Definition of "Mortgage loan"

A mortgage loan is nothing more than a real estate debt instrument. Acquiring a mortgage loan is the most common method of financing a home in America. The benefits are tremendous and the availability of it is dictated both by the risk the borrower presents to the lender, and the present moment of the country’s economy.

Here’s the play-by-play to better visualize the whole idea of a mortgage loan:

Jerry wants to buy a house that costs $200,000. But he doesn’t have 200k to spend at once - or he does but spending that amount of money will damage his cash flow. Because he doesn’t want to have a house but live miserably – plus, every new house comes with hidden costs…- he goes to a mortgage lender to ask for a mortgage loan.

The lender checks Jerry’s credit score and puts it against the price of the house to figure out if they are willing to take the risk on Jerry’s dream and financial health. If they are, then the mortgage loan is on. They will pay the $200,000 directly to the home seller and sign a contract with Jerry to allow him to move the home, that is “jointly owned” by the bank and Jerry. Now, every month, Jerry has to pay a certain amount of money combined with a specified (and agreed by contract) amount of interest that is deducted from the total amount. With every payment, Jerry acquires more equity to the home.

If everything goes along smoothly, Jerry pays the mortgage loan in its entirety, erases his debt, and the house becomes 100% his, thank you very much mortgage lender bye-bye.

However, if it doesn’t… big problems ahead.

A mortgage loan basically means that, as collateral, is the house itself. If something happens and Jerry defaults too much and fails to terminate his debt in a timely manner, the house goes in foreclosure and heads to auction so the lender can return its investment, and Jerry – having paid from 1% to 99%; doesn’t matter – loses everything.

Real Estate tip:

Here’s a great sort of mortgage loan: we will give you the best local real estate agents and you’ll give us… well, nothing because The OFFICIAL Real Estate Agent Directory® is 100% FREE! So I guess it’s not a mortgage loan after all, right? It’s just amazing. Yeah, we think so too. Enjoy!

image of a real estate dictionary page

Have a question or comment?

We're here to help.

*** Your email address will remain confidential.
 

 

Popular Real Estate Terms

Number of small holes in a wall allowing water to drain from it. This makes the walls able to withstand water pressure. ...

What does contribute mean in everyday scenarios? The official “contribute definition” goes as follows: providing a thing of great value, regularly money, to help accomplish a ...

Property that is unoccupied and thus not being used. It is usually raw land with no structure or improvements theron. ...

Amount still unpaid at a particular date on a loan or other financing agreement. ...

Burdens one parcel of land (the servient estate) for the benefit of another parcel (the dominant estate). ...

Taxes owed due to nonpayment, underreporting, or omission (unknowingly or intentionally) from a prior year. The taxing authority will demand the back taxes, including possible fines, ...

Optional feature included in some homeowners insurance policies that pays the replacement cost of any personal property. ...

"Same as term bridge loan: Short-term loan that is made in anticipation of permanent longer term loans. The interest rate on such a loan is usually higher than on longer term loans. An ...

Lack of supply of real property. When demand exceeds supply, price of the property goes up. For example, if there are only a few homes in a town that everyone desires to reside in, the ...

Popular Real Estate Questions