Resources > Glossary > Acceleration Clause

Glossary of Notary Public, Mortgage, Signing Agent, and Loan Signing Terms.

0-9  [A]  B  C  D  E  F  G  H  I  J  K  L  M  N  O  P  Q  R  S  T  U  V  W  X  Y  Z  
Common Terms 1   Common Terms 2

Acceleration Clause

Phonetics: ac·cel·er·a·tion clause    \ik-ˌse-lə-rā-shən \ 'klȯz\

Function: Noun

Acceleration clauses help to define the terms of the loan.  Many terms can be included in an acceleration clause such as the prohibiting of the buyer from reselling the property without the written permission of the lender.  Another common term is the prohibiting of the sale of the collateral used to secure the loan.  An acceleration clause can penalize a borrower for late payments or failure to pay at all.  Most loans with acceleration clauses have very reasonable terms, but there is always the chance that some of the terms may be very unfavorable to the borrowers.

Definition 1:
This clause allows the lender to speed up the rate at which your loan comes due or even to demand immediate payment of the entire outstanding balance of the loan should you default on your loan.

Definition 2:
A clause that is a statement or series of statements that describes a number of reasons which would allow the lender to demand the outstanding balance of the loan.