the.com/lease
a polite hostage situation where you fund someone else's mortgage and call it home
means a contract granting use of property—usually land, a building, or a vehicle—for a set period in exchange for regular payments, while ownership stays with the lessor.
from From Anglo-French 'lesser,' to let or leave, which comes from Latin 'laxare,' to loosen or release (the same root behind 'lax' and 'relax'). The idea is that the owner 'lets go' of the property for a while without truly parting with it—a loosening of grip, never a release of ownership.
originFrom Latin laxare, meaning to loosen or let go
lease vs ownYou hold rights to use, never to keep
car trickLeasing rents depreciation, the steepest part of ownership
999 yearsSome UK leases run nearly a millennium
fine printThe shortest word hiding the longest obligations