If you purchased your home, you took out a mortgage loan. A mortgage loan is a secured loan which means your lender has a secured interest in your home. If you fail to make mortgage payments to your lender, you lender is entitled to take your home. Foreclosure is the legal process a mortgage company must follow to end the homeowner’s ownership rights to the home if the homeowner has failed to make mortgage payments and has been unable to make other arrangements with the mortgage company.