Glossary - L

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Landlord: The lessor or the owner of leased real property.

Late charge: The penalty a borrower or tenant must pay when a payment is made a stated number of days after the due date.

Law: The body of rules by which society governs itself.

Lease: A written agreement between the property owner and a tenant that stipulates 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 rather has a recorded long-term lease on it.

Legal description: A property description, recognized by law, that is sufficient to locate and identify the property without oral testimony.

Lessee: The person to whom property is rented or leased; called a tenant in most residential leases.

Lessor: The person who rents or leases property to another. In residential leasing, he/she is often referred to as a landlord.

Letter of compliance: A letter issued by the cities of Morgantown and Westover that the rental property has been inspected and meets the doctrine of implied warranty of habitability. Properties inspected every three years by Code Enforcement Officials.

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.

Lien: A legal claim against a property that must be paid off when the property is sold.

Line of credit: An agreement by a commercial bank or other financial institution to extend credit to a certain amount for a certain time to a specified borrower.

Liquid asset: A cash asset or an asset that is easily converted into cash.

Loan: A sum of borrowed money (principal) that is generally repaid with interest.

Loan origination: The process by which a mortgage lender brings into existence a mortgage secured by real property.

Loan-to-value (LTV) percentage: The relationship between the principal balance of the mortgage and the appraised value (or sales price if it is lower) of the property. For example, a $100,000 home with an $80,000 mortgage has a LTV percentage of 80 percent.