Finance glossary
Foreclosure
Definition
A lender seizing property when mortgage payments stop.
Foreclosure is the legal process by which a lender repossesses and sells a property after the borrower defaults on the mortgage. It damages the borrower credit for years and is a last resort for lenders. Waves of foreclosures marked the 2008 housing crisis.
In a sentence
After months of missed payments, the bank began foreclosure and repossessed the home.
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