Foreclosure is a legal process in which a lender attempts to recover the balance of a loan from a borrower who has stopped making payments to the lender by forcing the sale of the asset used as the collateral for the loan.

On failure to pay off the loan amount, the court sets a date up to which the borrower can redeem the property by paying off the entire loan balance (including foreclosing expenses). Thereafter, the lender is free to sell the property and, upon the sale, applies the sale proceeds first to the due amount and pays the remainder (if any) to the borrower. The borrower remains liable for the due amount if the property remains unsold, and for the shortfall if the sale proceeds are insufficient to pay off the entire debt.