LAND - The surface of the earth extending down to the center and upward to the sky, including all natural things thereon such as trees, crops, or water; plus the minerals below the surface and the air rights above.
LAND CONTRACT - Another name for an installment purchase contract, by which the buyer obtains equitable title (the right to use the property) while the seller retains legal title (recorded title)as security for payment of the balance of the purchase price.
LAND DESCRIPTION - A description of a particular piece of real property.
LAND LEASEBACK - A creative financing device often used with raw land which a developer wants to improve, in which the developer sells the land to an investor who leases the land back to the developer under a long-term net lease and subordinates his fee ownership to the lender providing development financing.
LAND, TENEMENTS AND HEREDITAMENTS - A feudal phrase used to describe all types of immovable realty including the land, buildings and all appurtenant rights thereto.
LAND TRUST - An association organized by common owners of real property, which holds title to the real property in the name of one or more trustees for the benefit of the owners, whose beneficial interests may be represented by trust certificates.
LANDLOCKED - Real property having no access to a public road or way.
LANDLORD - The lessor or the owner of leased premises. The landlord retains a reversion interest in the property so that when the lease ends the property will revert to the landlord.
LANDMARK - A stake, stream, cliff, monument or other object or feature which is used to fix or define land boundaries; also a prominent feature of a landscape or property that is the symbol for the place.
LANDSCAPING - Shrubs, bushes, trees and the like, on the grounds surrounding a structure.
LATERAL AND SUBJACENT SUPPORT - The support received by a parcel of real property from the land adjoining it is called lateral support. Subjacent support is that support which the surface of the earth receives from its underlying strata.
LAW DAY - The date an obligation becomes due; sometimes refers to the closing date.
LEASE - A lease is both a contract between lessor (landlord)and lessee (tenant) and a conveyance or demise of the premises by the lessor to the lessee. A lease is a contract in that item bodies the agreement between the parties.
LEASEHOLD - A less-than-freehold estate which a tenant possesses in real property.
LEGAL DESCRIPTION - A description which is complete enough that an independent surveyor could locate and identify a specific piece of real property.
LEGAL NOTICE - That notice which is either implied or required by law. Constructive notice under the recording laws is also referred to as legal notice.
LEGAL RATE OF INTEREST - The maximum interest rate permitted bylaw, with anything above that rate being usury.
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, the lessor is often referred to as a landlord.
LESS-THAN-FREEHOLD ESTATE - An estate held by one who rents or leases property. This classification includes an estate for years, periodic tenancy, estate at will, and estate at sufferance.
LETTER OF CREDIT - An agreement or commitment by a bank("issuer") made at the request of a customer ("account party")that the bank will honor drafts or other demands of payment from third parties ("beneficiaries") upon compliance with the conditions specified in the letter of credit.
LETTER OF INTENT - An expression of intent to invest, develop or purchase without creating any firm legal obligation to do so.
LEVEL PAYMENT MORTGAGE - A mortgage which is scheduled to be repaid in equal periodic payments which include both principal and interest.