Glossary

Arrearages

Dollar amount behind on the mortgage payments including fees and penalties.

Forbearance Agreement

Mortgage company agrees to put your late payments and fees on the end of the loan. This may or may not increase your monthly payments depending on your bank.

Foreclosure

the legal process where a creditor forces the sale of a property that was pledged as a security for debt owed to that lender when that debt is not been paid for. There are 3 stages of foreclosure 1) Pre-Foreclosure 2) Auction 3) REO (if lender obtains property)

Lis Pendens

In a simplified view, when you are behind on your payments and the bank wishes collect the rest of the mortgage amount, the bank files a note to the clerk and there will be some public notice that you are in default and the lender wants their money. This is the start of the foreclosure process.

Pre-Foreclosure

Any time period from when you are behind on payments right up to auction date.

REO

Acronym for Real Estate Owned. It just means the lender owns it and not you.

Short Sale

Process in which a lender will take less money than is owed.