Involuntary Alienation
Definition of "Involuntary alienation"
The definition of involuntary alienation in real estate is the loss of property through attachment, condemnation, foreclosure, sale for taxes or other involuntary transfer of title. Involuntary alienation differs from voluntary alienation in that in the latter, the residents vacate voluntarily, whereas they do not in the case of the former.
Perhaps the most commonly seen of these is foreclosure, in which a bank evicts the residents from their home due to unpaid mortgage payments. Let’s look at a couple of examples of involuntary alienation.
Examples of Involuntary Alienation in Real Estate
Richard is a twenty-four-year-old electrical engineer in a fairly remote town with a respectable population of 21,000 residents. After getting his certification, Richard finds a high-paying position with attractive benefits and steady work. As many professionals his age often do, Richard buys a flashy, expensive car, and starts payments on a large house that is well above his means.
As a result of the collapse of the largest employer in the county, Richard loses his job and is forced to take a lower-paying job just to make ends meet. After several months of decreased income, Richard’s savings have run out, and he begins to miss his house payments. One evening, after a hard day of work at his grueling new job, Richard returns home to find a large red-and-white sign reading “FORECLOSED” standing in his front yard.
This is an example of foreclosure, one of the most common types of involuntary alienation. As is sometimes the case with this type of action on the part of the bank, the foreclosure was unannounced, as residents often destroy the property in response to the eviction notice. There are other circumstances under which residents may be involuntarily alienated from their property such as failure to pay property taxes, but foreclosure is by far the most common.
Property seized by a bank is often sold at lower than it would otherwise sell for as the bank is simply interested in covering the money owed. When looking to buy a house ask the realtor about foreclosures.
Popular Real Estate Terms
Not paying taxes legally due the government. Examples are the failure to report rental income received and claiming false deductions on real estate holdings. The penalty for tax fraud is ...
Same as term legal description: A description of real property including metes and bounds, government rectangular survey, or lot numbers of a recorded plat. All property deeds have a legal ...
Right of a property owner located adjacent to an airfield to use the airspace above a certain distance to fly an airplane. However, the owner may not be allowed to put structures, signs or ...
Cash payment to a lender so as to lower the interest rate on a loan a borrower must incur. The lower rate may apply for all or a part of the loan term. ...
In order to define the rate of return on investment, or more commonly known as ROI we are also going to explain how it can be calculated and what to look for in the return rate. Investing ...
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 ...
A federal act requiring potential purchasers and lessees of undeveloped land be provide with all necessary information required to make an informed decision regarding the desirability of ...
Cost excluded from the minimum lease payments to be made by the lessee in a capital lease. The lessee reimburses the lessor for the lessor's expense payments. ...
When someone throws around the term “mobile home”, it almost requires further explanation to fully understand what that person is talking about. Why is that? Well, one mobile ...
Have a question or comment?
We're here to help.