Glossary K – L

LANDED PROPERTY
Residential units with individual ground contact. This refers to detached houses, semi-detached houses, terrace houses, townhouses, strata bungalows and cluster housing.

LDAU APROVAL
Foreigners who want to purchase landed properties in Singapore must first seek the approval of LDAU (Lands Dealing (Approval) Unit – Singapore Land Authorities).

LEASE HOLD ESTATE
Property tenure where one party buys the right to occupy land or a building for a given length of time (99 year, 999 year). Until the end of the lease period the leaseholder has the right to remain in occupation. Leasehold properties can be bought and sold on the open market.

LETTER OF OFFER
Commonly referred to as “LO”, it is a formal written offer made by a financial institution to the potential borrower detailing the terms and conditions of the loan offered.

LIEN
A claim or charge against property. Property is said to be encumbered by a lien and the lien must be removed to clear title.

LIFE CAP
With regard to an adjustable rate mortgage, a ceiling the note rate cannot exceed over the life of the loan.

LIFE ESTATE
The right to use, occupy and own for the life of an individual.
compare FEE SIMPLE

LIS PENDENS
Recorded document showing a pending litigation filed in the court. These show up on the preliminary title report and must be dealt with when transferring ownership or refinancing.

LOAN-TO-VALUE Percentage (LTV)
The relationship between the unpaid principal balance of the mortgage and the appraised value (or sales price if it is lower) of the property.

LOAN-TO-VALUE RATIO (LVR)
Refers to the maximum amount lenders will approve against the value of any property taken as security for your home loan. For example if you wish to purchase a property worth $100,000 the lender may approve a loan for 80% of the property value. It will then be up to you to provide the remaining 20% plus costs (mortgage registration and stamp duty etc).

LOAN APPLICATION
The loan application is the source of information on which the lender bases a decision to make the loan; defines the term of the loan, gives the name(s) of the borrower(s), place of employment, salary, bank accounts and credit references, and describes the real estate that is to be mortgaged. It also stipulates the amount of the loan being applied for and the repayment terms.
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