A mortgage loan or mortgage is a type of loan secured by real estate.
In a mortgage loan, the financial institution lends money for the purchase of a property, which is used as collateral for the debt. In the event of non-payment, the bank may foreclose the mortgage, i.e. sell the property to pay off the debt.
The main characteristics of a mortgage loan are that the interest rate is lower than that of a consumer loan and that it lasts longer.
There are fixed-rate mortgages, adjustable-rate mortgages, and hybrid mortgages.