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
Rear lining of chimney. An acceptable chimney back lining can be achieved by plastering the interior surfaces of the chimney. A better alternative, however, is a manufactured lining of ...
The construction of a highway right way over a privately held parcel of land. Property owners are entitled to compensation for the value of the property usurped by a highway easement. See ...
Map presented to a municipality's planning agency by a real estate developer for consideration and approval. ...
The term effective interest rate is the actual return from a savings account or any investment where you pay interest when considering the effects of compounding costs over time. Through an ...
A married partner. Property may be jointly held by spouses. ...
The accrued interest definition can be explained through the interest collected by a set date on financial obligations that were not paid out. As interest can be of two types, so does ...
Counter action by a defendant against a plaintiff. It is an independent action and just a denial of plaintiff's action. ...
An agreement allowing occupancy of a premises for a stated period of time provided certain terms are met. A limited occupancy agreement is most frequently used when a prospective buyer is ...
Buyer who is acting in good faith, is not aware of any outstanding claims or rights of others to the property, and has given valuable consideration as part of the business transaction. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.