Glossary of Terms
Credit Glossary
It's hard enough trying to stay on top of your credit let alone learn the industry lingo. We've compiled a glossary of industry terms to help you stay ahead of the curve when dealing with your credit, auto loans, home loans, debt, and savings.
- Satisfaction of mortgage
- The document issued by the mortgagee when the mortgage is paid in full. Also called a "release of mortgage."
- Satisfied
- Full payment of a public record item.
- Savings account
- A deposit account which pays interest and is liquid.
- Second mortgage
- A mortgage made subsequent to another mortgage and subordinate to the first one.
- Secured Credit Cards
- Credit cards that require collateral (property, such as a house, car or deposit of money) for approval. Generally, secured credit cards are for people with no credit or poor credit who are trying to build or rebuild their credit history.
- Securities
- Generic term for stocks and bonds.
- Security
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- The property pledged as collateral for a loan.
- Real or personal property that a borrower pledges for the term of a loan. Should the borrower fail to repay, the creditor may take ownership of the property by following legally mandated procedures.
- Security alert
- Statement added to a consumer's credit report once the credit bureau is notified that consumer may be a victim of identity theft.
- Seller carry back
- An agreement in which the owner of a property provides financing, often in combination with an assumable mortgage. See owner financing.
- Service Charge
- A component of some finance charges, such as the fee for triggering an overdraft checking account into use.
- Settle
- Reach an agreement with a creditor to repay only part of the original debt.
- Settlement
- Another name for closing.
- Shared Appreciation Mortgage (SAM)
- A mortgage in which a borrower receives a below-market interest rate in return for which the lender (or another investor such as a family member or other partner) receives a portion of the future appreciation in the value of the property. It may also apply to mortgage where the borrowers shares the monthly principal and interest payments with another party in exchange for part of the appreciation.
- Simple interest
- Interest which is computed only on the principle balance.
- Smart Card
- A plastic card containing a computer chip with memory and CPU capabilities. Such a card may be used for identification or to store information, financial amounts or other forms of data. Also called an integrated circuit card or a chip card.
- Special forbearance
- A loss-reducing option where the lender arranges a revised repayment plan for the borrower that may include a temporary reduction or suspension of monthly loan payments.
- Standard payment calculation
- The method used to determine the monthly payment required to repay the remaining balance of a mortgage in substantially equal installments over the remaining term of the mortgage at the current interest rate.
- Statement
- A written record prepared by a financial institution, usually once a month, listing all transactions for an account, including deposits, withdrawals, checks, electronic transfers, fees and other charges, and interest credited or earned.
- Status
- The current status of the particular account
- Step-rate mortgage
- A mortgage that allows for the interest rate to increase according to a specified schedule (i.e., seven years), resulting in increased payments as well. At the end of the specified period, the rate and payments will remain constant for the remainder of the loan
- Stop payment
- An order by a depositor to a bank to refuse payment of a check that has already been presented to another party but has not yet cleared.
- Stored-value Card
- A stored-value card is a credit-card-sized device that is implanted with a computer chip with stored money value. A reloadable stored-value card can be reused by transferring a dollar value to it from an automated teller machine or other device. A disposable card cannot be reloaded.
- Survey
- a property diagram that indicates legal boundaries, easements, encroachments, rights-of-way, improvement locations, etc.
- Sweat equity
- using labor to build or improve a property as part of the down payment.
