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Landscape
A home's surroundings can range from a shrub-studded emerald
lawn to a native-plant xeriscape. It is a major component
of curb appeal. |
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Landscape architect
A professional who holds a degree in landscape architecture,
which involves training in horticulture, landscape design
and planning. |
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Landscape contractor
A professional who carries out the plans of a landscape architect
or a landscape designer. |
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Landscape designer
A landscape designer has training in horticulture and landscape
planning, but does not necessarily hold a degree. |
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Late charge
A fee a lender imposes on a borrower when the borrower does
not make a payment
on time. |
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Late payment
A payment a lender receives after the due date has passed. |
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Latent defect
An invisible problem in a piece of property such as bad wiring,
termite damage or lead paint. |
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Laundry
If a motel has 40 units or more, the laundry will usually
have two 50 lb. Commercial washers with automatic soap injection
and one or two large dryers. |
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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. |
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Lease
A binding agreement that contains the terms and conditions
of a renter's occupancy. |
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Lease buyout
Agreement from landlord to take care of the tenant's lease
obligations in other premises. |
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Lease option
A lease that contains the right to purchase the property for
a specific price within a certain time frame. |
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Leasehold estate
An arrangement in which the borrower does not own a specific
piece of property but possesses a long-term lease. |
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Legal blemish
Blemishes on a piece of property, such as a zoning violation
or fraudulent title claim. |
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Legal description
A specific way of identifying and locating a piece of real
estate that is acceptable to a court. |
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Lender
A bank, savings institution or mortgage company that offers
home loans. |
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Letter of intent
A formal statement that the buyer intends to purchase the
property for a certain price on a certain date. |
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Level of control on a listing agreement
The form used when specifying the level of control of the
listing in its title and language. |
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Leverage
The use of a small amount of cash - a 5 percent or 10 percent
down payment - to buy a piece of property. |
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Liabilities
A borrower's debts and financial obligations. |
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Liability insurance
A policy that protects owners against any claims of negligence,
personal injury or property damage. |
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Lien
A claim laid by one person or company on the property of another
as security for money owed. |
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Life cap
A limit on the amount that a loan rate can move during the
term of the mortgage. For example, the rate on an adjustable-rate
mortgage that begins at 5 percent and has a lifetime cap of
6 percentage points cannot rise above 11 percent, even if
rates on fixed-
rate mortgages soar to 20 percent. |
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Life-cycle cost analysis
An analysis of a building project's expected operating, maintenance
and replacement costs, calculated by an architect. |
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Limited partnership
Real estate syndicates and other investment groups use this
type of ownership.. A general partner makes the group's investment
decisions, oversees the investment and is principally liable
for any losses. |
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Lintel
A horizontal piece over a door or window that carries the
weight of the structure above it. |
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Liquid assets
Cash and all other assets that can be converted to cash relatively
quickly. Liquid assets
can include money in savings and checking accounts, money-market
accounts, and most certificates of deposit. |
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Liquidated damages
When a real estate deal goes awry, one party often is entitled
to liquidated damages, a sum of money set out in the purchase
contract in that event. |
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Listing
A piece of property placed on the market by a listing agent. |
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Listing inventories
The known number of houses for sale within a given market. |
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Live-in partnership
An arrangement in which two unrelated people purchase a home. |
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Live-work space
An officially designated dwelling in which the occupant conducts
a home-based business
or enterprise. |
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Load factor
Multiplier to a tenant's useable space of a building's common
area, expressed in percentages.
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Load-bearing wall
A wall that supports not only its own weight, but the weight
of other parts of a home. Also called a bearing wall. |
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Loan-to-value ratio
A technical measure used by lenders to assess the relationship
of the loan amount to the value of the property |
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Loan application
The first step toward submitting a home loan requires the
borrower to itemize basic
financial information | apply
for a loan |
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Loan application fee
A fee charged by lenders to for making a loan application. |
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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. |
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Loan Constant
A loan amortization number representing the ratio between
a loan amount and the equal periodic payments that will retire
the loan. |
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Loan officer
An official representative of a lending institution who is
empowered to act on behalf of the lender within certain limits. |
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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. |
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Loan processing fee
A fee charged by some lenders for gathering information to
enable the lender to process the loan. |
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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. |
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Loan-to-value ratio (LTV)
The ratio between an investment's value and its financing,
loan/price = LTV, expressed
as a percent. The higher the LTV Ratio, the higher the risk. |
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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. |
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Loft
A living space not partitioned into rooms or a small space
built above a larger room. |
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Log cabin
Homes constructed of rough-hewn timbers and a standard housing
form in the early European settlement of the U.S. |
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Low density
A low concentration of housing units in a specific area. |
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Low-ball offer
An offer made to a seller that is substantially below market
value. The longer a property stays on the market, the more
likely there are to be such offers. |
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Low-documentation loan
A mortgage that requires only minimal verification of income
and assets. |
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Low-down-payment loan
A home loan that requires the borrower to make only a small
down payment before obtaining the financing needed to purchase
a house. |
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