foreclosure

fore·clo·sure   (fôr-klō'zhər, fōr-)    n.  The act of foreclosing, especially a legal proceeding by which a mortgage is foreclosed.

foreclosure

A proceeding in which the financer of a mortgage seeks to regain property because the borrower has defaulted on payments.

Foreclosure

A situation in which a homeowner is unable to make principal and/or interest payments on his or her mortgage, so the lender, be it a bank or building society, can seize and sell the property as stipulated in the terms of the mortgage contract.

Investopedia Commentary

In some cases, to avoid foreclosing on a home, creditors try to make adjustments to the repayment schedule to allow the homeowner to retain ownership. This situation is known as a special forbearance or mortgage modification.

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See also: Bank, Creditor, Forbearance, Interest, Mortgage, Variable Interest Rate

Main Entry: fore·clos·ure
Pronunciation: fOr-'klO-zh&r
Function: noun
1 : a legal proceeding that bars or extinguishes a mortgagor's equity of redemption in mortgaged real property —see also deficiency judgment at JUDGMENT, REDEEM, RIGHT OF REDEMPTION, STATUTORY FORECLOSURE, STRICT FORECLOSURE 1
2 : the extinguishment (as under the provisions of Article 9 of the Uniform Commercial Code) of the rights of a debtor in personal property subject to a security interest by judicial proceedings and esp. by judicial sale —see also STRICT FORECLOSURE 2