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Renegotiation in the Common Law Mortgage and the Impact of Equitable Redemption

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Author Info
Lynn Fisher ()
Abstract

This paper seeks to fill a gap in the real estate finance literature by linking the well-known history of the Anglo–American mortgage recorded by legal scholars with the recent literature on security design and incomplete contracting in order to explain and evaluate several unique features of the mortgage. In particular, we investigate how a conditional transfer of ownership to a lender and the institution called the equity of redemption affect mortgage renegotiation and therefore the value of mortgaged real estate. Given the governance of the common law mortgage, we show that a mortgagor may not be able to renegotiate his mortgage debt in order delay repayment when faced with a re-investment opportunity during the life of the mortgage. The failure to optimally renegotiate the mortgage does not necessarily result in foreclosure but may result in underinvestment. Therefore, an additional period of time between default and foreclosure, known as a period of equitable redemption, may allow the mortgagor to accrue sufficient cash flow to not only avoid foreclosure but to mitigate underinvestment in non-default states. Since this extra period of time may not be achievable ex post due to a hold-up problem, its inclusion ex ante may be welfare improving. Copyright Springer Science + Business Media, Inc. 2006

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File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1007/s11146-005-5178-8
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Publisher Info
Article provided by Springer in its journal The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics.

Volume (Year): 32 (2006)
Issue (Month): 1 (February)
Pages: 61-82
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Handle: RePEc:kap:jrefec:v:32:y:2006:i:1:p:61-82

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Web page: http://www.springerlink.com/link.asp?id=102945

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Related research
Keywords: equity of redemption; mortgage history; property rights;

References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:

  1. Matthew J. Baker & Thomas Miceli & C. F. Sirmans, 2004. "An Economic Theory of Mortgage Redemption Laws," Working papers 2004-26, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  2. Huberman, Gur & Kahn, Charles M, 1988. "Limited Contract Enforcement and Strategic Renegotiation," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 78(3), pages 471-84, June. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  3. Aghion, Philippe & Hermalin, Benjamin, 1990. "Legal Restrictions on Private Contracts Can Enhance Efficiency," Journal of Law, Economics and Organization, Oxford University Press, vol. 6(2), pages 381-409, Fall.
    Other versions:
  4. John P. Harding & C.F. Sirmans, 2002. "Renegotiation of Troubled Debt: The Choice between Discounted Payoff and Maturity Extension," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 30(3), pages 475-503. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  5. Aghion, Philippe & Bolton, Patrick, 1992. "An Incomplete Contracts Approach to Financial Contracting," Review of Economic Studies, Blackwell Publishing, vol. 59(3), pages 473-94, July. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  6. Ambrose, Brent W & Buttimer, Richard J, Jr, 2000. "Embedded Options in the Mortgage Contract," The Journal of Real Estate Finance and Economics, Springer, vol. 21(2), pages 95-111, September. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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  7. James B. Kau & Taewon Kim, 1994. "Waiting to Default: The Value of Delay," Real Estate Economics, American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association, vol. 22(3), pages 539-551. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
  8. Oliver Hart & John Moore, 1998. "Default And Renegotiation: A Dynamic Model Of Debt," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, MIT Press, vol. 113(1), pages 1-41, February. [Downloadable!] (restricted)
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(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Matthew J. Baker & Thomas J. Miceli & C. F. Sirmans, 2006. "An Economic Theory of Mortgage Redemption Laws," Working papers 2006-25, University of Connecticut, Department of Economics. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
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