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Real Estate Glossary of Terms
Looking for the definition of a real estate
term? Click on a letter of the alphabet below to go to that letter's
corresponding page of terms.
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Z SALE
AND LEASEBACK - A transaction in which, typically, an owner sells his improved
property and as part of the same transaction signs a long-term lease and
remains in possession.
SCHEMATICS - Preliminary
architectural drawings and sketches; basic layouts not containing the final
details of design.
SECOND MORTGAGE - A mortgage which
is junior or subordinate to a first mortgage; typically, an additional loan
imposed on top of the first mortgage, which is taken out when the borrower
needs more money.
SECONDARY MORTGAGE MARKET - A
market for the purchase and sale of existing mortgages, designed to provide
greater liquidity for mortgages; also called secondary money market.
SECURITY AGREEMENT - A security document which creates a lien upon chattels, including
chattels intended to be affixed to land as fixtures; known as a chattel
mortgage prior to the adoption of the Uniform Commercial Code.
SECURITY DEPOSIT - Money deposited by or for the tenant with the landlord, to be held by
the landlord for the following purposes: to remedy tenant defaults for
damage to the premises (be it accidental or intentional), for failure to pay
rent due, or for failure to return all keys at the end of the tenancy.
SEPTIC TANK - A sewage settling
tank in which part of the sewage is converted into gas and liquids before
the remaining waste is discharged by gravity into a leaching bed
underground.
SETBACK - Zoning restrictions on
the amount of land required surrounding improvements; the amount of space
required between the lot line and the building line.
SETTLEMENT - The act of adjusting
and prorating the various credits, charges and settlement costs to conclude
a real estate transaction.
SEVERALTY - Sole ownership of real
property.
SHELL
LEASE - A lease wherein a tenant
leases the unfinished shell of a building, as in a new shopping center, and
agrees to complete construction himself by installing ceilings, plumbing,
heating and air conditioning systems, and electrical wiring.
SHOPPING CENTER - A modern
classification of retail stores, characterized by off-street parking and
clusters of stores, subject to a uniform development plan, and usually with
careful analysis given to the proper merchant mix.
SHORELINE - The dividing line
between private land and public beach on beachfront property.
SIMPLE INTEREST - Interest
computed on the principal balance only.
SPECIAL ASSESSMENT - A tax or levy customarily imposed against only those specific parcels
of realty which will benefit from a proposed public improvement, as opposed
to a general tax on the entire community.
SPECIAL WARRANTY DEED - A deed in
which the grantor warrants or guarantees the title only against defects
arising during the period of his tenure and ownership of the property and
not against defects existing before the time of his ownership.
SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE - A legal action brought in a court of equity to compel a party to
carry out the terms of a contract.
SPOT
LOAN - A loan on a particular
property, usually a condominium unit, by a lender who has not previously
financed that particular condominium building.
STANDING LOAN - A commitment by
the interim or construction lender to keep the money already funded in the
project for a specified period of time after the expiration of the interim
loan, usually until permanent take-out financing is secured.
STATUTE OF FRAUDS - That law which requires certain contracts to be in writing and signed
by the party to be charged therewith in order to be legally enforceable.
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS - That law
pertaining to the period of time within which certain actions must be
brought to court.
STEP-UP LEASE - A lease with fixed
rent for an initial term and provision for pre-determined rent increases at
specified intervals and/or increases based upon periodic appraisals;
sometimes called a graduated lease.
STRAIGHT NOTE - A promissory note
evidencing a loan in which "interest only" payments are made periodically
during the term of the note, with the principal payment due in one lump sum
upon maturity.
SUBJECT TO MORTGAGE - A grantee taking title to real property "subject to mortgage" is not
personally liable to the mortgagee for payment of the mortgage note. In the
event the grantor-mortgagor defaults in paying the note, the grantee could,
however, lose property, and thus his equity, in a foreclosure sale.
SUBORDINATION AGREEMENT - An
agreement whereby a prior mortgagee agrees to subordinate or give up their
priority position to an existing or anticipated future lien.
SUMMARY POSSESSION - A legal process used by a landlord to regain possession of the leased
premises if the tenant has breached the lease or is holding over after the
termination of tenancy.
SURRENDER - A premature conveyance
of a possessory estate to a person having a future interest, as when a
lessee surrenders the leasehold interest to the owner of the reversion
interest, the lessor, before the normal expiration of the lease.
SURVEY - The process by which
boundaries are measured and land areas are determined; the on-site
measurement of lot lines, dimensions, and position of houses in a lot
including the determination of any existing encroachments or easements.
SURVIVORSHIP - The right of
survivorship is that special feature of a joint tenancy whereby all title,
right and interest of a decedent joint tenant in certain property passes to
the surviving joint tenants by operation of law, free from claims of heirs
and creditors of the decedent.
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