REAL ESTATE 101

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

Leverage
Use of a small amount of cash--a 5 percent or 10 percent down payment--to buy a piece of property

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.

Lien
A legal claim against a property that must be paid off when the property is sold. A mortgage or first trust deed is considered a lien.

Listing
Piece of property placed on the market by a listing agent

Loan -to-value ratio
Technical measure used by lenders to assess the relationship of the loan amount to the value of the property

Lock or Lock-In
A lender's guarantee of an interest rate for a set period of time. The time period is usually that between loan application approval and loan closing. The lock-in protects you against rate increases during that time.