People in Britain often talk about their homes: their mortgages, the interest rates, and rising property prices. Here's a guide to some of the words and phrases you might come across.
Your dream home
It's a good idea in the UK to arrange a mortgage with a bank before you start looking. This is when the bank tells you how much money they will lend you so you have a good idea of how much you can afford.
The next step is to go to an estate agent (= a company which represents buyers and sellers of properties) to see what sort of properties they have available in your budget range and in your area. If you see something you like, the estate agent will arrange for you to view the property, so that you can see the house or flat for yourself.
If you see something that takes your eye, you put in an offer. The vendor (seller) can accept or decline this offer, and if the vendor accepts it, you can move forward with the sale. However, as you don't pay any money at this point, the offer isn't legally binding, and in theory, you can pull out of the offer at any time that you like.
Your next step will probably be to get a structural survey done. A qualified surveyor will inspect the house and write a report that illustrates any structural problems, like damp or drainage problems.
If you still want to go ahead with the sale, you need to appoint a solicitor (a lawyer) to do the conveyancing (= the legal paperwork.) If you already own a house, you might also be busy trying to sell it. Many house owners prefer to sell to first time buyers (those people who don't already own a home), as they are not in a chain (=waiting for other people to buy their house before they can buy their next house).
Finally, once the contracts are signed and exchanged, you complete on your house. You get the keys and you can move in whenever you want. Then you might want to throw a house-warming party. Congratulations!
15 comments on “House and home vocabulary”
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We say "I will go home."Is it possible to say I will go to my home or should I omit the preposition "to" ?
Omit "to" and "my". You can say "I will go to my house".
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can you tell me what the difference between house and home?
A house is where you live (the physical structure) but a home also describes where you feel relaxed and comfortable. We use "home" when we want to emphasise the emotional aspect of a house.
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From this article, I know more about the process of buying a house or flat in the UK. I haven't bought a house yet, but I have rent a flat for some times in China, the process of rending a flat is very simple. First, you should find a flat in any ways, then go to see the flat with the owner, if the flat and the price are satisfying, you can sign a contract with the owner. It's done.
Is it same to rend a house where you live.
i think that whatever you have given for enrich words it sufficent for those students there are not native speaker of english and they want to improve their engish. thanku you a lot
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