Sale Holdback
A percentage of the principal amount of the mortgage held back by the mortgagee until the property in question has been sold to a party satisfactory to the mortgagee who has assumed the responsibility of the mortgage by the appropriate legal document.
Sale Leaseback
A technique in which a seller deeds property to a buyer and the buyer simultaneously leases the property back to the seller, usually on a long-term basis.
Seasonal Deficiencies
Work necessary to finish a property that cannot be completed immediately because of seasonal or climatic conditions.
Second Mortgage
A mortgage placed on real property which is already encumbered with one mortgage. Determination of first, second, third mortgage is by priority or registration (time and date).
Secondary Financing
Financing real estate with a loan, or loans, that is subordinate to a first mortgage.
Secondary Mortgage Market
A market where existing mortgages are bought and sold.
Servicing Agreement
A written agreement between an investor and mortgage loan correspondent stipulating the rights and obligations of each party regarding the origination and continuing administration of the loans.
Servient Tenement
The parcel of land over or through which an easement runs.
Severance
The subdivision of a parcel of land.
Shareholder's Equity
The difference between the assets and liabilities of a corporation, sometimes called net worth. Refers to ownership interest in common and preferred shareholders in a company.
Sheriff's Certificate
A signed statement from the sheriff's office certifying that there are no Writs of Execution in the sheriff's hands against specific land and that he or she has not sold the land within a specified period.
Specific Performance
An equitable remedy to compel performance of a real estate or mortgage contract according to the specific terms of the contract.
Spread
The difference between the cost of money and the yield on the investment.
Standby Commitment
An agreement by a lender to provide a certain amount of takeout mortgage financing on specific terms in the future. This commitment enables the borrower to arrange construction financing from other sources. The commitment is issued for a fee and the lender is willing to disburse the committed funds in the event that a permanent loan on more favourable terms is not obtained.
Standby Fee
A sum of money given by the borrowers to the lender to hold a mortgage commitment for a certain period of time. The fee is normally non-refundable.
Standing Mortgage
A mortgage that provides for equal, regular lump-sum payments of principal, usually quarterly, plus accrued interest.
Subordinate
Subject to, or junior to.
Subordination
The act of a party acknowledging by written recorded instrument that a debt due is inferior to the interest to another in the same property. Subordination may apply not only to mortgages but also to leases, real estate rights, and any other type of debt instrument.
Subrogation
A doctrine adopted in favour of the insurer in order to prevent the insured from recovering more than a full indemnity.
Subscription Policy
An insurance policy that states two or more insurance companies are sharing the risk.
Surety
The guarantee given for the performance of someone else.
Survey
A property survey is a process by which land boundaries and areas are determined and defined and improvements may be plotted thereon. Surveys are also used for locating and identifying property lines, improvements on the land and easements on the land.
Surveyor's Certificate
A formal statement signed, certified, and dated by a surveyor giving the pertinent facts about a particular property and any easements or encroachments affecting it.
Syndication
A group of lenders that share in the principal disbursement of a loan to spread risk or to comply with statutory restrictions on loan size.
