Estate agency glossary
Short definitions of the words negotiators, letting staff and US agents use. Each one is general information, not legal advice. UK terms come first. US terms are marked.
UK
- SSTCSSTC means sold subject to contract. In England and Wales it marks a property where a buyer’s offer has been accepted, but contracts have not been exchanged, so either side can still withdraw.
- Under offerUnder offer means a buyer has made an offer that the vendor is considering, or has accepted in principle, and the property is not yet sold subject to contract.
- Memorandum of saleA memorandum of sale is the note an estate agent sends to both solicitors, and usually to the buyer and vendor, recording the agreed price and the people in the sale. It is not the contract.
- Exchange of contractsExchange of contracts is the point in England and Wales when the buyer and seller become legally bound to complete the sale, usually on an agreed completion date. The buyer pays a deposit.
- CompletionCompletion is the day the balance of the purchase money is paid and ownership passes. In a normal English sale the buyer gets the keys once the solicitors confirm completion.
- Property chainA property chain is a line of sales that depend on each other. Each household is selling one home and buying the next, so one delayed sale can hold up every other.
- GazumpingGazumping is when a vendor accepts a higher offer from a new buyer after already accepting an earlier offer, before contracts are exchanged.
- GazunderingGazundering is when a buyer lowers their offer late in the sale, often just before exchange, after the vendor has already accepted a higher figure.
- Chain-freeA chain-free buyer has no property to sell before they can buy. A chain-free sale is one that does not depend on another related sale.
- VendorVendor is the usual British word for the person selling a property. US brokerages say seller. In lettings, the client who is renting the property out is the landlord, not the vendor.
- PurchaserPurchaser is the British legal word for the buyer of a property. Day to day, negotiators say buyer. In the US the word is buyer, and the agent who represents them is the buyer’s agent.
- Asking priceThe asking price is the figure the property is marketed at. It is an invitation for offers. It is not a valuation, and it is not the price that will be paid.
- Guide priceA guide price is a figure published to show the level at which the seller invites offers, often at auction or when the seller expects offers around that level rather than a fixed asking price.
- Offers overOffers over, or offers in excess of, asks buyers to bid above a stated figure. It does not promise the vendor will accept the first bid that clears that figure.
- Best and final offersA best-and-final round asks everyone who has already offered to submit their highest offer by a set time. The vendor then chooses. It is not an auction, and the highest figure does not have to win.
- Property particularsProperty particulars are the agent’s written description of a home for sale or to let: the facts, the rooms, the tenure or tenancy, and the price. Buyers and applicants rely on them.
- Sole agencySole agency means one firm is instructed to market the property for an agreed period. If that firm introduces the buyer who goes on to buy, the fee is payable under the agreement.
- Joint sole agencyJoint sole agency means two firms are instructed together, usually sharing one fee if either introduces the buyer. It is not the same as multiple agency, where each firm can charge its own fee.
- Multiple agencyMultiple agency means the vendor has instructed more than one firm, and each firm that introduces the buyer can charge its own fee. The vendor can end up paying more than one fee only if the contract says so; usually only the introducing firm is paid, but the rate is higher than sole agency.
- Sales progressionSales progression is the work of chasing a sale from accepted offer to exchange and completion: solicitors, mortgage, survey and the chain, with updates back to the vendor and the buyer.
- ConveyancingConveyancing is the legal work of transferring a property: the contract, the title, the searches and the money. Solicitors or licensed conveyancers do it. The estate agent does not.
- Home surveyA home survey is a report a buyer commissions on the condition of the building. It is separate from a lender’s valuation, which is for the mortgage and is often not a full survey.
- Energy performance certificateAn energy performance certificate rates how energy-efficient a property is, from A to G, and lists recommendations. In England and Wales a listing for sale or let needs a valid certificate, with narrow exceptions.
- FreeholdFreehold means the buyer owns the property and the land it stands on, without a lease running out. It is the usual tenure for houses in England and Wales. It is not a description of condition.
- LeaseholdLeasehold means the buyer owns the property for the years left on a lease, not the land outright. Most flats in England and Wales are leasehold. The length of the lease, the ground rent and the service charge change what the flat is worth.
- Service chargeA service charge is the contribution a leaseholder or estate resident pays towards the upkeep of the building or the shared grounds. It is not the ground rent, and it is not the council tax.
- Material informationMaterial information is the information an average buyer or tenant needs in order to decide whether to view, offer or rent. UK consumer rules expect agents to pass it on, not to leave it until a survey.
- AML for estate agentsEstate agency businesses in the UK must carry out anti-money laundering checks on the people they deal with in a sale. Lettings businesses have their own, narrower duties. The checks identify the client and look at the source of funds where the rules require it.
- Probate saleA probate sale is a sale by the executors or administrators of someone who has died. They can only sell once they have the authority to do so, and they often want a straightforward sale.
- Fall-throughA fall-through is a sale that collapses after an offer was accepted, usually before exchange. The property comes back to the market, and everyone who was told the sale was proceeding needs a new fact.
- Mortgage offerA mortgage offer is the lender’s formal offer to lend a stated amount on a stated property. An agreement in principle is earlier and weaker: it is an indication, not an offer.
- Assured tenancyFrom 1 May 2026, new private tenancies in England under the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 are periodic assured tenancies. The old assured shorthold tenancy, and the section 21 notice that went with it, are no longer how a new English let is set up.
- Section 21Section 21 was the English notice a landlord used to end an assured shorthold tenancy without proving a ground. The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 abolished it for the new regime on 1 May 2026.
- LandlordThe landlord is the person who lets a property. In British agency English they are not called the vendor. Vendor is the sales client. US rentals say landlord or owner as well.
- TenantThe tenant is the person who occupies a property under a tenancy and pays the rent. Before the tenancy starts they are an applicant. US leasing offices often say resident once they have moved in.
- ApplicantAn applicant is someone who wants to rent a property and has not yet become the tenant. Sales staff sometimes say applicant for a buyer as well. In a letting, keep the word for the prospective tenant.
- Holding depositA holding deposit is a payment an applicant makes so a landlord will stop advertising a rental while referencing is done. In England the Tenant Fees Act caps it at one week’s rent and sets rules for when it must be returned.
- Tenancy depositA tenancy deposit is money the tenant pays at the start of a let as security for the rent and the condition of the property. In England and Wales it has to be protected in an authorised scheme within the legal deadline.
- Tenant referencingReferencing is the check on a prospective tenant: identity, income or employment, previous landlord, and usually a credit check. It happens after a holding deposit is taken and before the tenancy is granted.
- Right to rentRight to rent is an English legal duty. Before a residential tenancy starts, the landlord or their agent must check that the adult occupants have the right to rent in the UK. It does not apply in Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland.
- InventoryAn inventory is the room-by-room record of a rental property’s condition and contents at the start of a tenancy. It is the document a deposit dispute is later judged against.
- Check-inCheck-in is the handover of a rental at the start of the tenancy: keys, the inventory, meter readings, and the practical information the tenant needs on day one.
UK and US
- Price reductionA price reduction is a cut in the asking price, made on the vendor or seller’s instruction, and then updated on the portals or the MLS and in the particulars.
- Viewing feedbackViewing feedback is what a buyer or applicant said after seeing a property, passed back to the vendor or landlord without adding opinions they did not express.
US
- Listing agentA listing agent is the real estate licensee who represents the seller and markets the property. The British equivalent is the estate agent instructed by the vendor. The words are not interchangeable on a client email.
- Buyer’s agentA buyer’s agent represents the buyer in a US purchase. In Britain, a buying agent is less common; most high-street negotiators are instructed by the vendor, and a buyer is a customer of that firm.
- PendingPending, or under contract, means a US listing has an accepted offer and is moving toward closing. It is the rough equivalent of the British SSTC, but the legal moment that binds the parties is different and depends on the state.
- EscrowEscrow is the neutral holding of money and documents in a US purchase until the conditions of the contract are met. An escrow officer or a title company often runs it. It is not the British exchange of contracts.
- ClosingClosing is the US day when the purchase is funded, documents are signed and the buyer becomes the owner. British English calls the equivalent day completion. The paperwork is not the same.
- Multiple listing serviceA multiple listing service is the local database US brokerages use to share listings with other member firms. It is not a public portal like Rightmove, and it is not a national website a British agent can simply join.
- Earnest moneyEarnest money is the deposit a US buyer pays into escrow to show they intend to complete. If they default under the contract, the contract says who keeps it. It is not the English exchange deposit.
- Contingent offerA contingent offer is a US offer that only becomes a firm purchase if stated conditions are met, such as inspection, financing, appraisal, or the sale of the buyer’s current home.
- Open houseAn open house is a published time when buyers can view a listing without a private appointment. British branches more often say open viewing. The idea is the same: one slot, several viewers, a sign-in.
- Listing appointmentA listing appointment is the meeting where an agent visits a seller, advises on price and marketing, and hopes to win the instruction. British agents call the same visit a valuation, a market appraisal, or an instruction appointment.
- Dual agencyDual agency is when one brokerage, and sometimes one licensee, represents both the buyer and the seller in the same US deal. Many states restrict it or require written consent from both sides. It is not an English sole agency.
- Pre-approvalA pre-approval is a lender’s written view, after looking at the buyer’s finances, of how much it may lend. A pre-qualification is weaker, often based on what the buyer said rather than on documents. Neither is a final loan on a specific house.