A mortgage is a written agreement for the transfer of property to be used as collateral against a loan for its purchase. The mortgage document typically stipulates conditions for a lien in favor of the lender in case the borrower defaults on a contract of terms for repayment of the loan. A mortgage agreement contains two distinct parts. The mortgage itself is the legal agreement for the loan and collateral. The attached promissory note stipulates the terms of the debt and promise to repay.

Mortgage brokers are matchmakers who connect lenders with buyers. Brokers offer a variety of loans from an assortment of lenders. They also give loan advice, handle loan applications, examine borrower assets and credit information, and process the loan application.

However, mortgage brokers don't finance loans themselves. Borrowers who go to mortgage brokers (as opposed to direct lenders like banks) are shopping for loans.

The term "mortgage company" is a broad one. Mortgage companies may be either mortgage brokers (who arrange to lend other people's money to borrowers) or mortgage bankers (who lend their own money). Unless borrowers specifically ask, they won't know whether the mortgage company will finance their loans.

A type of insurance changed by most lenders to offset the risk of your loan when your down payment is less than 20% of the value of the home.

A mortgage lender is the person or institution that advances money to the borrower. Mortgage lenders may be private (an individual, a private company, a friend or relative of the borrower) or public (a bank, savings and loan, mortgage banker, credit union, or similar financial institution). While public mortgage lenders must conform to government laws, there are few or no regulations on private mortgage lenders. Public or private, the mortgage lender holds the borrower's note of indebtedness and essentially owns the mortgage until the buyer buys it back.

A type of accelerated payment program whereby payments are made more frequently usually bi-weekly or weekly rather than the traditional monthly payment. Making more frequent and accelerated payments reduces the amount of principal more quickly which interest accumulation is based on. The net effect can be a savings on the total interest paid.

The mortgage term defines the amount of time that the borrower has to repay the mortgage loan. The most common mortgage terms are 15 and 30 years. Theoretically, the term could be any length of time on which the lender and borrower agree.

A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0-100

A

Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARMS)
Adjustable Rate Refi (Refinance)
Amortization
Annual Percentage Rate (APR)
Assumable Loans

B

Bad Credit Refi (Refinance)
Balloon Loans
BC & D Lender or Loan
Buydown

C

Cash-Out Refi
Closing
Closing Costs
Conventional Mortgage
Convertible ARM
Cosigner
Credit Report
Credit Score

D

Debt Consolidation
Debt Ratio
Default
Discount Rate
Down-payment

E

Effective Rate
Equity
Escrow
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F

FHA (Federal Housing Authority) Loan
Fixed Rate Mortgages
Fixed Rate Refi (Refinance)
Foreclosure
Fully Amortizing Payment
Fully Indexed Interest Rate

G

Government Loans
Graduated Payment Mortgages
Growing Equity Mortgage

H

Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC)
Home Equity Loan (second mortgage)
Housing Ratio
Hybrid ARM

I

Index
Interest Due
Interest Only Loan
Interest Only Refi (Refinance)
Interest Rate

J

Jumbo (or Non-Conforming) Loans
Jumbo Loan Refi
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K

L

Lenders Margin
Lien
Loan to Value (LTV) Ratio
Lock-in

M

Mortgage
Mortgage Broker
Mortgage Company
Mortgage Insurance
Mortgage Lender
Mortgage Reduction Programs
Mortgage Term

N

Negative Amortization
Negative Points

O

Option ARM
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P

PITI
PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance)
Points
Prepayment Penalty
Pre-Approval
Pre-qualification
Principal
Property Appraisal

Q

Qualification

R

Rate Protection
Refinancing
Residual Income

S

Second Mortgage
Servicing
Sub-Prime Borrower
Sub-Prime Lender

T

Term
Truth in Lending Law
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U

Underwriter
Uniform Residential Loan Application (1003)

V

VA (Veterans Administration) Loan

W

Wrap-around Mortgage

X

Y

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Z

0-100

80/10/10, 80/15/5, and 80/20/0 loan plans
100% Loan