Decree Of Foreclosure And Sale

If the bad guys from The Grapes of Wrath turned into a court order, that court order would be a Decree Of Foreclosure And Sale.

It represents the official declaration that a bank is foreclosing on a property in order to pay off a delinquent mortgage. A court issues the degree, the culmination of a relatively long process. Homeowners have numerous legal protections against aggressive foreclosures, so lenders have to go through a number of steps before getting to the point where a judge issues a Decree Of Foreclosure And Sale.

Once the order is given, though, the lender can force the sale of the mortgaged property in order to recoup the debt.