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Safe rate – The rate of interest paid on government bonds, utility bonds or bank savings which holds mimimal chance of loss.

Sale and leaseback – A transaction method used to free up cash whereby an investor becomes the actual owner of a property by purchasing it from the original owner-occupant who subsequently continues to occupy and use the property under a long-term leaseback with the new owner. The buyer gets a fixed return on his or her investment plus gets a known tenant and becomes the lessor.

Sale-leaseback-buyback – A real estate transaction in which the lessee has the option to buy back his or her original property after a specified period of time.

Sales and use tax – A tax on the sale or use of certain tangible or touchable personal property.

Sales comparison approach – One of the three appraisal methods where an estimate of value is obtained by comparing the property being appraised with actual recently-sold comparable properties. Previously known as the Market data approach and the Market comparison approach. See Income approach and Cost approach.

Sales contract – A contract by which a buyer and a seller agree to the terms to the sale of real property.

Sales expenses – An agent’s commissions, advertising costs and costs incurred in the sale are examples of common expenses in the brokerage business.

Sales expenses – The costs incurred in preparing a property for sale.

Sales kit – A file of information concerning the properties a broker has for sale.

Sales tax –A percentage of the sales price that is added to the cost of a retail product that is collected by a retailer and forwarded to the state.

Salesperson – A person who holds a salesperson license and is employed by a real estate broker.

Salvage value – In computing depreciation for tax purposes, the reasonably anticipated fair market value of the property at the end of its useful life after being fully depreciated which must be considered with all methods of depreciation except for the declining balance method.

Sandwich lease – A leasehold interest that exists when subleasing a property that is between the primary lease and the operating lease when the holder of a sublease in turn sublets to another, his or her position is that of being sandwiched between the original lessee and the second sub-lessee.

Sash – A wood or metal window frame containing one or more panes of glass.

Satisfaction – An act of recording a document that acknowledges the full repayment of the debt and which discharges the lien of a mortgage or trust deed. Also know as Satisfaction of a mortgage.

Satisfaction piece – The document that is recorded in a satisfaction. See Satisfaction.

Savings and Loan Association, S&L – A state or federally chartered thrift institution that specializes in making residential mortgages.

Savings Association Insurance Fund – A fund that insures deposits in savings and loans that is managed by the FDIC which is the successor to the former FSLIC. See Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation.

Savings bank – A type of bank which is a mutual institution which is usually governed by a self-perpetuating board of trustees which receives savings deposits and invests them in mortgages and other securities allowed by law.

Scarcity – The amount of limitation of real estate facilities in relation to their demand.

Scribing – The fitting of woodwork to an irregular surface.

Seal – A particular impression or sign in a most formal manner made to confirm the execution of an instrument.

Search –A careful exploration and examination of the public records done in title industry in an effort to find all recorded instruments relating to the particular chain of title of a property.

Seasonal fluctuation – A variation in economic activity that occurs at about the same time each year.

Seasoned loan – A mortgage in which the periodic payments have been made for a long period of time and which shows that the borrower’s payment pattern is well established.

Second mortgage – 1. A mortgage loan made to secure a loan to make home improvements or some other related purpose. 2. A mortgage loan given by a buyer to generate enough capital to make the down payment required under the first mortgage loan.

Secondary financing – A mortgage or trust deed that is securing a loan that is in addition to the first mortgage on the property which makes it a second mortgage and where others could be added which would make them a third, fourth, fifth or sixth mortgage or trust deed, but they are still referred to as a second mortgage.

Secondary mortgage market – A market for the purchase and sale of existing mortgages that originated in the primary mortgage market which is designed to provide greater liquidity for mortgages. Also called the Secondary money market.

Secret interest – An interest in property that is hidden or concealed from third-party knowledge.

Section – A 1-mile square in a township.

Section – A one mile square established by the government survey system which contains 640 acres and is a one thirty-sixth part of a township.

Section 1031 exchange – Same as Tax-free exchange and Tax-deferred exchange. See 1031 Exchange.

Section 8 housing – A federal HUD-sponsored program for leasing housing to lower-income families.

Sector – A wedge-shaped area pointing to the center of the urban area which has a recognized pattern of urban growth and development.

Sector hypothesis – An economic theory stating that sectors of land use arise whereby the highest-priced homes are in the most attractive locations, medium-priced homes follow traffic arteries and lower-priced homes are near places of employment.

Sectory theory – A theory of city growth that considers the city as a circle with wedge-shaped sectors pointing into the center of the urban area.

Secured – A specific property that has a lien on it which is available to satisfy the debt if the borrower does not pay.

Secured party – The party such as a pledgee, a conditional seller or a mortgagee holding an interest in specific property serving as security for a debt. See Uniform Commercial Code.

Security – Anything pledged of value to make certain that an obligation or the payment of a debt is fulfilled.

Security agreement – A contract between a secured party creditor and a debtor that creates a security interest in the property of the debtor. See Uniform Commercial Code.

Security deposits – The funds given as collateral by a tenant so that if necessary at the termination of the lease the leased property can be restored to its original condition.

Security interest – A Uniform Commercial Code term which replaces such terms as chattel mortgage, pledge, trust receipt, chattel trust, equipment trust, conditional sale, inventory lien, etc. that is used to designate the interest of a creditor in the property of a debtor in all types of credit transactions

Seed money – The money needed to acquire or control a site, to obtain zoning, to do a feasibility study, etc. that is needed to begin a project

Seisin – Also spelled seizin which is the possession of real estate by a party who claims to or is entitled to hold a fee simple, life estate or other marketable interest.

Self-amortizing mortgage – A loan which is also know as an Interest only loan that will eliminate itself by regular principal and interest payments.. See Balloon mortgage.

Self-liquidating loan – A mortgage which will be fully paid off at the end of its term by means of constant periodic payments.

Self-regulating – A system of controls over the conduct of a group where all of the members voluntarily agree to abide by such rules such as with the Code of Ethics adopted by NAR.

Seller financing – A financing arrangement whereby the owner acts as the lender for the buyer until he or she can qualify and obtain financing from an instutional lender.

Seller’s market – A market in which potential sellers can sell at prices higher than those prevailing in an immediately preceding period which is a characterized by very few properties available and a large number of users and potential users seeking them at existing prices.

Seller’s market – The economic market condition that exists when a seller is in a more commanding position as to price and terms because of a limited number of properties being available and the demand from users and potential users exceeds the supply.

Seller’s permit – A document given by the state which allows a retailer to buy products at wholesale prices for resale without the need to pay sales tax and where the retailer collects the appropriate sales tax from customers and pays it to the state.

Selling agent – A licensee who actually gets a buyer into contract for a property which should not be confused with the seller’s agent who is normally the listing agent.

Senior mortgage – Any mortgage having a claim that is before any other mortgage.

Separate property – The property exclusive owned by one spouse in his or her own right outside of the community interest which includes property acquired by the spouse before marriage, by gift or inheritance, from rents and profits on separate property or with the proceeds from other separate property.

Septic tank – An underground receptacle in which sewage from a house is reduced to liquid by bacterial action so it can drain off.

Service property – A property devoted to or available for the utilization of a special purpose but which has no independent marketability in the generally recognized sense of the term such as a church property, a public museum or a school.

Servicing loans – The supervising and administering a loan after it has been made which involves things such as collecting the payments, keeping accounting records, computing the principal and interest, delinquent loan follow-up, foreclosing defaulted loans and loan analysis.

Servient tenement – The property that is subject to or burdened by an easement that benefits another property which is called the dominant tenement.

Setback – The distance from curb or other established line on which nothing may be erected.

Setback ordinance – A law that requires improvements not be built on property within a specified distance from the property line, street or curb.

Set-off – A counterclaim or cross-demand charged by a defendant against the claim of a plaintiff in an action seeking money damages.

Settlement – The process of closing a real estate sale which has been negotiated by a real estate broker where the broker accounts to his or her principal for the earnest money deposit and deducts commission and advances by use of a form of settlement statement. See Closing.

Severalty – The ownership of real property by one party or person.

Severalty ownership –See Sole ownership.

Severance – The literal act of cutting or removing something from the land that is attached such as removing shrubs from a property or the taking of a part of a parcel of land for another use.

Severance damages – The loss in value caused by cutting or removing something from the land such as the damage resulting from the taking of a fraction of a whole property that lowers its utility and the remaining value in the land due to the fractional taking.

Shakes – The hand-split shingles which are usually rough surfaced.

Sharecropping – An agricultural lease agreement between a landowner and a tenant farmer to split the crop or the profits from its sale which results in literally sharing the crop.

Shared Appreciation Mortgage, SAM – A form of mortgage having a fixed interest rate for the loan term that started below the market rate and also calls for contingent interest to be paid to the lender at a certain percentage of the appreciation in value of the property against which the loan is secured upon the transfer or sale of the property or the repayment of the loan.

Sheathing – The structural covering usually consisting of boards, plywood or wallboards, placed over exterior studding or rafters of a house.

Shed roof – A single-pitch roof that slopes from front to back or back to front.

Sheriff’s deed – A deed executed by a sheriff that transfers title to a property resulting from a court-ordered sale to satisfy a judgment.

Sheriff’s sale – A sale of property to satisfy a judgment pursuant to a court-ordered sale conducted by a sheriff by virtue of his or her authority as an officer.

Sherman Antitrust Act – A 1890 law named for Senator John Sherman which is based on the constitutional power of Congress to regulate interstate commerce which prohibits trusts and which declared every contract, combination in the form of trust or otherwise or conspiracy in the restraint of interstate and foreign trade to be illegal.

Shopping center – A collectivity of retail stores that include types such as: arcade shopping centers, community shopping centers, factory outlet centers, mall-type shopping centers, off-price shopping centers, regional shopping centers, strip-type shopping centers, super regional shopping centers.

Shopping center – A generic term for a planned area for shopping that is usually a collection of stores with a common parking area with one or more large department, food or discount stores.

Short rate – A higher periodic rate that is charged for a shorter term than that originally contracted for when an insured cancels a policy.

Short-term capital gain – A gain on the sale of property that has been owned for less than one year in which any gain is fully taxed and any loss is fully deductible.

Sill – 1. The board or metal forming the bottom side of an opening, such as a door sill, window sill, etc. 2. The lowest part of the frame of a house resting on the foundation and supporting the upright members of the frame.

Simple interest – The interest only computed on the principal amount of a loan. See Compound interest.

Simulate – A controlled environment used to test the effects of a planned decision.

Single agency – A situation in which a licensee/agent represents either the buyer or the seller in a real estate transaction, but never both.

Single-family home – A dwelling designed for occupancy by one household only.

Sinking fund – A fund set aside from the income of a property along with its accrued interest that will be enough to replace components of an improvement as they wear out. See Reserve fund.

SIR – See Society of Industrial Realtors.

Site – A parcel of land that has been developed to a point that it is suitable for improvement.

Site-built home – See Manufactured homes. Contrast with Factory-built homes.

Sitting – The placement and orientation of a house in reference to its lot.

Situs – Those aspects of location which create the market value of a parcel of real estate.

Sky lease – A long-term lease on the space above a parcel of real estate on which the upper stories of a building get erected by the tenant. See Air rights.

Slander of title – The false and malicious oral or written statements disparaging an owner’s property title and which can result in actual financial damage to the owner.

Slum area – A heavily populated area marked by blight, filthiness or pitiful living conditions.

Slum clearance – The removal of blighted improvements by demolition.

Social class – A group of people of common social and economic characteristics.

Social obsolescence – A loss in value of property due to incurable factors outside the property meaing the same as economic obsolescence. See Economic obsolescence.

Social overhead capital – The investments by the government for public projects such as bridges, roads, schools and parks.

Society of Industrial REALTORS®, SIR – A group that provides educational opportunities to REALTORS® working with industrial property transactions and which confers the SIR designation.

Society of Real Estate Appraisers, SREA – A trade association of residential real estate appraisers that awards the SRA, SREA and SRPA designations.

Soft costs – See Indirect costs.

Soft money – 1. A loan held by someone in which no money´is touched such as in seller financing where the owner/seller holds paper for the buyer. 2. The costs in a development or an investment that do not physically go into construction such as interest during construction, architect’s fees, legal fees, etc. which is also tax-deductible. 3. A term which has entered into the political process. See Hard money.

Soil pipe – The pipe which conveys waste from the house to the main sewer line.

Soil stack – The vertical pipe ending in a vent in the roof which allows foul vapors from the plumbing system to escape.

Sole or sole plate – A piece that is usually a 2 x 4 on which wall and partition studs rest.

Sole ownership – A property owned by only one party or person. Also known as Severalty ownership.

Southern Colonial – An architectural design that is usually characterized by the use of two-story columns forming a porch across the long facade or at the side of the house that combines both Georgian and New England Colonial features.

Sovereign consumer – The theory that the consumer is the decision maker who determines what goods and services are to be provided within the society.

Span – A measure of the distance between structural supports such as walls, columns, piers, beams, girders and trusses.

Special agent – A licensee in real estate who has been authorized by a principal to perform a single act or transaction such as to attempt to find a ready, willing, and able buyer for a specific property.

Special assessment – 1. A charge in a common interest subdivision that is in addition to the regular association assessments levied against all owners in the development for unanticipated repairs or maintenance on the common area or capital improvement of the common area. 2. A legal charge against real estate by a public authority to pay cost of public improvements such as street lights, sidewalks or street improvements.

Special power of attorney – A written instrument whereby a principal confers upon an agent only limited authority to perform certain prescribed acts on his or her behalf.

Special warranty deed – A deed in which the grantor warrants or guarantees the title only against defects arising during the grantor’s ownership of the property and not against any defects existing before the grantor’s ownership.

Specific lien – A lien affecting or attaching only to a certain, specific parcel of land or piece of property.

Specific performance – A court action taken to compel one party of an agreement to complete his or her promise(s) such as to transfer the title to land or as an alternative to rescission or damages.

Specification – A particular or detailed statement of the various elements in building construction that will be required and which defines the end product to which it is to conform.

Specimen tree – A tree of special interest because of its shape or species, placed in a position of prominence in the yard and often a silver spruce, weeping birch, magnolia or other unique ornamental tree.

Sphere of influence – A party who by nature of his or her relationships is in a position to sway the decision making of others.

Split rate interest – An interest rate paid on a loan where the rate set for the buildings differs from the rate set for the land.

Spot zoning – An allowance of a nonconforming use in an area zoned for a another specific purpose.

Spouse – A person’s husband or wife.

Square – 1. A rectangle in which all sides are equal. 2. The process of multiplying one number by itself.

Square root – The square root of a number is the inverse operation of squaring that number which is the number or quantity produced by multiplying a given number by itself.

Square-foot method – A means of estimating construction, reproduction or replacement costs of a building by multiplying the square-foot floor area by the appropriate square-foot construction cost figure.

Squatter – A person(s) who settle upon unoccupied land without any legal claim or authority. See Adverse possession.

Squatter’s rights – The rights to occupy land resulting from a long and undistributed use but with no legal title or arrangement.

Stability of income – The constant annual net income reasonably anticipated over the entire economic life of the property.

Stagflation – An economic condition in which there is no economic growth and stagnation or rapid or large price increases resulting in inflation.

Stakeholder – 1. A party who has a significant interest in the outcome of a decision involving land or real property. 2. A party holding paper in a loan transaction. 3. A party who may be affected by a decision. 4. The citizens used as justification for government regulations affecting private property rights.

Standard depth – The most typical or common lot depth in a neighborhood.

Standard metropolitan statistical area – A Census Bureau term identifying a county or a group of contiguous counties having a city with a population of 50,000 or more.

Standard subdivision – A subdivision where subdividers sell constructed urban homes in which there are no common areas and no lien rights rather than land on which to build homes.

Standby agreement – A protection that a builder frequently gets from a mortgage banker under which the banker agrees to make mortgage loans available at an agreed price for many months into the future and frequently, the mortgage broker protects self by securing a protective standby from a long-term investor for the same period of time by paying a fee for this privilege.

Standby commitment – An agreement made by a lender to have funds available at a future date upon specified terms.

Standby fee – A fee that a builder deposits with a mortgage banker to obtain a standby agreement.

Standing loan – A mortgage that provides for interest only payments and where the entire principal falls due in one payment at the maturity of the loan. See Straight loan.

Starter – A copy of the last policy or report issued by a title insurer which described the title to land upon which a new search is to be made which in some states, this is called a back title letter or back title certificate.

State association – A collection of local Realtor associations that deals with matters that affect the real estate businesses of its members within their own state.

Statement of consideration – A statement in a deed or other sales contract that confirms the fact that the grantee actually gave something of value in exchange for the property.

Status – A condition of having legal standing.

Statute – A law created and passed by the legislative branch of a government.

Statute of frauds – A state law based on an old English statute that requires certain contracts affecting title to or possession of real estate such as contracts for the sale of real property and contracts not to be performed within one year to be in writing and signed before they can be brought before a court of law to be enforced.

Statute of limitations – The commonly-used identifying term for various statutes which require that a legal action be begun within a prescribed time after acquiring the right to seek legal relief.

Statutory – A term pointing to the laws created by the enactment of legislation as opposed to law created by court decisions.

Statutory dedication – The giving of private land for public use under a procedure established by statute.

Statutory lien – A lien like a real estate tax lien that is granted to a party by statute or by operation of law.

Statutory redemption period – The time period granted to a delinquent borrower to pay up and cure his loan deficiencies before his property can be permanently taken away.

Statutory right of redemption – The legal right under state law granted for a limited period of time for a mortgagor to redeem or buy back the title to his or her real property after a foreclosure sale has taken place by paying the full amount of the debt plus any costs involved to the lender.

Statutory warranty deed – A short-term warranty deed outlined by state statutes which in order to protect the buyer infers a warranty that the conveyor is the undisputed owner and has the right to convey the property and if necessary will defend the title against all claims and if the conveyor fails to do so the new owner has the right to defend the claim and sue the former owner. See Warranty deed.

Steering – The illegal practice of channeling home seekers to particular areas, either to maintain the homogeneity of an area or to change the character of an area which limits their home choices.

Step-up lease – A lease that increases the rental rate at specific times during the lease term. Also know as a Graduated lease.

Stigmatized property – A classification, which varies significantly from state to state, of specific property holding a negative reputation as a result of an event that occurred on or near it such as murder, death, illness, personal tragedy or gang-related activity and for which most states have very strict rules regarding what can and cannot be disclosed about stigmatized property.

Stock cooperative – A multi-unit property owned by a corporation in which individual ownership is acquired through purchase of stock and exclusive right of occupancy to a portion of the property is acquired through a proprietary lease.

Stock-in-trade – The merchandise held by a business that is for sale to the public.

Straight line equation – An equation with three quantities which have a fixed mathematical relationship so that if given any two of them, the third can easily be found of which, the simplest example is 2 times 3 equals 6.

Straight loan – A non-amortizing loan in which a borrower repays the principal in a lump sum at maturity while interest can be paid fully at maturity or in installments.

Straight mortgage – See Straight loan.

Straight note – See Straight loan.

Straight term mortgage – See Straight loan.

Straight-line capital recapture – The dollar amount of investment recovery that takes place annually that remains constant throughout the life of the investment.

Straight-line depreciation – A method in accounting of decreasing the value of an asset for tax purposes by which the cost of improvements are reduced at a constant rate and in equal amounts throughout the estimated useful life of the improvement which is usually set by the government. See Depreciation.

Street Improvement Bonds – An interest-bearing bonds usually issued by a city or county to secure the payment of assessments levied against land to pay for street improvements for which the owner may pay off the particular assessment against the property or may allow the assessment to go to bond and pay installments of principal and interest over a period of years usually at the city or county treasurer’s office which makes payments to the holder of a bond.

Strict foreclosure – The action taken by a court upon determining that sufficient time has elapsed and the mortgagor has not paid that which is past due by which it terminates all real property rights and interests of the mortgagor and which orders a forced sale of the property to pay the mortgage creditors.

Strict liability – A party being held responsible to an injured party without any excuses.

Stringer – 1. The support in stairs on which the stair treads rest. 2. A timber or other support for cross-members.

Studs – The vertical supporting timbers in walls and partitions.

Subagency – The relationship under which a person becomes an agent and the powers of an agent have been conferred not directly by the principal but by his or her agent and who has been as authorized to do so by the principal and which was a once common relationship under a Multiple Listing Service, MLS and which is now rarely practiced due to dual agency issues. See Dual agency.

Subagent – A person upon whom the powers of an agent have been conferred not directly by the principal but by his or her agent and who has been as authorized to do so by the principal.

Subcontractor – A contractor employed by a general contractor who usually is involved with only one particular part of the real property such as masonry, carpentry plumbing or electrical.

Subdivider – A party who buys undeveloped land and divides it into smaller usable lots and sells the lots to potential builders or developers.

Subdividing – The division of a large parcel of land into smaller parcels.

Subdivision – An area of land regulated by state law that is divided into parcels, lots, blocks or building sites and where public facilities such as streets, alleys, parks, and easements for public utilities are laid out and which is suitable for building with the eventual goal of sale, lease or financing.

Subdivision and development ordinances – The municipal ordinances that establish subdivision and development requirements.

Subdivision plat – See Plat map.

Subjacent support – The support that the surface of the earth receives from the material of the earth that is underneath it. See Laterial support.

Subject property – The property under consideration that is being appraised.

Subject to – See Subject to mortgage.

Subject to and agreeing to pay – The purchaser who takes title to the real property and by so doing also takes on the liablity for the debt along with the original maker of the note.

Subject to mortgage – A clause in a loan document where a buyer agrees takes over the existing loan payments but not to assume any personal liability for the loan beyond the value of his or her equity in the property.

Subjective value – A value in appraising that is used in the income and market data approaches that is created in the mind and is the amount people are willing to pay regardless of its true market value.

Sublease – The execution of a lease by a lessee to a third party which conveys his or her estate to a sub-estate for part or all of the lessee’s remaining term.

Subletting – The leasing of a premise by a lessee to a third party for all or part of the lessee’s remaining term. See Assignment.

Subordinate – To make subject to, to relegate to a lesser position, junior to or inferior to usually with respect to to a right or security.

Subordination agreement – An agreement by which the holder of an encumbrance against real property such as a mortgage permits his or her claim to take an inferior position to other encumbrances against the property such as a construction loan mortgage or sometimes even a lease to take a superior position or priority.

Subordination clause – A clause in a first mortgage or trust deed that permits it to be subordinated to subsequent liens such as construction loan liens and sometimes in a junior or a second lien permitting it to have priority over prior liens.

Subpoena – A legal order that forces a witness to appear and give testimony.

Subprime loan – A loan that is offered at a rate above prime to individuals who do not qualify for prime rate loans.

Subrogation – The replacing or substituting of one party with another in regard to a legal right or obligation such as in place of the creditor to whose rights he or she succeeds in relation to the debt and where one party agrees to stand to guarantee another party’s performance of a contract or the payment of an insurance contract claim.

Subsidized housing – The housing for low- and moderate-income families in which rentals are paid in part by the government or in which the government pays a portion of the developer’s loan interest costs so that he or she can charge lower rentals.

Subsidy – 1. A grant by government that eases the financial burden of holding, using or improving real property. 2. A direct subsidy which is of direct, visible benefit to the recipient, such as a cash grant. 3. An indirect subsidy is a subsidy whose benefit is felt indirectly, such as tariffs or farm price supports which may affect the land values in a particular area.

Subsidy buy-down – The funds provided typically by a builder or seller to temporarily reduce a borrower’s monthly principal and interest payments thus making it easier for him or her to buy the house.

Substitution of mortgagor – An agreement by a lender, concerning a loan that is going to be assumed by a buyer, to hold that party liable and to release the original borrower of all liability.

Subsurface rights – The ownership rights a parcel of real estate has to the water, minerals, gas, oil that is beneath the surface.

Suburb – A development of real estate in areas surrounding the central area of a city.

Succession – The legal act or right of acquiring property by descent or also succeeding to an asset by will or inheritance.

Successor – A party who follows or comes after such as a buyer of a business who becomes the seller’s successor.

Successor’s liability – The liability that a buyer of a business might have for the nonpayment of the sales taxes by the seller.

Sufferance – The interest that an owner has when a tenant holds over without the owner’s consent after the expiration of a lease. See Estate at sufferance.

Sufficient description – A means by which conveyed real estate can be identified in a deed so that it will legally hold up in court.

Suit for possession – A lawsuit initiated by a landlord to evict a tenant from leased premises after the tenant has breached the terms of the lease or has retained possession after the lease has expired.

Suit to quiet title – A legal action intended to establish, settle or remove a cloud on the title of a particular property.

Sum of the years digits depreciation – An method of accelerated depreciation where annual depreciation is computed by applying changing fractions to the cost or other basis of property reduced by estimated salvage. See Depreciation.

Summary appraisal report – A uniform short-form appraisal frequently used for loan purposes.

Summation – A method in the cost approach for determining an interest rate or an indicated value that is derived by estimating the reproduction cost, subtracting depreciation and adding the value of the land.

Summons – A writ directed to the sheriff or other proper officer to notify the person named that an action has been brought against him and that he is required to appear on a named day to answer the complaint in such action.

Sump pump – 1. More accurately, an automatic electric pump installed in a basement for the purpose of emptying the sump. 2. More loosly, the pit itself that collects accumulated water in basements.

Superfund – The popular name of the hazardous-waste cleanup fund established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, CERCLA.

Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act, SARA – An amendatory statute that reauthorized the Superfund in 1986 and that contains stronger cleanup standards for contaminated sites, increased funding for Superfund, and clarifications of lender liability and innocent landowner immunity. See Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, CERCLA.

Supermarket – A 20,000- to 40,000-square-foot grocery store that is normally free-standing.

Supply – The amount of a product that is available for sale.

Surcharge – An charge that is added to a customary charge.

Surety – The guarantee of another’s performance or an agreement to pay money or to perform an act in the event that party fails to do so. See Surety bond.

Surety bond – An insuring agreement that is frequently used in the real estate business to be responsible for named possible defaults such as that a particular project will be completed at a certain date or that a contract will be performed as stated which basically covers the insured party’s personal and or financial integrity.

Surface rights – The ownership rights in a parcel of land that are limited to the surface of the property and do not include the air rights above it or the subsurface minerals below it.

Surface water – The water resulting from rains and melting snow that spreads over the surface of the ground which an owner may not divert onto the land of another without their permission. See Flood water.

Surrender – The process of voluntary cancellation of a lease by the mutual consent of lessor and lessee.

Survey – 1. The method by which a surveyor of real property identifies the boundaries of a parcel of land. 2. The map prepared by an engineer or surveyor charting a particular piece of real estate.

Survivorship – See Joint tenancy.

Suspension – A temporary cancellation of rights such as one’s license rights.

Sustained-yield management – A selective harvesting of slow-growing crops such as trees to provide for a relatively stable yield every year rather than irregular periodic large yields.

Sweat equity – The investment of labor or services that is put into improving real property to gain possession and title in lieu of a monetary investment.

Swing loan – A short-term loan enabling the purchaser of a property to purchase another property before receiving the cash equity from the property he or she is selling.

Syndicate – An organization of investors which could be in the form of a corporation, a trust, a partnership, a tenancy in common or any other legal ownership form who have joined together to their pool capital for participation in an economic endeavor.

Syndication – The process of combining parties or firms into a joint venture of mutual interest.

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Categories: Real Estate Words Glossary