Real estate is commonly purchased with cash or financed with a mortgage through a private or commercial lender.
What Is a Home Mortgage?
A home mortgage is a loan given by a bank, mortgage company, or other financial institution for the purchase of a residence—a primary residence, a secondary residence, or an investment residence—in contrast to a piece of commercial or industrial property. In a home mortgage, the owner of the property (the borrower) transfers the title to the lender on the condition that the title will be transferred back to the owner once the final loan payment has been made and other terms of the mortgage have been met.1
A home mortgage is one of the most common forms of debt, and it is also one of the most recommended. Because they are secured debt—an asset (the residence) acts as backing for the loan—mortgages come with lower interest rates than almost any other kind of loan that an individual consumer can find.
