Recourse debt is a

debt Debt is an obligation that requires one party, the debtor, to pay money or other agreed-upon value to another party, the creditor. Debt is a deferred payment, or series of payments, which differentiates it from an immediate purchase. The ...

that is backed by

collateral Collateral may refer to: Business and finance * Collateral (finance), a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan * Marketing collateral, in marketing and sales Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Collate ...

from the borrower. Also known as a recourse loan, this type of debt allows the lender to collect from the debtor and the debtor's assets in the case of default as opposed to foreclosing on a particular property or asset as with a

home loan A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law jurisdicions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners to raise funds for any p ...

or auto loan. Nonpayment of recourse debt allows the lender the right to collect

asset In financial accounting, an asset is any resource owned or controlled by a business or an economic entity. It is anything (tangible or intangible) that can be used to produce positive economic value. Assets represent value of ownership that can ...

s or pursue

legal action In legal terminology, a complaint is any formal legal document that sets out the facts and legal reasons (see: cause of action) that the filing party or parties (the plaintiff(s)) believes are sufficient to support a claim against the party ...

. While mortgages in the US are typically nonrecourse debt, a foreclosure or bankruptcy can trigger the loan to become recourse debt at the request of the lending institution.

Classification

Recourse debt can either be full or limited recourse debt. A full recourse debt gives the granter the right to take any and all assets of the debtor, up to the full amount of the debts. The lender will sell the seized assets, including the asset acquired through the original loan. Limited, or partial recourse debt, relies on the original loan

contract A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tr ...

, where named assets are the extent to which a lender may take action.

References

{{reflist Debt

Classification

See also

References