Land Court (Torrans System)

A system of recordation of documents affecting land.

 

Latent defect

An invisible problem in a piece of property such as bad wiring, termite damage or lead paint.

 

Lead

A metallic chemical element present in older dwellings, primarily in the form of lead-based paint and lead plumbing.  Exposure to lead has been found to be a health risk.

 

Lease

A binding agreement that contains the terms and conditions of a renter's occupancy.

 

Lease option

A lease that contains the right to purchase the property for a specific price within a certain time frame.

 

Leasehold

An interest in land which is less than fee simple and which allows one defined use for a stated period of time.

 

Legal blemish

Blemishes on a piece of property, such as a zoning violation or fraudulent title claim.

 

Legal description

A specific way of identifying and locating a piece of real estate that is acceptable to a court.

 

Lender

A bank, savings institution or mortgage company that offers home loans.

 

Lessee

A tenant under a lease.

 

Lessor

The landlord under a lease.

 

Letter of intent

A formal statement that the buyer intends to purchase the property for a certain price on a certain date.

 

Liens and Encumbrances

Claims against the title or right of ownership to one's property held by another party.

 

Limited Common Element

A common element which use is restricted to a specific owner or owners.

 

Liquidated Damages

An agreed upon reasonable amount of money which is paid to the party injured by the other party.

 

Litigation

The formal court process started by filing a lawsuit.

 

Listing

A piece of property placed on the market by a listing agent.

 

Loan application

The first step toward submitting a home loan requires the borrower to itemize basic financial information.

 

Loan application fee

A fee charged by lenders to for making a loan application.

 

Loan commitment

A promise by a lender or other financial institution to make or insure a loan for a specified amount and on specific terms.

 

Loan officer

An official representative of a lending institution who is empowered to act on behalf of the lender within certain limits.

 

Loan origination fee

Most lenders charge borrowers an origination fee--or points--for processing a loan.  A point is 1 percent of the total loan amount.

 

Loan processing fee

A fee charged by some lenders for gathering information to enable the lender to process the loan.

 

Loan term

The amount of a time set by the lender for a buyer to pay a mortgage. Most conventional loans have 30-year or 15-year terms.

 

Lock-in

When interest rates are volatile, many borrowers want to "lock in" an interest rate and many lenders will oblige, setting a limit on the amount of time the lock-in is in effect.