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
1. Having saw type notches along the edge. 
2. 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.