A document that pledges your property as security for a loan's repayment

If you can't repay the loan on your home, a mortgage gives the lender the right to foreclose on the property and sell it to get back their money. A deed of trust serves the same purpose as a mortgage, however some states traditionally use one or the other - in some cases both, depending on the custom in each county. With a mortgage, the lender must go to court to foreclose on a property.

		Deed of trust states
		Alaska	Mississippi	North Carolina
		Arizona	Missouri	Virginia
		California	Nevada	Washington DC

		Mortgage states
		Alabama	Louisiana	North Dakota
		Arkansas	Maine	Ohio
		Connecticut	Massachusetts	Oregon
		Delaware	Michigan	Pennsylvania
		Florida	Minnesota	Rhode Island
		Hawaii	New Hampshire	South Carolina
		Indiana	New Jersey	Vermont
		Kansas	New Mexico	Wisconsin
		Kentucky	New York

		States that use both deeds of trust and mortgages**
		Colorado	Montana	Texas
		Idaho	Nebraska	Utah
		Illinois	Oklahoma	Wyoming
		Iowa	Oregon	Washington
		Maryland	Tennessee	West Virginia
		* Georgia uses a security deed ** Custom dictates which document is used

See: Judicial foreclosure
Compare: Deed of trust