what is pre foreclosure 
pre foreclosure refers to the first phase of a legal proceeding that ultimately can conclude in a property being repossessed from a defaulted borrower the lender files a notice of default on the property in pre foreclosure because the borrowing owner exceeds the contractual terms for delinquent payments a notice of default informs the borrowing owner that the lender is pursuing legal actions toward foreclosure borrowers have a few options available if they find themselves in pre foreclosure lenders may even be willing to negotiate with them to avoid moving to the foreclosure phase 