What means Repossessed?

Published by Thomas Herold in Banking, Laws & Regulations, Real Estate

'Repossessed' is explained in detail and with examples in the Laws & Regulations edition of the Herold Financial Dictionary, which you can get from Amazon in Ebook or Paperback edition.

Repossessed means that an article of personal (or occasionally business) property for which an individual (or business) did not pay for has been reclaimed by the financier or original owner of the asset. There are two cases in which it is commonly utilized. The first is when the real owner of said asset re-acquires the asset in question from the party that borrowed it, leased, or rented it. This could be done whether the asset has been leased, rented, or loaned out without compensation or with it.

In the second case, a lienholder can take possession of the asset from the owner to whom it is registered. This happens in cases where the item was pledged to be collateral on a loan. Some analysts describe the act of repossession as an action which is really self-help for the actual owner in a difficult situation. The party has the rights of ownership to the given real estate or asset, and they simply get it back from the party which formerly had the rights of possession. They do this without having to rely on court proceedings.

Once a property is successfully repossessed, the actual owner is allowed to sell it either via a third party realtor or agent or utilizing a financial institution. In various jurisdictions, there are different rights of repossession that are government-authorized. The authorities also determine how they can execute such repossession in practice.

There are other cases when the lenders are unable to track down their collateral. They also might not be able to obtain it peaceably, or the legal jurisdiction simply may not permit such repossession to occur in the first place. In these cases, the alternative to repossessing something is for the holder of the asset to return the goods before a court ordered judgment mandates it. This is called replevin.

In the United States, laws can allow for repossession of items. Liens refer to the collateral’s security interest. Lienholders are the creditors or lenders. Lienholders will have a non-delegatable obligation that states they cannot disturb the peace when they repossess the item. If they do, the repossessed item will be reversed back to the holder of the asset. The entity which ordered the repossession would then be liable for any and all damages. Foreclosure is the name analysts and lenders give when a real estate property is repossessed.

State laws govern the actual act of repossession within the U.S. Creditors who possess security interests in assets are allowed to reclaim possession of such assets when the debtor of the item defaults on his contract which originally established the security interest in the first place. All fifty states and D.C. enacted into law the Uniform Commercial Code Article 9 that allows for repossession of goods when the debtor defaults and such a repossession can occur without breaching the peace. Defaulting means that the one who owes the debt failed to carry out the obligations of the contract. It generally occurs when debtors refuse to or are unable to make their necessary payments in a timely manner or if they do not keep the agreed upon insurance levels current on the item in question.

In particular, a number of American states decided to enact other laws which pertain to repossessing leased or bought motor vehicles. These laws were established to protect consumers from predatory practices of lienholders. Auto lenders have to give opportunities to redeem or reinstate the lease or purchase contracts once their car has been repossessed. Such a reinstatement means that the consumer successfully caught up on all of their overdue amounts along with the repossession expenses of the creditor. Redemption means that the consumer pays off the whole balance remaining on the contract. They would then acquire full and undiluted ownership of the vehicle without any further contractual obligations.

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The term 'Repossessed' is included in the Laws & Regulations edition of the Herold Financial Dictionary, which you can get from Amazon in Ebook or Paperback edition.