Exactly. Mortgages work differently than, say, car loans. Car loans typically have the bank listed on the title until the loan is satisfied, then the title is r

Exactly. Mortgages work differently than, say, car loans. Car loans typically have the bank listed on the title until the loan is satisfied, then the title is rewritten to be in the buyer's name. This is why a car can be repossessed without a court order; the bank is quite literally the owner and you only have the right to use the car. A mortgage, on the other hand, is only secured by the property. The buyer is the owner, period; pulling up my house in the county property records shows my name. This is why banks must go through the courts in a foreclosure process in order to take ownership of the property, and cannot simply repossess it.