A mortgage is simply a loan where lenders like banks get hold of the title of real estate property until the loan made by the borrower is paid in full. In the event that the borrower failed to pay up, these lenders can sell the properties which were used as a guarantee to get the amount of the money that was owed by the borrower for they have the right to take the property.

Whenever someone buys a home through financing, the buyer usually has to give a down payment. The amount of the down payment may be as much as the buyer would like or it can be as little as 3 5 % of the purchase price. There are times that no down payment is made. However, this means that the buyer would have to pay more on his/her monthly amortization. So, if you want to have a lower monthly payment, you got to put more on the down payment.