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.
- origin
- From Latin laxare, meaning to loosen or let go
- lease vs own
- You hold rights to use, never to keep
- car trick
- Leasing rents depreciation, the steepest part of ownership
- 999 years
- Some UK leases run nearly a millennium
- fine print
- The shortest word hiding the longest obligations
led zeppelin iv — album released in 1971 with 'stairway to heaven', disputed ownership claims between band members
apple v samsung — patent disputes 2011-2018 over smartphone technology licensing and manufacturing rights