STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS - That law pertaining to the period of time within which certain actions must be brought to court.
STEP-UP LEASE - A lease with fixed rent for an initial term and provision for pre-determined rent increases at specified intervals and/or increases based upon periodic appraisals; sometimes called a graduated lease.
STRAIGHT NOTE - A promissory note evidencing a loan in which "interest only" payments are made periodically during the term of the note, with the principal payment due in one lump sum upon maturity.
SUBJECT TO MORTGAGE - A grantee taking title to real property "subject to mortgage" is not personally liable to the mortgagee for payment of the mortgage note. In the event the grantor-mortgagor defaults in paying the note, the grantee could, however, lose property, and thus his equity, in a foreclosure sale.
SUBORDINATION AGREEMENT - An agreement whereby a prior mortgagee agrees to subordinate or give up their priority position to an existing or anticipated future lien.
SUMMARY POSSESSION - A legal process used by a landlord to regain possession of the leased premises if the tenant has breached the lease or is holding over after the termination of tenancy.
SURRENDER - A premature conveyance of a possessory estate to a person having a future interest, as when a lessee surrenders the leasehold interest to the owner of the reversion interest, the lessor, before the normal expiration of the lease.
SURVEY - The process by which boundaries are measured and land areas are determined; the on-site measurement of lot lines, dimensions, and position of houses in a lot including the determination of any existing encroachments or easements.
SURVIVORSHIP - The right of survivorship is that special feature of a joint tenancy whereby all title, right and interest of a decedent joint tenant in certain property passes to the surviving joint tenants by operation of law, free from claims of heirs and creditors of the decedent.