When a homeowner fails to make mortgage payments as specified by the terms of the note he signed when he purchased the property. Technically, he is default when he misses the first payment but most lenders will not initiate foreclosure procedures until three or more payments have gone unpaid. The reason lenders delay taking action is that most people who miss one or two payments eventually cure the default by paying the amount due plus any late fees. Although the lender delays starting foreclosure proceedings, you can be sure they make multiple attempts to contact the homeowner to gently nudge them into bringing their loan current. As the number of months that the loan is in arrears increase, the lender notices increase in severity. Finally, if the homeowner does not respond to lender notices or cure the default, the lender is forced to initiate foreclosure proceedings.