Mortgages are loans used to buy property

The term ‘mortgage’ was born out of the French word for ‘dead pledge’

Borrowing money to buy a house has been a global practice since the Romans in the fifth century BCE. But before the mortgage, there was the “dead pledge,” which labeled the property as “dead” to the borrower until they paid off their loan to the lender.

Buyers used to borrow money from people within their communities to purchase property

Historically, borrowing money from other people to purchase property was common until private financing companies—primarily building and loan associations—stepped in to offer mortgages to buyers.

Mortgage insurance offers help to buyers who can’t afford to put down 20% up front

Buyers who need mortgage insurance end up paying more per month on top of their loan to cover the added insurance. At its core, mortgage insurance helps buyers purchase a home they can’t afford, letting them put down 20%, while protecting lenders offering potentially risky loans.

Mortgages evolved from exclusive agreements for the wealthy into a key part of homeownership today

The word "mortgage" comes from medieval French, meaning "death contract"—but the modern American mortgage has a more recent and complicated history. This explainer looks at how mortgages evolved from exclusive agreements for the wealthy into a key part of homeownership today, including the impacts of New Deal policies, redlining, and the Fair Housing Act.

Mortgage calculator: How much can you borrow?

How much you could pay per month for a mortgage heavily depends on your financial standing, the cost of your property, and how much time you want to spend paying it off. Get a better understanding of what you can afford—and what you might be offered from a lender—with a mortgage calculator.

In 2024, 74% of homebuyers took out a mortgage

Debt owed on mortgages made up about 70% of US consumer debt as of 2025. Mortgage collateral ensures the lender isn’t at a complete loss if the borrower defaults. Under most mortgage contracts, the property is considered collateral under the loan. This means that if a borrower doesn’t repay the loan, then the lender can seize their property.

Refinancing a mortgage is when a homeowner exchanges their current loan for a new one

Homeowners typically refinance to secure a lower interest rate and potentially a new loan term length. Debt owed on mortgages made up about 70% of US consumer debt as of 2025.

Securitization has become common practice in home financing

When a homebuyer finances with a lender, they aren’t necessarily the one footing the bill. After a buyer secures a home loan, the lender can sell the loan to another financial institution or a private institution. That group can later sell that mortgage to investors. This is called securitization.

The rare, so-called 'assumable' mortgage is landing homebuyers a 3% rate

High interest rates in a competitive market are part of the reason some buyers struggle to close on homes. But this rare mortgage can help. Assumable mortgages allow buyers to take over the original mortgage from the seller, giving them a much lower interest rate.

The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is by far the most popular in the US

The most common types of loans are conventional, jumbo, fixed-rate, adjustable, and government-backed.

Getting prequalified or preapproved for a loan is typically step one in securing a home loan

While prequalification and preapprovals give buyers an idea of the type of loan offer they might expect, the prequalification process is much more straightforward than getting preapproved. However, some real estate agents require buyers to get preapproved, and some sellers may take a buyer's offer more seriously.

Title loans are a type of short-term loan with high interest rates

Title loans allow borrowers to use their vehicle's title as collateral for a short-term loan. Similar to payday loans, title loans often have high interest rates and are mostly structured to last around 30 days. If title loans aren't repaid, the lender can take possession of the borrower's vehicle.

How interest rates affect homebuying

Rising interest rates impact every aspect of buying a home. This five-minute article gives a high-level overview of the relationship between the housing market and interest rates.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are federal housing enterprises originally established to offer affordable housing loans to buyers

The Federal National Mortgage Association is commonly called Fannie Mae, and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation is called Freddie Mac. Since Fannie Mae’s creation in 1938 and Freddie Mac’s in 1970, they’ve become staples of the housing market.

The average monthly mortgage payment in the US costs 38% more than monthly rent

A recent study showed that the price gap between renting and buying grew in 38 major US metro areas since last year. The metro areas with the smallest price gaps between renting and buying include Detroit, Philadelphia, and Cleveland.

The bond market is where bonds and other debt securities are traded

Bonds are fixed-income investments allowing individuals to lend a specific amount of money to a large entity, like a government or corporation, for a set amount of time in return for interest paid out over the life of the loan. The bond market is widely considered a key economic barometer.

Escrow is when a third party holds on to the money during a financial negotiation between two other parties

In the homebuying process, escrow typically happens while the buyer and the seller negotiate the terms of the sale. Escrow accounts can also be used to hold a buyer’s money when making payments on their loan.

In real estate, a larger down payment can reduce your loan amount

However, the trade-off is liquidity: Tying up too much cash in a home can reduce emergency savings and delay your purchase.

What is a lien?

A lien is a legal claim or right to someone else's property, such as a home. For instance, if someone wins a lawsuit against you and they can’t immediately collect the money you owe them, they might have the right to file a lien against your property.

Investors need a 'margin account' to short sell stock

Margin accounts are leveraged accounts through brokerage firms that allow investors to make trades without the full amount of capital on hand. Similar to a secured loan, margin accounts often require some form of collateral and typically have a cap on how much investors can borrow. However, trading with a margin account is much riskier than a traditional investment account. Fees and charged interest are due on margin accounts, regardless of trade performance, meaning it's possible for investors to lose more money than just their initial investment.

A deed is a legal document that shows change of homeownership during a sale

A deed differs from a title, which is the actual right of ownership to a property, and a concept rather than a physical document. These days, many deeds are online rather than physical pieces of paper kept in a home.

BNPL's biggest risks include the ability to stack multiple loans simultaneously

Buy now, pay later loans come with some risks, such as the hefty late fees that can add up over time in the case of missed payments. However, personal finance experts say that tactics like reading the fine print can help consumers use these financial tools more safely.

Securities is a term used to describe different types of investments

Not every type of investment qualifies as a security (like property or gold). Securities fall under four main categories (equity, debt, derivative, and hybrid) that serve different functions in the market.

Why Americans keep buying McMansions

Some argue that McMansions—large, relatively newly built, amenity-filled, cookie-cutter homes—are ugly. Others say they're just not a good investment. And yet Americans continue buying them. This video explores why McMansions are still popular despite these criticisms, and how these homes got their start in the first place. Watch the video here.

Money 'mules' don't always know they are laundering money

Money mules are anyone who receives money in a laundering scheme and then sends it forward, either to another company or to a financial institution. While some money mules—often called smurfs—actually work with criminals laundering money, getting someone to receive and then send money has become a popular scam.

Roughly 43 million US borrowers owe roughly $1.7T in student debt, the second-largest source of consumer debt behind mortgages.

US housing costs have risen by roughly 175% between 1991 and 2026—but a growing number of Gen Zers are becoming homeowners anyway. In 2025, 4% of homebuyers were Gen Z, up from 3% the year before.

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

Massive 3D printers have been used to build homes by stacking layers of 'concrete toothpaste,' a fire-resistant material that effectively insulates against outside noise.

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

Watch this video that uses Lego bricks to explain how venture capital works.

Hedge funds, the private investment firms that trade a wide swath of financial assets, make money by imposing steep fees on investors and from the fund's investment performance.

Frank Lloyd Wright's houses are historically hard to sell because they're old, subject to local landmark commissions, and often unfashionable

Corals are themselves not coral reefs—the term refers to the tiny marine invertebrates that build the rigid reef.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

The first horror movie is believed to be George Méliès' 1986 short 'The Haunted Castle,' which pioneered the use of special effects

Volcanoes 'die' when their supply of magma runs out, if they are shifted away from their underlying magma reservoir, or if they get clogged by collapsing or their magma cooling back into rock.

In 2019, a laptop loaded with six of the worst malware in history and described as 'an exhibit of historical weaponry' sold for $1.3M.

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Learn how monoclonal antibodies, which mimic the body's antibodies, can fight diseases like Ebola.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

The Brothers Grimm were lawyers before they were storytellers, but became interested in fairy tales as they began investigating how rules and customs had been passed down through cultures.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by more than 1.5 million Muslims each year.

Browse a detailed visual analysis of over 200,000 similes—comparisons that often use 'like' or 'as'—from popular fiction to see how frequently writers the same idiomatic expressions.

While the sun's gravity keeps the planets in orbit, their gravity also pulls on the sun, causing it and everything else in the solar system to orbit around a mutual balance point called the barycenter—the true center of the solar system.

Long before Major League Baseball began allowing instant replay for balls and strikes, an umpire reluctantly used the technology to determine whether a hit was a home run, a move that inadvertently ushered in a new era for the sport.

The Ramones' 'Pet Sematary,' the theme song for the Stephen King novel of the same name, was written while the band was admiring the writer's collection of horror memorabilia.

After the Boston Tea Party, colonists switched to coffee, which became the main morning drink for revolutionaries.