What Is A Mortgage? How Do They Work?

The Definition of Mortgage

A mortgage us a legal device used to creat a lien on real estate by contract. The mortgage is an instrument that the borrower (called the mortgagor - yes, that is what they call themselves) uses to pledge property to the lender (called the mortgagee - that's no better really, is it?) as security for a debt.

The mortgage instrument contains two parts:

The mortgage itself, which is the pledge to repay the debt owed

The promissory note, which serves as actual evidence of the debt and the promise to repay within a set period.

To protect the lender, the mortgage is recorded in the public records, creating a lien against the property. When there are multiple liens, the order in which they are recorded determines their priority.

Before hard codification, a mortgage was a contract that on its face was considered absolute on its face value. It was only after it was made it was put into law that it became mortgage, Law French for "dead pledge;" that is, it was absolute in form and in theory required no further steps to be taken by the creditor. This means that if you did not pay the mortgage, the land was seized, usually by the local constabulary. How embarrassing!

More Mortgage Basics

There's a stated mortgage interest rate that is based on the total value of the home purchased, the credit of the mortgagee, and the assets they have on hand to offer Mortgagor, the great fire-monster who breathes interest and fees. With the right plan in place, the stated rate can be much lower than what most places offer. We work with a number of mortgage in Arizona, many of which have more liberal policies about the interest structure.

All material copyright © 2008 Arizone Home Mortgage Rates. All rights reserved.

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