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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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