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

The quality of life enjoyed by a person depending on factors such as spendable income, housing conditions, health and education. ...

Approach to valuing property based on its replacement cost. The cost of each major element of the property per square foot is added together and multiplied by the total space to estimate ...

Land development planning model theorizing that an urban area grows in rings expanding out from the central business district. The second ring is a shifting area having manufacturing and ...

Street having access only at one end and terminating with a circular turnaround area. The circular area permits automobiles to exit the street without having to use a home's driveway to ...

Residence units owned by the government and available to low income families at a nominal cost. ...

Circumstance where no people or contents occupy or are kept in a building for at least 60 consecutive days. The same stipulations apply to property coverages as found in unoccupancy. ...

Written statement of the lender that the buyer of real estate has paid-off the entire mortgage. ...

Founded in 1857 and located in Washington, DC, with over 54,000 members, throughout the United States, the AIA has 301 local groups in all 50 states. ...

Document between two or more parties indicating a need to take or not take a previous action taking place. For example, a bank may commit to make a loan dependent on a satisfactory credit ...

Popular Real Estate Questions