repossess

Repossession is a term used to denote a financial institution taking back an object that was either used as collateral or rented or leased. Repossession is a "self-help" type of action in which the party having right of ownership of the property in question takes the property back from the party having right of possession without invoking court proceedings. The property may then be sold by either the financial institution or third party sellers. The extent to which repossession is authorized, and how it may be executed, greatly varies in different jurisdictions (see below).