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Laches
Delay or negligence in asserting one's rights.
Landlord
The owner of any real estate, such as a house, apartment building
or land, that is leased or rented to another person, called
the tenant.
Late charge
The penalty a borrower must pay when a payment is made a stated
number of days (usually 15) after the due date.
Latent defect
Hidden structural defects and flaws.
Lease option
A lease under which the tenant has the right to purchase the
property either during the lease term or at its end.
Lease purchase
The purchase of real property, the consummation of which is
preceded by a lease, usually long-term. Typically done for tax
or financing purposes.
Legacy
A disposition of money or personal property by will.
Legal description
A description of a specific parcel of real estate
complete enough for an independent surveyor to locate and identify
it.
Legally competent parties
People who are recognized by law as being able to contract with
others; those of legal age and sound mind.
Leverage
The use of borrowed money to finance an investment.
Levy
To assess; to seize or collect. To levy a tax is to assess a
property and set the rate of taxation. To Levy An Execution
is to officially seize the property of a person in order to
satisfy an obligation.
Lease
An oral or written agreement (a contract) between two people
concerning the use by one of the property of the other. A person
can lease real estate (such as an apartment or business property)
or personal property (such as a car or a boat). A lease should
cover basic issues such as when the lease will begin and end,
the rent or other costs, how payments should be made, and any
restrictions on the use of the property. The property owner
is often called the "lessor," and the person using
the property is called the "lessee." In Texas, any
lease over one year in length, must be in writing.
Leasehold estate
A form of real estate in which a tenant is allowed to construct
permanent structures upon a parcel of leased land, and derive
some use or income from said structures during the period of
the lease. Leasehold estates usually involve long-term leases,
ranging from 20 to 99 years. Land owners are able to have their
property developed, with no out of pocket expenses. Instead
of having to sell their land too soon, they retain their family's
rights to the land, while receiving a steady income stream.
The tenant saves the initial land acquisation costs and may
gain access to property that would be otherwise unavailable.
The downside is, as the lease nears the end or its term, the
tenant's investment becomes uncertain, and the landlord is in
a position to make demands for compensation, above the fair
market price. Leaseholds are much more common in commercial
real estate, but can apply to some residential properties as
well. Hawaii has many leasehold condominium projects, and even
Houston has at least one mid-rise condominium building that
lacks ownership of the land it occupies.
Less favorable treatment
Any time a person is treated differently on the basis of race,
sex, religion, color, familial status, disability, or national
origin, either by action or inaction, in the selling or leasing
of real property, it is a violation of the Fair Housing Laws.
Also known as unequal treatment or different treatment.
Lessee
Tenant leasing property.
Lessor
One who leases property to a tenant.
Levy Improvement District (LID)
A type of Water Control and Improvement District, used to build
and maintain levies. Levies are used to contain flooding creeks
and rivers.
License
(I) A privilege or right granted to a person by a state to operate
as a real estate broker or salesperson.
(2) The revocable permission for a temporary use of land--a
personal right that cannot be sold.
Lien
A right given by law to certain creditors to have their debts
paid out of the property of a defaulting debtor, usually by
means of a court sale.
Lien theory
Some states interpret a mortgage as being purely a lien on real
property. The mortgagee thus has no right of possession but
must foreclose the lien and sell the property if the mortgagor
defaults.
Life
Cycle costing In property management, comparing one type of
equipment to another based on both purchase cost and operating
cost over its expected useful lifetime.
Life estate
An interest in real or personal property that is limited
in duration to the lifetime of its owner or some other designated
person or persons.
Life tenant
A person in possession of a life estate.
Liquidated damages
An amount predetermined by the parties to a contract as the
total compensation to an injured party should the other party
breach the contract.
Liquidity
The ability to sell an asset and convert it into cash, at a
price close to its true value, in a short period of time.
Lis pendens
A recorded legal document giving constructive notice that an
action affecting a particular property has been filed in either
a state or a federal court.
Listing agreement
A contract between an owner (as principal) and a real estate
broker (as agent) by which the broker is employed as agent to
find a buyer for the owner's real estate on the owner's terms,
for which service the owner agrees to pay a commission.
Listing broker
The broker in a multiple-listing situation from whose office
a listing agreement is initiated, as opposed to the cooperating
broker, from whose office negotiations leading up to a sale
are initiated. The listing broker and the cooperating broker
may be the same person.
Littoral rights
(I) A landowner's claim to use water in large navigable lakes
and oceans adjacent to his or her property.
(2) The ownership rights to land bordering these bodies of water
up to the highwater mark.
Listing
A written agreement between a property owner and a real estate
broker authorizing the broker to find a buyer.
Lien theory state
Texas is a Lien Theory State, where legal title of mortgaged
property resides with the mortgagor (borrower), with the mortgage
as a lien against the property. Contrast with title theory state.
Limited equity housing
An arrangement designed to encourage low-and moderate-income
families to purchase housing, in which the housing is offered
at an extremely favorable price with a low down payment. The
catch is that when the owner sells, she gets none of the profit
if the market value of the unit has gone up. Any profit returns
to the organization that built the home, which then resells
the unit at an affordable price.
Liabilities
A person's financial obligations. Liabilities include long-term
and short-term debt, as well as any other amounts that are owed
to others.
Liability insurance
Insurance coverage that offers protection against claims alleging
that a property owner's negligence or inappropriate action resulted
in bodily injury or property damage to another party.
Lifetime payment cap
For an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM), a limit on the amount
that payments can increase or decrease over the life of the
mortgage. See cap.
Line of credit
An agreement by a commercial bank or other financial institution
to extend credit up to a certain amount for a certain time to
a specified borrower. See home equity line of credit.
Liquid asset
A cash asset or an asset that is easily converted into cash.
Loan origination fee
A fee charged to the borrower by the lender for making a mortgage
loan. The fee is usually computed as a percentage of the loan
amount.
Loan-to-value-ratio
The relationship between the amount of the mortgage loan and
the value of the real estate being pledged as collateral.
Lot-and-block (Recorded plat) system
A method of describing real property that identifies a parcel
of land by reference to lot and block numbers within a subdivision.
as specified on a recorded subdivision plat.
Loan Officer
Also referred to by a variety of other terms, such as lender,
loan representative, loan "rep," account executive,
and others. The loan officer serves several functions and has
various responsibilities: they solicit loans, they are the representative
of the lending institution, and they represent the borrower
to the lending institution.
Loan Servicing
After you obtain a loan, the company you make the payments to
is "servicing" your loan. They process payments, send
statements, manage the escrow/impound account, provide collection
efforts on delinquent loans, ensure that insurance and property
taxes are made on the property, handle pay-offs and assumptions,
and provide a variety of other services.
Loan-To-Value (LTV)
The percentage relationship between the amount of the loan and
the appraised value or sales price (whichever is lower).
Lock-In Period
The time period during which the lender has guaranteed an interest
rate to a borrower.
Lock or lock In
A commitment you obtain from a lender assuring you a particular
interest rate or feature or a definite time period. Provides
protection should interest rates rise between the time you apply
for a loan, acquire loan approval, and, subsequently, close
the loan and receive the funds you have borrowed.
Loft
(1) A style of residential construction. In Houston the term
"loft" is used quite liberally. It may refer to an
older building that has been converted into residential condominiums,
or it may mean a new mid-rise project with a "loft-style"
finish to the units. There are also new construction townhomes
that are promoted as being "lofts". A builder creates
new loft space by leaving exposed brick walls, bare polished
concrete floors and having unhidden heating ducts, trusses,
etc.
(2) An upstairs room or area that has an open wall, overlooking
a room or area below.
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