SEARCH
Searches are normally carried out by your solicitor as part of the house-buying process. They should show that the property you're buying is the owner's to sell and whether there are any outstanding charges registered against it. A search can also show whether there are any planning restrictions and tell you about planning applications and proposals that may affect the neighbouring area.

SECTION 75
Part of the Consumer Credit Act that gives you protection if you pay for goods using your credit card. If the goods cost between £100 and £30,000, you can make a claim against the credit card company if the supplier goes bust or the goods don't arrive. You don't have to have paid the full price by credit card, just the deposit.

SECURED LOAN
A loan where part or all of the value of your home is put up as security. If you cannot keep up the repayments, the lender can repossess your home.

SELF-ASSESSMENT RETURN
A tax form that around 8 million people - mainly those who are self-employed - have to fill in. You may also have to fill one in if you receive income from a source other than your employment (e.g. interest from a savings account if you're a higher rate taxpayer etc.). Don't assume that you don't have to fill in a self-assessment return just because you don't receive one. It's up to you to tell HM Revenue & Customs about income you receive (that's not already correctly taxed), not for them to find out.

SELF-BUILD MORTGAGE
A mortgage specifically designed for people who want to build their own home.

SELF-INVESTED PERSONAL PENSION
A personal pension that lets you invest your pension contributions in a wide variety of investments while giving you more control about how your money is invested. The costs and charges tend to be higher than with standard personal pensions.

SELF-SELECT ISA
A stocks and shares ISA (individual savings account) where you can choose the investments that go in it. You can pick from a range of investments including individual shares and pooled funds, such as OEICS, investment trusts and exchange traded funds (ETFs). There may be higher charges and fees than with an ordinary stocks and shares ISA.

SEPARATION
The process whereby a couple who are married or in a civil partnership, split up. You're able to divorce your husband or dissolve your civil partnership if you've been separated for a certain length of time (it varies according to whether one or both of you agree etc.).

SERPS (STATE EARNINGS RELATED PENSION SCHEME)
This was replaced by the state second pension in 2002. It is an additional element of your state pension related to your income from employment. Anyone who is self-employed doesn't build up this type of pension.

SERVICE CHARGE
A payment that owners of leasehold flats often have to make to a landlord or managing agent. It normally covers the cost of buildings insurance, lighting etc. for communal areas and maintenance and may include repairs.

SHARE
It literally means a share in the company. If you own shares you own a percentage of the company (probably a miniscule fraction of a percentage, unless it's a small company). You can vote at annual general meetings, may receive dividends (a share of the profits) twice a year and if the value of the shares increase, you should make a profit (assuming taxes and charges don't wipe it out).

SMALL SELF-ADMINISTERED SCHEME (SSAS)
An occupational pension scheme where the only people who are allowed to join it are the directors or key staff at a company. It gives them more control over the assets the pension invests in and is more flexible.

STAKEHOLDER PENSION
A low-cost and flexible pension that you can buy directly from a pensions provider although you may be offered it through your workplace. If it is offered through your workplace, your employer doesn't have to pay any money into it on your behalf. If that's the case, you may be better off sorting out your own pension.

STAMP DUTY
A tax you pay when you buy property or shares. If it relates to property, its correct name is 'stamp duty land tax' but it's rarely called that (except by tax and legal experts). The amount of stamp duty you pay when you buy a property depends on the price of the property. If you buy shares you pay stamp duty or stamp duty reserve tax at 0.5%, depending on how the shares are transferred to you.

STANDARD VARIABLE RATE
The mortgage rate that you end up on if you don't take out a special deal (or sometimes, once your preferential deal comes to an end). It's not normally particularly competitive and there's no guarantee that it will fall when the Bank of England cuts base interest rates although it usually rises, sometimes by more than base rates, when they go up.

STANDING ORDER
A way of making regular payments from your bank account. You decide when you want the money to leave your account and how much you want your bank to pay. It will carry on making payments until a pre-determined date or until you change the standing order.

STATE PENSION AGE
The age at which you can receive your state pension. It's currently 60 for women (and 65 for men), although it will gradually increase to 65 over a ten-year period, starting from April 2010. There are plans to raise it to 68 between 2024 and 2046 and there's a debate about whether it should be increased to 70 in the future.

STATE SECOND PENSION
An additional pension paid on top of your basic state pension and related to your earnings, which replaced the old SERPS system. You don't earn a state second pension while you're self-employed.

STATUTORY REDUNDANCY PAY
If you've been employed for at least two years, you have the right to redundancy pay if you're made redundant. You're also entitled to it if you're on a fixed-term contract of at least two years that's not renewed due to redundancy.

STATUTORY SICK PAY
If you're an employee and you're unable to work because you are ill, you may be able to get this pay from your employer, as long as you have been off sick for more than four days in a row and you earn more than a minimum threshold level.

STOCKS AND SHARES ISA
A tax-efficient wrapper that you can put a variety of investments into. These include shares (either shares in individual companies or share-based funds) and bonds (either company or government bonds). There are limits on how much you can invest in one every year. You don't have to pay any income or capital gains tax on the proceeds once you cash it in.

SUB-PRIME LENDER
A lender that specialises in lending money (often in the form of a secured loan or mortgage) to people with a history of debt problems. Before the credit crunch, some companies were falling over themselves to lend money (sometimes without checking that the borrower had a hope of repaying it). Post credit crunch, there are rather fewer of them around.

SUM ASSURED
The amount you would receive if an insurance policy pays out. If it is a life insurance or critical illness policy, you choose the amount.

SURRENDER VALUE
The amount you would get back if you were to cash in or cancel an insurance policy, such as life insurance or a with-profits plan. It's invariably less (sometimes a lot less) than the value of the policy at the time.

SURVEY
A report on the condition of the property you are considering buying. Don't confuse this with a mortgage valuation, which is a very brief assessment of the property to make sure it's worth more than the mortgage you want to secure on it. A buildings survey (which used to be called a 'structural survey') is the most detailed report, while a homebuyer survey and valuation (also called a 'homebuyer's report') is often used for flats and newer houses.

SURVIVORSHIP CLAUSE/DESTINATION
If you own property in Scotland with someone else, your share of that property will automatically pass to the other owner(s) when you die if there is a survivorship clause in the deeds.