Acceleration Clause
Definition of "Acceleration Clause"
Acceleration Clause is a contractual provision inserted in a mortgage, a bond, a deed of trust or other credit vehicles, that gives the lender the right to demand repayment of the entire loan balance. Usually, such a clause becomes operational when there has been a default in payments of interest or principal or both.
When the acceleration clause is activated, the entire principal sum is called in and becomes due and payable. This fact would precipitate a foreclosure in the case of real estate, or bankruptcy action if the monies were not paid at the time of the call.
Acceleration clauses are created to protect the lender from borrower default and other risks. It prevents/deals with payment delinquencies, but can, on rare occasions, be structured for other occurrences too.
Let's see an acceleration clause in effect scenario:
Home Seller Barbara makes a Land Contract with Home Buyer Paul. He started paying correctly and living in Barbara's former house. He has paid already $30,000 of its $100,000 contract. At the end of it, he'll be the owner of the house. BUT: he didn't pay for the last 3 months, so the acceleration clause kicked in, Barbara filed for a land contract forfeiture and now Paul has to pay the rest of the $70,000 with one swing if he wants to still be able to get the house. Or else, they're done.
Accelerate your home buying/home selling process: find a real estate agent
Popular Real Estate Terms
Sewer whose sole purpose is o carry away domestic waste water. ...
In short, an overage means a surplus or an excess of money. An overage can present itself at a property at an auction where the asset has gone over the asking price. Suppose there’s a ...
Roof constructed on a storage tank designed to expand and contract directly with the level of stored materials (usually liquid). Its design prevents the loss through vaporization of the ...
Largest form of owner ship giving the owner complete control including the development off an inheritable estate. ...
In taxation, the excess of total long-term gains minus total long-term losses on the sale of real estate. Long-term classification is for real estate held one year or more. This is reported ...
Leasing commercial or industrial real estate can be a perplexing process. As a tenant (and as a landlord,) you must consider several aspects before actually signing the deal. Even top local ...
Ownership of property transfers from the seller to the buyer when the parties sign the contract. ...
The smallest lot area required for building under the municipal zoning code. For example, a municipal zoning code requires all building lots to have a minimum lot area of 1/4 of an acre in ...
Fee charged by a mortgage lender to a buyer, seller or both for transferring a mortgage when the mortgage property is sold. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.