Mortgage Terms

S

Sale-leaseback
A technique in which a seller deeds property to a buyer for a consideration, and the buyer simultaneously leases the property back to the seller.

Sales Agreement
See Agreement of sale.

Secondary Market
A market that buys and sells mortgages after origination. Mortgages may be pooled in form of securities such as GNMA, FNMA or FHLMC, that are traded on established national markets

Second Mortgage
A mortgage that has rights that are subordinate to the rights of the first mortgage holders.

Secondary Mortgage Market
The buying and selling of existing mortgages.

Secured Loan
A loan that is backed by collateral.

Security
The property that will be pledged as collateral for a loan.

Seller-Provided Funds
(Also called "Seller Contributions"). Seller-provided funds include all transaction cost paid by the seller except the real estate agent's (or brokers) fee.

Servicer
The party who has entered into an agreement with the insured to service a loan.

Servicing
The collection of mortgage payments from borrowers and related responsibilities of a loan servicer.

Settlement Costs
See Closing Costs.

Single Premium
A premium, which provides coverage for more than a year.

Special Assessments
A special tax imposed on property, individual lots or all property in the immediate area, for road construction, sidewalks, sewers, streetlights, etc.

Special Lien
A lien that binds a specified piece of property, unlike a general lien, which is levied against all one's assets. It creates a right to retain something of value belonging to another person as compensation for labor, material, or money expended in that person's behalf. In some localities it is called "particular" lien or "specific" lien. (See Lien.)

Special Warranty Deed
A deed in which the grantor conveys title to the grantee and agrees to protect the grantee against title defects or claims asserted by the grantor and those persons whose right to assert a claim against the title arose during the period the grantor held title to the property. In a special warranty deed the grantor guarantees to the grantee that he has done nothing during the time he held title to the property which has, or which might in the future, impair the grantee's title.

Subdivision
A housing development that is created by dividing a tract of land into individual lots for sale or lease.

Subordinate Financing
Any mortgage or other lien that has a priority that is lower than that of the first mortgage.

Survey
A map or plat made by a licensed surveyor showing the results of measuring the land with its elevations, improvements, boundaries, and its relationship to surrounding tracts of land. A survey is often required by the lender to assure him that a building is actually sited on the land according to its legal description.

Sweat Equity
Contribution to the construction or rehabilitation of a property in the form of labor or services rather than cash.