SALE
AGREEMENT:
A contract entered into between a buyer and seller,
setting forth the terms, provisions, and conditions
of a sale of real estate.
SALE
AND LEASEBACK:
A situation in which the grantor in a deed to
a parcel of property sells it and retains possession
by simultaneously leasing it from the grantee.
SALES
CONTRACT:
(See "Sale Agreement.")
SATISFACTION:
(1) The payment of a debt or fulfillment of an
obligation. (2) An instrument executed by the
holder of a lien, debt or obligation which acknowledges
payment or fulfillment. For example, a satisfaction
of a mortgage sometimes is referred to as a satisfaction
piece.
SEAL:
Impression on a document that lends authenticity
to its execution, such as affixing the corporate
seal to a document executed by a corporation.
SEARCH:
In title industry parlance, a careful exploration
for and perusal of the public records in an effort
to find all recorded instruments relating to a
particular chain of title.
SECOND
MORTGAGE:
A mortgage ranking in priority immediately below
a first mortgage. (See "Junior Mortgage.")
SECONDARY
RETENTION:
When reinsurance is obtained by the ceding company
from a reinsurer, the reinsurer's liability is
secondary to the primary liability of the ceding
company. This is termed secondary retention. The
primary retention must first be expended before
the second company pays. All companies that sell
reinsurance on the secondary level are joined
together and share losses on a pro-rata basis
based on their amount of reinsurance in relation
to the total amount of reinsurance purchased.
If four companies agree to be secondary reinsurers,
and each has $5,000,000, then each would have
liability for 25 percent of any loss that exceeds
the primary, up to the full amount agreed upon.
(See Primary Retention or Primary Liability.)
SECTION:
Measure of land; one of the divisions employed
in a government survey. It measures one mile on
each side and contains 640 acres of land (if regular
in shape.)
SECURITY:
Assurance against the default or non-payment of
a debt or obligation which makes the enforcement
of a promise or an obligation more certain than
the personal commitment of the debtor or obligator.
Usually the pledge of property.
SEISIN:
(Also spelled "Seizin") An old English
term meaning legal possession or the right to
legal possession of real estate under a freehold
title.
SERVIENT
ESTATE:
Incident to an easement, the property upon or
across which an easement exists. (See "Dominant
Estate.")
SERVITUDE:
A right or interest in a piece of real estate,
which right or interest serves or benefits another
unrelated property. For example, an easement across
one piece of property serves another piece of
property is said to constitute a servitude regarding
the property upon which it is located.
SET
ASIDE:
To declare invalid or void; to annul. For example,
a court may set aside an erroneous judgment or
decree.
SETBACK
LINE:
(See "Building Line.")
SETTLEMENT:
Act or process of adjusting or determining; an
adjusting; an adjustment between persons concerning
their dealings or difficulties; an agreement by
which parties having disputed matters between
them reach or ascertain what is coming from one
to the other; arrangement of difficulties; composure
of doubts or differences; determination by agreement;
and liquidation. Sowers v. Robertson, 144 kan.
173, 58 p.2d 1105, 1107. Payment or satisfaction.
Ledbetter v. Hall, 191 ark. 791, 87 s.W.2d 996,
999. Black's Law Dictionary, 5th Edition. (See
"Closing.")
SKY
LEASE:
A lease of air space above a piece of land. The
ownership of land extends down to the center of
the earth and up to the sky. Space above the land
can, therefore, be leased or sold. Cantilever
or bridge type buildings which do not depend on
the lessor's land for support may be built in
such air space.
SLANDER
OF TITLE:
False, unjustified statements regarding another
person's title to property.
SPECIAL
ASSESSMENT:
(See "Improvement Liens.")
SPECIAL
WARRANTY DEED:
A deed which warrants the title only with respect
to acts of the grantor and the interests of anyone
claiming by, through, or under him.
SPECIFIC
PERFORMANCE:
A lawsuit in which the court compels one of the
parties to perform or carry out the provisions
of a contract into which he has entered.
SPECULATIVE
BUILDER:
One who constructs buildings for sale without
having firm purchase commitments. Speculative
building is quite common in residential housing
developments and in condominiums.
SQUATTER:
One who settles upon unoccupied land without legal
claim or authority. (See "Adverse Possession.")
STARE
DECISIS:
The legal doctrine that past decisions of the
courts stand as precedents for future decisions.
STARTER:
A copy of a prior policy or report issued by a
title insurer which describes the title to land
upon which a new search is to be made. In some
states, this is called a base, back title letter
or back title certificate.
STATUTE
OF FRAUDS:
A state law that requires that certain contracts,
such as a contract for the sale of land, must
be in writing to be enforceable.
STATUTE
OF LIMITATIONS:
A statute setting a time limit on the enforcement
of right or on the collection of a debt in certain
cases.
SUBDIVISION:
An area of land laid out and divided into lots,
blocks and building sites, and in which public
facilities are laid out, such as streets, alleys,
parks, and easements for public utilities.
SUBJACENT:
A term applied to land or property lying contiguous
to, but at a lower level than, another piece of
property.
SUBLET:
To rent property which one holds by lease, to
another.
SUBORDINATION:
Giving a lien or interest an inferior status.
For example, an existing mortgage may be subordinated
to the lien of a new construction loan mortgage
in which case the construction loan mortgage becomes
the lien with priority.
SUBROGATION:
The legal doctrine under which the law substitutes
one creditor or claimant for another. When a title
insurance company pays a claim under a title insurance
policy, it is entitled to step into the shoes
of the insured with respect to any rights the
insured may have against parties who warranted
the title to him.
SUBSTITUTION
RATE:
A special rate available in some areas for title
insurance policies covering substitution loans.
SUIT:
Usually meaning a lawsuit.
SUMMONS:
A court process that directs a defendant to make
an appearance in an action filed against him.
SURETY:
(1) A person who agrees to be responsible for
a debt or obligation of another. (2) The pledge
or agreement by which one undertakes responsibility
for the debt or obligation of another.
SURVEY:
(1) To determine the location, boundaries, area,
or the elevations of land and structures upon
the earth's surface by means of courses in relation
to the north star, and the measuring of angles
and distances by using the techniques of geometry
and trigonometry. (2) The map or plat drawn by
a surveyor which represents the property surveyed
and shows the results of a survey.
