A growing equity mortgage is a mortgage in which the interest rate is fixed but the monthly payments increase over time. If the owner fails to make payments on the promissory note then the lender can foreclose on the mortgage to force a sale of the real property and receive the proceeds, or receive the property itself at a public sheriff's sale.
Before the property is sold, the mortgagor must be noticed and offered an opportunity to pay all delinquent payments and costs of foreclosure to save the property. In some states the property can be redeemed by such payment even after foreclosure. When the mortgage is paid in full, the lender is required to execute a "satisfaction of mortgage" (sometimes called a "discharge of mortgage") and record it to clear the title to the property.
