Land Registry Fee This is a fee charged by the Land Registry to record a change in the registered title of Registered Land. The change will normally be notified to the Land Registry by the solicitor acting in the house purchase (or remortgage) and as such the Land Registry fee will normally be payable to the solicitor and accounted for in his final account.

Leasehold (NOT SCOTLAND)
This is the tenure that applies to most flats and maisonettes in the UK (excluding Scotland). As opposed to freehold property the rights to the property are owned only for a fixed period of time, with the freehold being held by a third party. The lease outlines the responsibilities of the various lessees in a block and determines the arrangements to be adopted for such things as upkeep of the common areas and insurance of the property. Because these cross covenants are required to avoid disagreements and confusion between the lessees only leasehold flats and maisonettes are mortgageable. This should not be confused with the situation where the freehold is owned by all the lessees in a block and this will commonly be advertised as 'share of freehold'. Providing individual leases exist for each lessee then this would normally be acceptable to mortgage lenders. If in any doubt always take legal advice before proceeding.

Legal Completion
This refers to the time at which the legal ownership of the property changes hands. This date will usually be agreed upon at exchange of contracts. This will also be the date at which the mortgage becomes effective (sometimes the mortgage completion date may be a couple of days before this to ensure that the solicitor has funds on the due day).

Libor
London Inter Bank Offered Rate, the rate of interest offered on deposits with commercial banks operating in the London market.

LIBOR Linked Rate
LIBOR is the London Inter Bank Offered Rate and is the rate at which banks lend money to each other. LIBOR changes daily and a LIBOR linked mortgage will normally be adjusted every three months. LIBOR linked rates are usually quoted as X% above LIBOR.

Loan to Value (LTV)
The loan to value is expressed as a percentage and represents the relationship between the size of the mortgage and the value of the property. For example a mortgage of £30,000 on a property valued at £40,000 would be shown as 75% LTV. This is an important figure to look at when considering the various mortgage options as the higher the LTV required the fewer the options.

Loan Consolidation
Sometimes referred to as debt consolidation, this simply represents the policy of borrowing on mortgage in order to repay other loans or debts. This can be achieved as part of a remortgage or by arranging a further advance from the existing lender.

Loan Stock
Loan stock is a security issued by a company in respect of a loan made by investors. Loan stock may be secured but often, unlike a debenture, it is not. Loan stock holders are in the same place in the pecking order as other unsecured creditors if a company goes bust. Loan stocks usually bear a fixed rate of interest.

Lower rate of Tax
Currently set at 10% payable on the first £1500 of taxable income i.e. that is income earned above the personal allowance.