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Home » Legal Articles » Just What Is Commercial Foreclosure Law

Just What Is Commercial Foreclosure Law?

The cast of characters. Everyone knows what a bank is. Most of us understand what a lender is – an institution from whom money is borrowed. Adding the word "commercial" to describe a lender simply means that the financial entity deals with businesses as opposed to individuals. Black's Law Dictionary defines "commercial loans" as: "loans made to businesses as distinguished from personal-consumer credit loans." Although a lender could make both commercial and consumer loans, this blog is dedicated primarily to commercial matters.

The field of law. To me, commercial foreclosure law refers to the rules and procedures applicable when a business defaults on a loan secured by some kind of collateral. So, if you work for an institution that loaned money to a business, and if the borrower defaulted under the terms of the loan agreement, then commercial foreclosure law provides the judicial framework for the protection of your rights. Typically, those rights involve the ability to collect money owed by the borrower through the sale of the loan collateral.

Collateral. Black's states that collateral is property pledged as security for the satisfaction of a debt. If a business defaults on a loan, the lender can initiate a foreclosure action to compel the sale of the loan collateral and therefore collect the amounts owed by the borrower through proceeds from the sale. There are all kinds of business-related collateral. Perhaps the most recognizable is real estate – the land a business owns. Some of the most interesting cases, however, deal with personal property collateral, which can be any property imaginable that is owned by a business – a fleet of cars, office furniture or intangibles such as accounts receivable.

Lien. A lien is a description of an encumbrance on property: "a claim . . . on property for payment of some debt." Black's. In the context of my blog, a lien arises by written contract between a lender and a borrower – either a real estate mortgage agreement or a personal property security agreement. The lien granted by a borrower to a lender gives a lender the right to foreclose upon the subject property (collateral) for payment of the debt in the event of a default.

Commercial foreclosure. Turning again to Black's, a foreclosure is defined, in part, as the "enforcement of a lien . . . or mortgage . . .." Paraphrasing Black's, foreclosure is the legal process by which real or personal property subject to a lien is sold in satisfaction of a debt. To foreclose means to terminate a borrower's rights in the subject property. A foreclosure that is commercial merely refers to the termination of a business borrower's rights in its property.

A form of collection. Commercial foreclosure law is a special kind of collection law. It's a body of rules governing how banks and financial institutions recover money by asserting rights in, and selling, collateral that a business granted to secure the loan. It's the set of legal principles applicable to a lender needing to collect money owed by a business, which failed to make its loan payments or otherwise defaulted under the terms of the loan documents. If any of these matters are relevant to what you do for a living, I welcome your visits to my blog and hope that you will e-mail me with your questions or comments.

And here is another random article you might be interested in...

Personal Finance – Why You Should Compare, Not Despair

Sorting out your personal finances can be a tricky and exasperating time. Whether you are looking to obtain money through a loan, protect your finances with life insurance, medical, travel or car insurance, save some money through an individual savings account (ISA), apply for a credit card or a mortgage, change a telephone or fuel utility supplier, or simply decide what the best current account is for your needs, the choices are seemingly endless as well as being extremely complicated. They can also be potentially serious if you get it wrong. With so many options, and so many companies trying to get you to use their product, it is difficult to know where to turn.

The first method of working out your own finances is to review your needs and compare the products on offer to meet those needs. You could, if desired, visit the banks one by one, burning calories and shoe leather by doing so. Alternatively you may have heard of the World Wide Web, it's like a sort of big and commercial version of Narnia and you don't have to go through your wardrobe to get there. And no freaky men with goats legs ...

... not without a login and password anyway.

So, we present the concept of financial product comparison sites, which have been around in the UK since 1997, when small company called moneynet decided to break up the monopoly in the personal finance market. Over the past eight years, there has been an explosion in the number of UK sites seeking to provide information to enable consumers to make informed decisions on their personal finances. These sites provide free consumer financial product comparison services for credit cards, insurance, investments, savings accounts, mortgages, loans, as well as gas and electricity bill suppliers. Additional consumer information services are also often provided such as financial guides, financial newsletters and personal finance calculators. Moneynet, in particular, has a tool which allows registered users to manage all of their accounts online â€" securely, including credit cards, savings accounts and current accounts.

You can also obtain financial advice from an independent financial advisor, but this is an expensive way of doing what could be done for free with a little effort. If you do your own homework, then you can use your time with an advisor more effectively by asking informed questions. You'll have a better understanding of what you're being sold if you've done a little bit of homework first.

Resources:
http://paler.com/uk_financial_comparison_sites.html
http://www.moneynet.co.uk/