Definition of "Acceleration Clause"

Thomas  Eason real estate agent

Written by

Thomas Easonelite badge icon

RE/MAX AEROSPACE

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


image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

Average number of business days an office space is being used. ...

Document submitted to a governmental agency to extend the time period for a previously approved document. ...

model depicting on paper what a structure physically looks like. The dimensions are draw on a proportionate basis to the real thing. An example is a scale of an existing or proposed office ...

A map that shows land elevations. ...

Payment received after the due date. A penalty and/or interest may be charged on such payment. For example, a bank may charge a penalty of $25 if a mortgage payment is received after the ...

What does viz. mean? The meaning of viz. derives from the Latin word videlicet which is translated into English as namely, that is, which is, as follows. You may encounter it in legal ...

Lease payments based on factors other than the passage of time. ...

Ask Price is the initial listed price for a piece of real estate.It’s important to understand that, in the real estate world, there’s no such thing as a fixed price when buying ...

Written proposals and acceptances applicable to the aspects of the transaction. The escrow agent must follow the purchase and sale agreement. ...

Popular Real Estate Questions