Mortgage Basics 101

Learn how the monthly housing expense combines principal and interest, hazard insurance, and property tax, with an escrow account that the lender uses to pay these obligations.

Conventional loans are regular loans from a lender secured by the property, with options to purchase or refinance, while government loans supplement asset financing.

Explore home equity conversion mortgage, a reverse mortgage that lets seniors access cash from home equity as a line of credit, repaid when the property is sold or upon death.

Explore VA loans backed by the federal government and issued through private lenders, offering no down payment, no mortgage insurance, and a certificate of eligibility for service members and spouses.

Learn how rate and term refinance replaces an existing mortgage with a new loan to change the interest rate or loan term, often without advancing new money, as rates decline.

Explain when FHA streamline refinance applies to borrowers with an FHA-insured mortgage, how the lower interest rate benefits them, and how they qualify by showing the refinance benefit.

Explore how the VA loan, backed by the federal government and issued through private lenders, offers no down payment, no mortgage insurance, and easier qualification with a certificate of eligibility.

Adjustable-rate mortgages offer a variable rate below fixed loans, with a fixed-rate period from one month to ten years and payments that adjust at prearranged frequencies.

Explore how the hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage blends fixed and adjustable rates, with an initial fixed period followed by annual market-based adjustments and the risk of higher costs if rates rise.

Title insurance protects both lender and buyer from financial loss due to defects in a title, including back taxes, liens, conflicting claims, and falsified documents, with a one-time fee.

Explore the role of closing and settlement agents in real estate financing, coordinating document signing, transferring legal title, delivering securities, and ensuring contract obligations are met.

Explore loan estimate and closing disclosure, learn what each document covers, the three business days timing after a complete loan application, and why interest rates vary by lender.