Practice English Vocabulary Exercises – Vocabulary for Banking and Finance: Mortgages

A. Choose the best words from each pair in grey type.

For the majority of ¹ homeowners / houseowners, the purchase of their property is financed by a mortgage. The bank or building society which lends the money to buy a property is called a mortgage ² lender / giver or mortgagee. The person who borrows money in the form of a mortgage is called a mortgage ³ borrower / taker or mortgagor.

There are several different types of mortgage ⁴ in / on the market. Probably the most common is a repayment mortgage, in which the ⁵ capital sum / capital price and the interest are paid in ⁶ instalments / pieces over a long period (for example 25 years).

An alternative is an interest-only mortgage, in which the interest is paid, and the capital sum is ⁷ repaid / paid in another way, for example with an endowment assurance policy (see unit 9). This type of mortgage is known as an endowment mortgage.

With an offset mortgage, the mortgage borrower’s ⁸ daily / current account is combined with her/his mortgage. Provided the current account is usually ⁹ in / with credit, this can reduce the interest repayments ¹⁰ on / for the mortgage.

B. Match the types of mortgage with the definition (you can find some of the information above).

C. Choose the best word.

1   Houses, bungalows, apartments, offices, shops and any other type of building you can own are called …………………..

        a   housing       

        b   property       

        c   buildings

2   The ………………….. are a document which proves who owns a property.

        a   owner’s deeds       

        b   owner’s papers       

        c   title deeds

3   In some countries you can get a mortgage for ………………….. your annual salary.

        a   times five       

        b   five times       

        c   five of

4   If a mortgage borrower ………………….. the instalments…

        a   doesn’t pay       

        b   defaults on       

        c   fails on

5   …the mortgage lender will eventually ………………….. the property.

        a   retake       

        b   take back       

        c   repossess

6   Before a property can be repossessed, the lender must apply to a court for a …………………..

        a   repossession order       

        b   repossession paper       

        c   repossession document

7   When the lender has a repossession order, the occupants of the property can be …………………..

        a   evicted       

        b   put out       

        c   ejected

8   Generally, mortgage lenders only repossess as …………………..

        a   a desperate action       

        b   a last resort       

        c   the final option

9   A mortgage lender can also be called a mortgagee or a …………………..

        a   mortgage provider       

        b   mortgage maker       

        c   mortgage producer

10   A mortgage borrower can also be known as a mortgagor or a …………………..

        a   mortgage owner       

        b   mortgage possessor       

        c   mortgage holder

11   To change your mortgage agreement is to ………………….. your property.

        a   mortgage again       

        b   remortgage       

        c   unmortage

12   A mortgage paid over 25 years is called a ………………….. mortgage.

        a   25       

        b   25 year       

        c   25 years

13   When somebody’s mortgage is the most they can possible afford, you can say they are “mortgaged up to the …………………..”.

        a   hilt       

        b   top       

        c   head

14   If property prices go down, and your house is mortgaged for more than its current value, you have …………………..

        a   negative money      

        b   negative value       

        c   negative equity

15   After you have paid your last mortgage instalment, you can say that you have ………………….. your mortgage.

        a   paid out       

        b   paid up       

        c   paid off