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
Valuing real property based on the expected cost to buy property of identical value. The replacement cost to build a structure should be based on current prices. The appraisal should ...
Payment of the minimum tax by using legal tax planning opportunities such as estate planning. The use of tax avoidance strategies is a sound approach to retaining cash flow. On the other ...
Refurbishing or rebuilding a property, such as a house, back to its original or earlier condition. ...
In real estate, asking price is referred to as the amount set by the seller, the amount he/she wants to receive for the purchase of their home by the buyer. The asking price isn’t ...
Make changes to existing property. Example are putting in a new bathroom, kitchen, or basement ...
Person or business that benefits from the work of another person or business. The recipient has not compensated the other party for this gain. In law, the one being enriched at the ...
If you’re an owner of a property that needs to be accounted for in your return on investment or used to calculate your capital gains and losses, then the cost basis will help you ...
Aerial photos are photographs taken by cameras mounted in aircraft or satellites. Aerial photos are more commonly used in the industrial Real Estate Market to get a better feel of a ...
Hallow masonry wall consisting of an inner and outer wall with dead air space between them. The air space provides increased thermal insulation. Cavity walls are not used in northern ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.