Salary - Surrender

Salary

The amount of money you are paid by your employer.

Scheme Switch

The transfer of your debt from one mortgage product to another one offered by the same provider. A fee is usually charged by your original lender for this.

Security

A piece of property designated as collateral.

Self Build

This is a mortgage for property under construction. The loan is paid out in stages as the property is completed, in order to ensure the LTV does not rise too high at any point.

Self Certification Mortgage (S/C)

This is a mortgage where a borrower states their income and signs a confirmation of their ability to repay a loan, without having to provide evidence such as accounts, payslips or bank statements. Consequently, S/C rates are often higher than standard Full Status mortgages.

Self Employed

A person who operates as a sole trader or as part of a partnership.

Shared Appreciation Mortgage

A loan that allows a lender or other party to share in the borrower's profits when the home is sold.

Shared Equity Transaction

A transaction in which two buyers purchase a property, one as a resident co-owner and the other as an investor co-owner.

Shared Ownership

This is a scheme operated by a Housing Association where the borrower owns part of a property, and pays the mortgage on this, while a Housing Association owns the rest of the property, and the borrower pays rent on this.

Split Loan

This is a mortgage that is taken partly on a Capital and Interest basis and partly on an Interest Only basis.

Stamp Duty

This is a government tax charged on the sale of properties. The tax is calculated as a percentage based on the value of the property above a threshold set in the Chancellor’s annual budget. The tax rate is divided into bands with the percentage increasing with the value of the property. It is not payable on remortgages.

Standard Payment Calculation

A calculation that is used to determine the monthly payment necessary to repay the balance of a home loan in equal installments.

Standard Variable Rate (SVR)

This is a variable rate determined entirely at each Lender's discretion. Unless linked to Libor or the Bank of England Base Rate, the SVR is the reverting rate at the end of any special offer period, such as a Capped, Discounted or Fixed rate.

Standing Mortgage

An interest only mortgage where no arrangements are made at the outset for the repayment of the loan. If a specific investment vehicle has not been arranged to provide funds for this purpose, the borrower will have to repay the loan by some other means. If the capital is not repaid, the lender can repossess the property and sell it to recover as much of the debt as possible.

Standing Order

A regular payment for a fixed amount that you can ask us to make from your account to another specified account.

Stepped Discount Mortgage

Where the discount is, for example, fixed at one level for one year and then a slightly lesser level for two further years. Remember it is the percentage discount that is stepped and not the monetary amount, so your repayment can still vary.

Stepped Fixed Rate Mortgage

Where the interest is, for example, fixed at one level for one year and then a slightly higher level for two further years. This is not as common as finding stepped discounted mortgages.

Surrender

The process of cashing in an unwanted endowment policy with the insurer who sold it to you. Doing this often produces a poor return for the money invested to date in the policy's early years.