Line of Credit

An agreement by a commercial bank or other financial institution to extend credit up 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 Application

The loan application is a detailed form designed to provide information from you that your lender will need. Lenders use the application to evaluate whether or not they can give you a loan, and if so, the amount of money they can lend you. The "four Cs" of credit come into play when filling out an application -- they are capacity, credit history, capital and collateral.

The loan application form requests information such as:

-- bank account balances and account numbers, as well as bank branch address;
-- information about where you work or what sources of income you have;
-- outstanding debts (including loans and credit cards with names and addresses of creditors).

Information needed for the loan application may vary from lender to lender, so prior to filling out the application it's important to discuss with your lender what items your lender will need.

If your an approved lender uses Desktop Underwriter, an automated underwriting system, they will not have to ask you for as much information regarding your employment, credit, or residence history. As a result, you won't need to provide as much documentation to back-up the information. Ask your lender if the lender uses this time-saving system.

Loan Limit

We operate exclusively in the secondary mortgage market, where we help to ensure that money for mortgages is available to home buyers in every state across the country. In keeping with the mission to help more low-, moderate-, and middle-income people buy homes, our loan limits are adjusted each year, in response to changes in housing affordability nationwide.

The current loan limit for a single-family home is $322,700.* The maximum amount for any mortgage in Alaska, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands is 50 percent higher than our loan limits in the rest of the country.

Generally, any mortgage above this limit is considered a "jumbo loan," and will carry a higher interest rate. The amount of money you would save buying a home with a 30-year mortgage financed by Fannie Mae can range from several thousand dollars to as much as $24,600 over the life of a 30-year mortgage.
 

Loan Origination

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

Loan Origination Fee

The loan origination fee covers the administrative costs of processing the loan. It is often expressed in points. One point is 1 percent of the mortgage amount.

For example, a $100,000 mortgage with a loan origination fee of 1 point would mean you pay $1,000.

Loan Terms and Conditions

With a reverse mortgage, a lender can call in your loan under certain conditions. But, if you occupy the property as your primary residence, are not absent from the property for 12 consecutive months.

You may instruct the lender to pay the taxes and insurance on your behalf from your reverse mortgage funds. The lender will set aside funds from your reverse mortgage to pay for future taxes and insurance, as long as funds are available.

Furthermore, as long as you comply with the terms noted above, you can't be forced to sell your home to pay off the reverse mortgage, even if the loan balance grows to exceed the value of your 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.

Lock-in

A written agreement in which the lender guarantees a specified interest rate if a mortgage goes to closing within a set period of time. The lock-in also usually specifies the number of points to be paid at closing.

Lock-in Period

The time period during which the lender has guaranteed an interest rate to a borrower