Foreclosure is a legal process by which a defaulted borrower is deprived of his or her interest in the mortgaged property. Technically speaking, the only “foreclosure sale" is the one that occurs at the sheriff’s sale or other legal processes that transfers ownership from the borrower to a new buyer or the investor. A property owner is in pre-foreclosure when they default on their mortgage. A foreclosure sale entails the sale of a property, commonly through an auction in order to satisfy an unpaid obligation. Depending upon state laws, this is done either under the authority of the court (judicial) or through a trustee sale (non-judicial).