Glossary - S

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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.

Second mortgage: A mortgage that has a lien position subordinate to the first mortgage.

Secured loan: A loan that is backed by collateral.

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

Security deposit: Money deposited by or for the tenant with the landlord in conjunction with a lease or month-to-month tenancy.

Servicer: An organization that collects principal and interest payments from borrowers and manages borrowers' escrow accounts. The servicer often services mortgages that have been purchased by an investor in the secondary mortgage market.

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

Statute of frauds: State law that requires certain contracts to be in writing and signed by the party to be charged (or held) to the agreement in order to be legally enforceable.

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

Summary possession: A legal process, also called actual eviction 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 the lease.

Survey: A drawing or map showing the precise legal boundaries of a property, the location of improvements, easements, rights of way, encroachments, and other physical features.

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