If you were to be asked to describe and give a definition for the word mortgage, would you be able to, because it is surprising how few people know what they really are. Some people have gotten into the habit of calling them mortgage home loans but that isn't right at all as they are not loans at all. The mortgage is basically a way of securing a debt to which the property is the security with the mortgagor as the person who will owe money to the mortgagor. More accurately, it is a document that protects your lender's interest with your property itself and a legal agreement you have provided to a lender.

The facility that a mortgage creates means individuals and companies can acquire land or property without needing the full face value to purchase it at the time. Although this article is brief, below are points that will help more in the understanding of how this system operates.

Unfortunately it is our own common use of word like Borrower and Lender that has mislead people into thinking a mortgage is a loan when they should be referred to as Mortgagor and Mortgagee respectively. The security is in fact a lien which means the mortgagee has legal possession of your property until the debt is repaid.

The property you are buying does in fact become collateral for the finance that has been sought to pay for it and is the protection a mortgagee needs if he is going to continue financing house purchases. Records of this are normally kept in the public records section of the county courthouse or a similar establishment.


While the property is owned now by the mortgagor, the lien cannot be reversed until the amount specified in the debt is paid off. While the mortgagee has legal possession of the property, he does not own it or have the title to it, the legal owner is the mortgagor.

This means the only occasion that can arise whereby the mortgagee can legally sell your home is if you stop making payments and it needs to be sold to repay the finance used to purchase it. This is the dreaded process referred to as foreclosure but if the property is used as security, then the foreclosure must go through the court system.

This is a legally recognized process that must take place often referred to as 'judicial foreclosure'. This is the subject in brief and while there is a great deal more to it, perhaps this will help to clear up any ambiguities you may have previously experienced.

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