2006-08-17 03:30:48 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Other - Education
Mortgage is a fancy word for loan. When you buy a house you get a special kind of loan called a mortgage. Essentially whatever company or bank you get your mortgage from owns your house and you are slowly paying it off. As you pay off the mortgage you earn equity. This is the actual value YOU have in the house. Many times you can borrow money from your equity for other things - but you have to pay it back and it is like extending your mortgage - but not really. There are different kinds of mortgages, you can get one that have fixed interest rates or one that fluctuates. The length of a mortgage is usually 30 years, but you can make them shorter if you can afford the higher monthly payments. The shorter the term length, the less you pay in the long run- but you have to pay more each month. It's the interest that kills you.
I hope that helped.
You can also try any bank websites, they usually have lots of information posted about mortgages.
2006-08-17 03:35:51 · answer #1 · answered by goodlittlegirl11 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It's essentially a loan--and they rarely ever get paid off. Banks charge high interest, so they make it difficult to ever pay off the loan. The average person refinances their house every 4 years, so the loan essentially keeps starting over again. There are many types of mortgages: 30-year, 15-year, 10-year. There are also unconvential mortgage loans that are interest-only. Those cost a lot less monthly--but much more risky.
There are many tax benefits of having a mortgage payment.
2006-08-17 04:47:09 · answer #2 · answered by alicia1990 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
A mortgage (Law French for "dead pledge") is a device used to create a lien on real estate by contract. It is used as a method by which individuals or businesses can buy residential or commercial property without paying the full value upfront. The borrower (also called the mortgagor) uses a mortgage to pledge real property to the lender (also called the mortgagee) as security against the debt (also called hypothecation) for the rest of the value of the property. ...
2006-08-17 03:39:08 · answer #3 · answered by pinkfreud(aruninte.blogspot.com) 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Taking out a loan and using your house as collateral to secure the loan.
2006-08-17 03:42:13 · answer #4 · answered by Dianna 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋