The title industry has its own language. Many of its words and idioms are derived from the language of the law while others are common words given special meaning related to land titles. There are also words and phrases coined over the years by the title industry itself.
Glossary
S
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.)
STARTER
(See Back Title Letter.)
STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS
A statute setting a time limit on the enforcement of a 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 a prior lien.
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.
SUIT
Usually meaning a lawsuit.
SUIT TO QUIET TITLE
(See Quiet Title Suit.)
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.
