A lien (/ˈliːn/ or /ˈliːən/) is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to secure the payment of a debt or performance of some other obligation. The owner of the property, who grants the lien, is referred to as the lienee and the person who has the benefit of the lien is referred to as the lienor or lien holder.
The etymological root is Anglo-French lien or loyen, meaning "bond", "restraint", from the Latin ligamen, from ligare "to bind".
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.
Formally, a mortgage lender (mortgagee), or other lienholder, obtains a termination of a mortgage borrower (mortgagor)'s equitable right of redemption, either by court order or by operation of law (after following a specific statutory procedure).
A registered owner is usually the person or entity that is on the government records as being the legal owner of certain property, such as real estate or a motor vehicle, as well as ships. The registration of shares in a company is usually required to be managed by the company. The registered owner of a property in question is normally presumed, sometimes conclusively, to be the legal owner of the property and is said to “hold the title” or is “registered on the title”.
Ownership of property usually implies a right of possession, as opposed to the party that has right of property. The party that has the right of property is referred to as a lienholder, and in the event the registered owner fails to pay off the lien according to the agreed-to terms, the lienholder has the right to invoke repossession of the property.