Before jumping into the application process, it is important that you, the buyer, understands the general timeline for a loan, the expectations from a lender, and the preparation you should do prior to applying for a loan. A mortgage loan will most likely be the largest debt you will ever incur. Simply put, a mortgage is a loan to finance the purchase of your home. This is based upon a note that you sign where you pledge your home as collateral (or guarantee that in the case of non-payment of the loan the home can be used to repay the debt). Most mortgage loans these days are amortized over a period of time. Amortization is the term that refers to a fixed payment over a period of time which enables the borrower to reduce the debt gradually through monthly payments of principal and interest. A fixed rate mortgage, for example, has a set monthly payment while the amount of interest paid slowly is reduced to $0 by the end of the loan (even though at the beginning the borrower is generally pay a large portion of interest).
To begin, select from the following table of contents:
