| Sale-Leaseback - This is a real estate financing technique whereby the seller conveys title to a buyer-investor and at the same time leases the property back under a long-term net lease. |
| Sales Contract - An agreement of sale. See Purchase Contract. |
| Salesman, Real Estate - A person employed by a real estate broker to perform any act authorized to be performed by a broker; one who is licensed as a real estate salesperson by the North Carolina Real Estate Commission. |
| Satisfaction of Mortgage - An instrument or notation on an instrument acknowledging payment of an indebtedness secured by a mortgage. |
| Seal - A particular sign or word impressed on a document, made to attest in the most formal manner the execution (signing) of an instrument. Necessary on deeds in North Carolina. |
| Secondary Mortgage Market - The term used to describe the "market" wherein various institutions and investors purchase for investment purposes existing mortgages originated by "primary' lenders, thereby creating additional capital with which lenders may originate more new mortgage loans. |
| Second Mortgage - A junior mortgage that is second in lien priority to a previous first mortgage. |
| Security Agreement - An agreement by which a person, usually a lender or seller, takes a security interest in personal property as collateral for a debt. (Examples: agreements in the nature of chattel mortgages or conditional sales contracts.) |
| Security Deposit - Money or things of value received by or for a property owner to insure payment of rent and/or satisfactory condition of the rented premises upon termination of the written or oral lease. |
| Security Interest - An interest in property that secures payment or performance of an obligation. |
| Seisin - The possession of real estate with the intent on the part of the possessor to claim an estate of freehold in the land, either a fee simple or a life estate. |
| Self-Dealing - Improper conduct by a broker who, while employed by a principal, deals with the property for the brokees personal interest or benefit without full disclosure to and consent by the principal. An example of self-dealing is the selling of a property to a broker's relative without disclosure and consent of the principal. |
| Servient Estate - A parcel of land that is burdened by an easement for the benefit of a dominant estate. |
| Setback - The distance from a curb or other established line within which no buildings may be erected. A "setback ordinance" prohibits erection of buildings or structures beyond defined setback lines. |
| Severalty Ownership - Sole ownership; where real property is owned by one person only. See Tenancy in Severalty. |
| Severance Damage - The impairment in value caused by separation; commonly, the damage resulting from the taking of a fraction of the whole property, reflected in a lowered utility and value in the land remaining and caused by reason of the fractional taking. |
| Shared Appreciation Loan - A mortgage loan plan that requires the borrower to pay to the lender a share of the appreciated value of the property after a certain period of time. In return, the borrower obtains a lower interest rate. |
| Sheriffs Deed - A deed given by a sheriff conveying title to real property pursuant to an execution sale to satisfy a judgment against a judgment debtor who is an owner. |
| Simple Interest - Interest computed based on the remaining principal balance of a loan. Previously earned but unpaid interest is not included in the computation. Most mortgage loans are simple interest loans. |
| Special Agent - An agent who is authorized to perform a specified act or a series of specified acts in accordance with detailed instructions. A real estate agent is usually a special agent. . |
| Special Assessment - A legal charge against real estate by a public authority to pay the cost of public improvements, such as for the opening, grading, and guttering of streets, the construction of sidewalks and sewers, the installation of street lighting, and the like. |
| Special Use Permit - A zoning procedure that allows a property owner to make a certain use of property if certain stated conditions are met. It is sometimes called a conditional use permit. |
| Special Warranty Deed - A deed in which the grantor warrants and guarantees to his/her grantee that the title she/he conveys is free from defects or encumbrances that have arisen since the grantor acquired title; a warranty only against defects or encumbrances that have occurred "by, through, or under the grantor." |
| Specific Lien - A lien filed against a particular parcel of property. Compare General Lien. |
| Specific Performance - A remedy in a court of equity whereby the defendant may be compelled to do whatever he/she has agreed to do in a contract executed by him/her. Because all land is considered unique, the remedy is often applied in real estate law to enable a buyer to force a defaulting seller to transfer the specific real estate that is the subject of a sales contract rather than to be compensated in money damages for the sellers breach of contract. |
| Spot Zoning - The illegal singling out of a parcel of land for either special or more restrictive treatment inconsistent with the zone in which the parcel is located. |
| State Fair Housing Act - The law enacted by the North Carolina General Assembly that prohibits discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin in the sale, rental, or financing of housing. See also Fair Housing Act of 1968. |
| Statute - A law established by the act of the legislative power; an act of the legislature; the written will of the legislature solemnly expressed according to the forms necessary to constitute it the law of the state of North Carolina. |
| Statute of Frauds - State law that provides that certain contracts, including contracts for the sale of real estate, must be in writing in order to be enforceable in law. |
| Statute of Limitations - A statute declaring that no suit shall be maintained on certain expressed causes of actions unless they are brought within a specified period after the right accrued. |
| Statutory Redemption Period - The statutory equivalent to the debtors equity of redemption, the statutory redemption period is a grace period granted to defaulting mortgagor to recover his/her title to the mortgaged property, even though the debt is past due, by paying to the obligee the principal, accrued interest and costs incurred up to the time of foreclosure sale or upset bid periods, as the case may be. |
| Steering - See Racial Steering. |
| Subagent - An agent of an agent; one designated or employed by an agent to perform part or all of the agent's duties on behalf of the agent's principal; the selling agent in a real estate sales transaction (if different from the listing agent). |
| Subcontractor - A contractor who contracts with a general or prime contractor to perform labor at or furnish materials to a construction site. A subcontractor is entitled to obtain a statutory lien against the real estate if he/she has not been paid for his/her services. |
| Subdivision - A tract of land divided into smaller parcels or lots, usually for homebuilding purposes. |
| Subdivision Plat - A map of a subdivision. (in some instances, various public officials must review it and give their approval before it can be accepted for recordation by the Register of Deeds.) |
| Subject - With regard to appraisal, the property being appraised (for which an estimate of value is sought). |
| Subject to Mortgage - A term or phrase referring to the taking of title to mortgaged property by a grantee-purchaser, wherein he/she is not responsible to the holder of the promissory note for the payment of any portion of the amount due. In the event of foreclosure, the most that he/she can lose is his/her equity in the property. The original maker of the note (i.e., the seller-grantor) is not released from his/her responsibility. |
| Sublease - An agreement whereby one person who has leased land from the owner rents out all or a portion of the premises for a period ending prior to the expiration of the original lease. |
| Subordinated Ground Lease - A ground lease in which the lessor has agreed to subordinate her/his title in the land to a mortgage or deed of trust subsequently executed by the ground lessee. |
| Subordination Clause - A clause in a mortgage or lease stating that one who has a prior claim or interest agrees that his/her claim or interest shall be secondary or subordinate to a subsequent claim, encumbrance, or interest. |
| Surety - One who guarantees the performance of another. |
| Surrender - A voluntary termination of a lease by agreement of the landlord and tenant prior to the normal expiration date. |
| Survey - The process by which the quantity and boundaries of a piece of land are ascertained; the statement of the courses, distances, and quantity of land is also called a survey. A survey may also include grades, contours, structures, or other physical features affecting the land. |
| Survivorship - The distinguishing feature of a tenancy by the entirety, by which, on the death of one spouse, the surviving spouse acquires full ownership. |
| Syndication - A group of investors who combine to pursue a specific goal of investment in real estate. |
