Vacant Possession
Means that upon completion of sale, the property in question must be free of residents, tenants, etc unless otherwise agreed. This term is often found on Contracts of Sale.

Vacation home
Please also see Holiday Home. Another term used to describe an additional property that is used by the owner for holidays mainly and not as a main place of residence.

Valuation
A process of undertaking a survey of the property to ascertain its current value. It is usually commissioned by the lender and/or estate agent and as such there may be no legal remedy available if an error has been made by the valuer.

Valuation Fee
A sum of money paid by the mortgage or remortgage applicant for the undertaking of valuation and drafting of valuation report.

Valuation Report
A document that summarises the structural type of the property to be mortgaged or remortgaged, its current state of repairs and any defects, etc. It also provides an estimate of the property value.

Value
Term describing how much the property is worth.

Variable Base Rate
A set basic interest rate applicable to a mortgage.

Value Added Tax (VAT)
A type of tax, some times referred to as Goods and Services Tax or GST, that is paid upon the purchase of certain goods and/or services in UK or European Union. Different countries within the EU have different rates of VAT. There are three VAT rates in UK:
 1. Standard - currently at 15% and due to increase up to 17.5 % from 01/01/2010.
 2. Reduced - payable on specified goods, such as, for example, children's car seats.
 3. Zero Rate - some goods and service are VAT-exempt, for example, equipment for disabled, etc.
When payable, it is usually included in the price.

Variable Rate Mortgage
A type of mortgage with an interest rate that varies at an agreed percentage of the index rate, such as the Bank of England Base Rate. If the base rate falls, interest rate falls; should the base rate rise, the interest rate will rise too.

Vendor
The owner of the sale property, who is its legal owner.

Voluntary Arrangement
A term referring to a process of reaching a formal agreement with one's creditors pertaining to payment management. This is usually done in order to avoid bankruptcy. A debtor's offer of payments, usually prepared with the help of the professional advisor, is put to creditor's vote. If accepted, such agreement becomes binding preventing creditors from suing for their debts.

Vacation home
Vacation home is a second residence that's used by the owner only periodically.

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