Online properties for sale - glossary of terms - "D"

Use the index links below to find the term you wish to look up.

Deposit

The deposit is the part of the purchase price that the buyer is paying. It is usually the difference between the amount of the mortgage and the purchase price although solicitors often refer to it as the money that is handed over to the seller's Solicitors upon exchange of contracts.

On exchange of contracts the seller can insist on receiving from the buyer a full 10% deposit of the purchase price. As most people are not contributing as much as 10% to the purchase, reduced deposits are common.

Deed

A written document that has been signed, sealed and delivered by the person making it.

Demise

The grant of a lease over land.

Devise

A gift of land in a will.

Dominant Tenement

Land which has rights over another peice of land (called the servient tenement).