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
The time period a real estate investment is held. The return is tied to the time period of the investment. The period is used for income tax purpose to determine whether a profit earned or ...
Percentage of a geographic location's population to the number of persons employable by a basic industry in that area. A basic industry is one that draws income from outside the locality ...
A flexible price that may be adjusted. A resolved situation between two or people or parties through discussions in which common interests are modified. For example, real estate ...
The definition of reversion in real estate is the return of property or assets to their original owner after a prespecified event or occurrence. This real estate term is used primarily in ...
In real estate terms, many consider having corner influence an extra financial advantage when it comes to transactions in most cases. Usually, enjoying a corner influence brings an ...
Arrears is a legal and financial term used to describe payments in regards to their due dates. While the term is more often used to refer to a contractual obligation or liability that was ...
loan that is not secured by a mortgage on a specific property. It is backed only by the borrower's credit rating. Unsecured loan are typically short term. The disadvantages of this kind of ...
Income reporting to the Internal Revenue Service using form 1099 stating income earned. For example, An employing real estate broker uses form 1099 to report commissions earned by a real ...
Home inspector is the name the real estate industry calls the professional responsible for the close and thorough examination of a property. The home inspector usually is called upon ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.