Secured Transactions

Secured transactions come in many forms, but three types are most common for consumers: pledges, chattel mortgages, and conditional sales. A pledge is the delivery of goods to the secured party as security for a debt or the performance of an act. For example, assume that one person has borrowed $500 from another. Assume further that the debtor gives a piece of expensive jewelry to the creditor. If the jewelry is to be returned to the debtor after the debt is repaid, and if the creditor has the right to take full ownership of the jewelry if the debtor does not pay the debt, the arrangement is called a pledge.

A chattel mortgage is like a pledge, but in a chattel mortgage transaction, the debtor is allowed to retain possession of the property that is put up as collateral. If the debtor fails to repay the debt, the creditor may take ownership of the property.

A third type of secured transaction, the conditional sale, uses a purchase money security interest. A purchase money security interest arises when a creditor lends money to a borrower, who uses the money to purchase a particular item. To secure repayment of the loan, the creditor receives a lien on, or claim to, the purchased item. The lien gives the creditor a claim to the property that may be asserted if the borrower does not repay the loan.