Explanation Of Foreclosure
Foreclosure is when the mortgage lender takes back ownership of the home you live in because you have defaulted on the loan. Default is a term that is usual to understand so you can make sure you never do it. If for any reason, you fail to make payments on time and in full according to the terms and conditions set forth in the mortgage, you are considered in default on the loan. When you default on the mortgage, you give power to the lien holder.
Lien holder is another term important to understand as it relates to foreclosure. The lender, usually a bank or credit union, gives you money to finance your purchase of the home. This means there is a lien on the home. In truth, the lien holder has the power to take back the home, or foreclose on it, if you don't keep your contractual obligations.
If a borrower starts to fail to make payments on their mortgage, the lender might choose to accelerate the loan. This can be done because most of the mortgages these days have acceleration clauses in them. This is another term that is helpful to understand. Without an acceleration clause, a lien holder would have to wait until payments were due and then declare the payments were defaulted.
If you are behind on payments, and there is an acceleration clause in your mortgage, the lien holder can decide to accelerate your mortgage and require you pay the full amount or the home will be foreclosed. If there weren't an acceleration clause, technically if you failed to make payments, the mortgage holder could really only hold you accountable for what you haven't paid, not the full amount you owe on the home. They would have to wait until payments became due.
Default is another term often associated with foreclosure. Default refers to the lack of payments on time and in full to the mortgage. This means that the borrower failed to stick to the terms and conditions of the loan and therefore defaulted on their payments and the loan. Default often leads to foreclosure of the home.
Even though foreclosure can seem like a tedious concept to understand, knowing these terms will help you navigate your way through and hopefully even avoid foreclosure. Understanding the terms will help you be able to communicate better with your lien holder so you feel like you are not left in the dark.

