Savings: Money set aside into an interest-bearing or investment account.

Secondary Mortgage Market: Mortgage loans originated in the Primary Mortgage Market are sold to the Secondary Mortgage Market, that being Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Billy Joel, Billy Bob, and other lenders. (Just kidding about Billy Joel and Billy Bob)

Second Mortgage: A mortgage loan recorded after a 1 st trust deed that is 2 nd in line in the event of a foreclosure. 2 nd mortgages or trust deeds are usually fixed rate loans as opposed to their counter-parts Home Equity Lines of Credit (HELOC). The typical use for such loans are home improvement, tuition fees, or to pay off smaller debts and consolidate to one payment. The interest on these loans is usually deductible on one’s income tax return.

Secured credit card: A credit card backed by collateral, usually cash in the form of a bank deposit account and used as a means to re-establish a person’s credit after a bankruptcy, foreclosure, or other damaging credit event.

Secured loan: A loan backed by collateral and secured against something tangible such as a home (real estate), a car, or an investment account.

Settlement: also called Closing: In real estate it is the delivery or recording of a deed, financial payments and/or adjustments, the signing of notes, and the disbursement of funds necessary to consummate a sale or loan transaction. In some states, it is also called an Escrow Closing or Close of Escrow. See HUD1

Social Security Number: Originally intended for use with the Social Security administrations need to give an account number for a person eligible for retirement income, this number has now become an I.D. number for use in borrowing and identifying a person living in the USA. It is essentially impossible to acquire any credit accounts without having a Social Security number.

Subordinate: To take a position of lesser importance to another. In loan terms for real estate a 2 nd mortgage or trust deed is subordinate to the 1 st mortgage. If a new 1 st mortgage is obtained by the owner of real estate and that owner wishes to keep the current 2 nd trust deed or mortgage that current 2 nd mortgage lender will be asked to subordinate to the new 1 st mortgage.

Sub-Prime: A mortgage industry term used to describe credit and loan products that have less stringent lending and underwriting guidelines making it easier for those with less that perfect credit or poor credit to borrow money.

The credit is graded and the rate and terms of the loan are directly related to the credit grade. It is also used to describe loans that are not “cookie cutter” typical loans for borrowers with average credit scores and reports; though these types of borrowers may more aptly be described as ALT A borrowers. See B & C Loans and Alt A

Survey: The actual measuring of legal boundaries or the map or diagram that indicates the legal boundaries, easements, encroachments, rights of way, and locations of any improvements on the property.

Sweat Equity: A term that describes the equity obtained in a property by the owner(s) work and labor to improve the property. An owner who landscapes the yard and adds a patio will gain sweat equity in the property by virtue of the increased value of the property by those added improvements. Many times, even deep cleaning a property and a coat of paint will add several thousand dollars of equity to the property. This would be the easiest equity gained in any piece of real estate. Buyers do not normally wish to buy someone else’s mess and they are willing to pay a premium for a “turn key” property. See turn key.