take back property

foreclose
(especially of banks) to take back property that was bought with borrowed money because the money was not being paid back as formally agreed
Cambridge dictionary

A bank buys someone's property, so now it's the bank's property.
They fail to buy their property back.
The bank keeps the property.

Why is it called take back property if it's already the bank's property?
Thank you.

No, the bank is taking property that someone else bought, using money borrowed from the bank. (Normally the property was never the bank's in the first place, so it's technically wrong for a different reason than you stated.)

VikNikSor said:

A bank buys someone's property, so now it's the bank's property.
They fail to buy their property back.
The bank keeps the property.

Not quite.

I borrow money from the bank in order to buy some property. The deed to the property is in my name: the property belongs to me.
I fail to pay the bank the money I owe them.
The bank takes the property in lieu of the money owed.

I suppose the Cambridge dictionary says "take back" as a reflection that the money loaned by the bank was used to purchase the property.

[Cross-posted with pob14]

pob14 said:

(Normally the property was never the bank's in the first place, so it's technically wrong for a different reason than you stated.)

This may depend on your local laws, but the bank may well have title to your house and may "technically" be considered to own it in some ways. In Texas, the deed and the title are separate.

I thought it was about mortgaged property.

Thanks to all of you.

The deed is usually just a document that acts as evidence of title; in that sense deed and title are kind of different and the same at the same time
Typically you cannot sell the property unless you have the deeds, to prove that you have title (ownership) and therefore the right to sell.

Nowadays, deeds are going out of fashion in favour of centralized computerized registration of title. But traditionally, when a bank lends you money, they keep the deed documents in their custody (but this does not mean they own the property in any sense). The reason for this is obvious: If you have the title deeds, you could just sell the house, take the buyer's money, and run (not having paid the bank back their loan).

When a bank forecloses on the loan, this is often "taking back" or "repossessing", but this is technically inaccurate, it's just a form of seizure that does not change ownership. You continue to own the property even after the bank has seized it. The bank merely exercises the right (which you gave it in the mortgage agreement) to sell the property . If they can get more money from this sale than you owe them, they have to give you the rest back. If they get less money, you still owe them the rest (but often they won't bother to chase you for it because they know all about blood and stones).

Thank you very much!

Could you tell me what the "it" refers to?

(which you gave it in the mortgage agreement)

Might it have been left out? (if it refers to 'right')

No, "which" refers to "right", "it" refers to the bank. When you make a mortgage agreement with a bank, they give you money, and you agree to pay it back, with interest, in instalments. Part of what the agreement says is what happens if you fail to make the payments on time. One of the rights you give the bank is that, when such circumstances arise, they can make the whole loan repayable immediately. The only way this is usually possible is by forcing you to sell the house.

I see now, thanks!

At least in my jurisdiction banks do not take back property. They have to file a forclosure. It is a court case that can allow them to take possession of a property for non payment.

Thank you.

It depends upon the nature of the loan. If it is a "secured" loan then the bank has recourse to foreclose on the property (or vehicle). If it is not a secured loan, all the bank can do is sue.

Most home purchases and most car purchases are secured loans. But if you have excellent credit you might buy a car on a non-secured (personal or business loan) loan. In that case the car cannot be reposessed in the event that you fail to make your payments on the loan. The bank can sue to recover their money but they cannot seize your assets.

__Thank you.