

Underpayment

A mortgage repayment smaller than the regular agreed sum. Some flexible mortgages have this feature, which can be useful for people with irregular income.

Underpinning

A new foundation is placed beneath the original to strengthen it.

Unemployment insurance

Another form of income protection, but one that does not cover any form of sickness, injury, or disability. The purpose of this type of policy is to replace income lost through a short to medium term period of redundancy. It provides you with a monthly tax-free income to cover a portion of your lost earnings. It is often sold in conjunction with the accident, sickness, and disability element of income protection policies, in which case it is known as Accident, Sickness and Unemployment (ASU).

Unit linked

This is where a premium paid into an investment fund is directly associated with the performance of the fund.

Unit trust

A collective investment vehicle run by professional fund managers, investing in stock market listed securities, but not quoted on the stock exchange. Units owned in a trust are freely redeemable.

Unitised with-profit endowment

This is a hybrid unit-linked endowment, designed to smooth out price fluctuations that occur with unit-linked policies. The value of units is declared each year and that value is then guaranteed. The guaranteed value that is declared is at a discount to the actual value of the units. The guaranteed value will not reach the real value until the term of the endowment is up, so the chance of being able to pay off the loan early is minimised.

Unit-Linked endowment

Endowment policy where you make interest payments on the full value of the loan until the investment element has accumulated enough to repay the whole mortgage amount. Investment premiums are used to buy units in a managed fund at the prevailing market price. The number of units you hold increases over time as more premiums are paid. The value of these units can fluctuate in line with the investment performance of the fund. There is no guaranteed annual growth rate caused by the additional of annual reversionary bonuses. In a year of poor investment performance, the value of your endowment may drop considerably or vice versa. Not all the premium goes towards investing and units. Some of the units are cashed in to buy life cover to ensure that the full loan can be repaid if you die. Since there are no bonuses to be added during the course of the term or at the maturity date, the cash value of your units at any point in time is the value of your policy.

Unmortgagable

A property for which you are unable to find a lender willing to give to a mortgage due to the results or a survey, the valuation to price or details of the lease or title deeds.

Unpaid ground rent charge

If you are a leaseholder, and the freeholder notifies the lender that you have not paid your ground rent or service charge, the lender may penalise you. Costs £30 - £50

Unpaid service charge

If you are a leaseholder, and the freeholder notifies the lender that you have not paid your ground rent or service charge, the lender may penalise you. Costs £30 - £50

Unrecorded deed

An unrecorded deed transfers ownership from one party to another without being officially recorded.

Unregistered land

Land/property not yet held on the database at HM Land Registry.

Unsecured loan

Any loan that is not backed by collateral.

Upset price

In Scotland, the seller will, in consultation with his or her solicitor, set a price and invite offers over and above that price. This is known as the upset price. This is the minimum price at which an offer is likely to be considered. Most properties do not get sold for less than the upset, so it is not usually worth submitting an offer at a lower level, unless the property is proving difficult to sell. It is not uncommon in times and areas of high demand for a property to be sold for ten, twenty, or even thirty percent more than the asking price.

Utilities

These are companies which provide as gas, electricity, telephone, and the like.