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S & L |
| Savings and Loan Association. |
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Sale-Leaseback |
| A technique in which a seller deeds property to a buyer, who simultaneously leases the property back to the seller. |
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Sales Contract |
| An agreement between a buyer and seller to purchase real estate. A sales contract, also known as an offer to purchase or a binder, secures the right to purchase real estate upon agreed terms for a limited period of time. If the buyer changes his mind or is unable to purchase, the earnest money that was paid is forfeited unless the binder expressly provides that it is to be refunded. |
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Sales Disclosure |
| A state specific form that may need to be filed, disclosing everything about the sale of the home. |
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Search And Exam Fee |
| A fee charged by a title company or attorney in some states to perform a check of the title records. This check verifies the buyer is purchasing a house from the legal owner and there are no liens, overdue assessments, or other claims filed that would adversely affect the transfer of the title. |
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Search And Survey Fee |
| A fee charged by a title company in some states to perform a check of the public record. This check verifies that the buyer is purchasing a home from the legal owner and there are no liens, overdue assessment, or other claims that would adversely affect the transfer of title. In addition, a search is performed to insure that there are no issues that a survey would show that could affect the property. |
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Search Fee |
| A fee charged by a title company or attorney in some states to cover the cost of searching the public record to make sure the buyer is purchasing a house from the legal owner and there are no liens, overdue assessments, or other claims filed that would adversely affect the transfer of the title. |
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Second Home |
| A home used by the owners for recreational purposes that is used occasionally or seasonally. Also known as a vacation home. |
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Second Mortgage |
| A loan that has a lien position subordinate to the first mortgage. |
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Secondary Mortgage Market |
| The buying and selling of existing mortgages, primarily residential first mortgages. |
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Secured Loan |
| A loan that is backed by collateral. |
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Security |
| The collateral offered to a lender in exchange for a loan. When a lender provides a mortgage, you provide your home as the security. This means that if payments are in default, the lender has the right to take title to the property. |
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Security Interest |
| The lender's right to take property that has been offered as security. |
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Seller Take-Back |
| An arrangement in which the owner of a property provides financing. |
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Servicer |
| A company that collects principal and interest payments from borrowers and manages borrowers' escrow accounts. The servicer may or may not be the original lender. |
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Servicing Disclosure Statement |
| A disclosure required by RESPA that requires lenders to confirm in writing within 3 days of receiving a loan application it expects that another entity will be collecting the payments required. |
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Settlement |
| A meeting of parties involved in a real estate transaction to finalize the process. In the case of a purchase, the settlement usually involves the seller, the buyer, the real estate broker and the lender. In the case of a refinance, the settlement involves the borrower and the lender. Sometimes referred to as the closing or the close of escrow. |
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Settlement Fee |
| A fee charged by a title company, closing agent or attorney to act as a representative and agent for the lender to perform the closing of a real estate transaction. Sometimes called a "closing fee". |
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Settlement Statement |
| Also referred to as the HUD-1 or the closing statement, this is the document that provides line by line detail of the financial details related to a specific real estate transaction such as the fees paid by the seller and the buyer for a purchase transaction or the fees paid by the borrower for refinances. |
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Short Sale |
| The act of a borrower and a lender working together to sell a home below the loan amount due to avoid foreclosure. Short sales require the approval of the lender and the term "short" reflects that the amount of the home price is less than the actual amount due to the lender. |
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Squatters |
| When people decide to plant roots on unoccupied land (such as abandoned apartments and homes) without having a legal claim to the property. |
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State Regulation Fee |
| A fee charged in some states at the time a real estate mortgage closing occurs. |
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State Tax Stamps |
| A tax charged by some state or local governments at the time of transfer of real estate title from one owner to another. |
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State/Local Tax Fees |
| A tax charged by some state or local governments at the time of transfer of real estate title from one owner to another. |
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Stated Asset Program |
| A mortgage type that does not require verification of assets necessary to close, but typically require large down payments. Generally a higher than market interest rate is charged due to the additional risk being assumed by the lender because certain information is not being documented. |
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Stated Income Program |
| A mortgage type that does not require verification of income, but typically require large down payments. Generally a higher than market interest rate is charged due to the additional risk being assumed by the lender because certain information is not being documented. |
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Step Mortgage |
| A type of adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) that allows for the interest rate to increase according to a specified schedule. At the end of the specified period, the rate and payments will remain constant for the remainder of the loan. Sometimes called a step-rate mortgage. |
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Strategic Default |
| The act of a mortgage holder stopping mortgage payments despite having the financial means to pay the bills. |
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Subdivision |
| A housing development that is created by dividing a large parcel of land into many individual lots for sale. |
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Subordinate Financing |
| Any mortgage or other lien that has a lower priority than that of the first mortgage. |
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Sub-prime Loans |
| A category of mortgage loans designed for borrowers with significant credit flaws that would prevent them from obtaining standard conventional financing. Typically, these loans are granted at above market interest rates to offset the additional risk being assumed by the lender. |
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Survey Affidavit |
| A fee charged by a title company to issue an insurance policy without requiring that a full survey be completed. This fee may be included in the title insurance fee by some lenders. |
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Survey Fee |
| A fee associated with obtaining a precise measurement of a piece of property by a licensed surveyor. The survey is typically a written map of the property showing locations of buildings and boundaries. In some states a survey is required by a title company to issue a title insurance policy. |
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Sweat Equity |
| Contribution to the construction of a property in the form of labor or services instead of cash. |
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Swing Loan |
| Sometimes called a bridge loan, a swing loan is generally a loan that is secured by a borrower's current residence to obtain the funds needed to purchase a new home if the current residence will not be sold prior to the purchase of a new home. |
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