> They didn't "fail to repay." Nobody ever repays this type of loan.
Largely, but not strictly true. When the property changes hands, the old loan is paid down by the original owner / creditor and a new loan is taken out by the new owner / creditor.
> And when you pay off a loan with borrowed money the word for that is "refinance"
Not really.
If I buy a house with a mortgage, I wouldn't say I refinanced the house just because the previous owners also had a mortgage. Refinance is only used when the owner is the same across loans.
Largely, but not strictly true. When the property changes hands, the old loan is paid down by the original owner / creditor and a new loan is taken out by the new owner / creditor.