foreclosure
noun
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Definition of foreclosure
: an act or instance of foreclosing specifically : a legal proceeding that bars or extinguishes a mortgagor's right of redeeming a mortgaged estate
Examples of foreclosure in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Other mortgage lenders have made similar cuts in recent years to adjust to rising mortgage rates and fewer foreclosures. — Deon Roberts, charlotteobserver, "Wells Fargo cuts more staff in the Charlotte region, and elsewhere in the Carolinas," 22 June 2018 Distressed sales such as foreclosures remained low, comprising just 3.5 percent of the month’s transactions. — Bill Zimmerman, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Orlando home sales drop by 11.4 percent, report finds," 15 June 2018 Green starts the movie totally broke, living in the garage of an uncle who is himself facing foreclosure. — Josephine Livingstone, The New Republic, "Sorry to Bother You Is a Brilliant Black Comedy About Race, Labor, and Magic," 29 June 2018 A decade ago, Moronta was facing foreclosure, the income from his small housecleaning company not enough to pay the bills. — Tim Logan, BostonGlobe.com, "As Boston targets Airbnb, workers worry about jobs," 4 June 2018 The initial pilot helped more than 80 families avoid foreclosure. — Katrease Stafford, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit home tax foreclosures: Why they've dropped dramatically," 13 July 2018 Now a state appeals court has ordered the money be used for its original intent: to help homeowners who suffered foreclosures. — Bob Egelko, SFChronicle.com, "California ordered to restore $331 million to fund for homeowners," 12 July 2018 The search has plunged her into a thicket of tax sales and foreclosures, revealing a tortuous path of ownership that is not unusual for Baltimore’s thousands of vacant homes. — Tim Prudente, baltimoresun.com, "With ownership in question, lawsuit stalls over deadly West Baltimore collapse," 12 July 2018 In the end he was forced to sell his condo three years ago due to the fees and a lien that was placed on it by the retirement condominium’s association or face foreclosure. — Kathleen Joyce, Fox News, "Veteran says he's forced to sell home after HOA fines him for hanging US flag in flower pot," 10 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'foreclosure.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for foreclosure
foreclosure
nounFinancial Definition of foreclosure
What It Is
Foreclosure occurs when a lender seizes and sells a borrower's collateral after the borrower has failed to repay the lender. The term is most often associated with real estate.
How It Works
In general, there are eight events involved in a foreclosure (in this example, we assume the borrower has obtained a mortgage for a house from the lender).
1. The borrower signs a contract agreeing to repay the lender over a period of time, usually in predetermined installments.
2. The borrower misses one or more payments.
3. The lender sends the borrower one or more notices of delinquency.
4. The borrower and the lender try to adjust the repayment schedule so that the borrower is more likely to make at least some of the payments until he or she gets back on his feet. (This process is called special forbearance or mortgage modification.)
5. The borrower misses additional payments.
6. The lender sends the borrower a notice of default and initiates foreclosure proceedings.
8. A public auction occurs during business hours, and the highest bidder is usually entitled to buy the property. At that point, the borrower cannot get the property back unless he or she buys it back.
Why It Matters
The foreclosure process can take several months, if not years, and it does long-term damage to a person's credit report. It is important to note that foreclosure laws vary by state, and they affect the order or duration of these steps. It is also important to note that the federal Fair Debt Collection Practices Act affects foreclosure proceedings by stipulating the methods lenders can use to go after bad debts.
[Click here to read Seven Ways to Stop a Foreclosure on Your Home]
Source: Investing Answers
foreclosure
noun
\
Legal Definition of foreclosure
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 sense 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 especially by judicial sale — see also strict foreclosure sense 2
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