The mortgage or deed of trust is filed in the local real estate records, where the deed to the property is also filed. Like the promissory note, most mortgages and deeds of trust describe defaults and remedies.
Remedies are the rights that one party to an agreement has if the other party defaults.
The defaults described in a mortgage, to a great extent, are the same as the defaults in the promissory note. For example, a mortgagor will be in default of the mortgage, as well as the promissory note, if the mortgagor fails to make a payment on the loan when due. However, mortgages and deeds of trust usually also have defaults relating to the property that may not be found in the related promissory notes. For example, it is almost always a default of a mortgage if the property owner fails to maintain the property, fails to pay real estate taxes on the property or allows hazardous waste to contaminate the property. These defaults are all events that make the property, and therefore the bank's security, less valuable.