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
Generally, the definition of a deposition means a pre-trial and out-of-court testimony that is given under oath. A deposition is integral to the discovery process to establish a ...
Map within a governmental jurisdiction showing the boundary lines and ownership of all real property. A cadastral program produces the cadastral map. ...
The minimum age required for legal competency ( in most states 18 years). ...
Act occurring after the fact. ...
Local government ordinances governing real estate development including structural and design aspects. Zoning ordinances usually define various usage classifications ranging from ...
Predetermined price for a contract that will be the same irrespective of the actual costs incurred to complete it. This contract is advantageous to the buyer because he knows beforehand ...
Title that can be made null and void or defeated upon the satisfaction of a claim or the completion of some future contingency. ...
The value of property subject to tax. The tax equals the tax rate multiplied by the property's value. ...
Distance from the location of natural ground and water to the actual ground level. ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.