Real Estate Glossary
Our glossary is the largest dictionary of real estate and construction terms on the Internet with almost 10,000 definitions.
- Semi
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- Prefix meaning half; semi-circular.
- Prefix meaning twice in a specified period; semi-annually.
- Prefix meaning partially; semi-civilized.
- Semiannual
- Twice yearly.
- Semianthracite
- Coal which burns cleanly and is softer and easier to ignite than anthracite, which is used for heating.
- Semicircle
- Half of a circle.
- Semicircular Arch
- Also called Gothic, Tudor, parabolic, or major arches, they are arches which have a span of more than six feet with a rise-to-span ratio in excess of 0.15, having a load capacity of 1,000 pounds per foot.
- Semi-Custom Home
- A home where the basic structure cannot be changed but where changes can be made to some design aspects of the home, during construction.
- Semigloss
- Paint or varnish which has a sheen which is between flat and gloss.
- Semirigid Continuous Base
- Asphalt which is firm but not rigid like concrete and is used on roadways because it can be maintained better when there is some ground movement.
- Senior Mortgage
- Primary mortgage on a property, which takes priority over any other liens and is satisfied before any secondary liens.
- Senior Residential Appraiser
- A designation granted by the Appraisal Institute for Residential Appraisers. An SRA may refer to himself as a member of the Appraisal Institute, though not an MAI.
- Sensitivity Analysis
- Technique of investment analysis that enables investors to determine variations in the rate of return on an investment property in accordance with changes in a critical factor, such as how much the rate of return will change if expenses rise 5% or rental income drops 10%. It's an experiment with decision alternatives using a what-if approach.
- Sentimental Value
- Emotional value of property to each particular person.
- Separable or Separate Property
- Property wholly owned by either spouse who was acquired prior to marriage or was received as a gift or inheritance. This property legally belongs to that spouse and cannot be taken away to satisfy a debt against the other souse or for estate valuation.
- Sepia Print
- Print or drawing down in a reddish-brown color, showing dark lines on a lighter background and is made on semitransparent paper so that reproductions can be made.
- Septic System
- An underground, self-contained sewage treatment system that has a storage tank where waste is decomposed through bacterial action. Septic systems are used in areas without sanitary sewer systems.
- Septic Tank
- Watertight sewage collection tank, located beneath the ground, which is the part of a septic system, which processes the waste and distributes it to the absorption field.
- Sequence
- The following of one thing after another in chronological, causal or logical order which is important in the construction industry, since things must be completed in a certain order.
- Sequential Firing
- Blasting method where several charges are fired one at a time in a series.
- Series Circuit
- Electrical circuit where the current passes through one load prior to going to the next, because the loads are connected. Alarm systems use this type of circuit because breaking any part of the circuit would trigger the alarm.
- Series Wound
- Armature and field of a motor that are connected so that the electrical current passes through one prior to the other.
- Serrated
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- Having saw type notches along the edge.
- Surface with ridges.
- Service Conductor
- The wires that connect the utility company's line to the home's service equipment.
- Service Contract
- Agreement bought by a homeowner for servicing of household items.
- Service Drop
- The electrical wires which go from the power utility's lines to a building.
- Service Entrance
- Where the power utility's lines interface with the wiring of the building.
- Service Entrance Box
- The electrical box, inside the building, where the power utility's wires connect to the circuits within the house.
- Service Entrance Cable
- Electrical wiring, factory assembled, which has two or three insulated conductors with a stranded uninsulated neutral conductor wrapped around them.
- Service Entrance Distribution Box
- The electrical box, inside the building, where the power utility's wires connect to the circuits within the house.
- Service Entrance Equipment
- The heart of the home's electrical service consists of three parts: the electric meter, the disconnect switch, and the distribution panel.
- Service Insulator
- The anchor at the site where the utility's electrical wires connect with the wiring of the building.
- Service Lateral
- Underground power lines that go from the power line transformer to the buildings meter box.
- Service Marker
- Stake used to mark the location of the capped or plugged end of a length of buried pipe.
- Service Mast
- Vertical section of conduit through which the service wires of a building pass prior to reach the service entrance box.
- Service Panel
- Electrical panel, containing circuit breakers, which is the distribution point for the entering electric service.
- Servicer
- Firm used to collect mortgage payment and to manage borrowers' escrow accounts.
- Servicing
- The handling of an account, as a mortgage serviced by a mortgage banker. Alternately, the periodic maintenance of household items.
- Servient Tenement
- Land subject to an easement.
- Servitude
- Work required as a court judgment because of a crime committed.
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