Word | Definition |
Sale-leaseback | A transaction in which the buyer leases back the property to the seller for a specified period of time.
|
Sales contract | A contract signed by the buyer and seller that details the terms of a home purchase.
|
Sanitary sewer | The drain line in a house that carries away food and human wastewater to a municipal sewer system or a septic system.
|
Second mortgage | Another loan placed upon a piece of property.
|
Secondary mortgage market | A market of packaged home loans that are resold as securities to investors. Major players are Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
|
Secured loan | Any loan backed by collateral.
|
Security | Apiece of property designated as collateral.
|
Seller broker | A seller broker represents the interest of the seller.
|
Seller carry-back | An agreement in which the seller provides financing for a home purchase.
|
Seller Financing | The seller is the lender rather than the bank or savings and loan.
|
Seller take-back | An agreement in which the seller provides financing for a home purchase.
|
Seller's market | A hot real estate market in which sellers have the advantage and multiple offers are common.
|
Semi-custom home | The buyer of a semi-custom home is free to make some design changes but not to the home's structural plan.
|
Servicer | A firm that collects mortgage payments and manages borrowers' escrow accounts.
|
Setback | The minimum distance a house or buildings must be from the lot line.
|
Settlement statement | A document that details who has paid what to whom.
|
Shared-appreciation mortgage | A loan that allows a lender or other party to share in the borrower's profits when the home is sold.
|
Shared-equity transaction | A transaction in which two buyers purchase a property, one as a resident co-owner and the other as an investor co-owner.
|
Single | A person who has never been married.
|
Special assessment | When a homeowners' association needs or wants extra funds, it levies a special assessment upon the owners.
|
Special deposit account | Rehabilitation mortgages require a special deposit account from which restoration and remodeling funds included in the loan are disbursed to the appropriate contractors as work is completed.
|
Special Recordings | “Special” recordings are those that are not recorded at the county recorder’s title window at the beginning of each day with the normal volume of transactions. If the documents are recorded later in the day, it is called a “Special” recording. In some counties “Special” recordings are not allowed; the recording is at the discretion of the county recorder’s office.
|
Specifications | The written requirements for materials, equipment, construction systems and standards.
|
Speculation home | A home that has been built without a buyer.
|
Split-level style | A home that is a ranch-style house stacked to fit on a smaller lot and perhaps to accommodate a garage.
|
Square footage | The number of square feet of livable space in a home or building.
|
Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area | Areas designated by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget that contain a city of 50,000 or more.
|
Standard payment calculation | A calculation that is used to determine the monthly payment necessary to repay the balance of a home loan in equal
|
Starter home | Homes that fall within the lower price range of a typical first-time buyer.
|
Statement of Information | A brief state- ment of facts relied on by title insurers to assist in the proper identification of persons.
|
Statute of Frauds | A law requiring certain agreements to be in writing in order to be enforceable, including the sale of real property.
|
Step-rate mortgage | A loan that allows a gradual increase in the interest rate during the first few years of the loan.
|
Straight Note | A promissory note calling for payment of principal in one sum rather than in installments.
|
Straight purchase | A transaction in which the buyer gives a new-home builder a deposit to begin building and the balance when the sale of the house closes.
|
Subagent | When an agent brings a buyer to a property, they in effect act as a subagent to the listing agent.
|
Subcontractor | Specialty construction companies hired by the general contractor to perform certain tasks.
|
Subdivision | The division of a tract of land into separate parcels.
|
Subject to | (1) When a buyer assumes the obligations of a loan on a property informally he is accepting the property “Subject to” the loan of record. The escrow officer will not request the lender to process a formal assumption with credit checks and assumption documentation. (2) The recognition of an existing lien or encum- brance without assuming personal liability.
|
Subordinate loan | A second or third mortgage.
|
Subordination agreement | An agreement by which a lien is made inferior to an otherwise junior lien.
|
Supersede | Documents that have been amended, or changed, supersede the old agreement. Any escrow instructions that are fully re-drawn will recite at the top that the instructions supersede all prior instructions.
|
Survey | A precise measurement of a piece of property by a licensed surveyor.
|
Sweat equity | The non-cash value put into a piece of property by the owner, such as do-it-yourself home improvements.
|
Swing Loan | A short term loan obtained on a seller’s equity.
|
