What is a Mortgage?

Few people can come up with the entire amount of money required to pay for the cost of a home. A mortgage is a loan of the money most people require to finance the purchase their home. A mortgage allows individuals to buy property without paying the full value all at once. The mortgagor is the person borrowing money, the mortgagee is the lender of the money.

When negotiating the amount of your mortgage, you should be aware that you will most likely be required to provide a down payment which is the money you put towards the purchase price of your home. The amount of your mortgage is determined by the purchase price of the home less the amount of your down payment. As with all loans, a mortgage must be repaid to the borrower with interest. There are different types of repayment methods which make up the different Mortgage Types available.

Like all loans, regular payments made over time go towards paying down the mortgage. These payments are made up of two parts – one part goes towards paying the principal (the amount of money borrowed) and other part goes towards paying the interest (the fee charged for borrowing the money.)

The more money you can put down, the less you will have to borrow, and the less interest you will have to pay over the length of the mortgage.