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
Any property, tangible or otherwise, except real estate. For example, furniture or automobiles. ...
In real estate and across the nation, you will see different types of house structures, frames, and aspects. One of those is the A-frame type. This is an architectural style that leans ...
Property tax rate whereby each mill is $1 of tax assessment per $1,000 of assessed property value. For example, a house in Los Alamitos is assessed at $200,000 and the millage rate is 10 ...
A criminal act of falsely representing another individual to gain profit or gain an advantage. ...
That which remains. As applied to real estate, it is the profit derived from rentals after subtracting all operating costs from the gross rental revenue. ...
Lease payments based on factors other than the passage of time. ...
Map that shows the location and boundaries of individual properties. ...
market in which there are comparatively few bids to buy or offers to sell real estate. The term relates to a single investment or to a particular investment market, such as the real estate ...
Initial or senior mortgage on property. It comes before all subsequent mortgages, and the mortgage has precedence in payment if default occurs. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.