Your Homewise Glossary

Homewise terms

Customer Account Handler (CAH) – Our Customer Account Handlers are typically the first person you'll speak to when making contact with Homewise. They're experts in the Home for Life Plan and will explain how it works and how Homewise may be able to help you.

Customer Account Manager (CAM) – When you're ready to proceed with Homewise, you will be matched with a personal Account Manager who will support you every step of the way. They will be your central point of contact at Homewise and will build your bespoke Move Simply action plan with you, to detail the steps we'll take to help you secure your next home.

Home for Life Plan – The Home for Life Plan is a product from Homewise, which enables you to save on the cost of your next home. You pay a one-off amount to purchase a Lifetime Lease (the cost of which is always less than the market value) to live in a property of your choice, without any rent or repayments, for your lifetime. You can also choose to pay extra upfront to purchase a percentage of the property value to safeguard for your estate.

Lifetime Lease – A legally binding agreement that is registered at the Land Registry against your chosen property. It secures your right to live in your home rent-free and mortgage-free until your Home for Life Plan ends.

Lifetime Lease Owner – The individual(s) named on the Lifetime Lease and other legal documents that form the Home for Life Plan, entitling them to live in the property purchased with the Home for Life Plan for their lifetime. A Lifetime Lease Owner must be aged 60 or older.

Move Simply – A service available as part of the Home for Life Plan free of charge to every customer, carrying out property searches and helping with the buying process as much or as little as each customer wants or needs.

Move Simply Action Plan – This is a plan created between you and your Customer Account Manager, it details the steps needing to be taken to find and secure your next home. The action plan is signed by you as a commitment to proceeding with the Move Simply service and Homewise supporting you through your move.

Provider – The owner of the property. The Provider purchases the property that you, the Lifetime Lease Owner(s), live in, and are named on the Lifetime Lease. Your Provider has legal obligations as set out in the Home for Life Plan agreement, such as leaving you to live quietly and peacefully within your new home.

Quick Calculator – Previously referred to as the 'Budget Booster'. It is a simple online calculator which can provide an instant estimate of how much your next home could cost with a Home for Life Plan.

Safeguard or Safeguarding – Purchasing a percentage of the future value of the property (between 0-50%) for your estate when the Home for Life Plan ends. The amount you choose to safeguard will be confirmed when you purchase your Home for Life Plan and is legally protected in a document called the "Declaration of Trust".

Sell Simply – A part-exchange service offering a competitive cash offer on your current property, putting you in a stronger position to successfully secure your next home.

Property terms

Buyer – Someone who buys or has agreed to a property.

Conveyancing – The transfer of legal title of real property from one person to another.

Equity release – A means of retaining the use of a property or other asset which has capital value, while also obtaining a lump sum or a steady stream of income, using the value of the asset.

Exchange contracts – The point where buyer and seller exchange contracts and the buyer pays their deposit. Both parties are legally committed, and the price and details cannot be changed once contracts have been exchanged.

Freehold – A type of property ownership, where a person or organisation has permanent ownership of a property or land and any immovable structures that are built on it.

Ground rent – A fee paid by a leaseholder to a freeholder under the terms of a lease.

Home reversion – A type of equity release. All or part of your property is sold at less than the market value in exchange for a tax-free sum, regular income, or both. You remain a tenant in your home until the plan ends.

Land Registry – Government organisation holding records of all registered properties in England and Wales.

Leasehold – Legal right to live in or use a property owned by a freeholder for an agreed number of years.

Lifetime mortgage – A form of equity release. A loan is secured on a property, the money is secured as a tax-free sum. Compound interest is accrued, and the loan is repaid when the property is sold.

Mortgage – A loan to help you buy a property. The mortgage is ‘attached’ to your title deeds which means that you cannot sell the property without paying it off at the same time.

Retirement mortgage – A loan secured against a property that can commence in retirement, usually arranged on an interest-only basis.

Stamp Duty – Also referred to as Stamp Duty Land Tax or SDLT. A tax is charged by the Government when you buy houses, flats, and other land and buildings over a certain price in the UK.

Under Offer – This can mean that the homeowner has accepted an offer from a buyer but the paperwork is not yet complete or an offer has been made, but not yet accepted.

Vendor – The seller of a property.