REAL ESTATE DICTIONARY
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S&L |
See Savings and Loan Association |
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SALE-LEASEBACK |
A situation where the owner of a piece of property wishes to sell the property and retain occupancy by leasing it from the retail buyer. |
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SALES CONTRACT |
A contract by which retail buyer and seller agree to the terms of the sale. |
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SATISFACTION OF MORTGAGE |
An instrument for recording and acknowledging payment for an indebtedness secured by a mortgage. |
| SATISFACTION PIECE | The receipt for a mortgage that has been paid off |
| SAVINGS AND LOAN ASSOCIATION | A financial institution that makes loans. Saving and loans were originally set up to make home loans, but during the 1980s, deregulation allowed them to make commercial loans, as well |
| SCIRE FACIAS | A court command to a borrower to show up at a hearing and show cause why a foreclosure should not be authorized |
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SCREENING |
Circulation of notice within the Army of real property which is no longer required by one Army organization but may be required and useful to another. |
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SEA LEVEL |
See MEAN SEA LEVEL |
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SEAL |
An embossed impression on paper authenticating a document or signature (e.g., corporate or notary seals). The letters L. S. after the signature are Latin, locus sigilli, meaning "place of the seal." It is good practice to require a corporate seal on a contract as evidence that the contract is the act of the corporation and executed by duly authorized officers. |
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SECONDARY FINANCING |
A loan secured by a second mortgage or trust deed on real property. |
| SECONDARY MARKET | The market in which investors buy loans from primary lenders, who deal directly with borrowers to originate loans |
| SECOND DEED OF TRUST | A Deed of Trust that is in a subordinate position to another Deed of Trust securing the same parcel |
| SECOND LIEN | See Junior lien holder |
| SECOND MORTGAGE | A mortgage made by a home buyer in addition to an existing first mortgage |
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SECTION |
As used in the Government Survey System, a section of land is an area one mile square, containing 640 acres. It is 1/36th of a township. |
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SECURITY INTEREST |
An interest in personal property or fixtures, obtained to ensure payment owed as performance of an obligation. |
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SEDIMENTATION RANGES |
Upstream range lines for compiling data on erosion or sediment build-up. |
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SEISIN (SEIZIN) |
Actual possession of property by one who claims rightful ownership of a freehold interest therein. A person is seized of property when he is in rightful possession with the intention of claiming a freehold estate. |
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SEMI-PERMANENT CONSTRUCTION |
A building appropriate for a specific purpose for a limited period (more than 5 but less than 25 years), with a moderate to high level of maintenance. |
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SEPARATE PROPERTY |
Property owned by a husband or wife which is not community property; property acquired by either spouse prior to marriage or by gift or devise after marriage |
| SERVICING | The process of administering a mortgage loan including collecting payments, maintaining insurance and undertaking special measures such as workouts and foreclosures when they prove necessary |
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SERVITUDE |
A charge or burden on one estate to the benefit or advantage of another. |
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SEVERALITY OWNERSHIP |
Sole ownership. Owned by one person only. |
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SEVERANCE DAMAGES |
Payment to an owner for diminution in the value of a remainder area in a partial acquisition, caused by the acquisition (severance) or by construction of improvements. |
| SHORT PAYOFF | A workout procedure in which the lender accepts less than the full balance due on the loan as part of a deal in which the borrower cooperates with the lender to obtain a quick sale. The lender skips foreclosure, which would take time, cost money and expose the house to vandalism, further declines in market value and marketing costs for resale |
| SIMPLE ASSUMPTION | An assumption arrangement in which the seller conveys title to the property to the buyer and moves out while the buyer moves in and makes payment on the old loan. The lender does not approve the buyer’s credit and income, so the deal may be called a no approval loan. However, the seller remains liable on the old loan under such circumstances. Only loans without strong due on sale clauses are assumable without approval. This includes DVA loans made before March 1, 1988, FHA loans made before December 15, 1989, and conventional loans made before 1973 |
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SINKING FUND |
A fund in which equal monthly or annual deposits, with compound interest, accumulate to a predetermined amount at a calculated time, for the purposes of paying a debt or replacing improvements. |
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SITE |
A parcel of land, sufficiently improved to be used as a building lot or for other purposes requiring an improved site. |
| SPECIAL ASSESSMENT | An assessment made against a property to pay for a public improvement |
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SPECIAL WARRANTY DEED |
A deed in which the grantor warrants or guarantees the title only against defects arising during his ownership of the property and not against defects existing before the time of his ownership. |
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SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE |
A remedy which the court will grant, in certain cases, compelling the defendant to perform or carry out the terms of a valid, existing agreement or contract. |
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STATUTE OF FRAUDS |
State law which provides that certain contracts must be in writing to be enforceable contracts for real estate are included in this class of contract. |
| STAY | See Automatic stay |
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STRICT FORECLOSURE |
A legal premise followed by some states that the lender owns the property and may simply evict the borrower for nonpayment and gain full and complete title free of the borrower’s claims by waiting a prescribed period of time until the borrower’s right to redeem ends. The lender gains the value of the land above what is owed on the loan. |
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SUBDIVISION |
Any land which is divided or is proposed to be divided for the purpose of disposition into two or more lots, parcels, units, or interests |
| SUBJECT TO CLAUSE | A clause in a deed that transfers title from a seller to a buyer in an assumption transaction, or in other paperwork for the assumption transaction, in which the borrower refuses to accept legal liability to make payments, although the buyer expects to do so. The lender’s remedy for nonpayment is limited to foreclosure, and neither the lender nor the seller can sue the defaulting buyer for missed payments on the loan balance |
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SUBJECT TO MORTGAGE |
The taking of title to Property by a grantee, wherein he is not responsible to the holder of the promissory note for the payment of any portion of the amount due. In the event of foreclosure, the most that he can lose is his equity in the property. The original maker of the note is not released from his responsibility. |
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SUBLETTING |
A leasing by one tenant to another, who holds the right of use and occupancy subject to the original lease; the sublessee. |
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SUBORDINATE |
To make subject to, or junior to. |
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SUBORDINATION CLAUSE |
A clause in a mortgage or lease stating that rights of the holder shall be secondary or subordinate to a subsequent encumbrance. |
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SUBROGATION |
Replacing one person with another in regard to a legal right, interest, or obligation. Substitution, such as a mortgage holder's selling his rights and interest to another. |
| SUBROGATION FOR MORTGAGE INSURERS | The right of a mortgage insurance company to file a suit to recover from the borrower sums it must pay out to a lender as a result of the borrower’s default on a loan |
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SUBSURFACE RIGHTS |
Ownership rights to water, minerals, gas, oil, and similar substances lying beneath the surface of a parcel of real estate. |
| SUMMARY JUDGEMENT | A legal procedure in which one side wins a lawsuit without a trial by showing that the case involves no material fact issues, but only legal issues that can be decided by the judge. If the judge agrees, then one side wins by Summary Judgment |
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SURETY |
One who guarantees the performance of another; the guarantor. |
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SURFACE RIGHTS |
Ownership rights in a parcel of real estate that are limited to the surface and do not include air above the property (air rights) or minerals below the surface (subsurface rights). |
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SURPLUS REAL ESTATE |
Real property owned by the United States not required for the discharge of responsibilities of any Federal agencies, thus determined by the GSA Administrator to be excess. |
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SURRENDER |
The cancellation of a lease by mutual consent of lessor and lessee. |
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SURVEY |
The act by which the quantity and boundaries of a piece of land are ascertained; the paper containing a statement of the courses, distance, and quantity of land is also called a survey. |
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SUSTAINED YIELD |
The production rate of renewable resources an area of land or water can maintain at a given intensity of management. |
