Mortgage Glossary
- Laches
- Undue delay or negligence in asserting one's legal rights.
- Land
- Any part of the surface of the earth.
- Land Banking
- The business of buying land that is not currently needed for use.
- Land Contract
- A property installment selling agreement whereby the purchaser may occupy and use the land, but no deed is given by the seller until a specified part of the sales price has been paid.
- Late Charge
- The penalty a borrower must pay when a payment is made after the stated due date.
- Late Payment
- A payment made later than agreed upon in a credit contract and on which additional charges may be imposed.
- Lease
- A written contract between a property owner and a tenant that expresses the conditions under which the tenant may possess the real estate for a specified period of time and rent.
- Leasehold Estate
- A way of holding title to a property wherein the mortgagor does not actually own the property, but instead has a long-term recorded lease on it.
- Lease-purchase Mortgage Loan
- A creative financing option that allows homebuyers to lease a home with an option to buy. Each month's rent payment consists of principal, interest, taxes and insurance, plus an extra amount that is deposited into a savings account created for a down payment.
- Legal Description
- A legal property description that is sufficient to locate and identify the property without verbal testimony.
- Lender
- The bank, mortgage broker, or financial institution providing the loan funds to a borrower.
- Lender Fees
- Lessee
- A person or company that signs a lease to get temporary use of property.
- Lessor
- A person or company that provides temporary use of property usually in return for periodic payment.
- Liabilities
- A person's financial obligations including both long-term and short-term debt, as well as any other amounts that are owed to others.
- Liability Insurance
- An insurance policy that offers protection against claims that a property owner's negligence resulted in bodily injury or property damage to another party.
- Liability on an Account
- Legal responsibility to repay debt.
- LIBOR
- LIBOR stands for London Inter-Bank Offered Rate. This is a favorable interest rate offered for U.S. dollar deposits between a group of London banks. There are several different LIBOR rates, defined by the maturity of their deposit. The LIBOR is an international index that follows world economic conditions. LIBOR-indexed ARMs offer borrowers aggressive initial rates and have proven to be competitive with popular ARM indexes like the Treasury bill.
- Lien
- A loan secured by real estate. An encumbrance against a property for money due. The lien can be voluntary such as a mortgage or involuntary such as a judgement.
- Lien Certificate
- A certificate to verify there are no claims by one person on the property of another as security for money owed.
- Lifetime Interest Rate Cap
- On an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM), a limit on the amount that the interest rate can increase or decrease over the term of the loan.
- Lifetime Payment Cap
- On an adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM), a limit on the amount that payments can increase or decrease over the term of the loan.
- Line of Credit
- An agreement by a financial institution to extend credit up to a certain amount for a certain time to a specified borrower.
- Liquid Asset
- An asset that is easily converted into cash.
- Loan
- Borrowed money that is usually repaid with interest.
- Loan Commitment
- Loan Origination
- The process by which a mortgage lender creates a mortgage secured by real property.
- Loan Term
- Loan to Value Ratio (LTV)
- Lock
- Written agreement in which a lender guarantees a specific interest rate if a loan closes within a set period of time. The lock-in may also specify the number of discount points to be paid at closing.
- Lock Period
- Lock-in
- Written agreement in which a lender guarantees a specific interest rate if a loan closes within a set period of time. The lock-in may also specify the number of discount points to be paid at closing.
- Lot Drawing
