Jargon Buster: L
Our glossary results: 64 matches!
Land certificate
Proof of ownership of a property with no mortgage on it. It details the boundaries of the property and the covenants affecting it. Land charge registry
A government department for England and Wales which keeps a register of certain charges on land, the title of which is unregistered. The register is open to public search and is quite distinct from the land registry, which deals with properties where title is registered. Land charges search fee
Fee charged by a solicitor or conveyancer for checking the validity of the title on a property and whether the 'owner' is in a genuine position to sell. Land registry
This is a government department which registers and all the details of any land transactions and issues to do with ownership of property in England and Wales. Land registry certificate
This is a copy of the property entry in the land registry database concerning a property transaction or ownership. Land registry fees
A charge incurred when buying a home for registering the title of a property under your name. This is usually dealt with by your solicitor / conveyancer. Landlord
Either the person who owns a property which you are renting and to whom you pay rent, or the freeholder of a property for which there is a leasehold tenure. Landslip
The movement of soil downhill following a prolonged period of rainfall. Late charge
A fee a lender imposes on a borrower when the borrower does not make a payment on time. Late payment
A payment a lender receives after the due date has passed. Lath
Thin strip of wood used to aid the fixing of roof tiles or slates, or sometimes as a backing to plastering. Lattice window
A window with diamond-shaped leaded lights or glazing bars arranged like an openwork screen. Lease
The lease is a document which contains the rights and the covenants (rules) on behalf of both the landlord and the tenant which regulate the use of the property. Leasehold
When you buy a leasehold property, essentially you are buying nothing more than the right to occupy a building for a given length of time. You will have to pay ground rent and maintenance in addition to a one-off payment that buys ownership of the lease until sold or it runs out. The number of alterations you can make to the property varies accordance with the lease and you may well have other conditions imposed upon you by the landlord. As a rule, look to buy a lease with over 50 years remaining. Leasehold Valuation Tribunal
This is the equivalent of a court used by leaseholders to challenge their landlords if they are unhappy with the level of service, they are getting for the cost of the service charges. It never costs more than £500 no matter how many leaseholders are involved. You can no longer be served notice for refusing to pay high maintenance costs unless these have been ruled as fair by the LVT. You can even request that the LVT orders a new managing agent for the building if they are found to be incompetent or acting unscrupulously. The main difference to going through the courts is that neither side will be required to pay for the other side’s legal costs. Legal charge
A document securing the debt on the property, for example, the monies the buyer borrows from the Bank or Building Society to purchase a property. Legal fees
The charges paid to a solicitor. Lender The building society, bank, mortgage company or mortgage broker with whom you take out your mortgage or other loan. legal stationers
These are specialist stationers who deal primarily with legal documents and who therefore are an excellent source of the forms you will need to undertake conveyancing work, become a landlord and so on. Lender's arrangement fees
Fee for arranging a loan passed on to the buyer by lender. Lenders basic valuation the lenders assessment of the value of a property before authorising any loan against it. Lender's arrangement fees
The charges paid to a solicitor. Lender The building society, bank, mortgage company or mortgage broker with whom you take out your mortgage or other loan. Lenders fees
Administration costs incurred by a lender to secure a loan, paid by the applicant. Lender's legal fees
Fees incurred by the lender when arranging a mortgage passed on to the buyer. Lender's risk fee
A payment to a lender for an insurance policy for the lender's benefit when they lend above a certain percentage of the property value. The policy covers the risk of selling a repossessed property at a loss. (Also sometimes called a higher lending fee or mortgage indemnity premium) Lessee
The person to whom a lease is granted. Lessor
The person who grants a lease. Let
The process of renting out all or part of your property to someone else. Letting agent
A property agent who can help landlords locate suitable properties for purchase, and who finds tenants to occupy those properties and manages the rental process which follows. Letting insurance
An insurance the landlord might take out to protect his or her possessions in the rented home. Level term assurance
Life assurance that pays out a set amount throughout the entire agreement if you die during the term. Liabilities
Basically, liabilities are debts that you have and the regular outgoing payments that you make. The reason you must show your bank statements is usually to help the underwriters identify anything in your current expenditure that may impinge upon your ability to repay the loan. They want to know about any other mortgages, debts, credit cards, HP agreements, loans, overdraft facilities, maintenance, and court orders. You will normally have to show three to six months’ worth of bank statements to help demonstrate that the figures you provide them with are accurate. Licensed conveyancer
Alternative to solicitors. Specialising in the legal side of buying and selling property. Lien
Legal right to hold the property of another person as security for a debt. Life assurance
Life assurance is a type of insurance that provides a fixed amount of money to the policy holder in the event that you die. Lifetime cap
A limit on how high the interest rate on a variable rate mortgage can rise over the lifetime of the loan. 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. Limits to inspection
The areas which could not be viewed and evaluated for the purposes of a survey or homebuyers report. Linked detached
A property which is attached to another via a garage. Lintel
A horizontal beam or stone bridging an opening, usually a door. Liquidity
The portion of an investment portfolio that is not fully invested but is represented by cash holdings. Also means the level of market demand for the shares which indicates the ease with which investors can buy and sell. Lis pendens
A dispute which is the subject of ongoing or pending litigation. Load-bearing walls
A wall which cannot be knocked down as it is supporting the structure of the building. Loan application
The first step toward in 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 consolidation
When one large loan is taken out to pay off a variety of smaller loans held with different providers. A mortgage can be used for this purpose and in some cases can work out cheaper as mortgage rates tend to be cheaper than personal loan interest rates. Loan To Value ratio
A percentage expressing the size of your mortgage to the value of house. For example, house value=£100,000, mortgage size=£90,000. Loan-to-Value=90%. Some mortgages may only be on offer if you are borrowing less than a set proportion of the value of your house. Many lenders offer more favourable deals to customers who are contributing a sizeable deposit themselves. Local authority searches
A local authority search is a check with the local authorities to establish if any new developments are planned in the vicinity of the property, you are buying and to check the water drainage systems and other social infrastructure. This can highlight any public works such as a new motorway, waterworks, or alterations to road systems, as well as anything else that is has had permission to take place immediately adjacent to the property. The local search will also tell you whether there are any planning restrictions that may affect your intentions to renovate or extend the property. Local planning applications
These must be lodged by anyone wishing to build or extend a property to the local planning department of the council. Local searches
A local authority search is a check with the local authorities to establish if any new developments are planned in the vicinity of the property, you are buying and to check the water drainage systems and other social infrastructure. This can highlight any public works such as a new motorway, waterworks, or alterations to road systems, as well as anything else that is has had permission to take place immediately adjacent to the property. The local search will also tell you whether there are any planning restrictions that may affect your intentions to renovate or extend the property. Lock in
Allows the borrower to be assured a given rate of interest for a mortgage. This usually involves paying a fee to the lender. Mortgage rates not "locked in" are subject to changing market conditions. Lockout agreement
A lockout agreement is similar to an exclusivity agreement in that it should prevent the vendor from accepting another offer. The difference is that the agreement will only run for a set period of time. Lock-up
A place where your possessions can be stored. Loft
The space in between the ceiling on the roof of a property. Is sometimes converted into an extra room. Long Creditors
This is all liabilities that do not need to be paid for more than one year after a company's Balance Sheet date. This includes provisions, deferred taxation, loans, and debt. Long term care insurance
Provides cover for elderly persons who may not otherwise be able to afford the appropriate level of care. It can also provide supplementary financial assistance to families who may otherwise feel they have to shoulder the financial burden of caring for their elderly friends or relatives. The care can be received in the policyholders own home, sheltered housing or in a specialist care facility, depending on the level of benefit that is insured and the other funds that the elderly person or their family has available. Loss adjuster
An official sent by your insurer in the event of a major claim to assess that you are in compliance with the terms of your policy and to check you are only claiming loss of possessions or damage to goods you actually own. Low cost with-profit endowment
Endowment policy where you make interest payments on the full value of the loan until the investment element has accumulated enough to repay the whole mortgage amount. The investment policy will display an annual growth. While there is no guarantee that this will be enough to pay off the full mortgage loan, you may end up receiving a cash surplus. It has a guaranteed maturity value that starts as a fraction of the loan amount and rises during the course of the term as the annual bonuses are added to the guaranteed maturity value each year. The size of these bonuses depends on the performance of the investment fund. Your premiums are pooled with those of other investors and paid into a fund managed by a life company and has built in life assurance to cover the value of the loan if you die. Low start endowment
This is essentially the same as a low-cost endowment, but premiums begin at a lower level and gradually increase over a number of years - usually between five and ten. The initial premium can be significantly lower than the full premium, but never lower than half (which is a common starting point). Premiums may, for example, increase from 50% to 100% of the final value by 20% per year for 5 years or by 10% per year for ten years. This is another product designed to make it easier to budget over the first few years of home owning, when money is likely to be tighter for many people. As with most products that work this way, you generally have to pay for it in the long run. Low start mortgage
This is like a repayment mortgage, but with a difference. In the introductory period, only interest is paid back to the lender and not any of the capital outstanding. After this period, the repayments start in earnest. The total amount of interest and repayments over the life of the year are higher than with a normal repayment mortgage, but this sacrifice can be worth it if you need to severely restrict your outgoings during the low start period. Low-cost endowment
Designed to accumulate the sum needed to pay after a given period, usually for the purpose of paying off a mortgage. However, there are no guarantees and investors may have to increase their premiums to build up enough to pay off their mortgage. Low-documentation loan
Mortgages that require only minimal verification of income and assets. Low-start low-cost endowment Similar to a low-cost endowment, the difference being that premiums are lower at the beginning of the loan and then rise in the future. Once again, there are no guarantees. Loyalty bonus
Incentive based schemes for existing mortgage holders. Such as lower interest rates and discounted services. LTV The ratio of your mortgage to the market value of your property. Expressed as a percentage. For example, if you have a mortgage of £95,000 on a property worth £100,000, the loan to value is 95%. LTV
A percentage expressing the size of your mortgage to the value of house. For example, house value=£100,000, mortgage size=£90,000. Loan-to-Value=90%. Some mortgages may only be on offer if you are borrowing less than a set proportion of the value of your house. Many lenders offer more favourable deals to customers who are contributing a sizeable deposit themselves. LVT
This is the equivalent of a court used by leaseholders to challenge their landlords if they are unhappy with the level of service, they are getting for the cost of the service charges. It never costs more than £500 no matter how many leaseholders are involved. You can no longer be served notice for refusing to pay high maintenance costs unless these have been ruled as fair by the LVT. You can even request that the LVT orders a new managing agent for the building if they are found to be incompetent or acting unscrupulously. The main difference to going through the courts is that neither side will be required to pay for the other side’s legal costs.